MovieChat Forums > The Strain (2014) Discussion > One nuke wouldn't blot out the sun.

One nuke wouldn't blot out the sun.

posted 8 years ago by clyons
28 replies | jump to latest

I don't know precisely how it was done in the books, but this is a suitcase nuke. The general theory is that if a hundred large cities were burned, all at once (wouldn't matter if you used nukes or a lot of conventional bombs), that might trigger a temporary nuclear winter. Not The Night Eternal.

I suppose you can say it's one of those special bombs, that turn up in stories with depressing endings (Beneath the Planet of the Apes comes to mind). But there was no indication of that in the story, and it didn't even go off in the city. Same exact thing happened Rise of the Dark Knight, and everybody was fine. Yes, I know this doesn't prove anything, and that movie didn't make a lot of sense either.

I've been very patient with things like this with regard to this series, and of course I'll watch next season. The finale was, I think, the weakest of the three so far, but still many good moments. Maybe they should have just dropped the Night Eternal angle entirely. The Master had basically already won, at least as far as New York is concerned.

They are going to have a lot of built-in problems to solve next season.

[–] fatal510 8 years ago

Best season finale. And who gives a *beep* what the nuke would do in real life.

[–] clyons 8 years ago

If it's just a short-term localized change, I'm okay with it.

But to say a suitcase nuke blotted out the sun all over the planet, for a long time? No. That's a deal-breaker.

[–] slickr12345 8 years ago

Pretty much this. They would need to activate at least 50 nukes in the largest cities all over the planet, from Asia, Europe to South America. Even then I doubt it would create a worldwide nuclear winter, possibly local ones that last for a week or so before the ashes clear and degrade into carbon.

[–] cokezero99 8 years ago

If we don't care about real life why don't we just say a grenade can blot out the sun? It's also an explosive right? Oh you think thats stupid? Who cares about real life!

In the book they blow up multiple nuclear reactors all over the planet. Not a little suitcase nuke.

[–] tb-sch 8 years ago

Why a grenade when a thousand vampires could clap their hands simultaniously and that would blow out the sun like a candle?

[–] Fennris 8 years ago

I don't know about hand-clapping, but 1000 simultaneous vampire farts? That could do some damage.

[–] tb-sch 8 years ago

That would propel earth out of its orbit, towards Pluto.

[–] DethstruXioN 8 years ago

Or maybe it will go back to Uranus.

I skip reading the bottom line, because it is usually some lame signature.

[–] Korpen81 8 years ago

Its a dirty suitcase nuke deployed in a pre determined location with all kinds of waste connected to it. Its not blotting out the sun what it does though is creating a nuclear winter. Especially with the Ocean being right there.

[–] drfunk-18075 8 years ago

Nuclear winter doesn't happen with one nuke.

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

Plenty of far stronger nukes have been detonated on or near the sea. It doesn't work like that. It's not even known if nuclear war would indeed trigger a nuclear winter. The theory is that any huge burning city would push so much ash into the athmosphere that you would get a temporary winter. But you could do that with conventional bombs as well or big vulcano outbreaks can do this as well. I heard about this "Year Without a Summer" in 1816 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer probably caused by a volcano.

But without even New York burning? No.

[–] panik65 8 years ago

Everyone tried to tell you that you were stupid, and you didn't listen. Your mind is fixated on making excuses rather than inquiry, which is the root of your idiot condition.

--

[–] sandifay62 8 years ago

Nobody said that the nuke blocked out the sun. We only saw the clouds and smoke covered up the sun that Eph was looking at. A forest fire can do that. The other nuke was set off and it didn't block out the sun or kill a bunch of people, either.

It's not a big deal. We'll see next seaason what damage was actually done.

[–] bentstrider 8 years ago

I'm guessing that instead of the books reasoning for the nuclear winter, they might be going with a political chain reaction, nuclear strike. What's left of the governments will blame each other for the nuclear attack and the Strigoi. The talks become heated, larger caliber nukes are launched, and then BOOM!! Global nuclear winter!!

I wonder though if they'll do like the books and focus on the British Isles as the last, human controlled spot on the globe.

[–] lmatteyl 8 years ago

The way I read the scene was that it was a localized event, so it will allow the Strigoi to overtake the rest of New York that much faster without sunlight, but it doesn't effect the struggle in other states.

[–] ckwongau 8 years ago

I think the Nuke was specialize , and material of the Statue of Liberty combine with Nuke would create some chain reaction .

Maybe the Master had contaminated the Statue of Liberty , the restoration work in the 80's , maybe the Master hire someone to put something on the Statue.

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

Nuclear fission doesn't work like that. Only with "heavy" elements like uranium or plutonium. You think the statue of liberty was build using uranium as part of a plan centuries in the making? :D And even then it doesn't work if it's not part of the warhead, since it would just scatter the material instead of pushing it to critical mass.

Just read a bit about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission

[–] Dejay 8 years ago

I have to say the scene in Rise of the Dark Knight bothered me more. Because nuclear fusion reactors would be inherently save. Fusion doesn't have a critical mass like fission reactors have, if it gets too hot and as soon as something breaks it just shuts down and the reaction can't be maintained without fuel.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] storagge 8 years ago

This is one of the (many) plot points that the book got completely wrong, and I was waiting eagerly to see how much More wrong the TV Series would get it.

Wasn't disappointed. They ramped up the Hilariously Wrong as much as I imagined.

"Personally I hope they make all the gods black and change it from Valhalla to Valholla!"