Atomic Winter

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rolnor

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I am looking on different scenarios for atomic winter. I think if there is a lot of NOx forming in the atmosphere, chanses to survive are slim to none. You would need a NOx-scrubber with good efficasy and just one breath of the unpurified air would possibly kill you. It does matter offcourse how much NOx that is present but this is toxic. Formation of NOx is now ruled out so maybe its less of a problem. If it is more general smoke from fire in plastic, wood, oil, fabric etc this can be filtered with a HEPA and a activated carbon filter. These are available in good quality air purifiers. So, a room say 40m2 with tight windows and a controlled air supply and a filter could maybe keep you alive. If you change filter regularly and have a stock of these maybe you can survive 2months? 1 year? The numbers I have seen for the time to get good clean air again is 2months or 1-4 years. The air will slowly get better outdoors so filters will be less clogged after some time. How long do you think one can survive under this conditions? Will there be rescue-people coming after one month to help you? How many people are prepping for this situation? The military have resources with filtrated air, the higher ranking officers will survive for long time if they get into these facilities. Also the president etc,
 
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Well, nuclear winter is one thing, air filter is another, but you also have to ask yourself if the world is still worth living in that you still have a chance to go out.
Personally, I don't think much of being locked up in the apartment for a year, because in addition to the air filter, you also have to fill the entire apartment with food and be mentally able to endure a year in there.
If you live in Sweden, you will probably not be number 1 on Uncle Putin's hit list, unless you have specifically angered him.
If you live near Germany then I can understand your preparations, Germany would be very sure to get a few Russian missiles.
You should not hope for external help, if it comes to such an event, no one will help you, not even the army.
 
First I will say , I am not a scientist and this topic is based on something that has never been seen or the results of a full nuclear exchange seen . Personally however , I doubt the air itself will be toxic . Radioactive particles created by the blasts however can settle down onto the body and be breathed in . These particles according to scientist will dissipate in 3 or 4 days . None of this is good but it isn't like nerve gas or something that will be a death sentence . Running around with gas masks isn't something my tribe plan to be doing . We simply don't consider the threat of breathing in radioactive dust high enough to warrant that . Perhaps some that live on the edge of a known nuke target may find this precaution to be justified . My tribe live well beyond any nuke target and only have to be concerned about a radioactive cloud that through weather conditions might travel into our area and then descend to the ground . --- We will simply shelter inside our houses and Wate for the radioactive level to be low enough to be deemed safe . In my stash is an old Civil Defense radiation meter to check the radiation level so that we will know what we are dealing with . Depending on a general weather / radiation report won't cut it as even one mile could mean a huge difference in the radiation level on the ground . --- My bigger concern is not breathing the air but growing a garden after all the nuking is done .
 
Ban1985
I just searched the net. I am a research chemist and ceramist and movie producer.
I have place for food/fuel/water, no problem. Yes, I am not sure I can/want to live like that. Maybe I can start writing on my book-project or do some sculpting or other artistic things. No, I dont think I will get any help, at least not for a long time. But some people will survive and they will be interested in other survivors. If I get to a point maybe I will commiit suicide, I can just use my gasoline power-supply and breathe the exauhst. This is a good way to go, you just fall asleep.
Poltiregist
Its debated wether the air will be breathable but when there was a forest-fire in Russia, the air was full of smike here in Sweden so the world is a small place. So I listen to the experts and sime say 2 monthst others 1-4 years. Many large cities wll burn. Sweden is threatenened by Russia now beacause we want to join NATO. I live 25km from a major arms-industry here so I am close to a tactical target. The fallout is no problem, I have a concrete basement somI plan to stay ther for a few days.
 
First I will say , I am not a scientist and this topic is based on something that has never been seen or the results of a full nuclear exchange seen . Personally however , I doubt the air itself will be toxic . Radioactive particles created by the blasts however can settle down onto the body and be breathed in . These particles according to scientist will dissipate in 3 or 4 days . None of this is good but it isn't like nerve gas or something that will be a death sentence . Running around with gas masks isn't something my tribe plan to be doing . We simply don't consider the threat of breathing in radioactive dust high enough to warrant that . Perhaps some that live on the edge of a known nuke target may find this precaution to be justified . My tribe live well beyond any nuke target and only have to be concerned about a radioactive cloud that through weather conditions might travel into our area and then descend to the ground . --- We will simply shelter inside our houses and Wate for the radioactive level to be low enough to be deemed safe . In my stash is an old Civil Defense radiation meter to check the radiation level so that we will know what we are dealing with . Depending on a general weather / radiation report won't cut it as even one mile could mean a huge difference in the radiation level on the ground . --- My bigger concern is not breathing the air but growing a garden after all the nuking is done .
Depending on how old and how much use that CD Geiger counter saw, it might be good to have it calibrated or at elast check it against a standard. Does it have a built in sample on the side under a little metal door? Geiger tubes don't last forever and their life is dependant on the type of gas used to fill the tube and if it stayed sealed. The gas is usually a noble gas that contains a small amount of quenching gas. This gas can be a halogen like bromine or an organic like butane. In the case of the organic quenching gasses, they are slowly destroyed during normal use. These quenching gasses extinguish the conductive path in the tube gas caused by the ionization event. Without it, there is a dead time in the tube limiting the number of counts per second that it can detect. If the tube saturates, a high level of radiation can appear on the counter as a safe level even when moderate sources still register as dangerous. Does it have a mica alpha window? If that window was damaged or if any of the seals went, there might not even be gas in it. Get that "old" counter checked out!

I am looking on different scenarios for atomic winter. I think if there is a lot of NOx forming in the atmosphere, chanses to survive are slim to none. You would need a NOx-scrubber with good efficasy and just one breath of the unpurified air would possibly kill you. It does matter offcourse how much NOx that is present but this is toxic. Formation of NOx is now ruled out so maybe its less of a problem. If it is more general smoke from fire in plastic, wood, oil, fabric etc this can be filtered with a HEPA and a activated carbon filter. These are available in good quality air purifiers. So, a room say 40m2 with tight windows and a controlled air supply and a filter could maybe keep you alive. If you change filter regularly and have a stock of these maybe you can survive 2months? 1 year? The numbers I have seen for the time to get good clean air again is 2months or 1-4 years. The air will slowly get better outdoors so filters will be less clogged after some time. How long do you think one can survive under this conditions? Will there be rescue-people coming after one month to help you? How many people are prepping for this situation? The military have resources with filtrated air, the higher ranking officers will survive for long time if they get into these facilities. Also the president etc,
I also agree that NOx would likely not be a problem, but being an amateur self-taught once-wannabe chemist myself who has long forgot most of what I read, wouldn't bubbling air through water with a weak base or peroxide be an ideal scrubber for NOx gas if it were to become an issue?
 
Some time ago researchers beleived that NOx will form but later on the consensus is that it will not be a problem. All over, these are hard things to make models of, no one really knows because large-scale nuke war has not been done.
 
You need some sodium sulfide as well together with hydroxide to remove NO2, for NO you need to oxidize this first with ozone to NO2 so its not so simple.
 
You need some sodium sulfide as well together with hydroxide to remove NO2, for NO you need to oxidize this first with ozone to NO2 so its not so simple.
You might be right, but for curiosity sake, I would like your opinion on this: NurdRage had a youtube video where he makes nitric acid from NO2 and water (then again with NO2 and hydrogen peroxide solution). Although both methods worked, the water was not capturing all of the gas and the peroxide was something like 15 or 20% - which people will not have. However, his bubbler method with beakers in water was hardly ideal so maybe the small amounts in the air would actually be captured by either method with readily available materials. I do have sulfide (just not sodium, mine is the zinc salt from when I was playing with electroluminescence) and hydroxide on hand, so is that method more effective at capturing trace NO2 gas? I would assume the small amounts present would be easily scrubbed with a minimal setup. Feel free to PM me if this is getting too far off topic for this post.
 
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H2O2 is also possible to use but you get slower absorbtion. If you have a firm you can buy 30%H2O2. It is probably a better method because you need only one reagent. But you need to bubble a lot more.
 
Here is some reading.
1648401081558.jpeg
 
How much dust is kicked up from the more likely air detonations? I know the ground dets throw dust higher than the clouds where it does not rain, but I have yet to find an article that differentiates between the two situations. Most nuclear testing was done on the ground and most articles like this are referring to what they learned from those ground tests. If most of the nukes went off above ground, would there even be that much dust getting pulled up?
 
I guess you would need a large amount of H2O2, even with its low molecular weight, so maybe 50liters is more likely than 2liters.
 
This clip is interesting, human race has survived a "nuclear winter"already. But population was reduced to only 3000-10000 people.
 
How much dust is kicked up from the more likely air detonations? I know the ground dets throw dust higher than the clouds where it does not rain, but I have yet to find an article that differentiates between the two situations. Most nuclear testing was done on the ground and most articles like this are referring to what they learned from those ground tests. If most of the nukes went off above ground, would there even be that much dust getting pulled up?

What I am finding is that the answer to this depends upon who you ask. I am currently reading a book called "the Cold and The Dark" By Paul Ehrlich and Carl Sagan. But, even it is antiquated information going off premises and situation from the mid 1980's....well before the world had all of the technology now available to them and without consideration of the "modern" nuclear capabilities. There is also the confounding factors in their research such as personal beliefs, such as destruction of the planet by human hands...so I do tend to take it with more than an grain of salt.
20220327_131241.jpg
20220327_131249.jpg
 
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This clip is interesting, human race has survived a "nuclear winter"already. But population was reduced to only 3000-10000 people.


I love all those "climatologists" from 50 years ago. According to Paul Ehrlich, I am now 50 feet underwater. The United States Forest Service has given up calling CO2 a green house gas and just admitted it is part of the oxygen cycle. Nice video though.
 

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