Tactical nuclear weapons would be more widely used in a current war. They would be of low power (compared to the two bombs used in World War II), but they would be used strategically, and in specific locations.
Intending to annihilate the Executive Branch of some states, a 5-kiloton bomb was dropped on Praça Cívica, where the Administrative Center of the State of Goiás and the Governor's residence are located. Let's see what it would look like.
Praça Cívica, with the Administrative Center, Palácio das Esmeraldas, and the Monument to the Three Races would be consumed in a fireball. Fireball radius: 128 m (0.05 km²) (The yellow center).
Maximum size of a nuclear fireball; the relevance of ground damage depends on the detonation height. If it touches the ground, the amount of radioactive fallout increases significantly. Anything within the fireball is effectively vaporized. Minimum burst height for negligible fallout: 104 m.
The Bosque dos Buritis, the Palácio da Justiça where the Goiás Court of Justice is located, the Goiânia Cathedral, and buildings in the Centro, Setor Sul, and Oeste areas would be destroyed. Moderate blast damage radius (5 psi): 0.85 km (2.25 km²) (Inside the very dark gray circle, within).
With a 5 psi overpressure, most residential buildings collapse, injuries are universal, and fatalities are widespread. The chances of a fire starting in commercial and residential damage are high, and thus damaged buildings are at high risk of fire spread. Frequently used as a reference for moderate damage in cities. The optimal burst height to maximize this effect is 534 m.
People at the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God on Avenida Goiás (Centro), others at the Burn Hospital, near Praça Mestra Henriqueta Peclat, would receive 500 rem of radiation. Radiation radius (500 rem): 0.93 km (2.73 km²) (Inside the light green circle)
500 doses of ionizing radiation; probably fatal within about 1 month; 15% of survivors will eventually die of cancer as a result of exposure.
People at the Instituto Goiano de Radiologia, Capela da Santa Casa de Misericórdia, Hospital São Lucas, Praça Estado da Palestina, Universidade Salgado de Oliveira, Praça do Cruzeiro, would suffer severe burns. Thermal radiation radius (third-degree burns): 1.07 km (3.61 km²) (Inside the orange circle)
Third-degree burns extend through all layers of the skin and are usually painless because they destroy the pain nerves. They can cause severe scarring or disability and may require amputation. The 100% probability of third-degree burns with this yield is 7.99 cal/cm².
Neighborhoods such as Setor Norte Ferroviário, Setor Nova Vila, Negrão de Lima, Leste Universitário, Jardim Goiás, Setor Marista, Hospital e Urgência de Goiânia, Setor Bueno, Pronto Socorro Psiquiátrico Prof. Wassily Chuc, Faculdade Araguaia, Hospital Amparo, PUC Campus V, would suffer damage. Light blast damage radius (1 psi): 3.49 km (38.2 km²) (Inside the larger grayish circle)
With an overpressure of about 1 psi, glass windows can be expected to break. This can cause many injuries to the surrounding population who reach a window after seeing the flash of a nuclear explosion (which travels faster than the blast wave). Frequently used as a reference for light damage in cities. The optimal burst height to maximize this effect is 799 m.
*Detonation altitude: 600 m.
Strategic weapons, on the other hand, have great power, and if used, they would serve to demonstrate might and persuade other nations. The most famous is the Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima (15kt).
In this case, thermal radiation with third-degree burns would reach as far north as Praça do Trabalhador, as far south as Praça Delmiro Paulino da Silva, as far east as Colégio Dom Abel Sul, and west to the entire Zoological Park. See:
The most powerful bomb ever created would turn all of Goiânia into a desert, with no buildings, taking Aparecida de Goiânia, Guapó, Trindade, Goianira, Bonfinópolis, and a large part of Hidrolândia and Aragoiânia with it. The cities of Inhumas, Palmeiras de Goiás, Piracanjuba, Bela Vista, and Silvânia would be in the thermal radiation zone.
Blast damage radii could reach Itaberaí, Abadiânia, Pontalina, Indiara, and Anicuns.
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