One of the many memÂoÂrable details in StanÂley KubrickÂ’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop WorÂryÂing and Love the Bomb, placed promiÂnentÂly in a shot of George C. Scott in the war room, is a binder with a spine labeled “WORLD TARGETS IN MEGADEATHS.” A megadeath, writes Eric SchlossÂer in a New YorkÂer piece on the movie, “was a unit of meaÂsureÂment used in nuclear-war planÂning at the time. One megadeath equals a milÂlion fatalÂiÂties.” The destrucÂtive capaÂbilÂiÂty of nuclear weapons havÂing only increased since 1964, we might well wonÂder how many megadeaths would result from a nuclear strike on a major city today.
In colÂlabÂoÂraÂtion with the Nobel Peace Prize, filmÂmakÂer Neil HalÂloÂran addressÂes that quesÂtion in the video above, which visuÂalÂizes a simÂuÂlatÂed nuclear exploÂsion in a city of four milÂlion. “We’ll assume the bomb is detÂoÂnatÂed in the air to maxÂiÂmize the radius of impact, as was done in Japan in 1945. But here, we’ll use an 800-kiloÂton warÂhead, a relÂaÂtiveÂly large bomb in today’s arseÂnals, and 100 times more powÂerÂful than the bomb dropped on HiroshiÂma.” The immeÂdiÂate result would be a “fireÂball as hot as the sun” with a radius of 800 meters; all buildÂings withÂin a two-kiloÂmeÂter radius would be destroyed, “and we’ll assume that virÂtuÂalÂly no one surÂvives inside this area.”
Already in these calÂcuÂlaÂtions, the death toll has reached 120,000. “From as far as away as eleven kiloÂmeÂters, the radiÂant heat from the blast would be strong enough to cause third-degree burns on exposed skin.” Though most peoÂple would be indoors and thus shelÂtered from that at the time of the exploÂsion, “the very strucÂtures that offered this proÂtecÂtion would then become a cause of injury, as debris would rip through buildÂings and rain down on city streets.” This would, over the weeks after the attack, ultiÂmateÂly cause anothÂer 500,000 casuÂalÂties — anothÂer half a megadeath — with anothÂer 100,000 at longer range still to occur.
These are soberÂing figÂures, to be sure, but as HalÂloÂran reminds us, the Cold War is over; unlike in Dr. Strangelove’s day, famÂiÂlies no longer build fallÂout shelÂters, and schoolÂchildÂren no longer do nuclear-bomb drills. NevÂerÂtheÂless, even though nations aren’t as on edge about total anniÂhiÂlaÂtion as they were in the mid-twenÂtiÂeth-cenÂtuÂry, the techÂnoloÂgies that potenÂtialÂly cause such anniÂhiÂlaÂtion are more advanced than ever, and indeed, “nuclear weapons remain one of the great threats to humanÂiÂty.” Here in the twenÂty-twenÂties, “counÂtries big and small face the prospect of new arms races,” a much more comÂpliÂcatÂed geopoÂlitÂiÂcal sitÂuÂaÂtion than the long standÂoff between the UnitÂed States and the SoviÂet Union — and, perÂhaps, one beyond the reach of even KubrickÂianÂly grim satire.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
Watch ChillÂing Footage of the HiroshiÂma & NagasaÂki BombÂings in Restored ColÂor
Why HiroshiÂma, Despite Being Hit with the AtomÂic Bomb, Isn’t a Nuclear WasteÂland Today
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
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