Interesting. I didn't expect the thermal radiation to be farther away than the blast radius. I would've thought they overlapped. Almost makes it sound like you're most likely to survive a nuclear bomb if you're closer to it than farther away, up to a certain point.
I don't know about nukes, but large conventional bombs have an unintuitive survival distance profile. Something like <10 units away, you die, 10-20 units away, you can survive, 20-30 units away you die, >30 units away you survive.
It has something to do with the pressure wave and how it changes with distance, since I posted that comment I've been looking for more information but I don't know the right terms.
I'm trying to find more information, I know they're was at least one study of a Canadian soldier who survived an explosion inside the radius that he should have died due to the pressure wave.
> most likely to survive a nuclear bomb if you're closer
How so? All of the effects get stronger the closer you get. The thermal radiation gets you the furthest away, but if you're close by, you get the pressure and a much higher level of thermal radiation.
(There is some discussion to be had about the reflected shockwave but if you're close enough for that to matter, it doesn't matter...)
