# How long would it take to hear that NY got destroyed by a nuke?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-hear-that-ny-got-destroyed-by-a-nuke/166980>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 7, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-hear-that-ny-got-destroyed-by-a-nuke/166980 "2003-04-07T02:45:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-hear-that-ny-got-destroyed-by-a-nuke/166980/21 "2003-04-07T11:45:13Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*  
> \*\*[http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/defcon.htm](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/defcon.htm) – Damned. Got my DEFCONs exactly wrong. DEFCON 5 is normal peacetime. DEFCON 1 is maximum force readiness. \*\*

_This_ is exactly why we took your Cobalt Bomb awat, young man. 😛  
BTW-- the sudden disruption of Stock Market data from the NYSE would be the first clue.

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**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-hear-that-ny-got-destroyed-by-a-nuke/166980/22 "2003-04-07T18:03:27Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*  
> **CelraySoda, you’re thinking of the neutron bomb, or an enhanced radiation (ER) warhead. It _is_ optmized for maximum radiation, but it _doesn’t_ leave buildings standing.**

Nope. You’re confusing your E’s. The DOD also has a fancypants new E-bomb that ONLY generates an EMP. Do a Google search for “e-bomb emp” and you’ll pull up a zillion hits.

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-would-it-take-to-hear-that-ny-got-destroyed-by-a-nuke/166980/23 "2003-04-08T17:05:24Z")

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I’m not sure I’d go that far. Most of the sites that come up only speculate that the military may have one or is working on one.

The CBS report that we knocked out Iraqi television with an emp pulse is unconfirmed, as far as I know. All the links on Google News that talk about emp appear to refer back to that one report. And some talked about large fires around the station, so conventional weapons would seem to be involved, whether in addition or or instead of is hard to tell.

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