Unbelievable Secrets Hidden in the Title of the Iconic SF Series, Fallout – Find Out Now!

The world on Prime Video is nearing its demise, but with flair! “Fallout”, a free adaptation of the popular video game series, is all about laughter and unapologetic fun, even though the subject matter is quite serious.

In the series, the world ends on October 23, 2077, with a series of nuclear explosions leading to an all-out apocalypse. And the term “fallout” literally means “radioactive fallout”. As one might suspect, these fallout events result in utter disaster.

The post-apocalyptic version of the United States is swarming with mutant monsters (including nearly one-meter-long cockroaches), irradiated humans known as ghouls, and hardy survivors. This is classic atomic age science fiction material, the kind of stories that Fallout draws upon for its retro-futuristic depiction of America.

Highly realistic

But there is more science in this science fiction story than one might think, according to Pran Nath, a renowned physics professor at Northeastern University. In the opening minutes of Fallout, Los Angeles is hit by a series of nuclear bombs. While the action takes place in a clearly fictitious version of the City of Angels – as evidenced by the futuristic skyscrapers and robots – the nuclear explosions themselves are shockingly realistic.

Nath explains on his university’s website that after a nuclear device is dropped, the explosion unfolds in three stages.

“When the nuclear explosion occurs, due to the chain reaction, a large amount of energy and radiation is emitted in a very short time,” says Pran Nath. “Initially, there is a huge flash, which corresponds to the nuclear reaction producing gamma rays. If you are exposed to it… People in Hiroshima, for example, were essentially vaporized, leaving shadows.”

Depending on how far a person is from the explosion, even those partially shielded will see their body heat up rapidly to 50 degrees, causing severe burns. The burnt skin of the ghouls in Fallout is not entirely made up (although their lifespan of several centuries makes this aspect improbable).

Somewhat like in Oppenheimer

The second phase is a shock wave and heat blast – what Nath calls a “fireball”. The shock wave that appears in the first scene of Fallout spreads quickly after the explosion, but Nath explains that it would probably occur even faster and in a less cinematic fashion. It would move at about the speed of sound, or around 1200 km/h.

The shock wave also exerts tremendous pressure, “so huge that it can cause concrete buildings to collapse”. It’s followed by a “fireball” that would burn all the buildings in the blast area with an intense heat wave.

“The blast area is defined as the area where the shock waves and fireball are most intense,” Nath explains. “For Hiroshima, this area was between 1.5 and 3 km. In fact, everything is destroyed in this blast area”.

A nearly worse aftermath

The third phase of the nuclear explosion is the fallout, which lasts much longer and has even more extensive effects than the explosion and shock wave. The nuclear explosion creates an atomic mushroom cloud that can rise up to more than 15 km into the atmosphere. Carried by the wind, the cloud spreads radioactivity well beyond the blast zone.

“In a nuclear explosion, up to 100 different radioactive elements are produced,” Nath explains. “These radioactive elements have lifetimes that can range from a few seconds to millions of years. They pollute, damage the body and cause longer-term damage, causing cancers, leukemia, etc.”

The “trick” in Fallout

A key element of the Fallout universe is the vaults. These are huge underground bunkers the size of a small town where the luckiest – or the wealthiest – can take refuge in the event of the end of the world.

These Vaults are much more elaborate than most nuclear shelters that exist in our world, but Nath explains that this kind of protection is necessary if one wants to stay safe from the type of radiation emitted by nuclear weapons, particularly gamma rays that can penetrate several meters of concrete.

“If you are further away and stay inside and behind concrete, you can avoid both the initial flash of the nuclear explosion and probably withstand the subsequent shock waves and heat wave, so survival becomes greater,” Nath explains.

What about the mutants roaming the Wastelands of the post-apocalypse?

One might think that the monstrous, colossal mutant salamanders and giant cockroaches of Fallout are purely from the realm of science fiction. But in fact, there is a real basis for this, Nath explains.

“There are several types of anomalies that occur with radiation,” the scientist explains. “They can also be genetic. Radiation can create mutations, which are similar to spontaneous mutations in animals and humans. For example, mutated animals were found in Chernobyl.”

In the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the genetic heritage of wild dogs has been radically altered. Scientists hypothesize that wolves living near Chernobyl have developed to be more resistant to radiation, which could make them “cancer-resistant”, or at least less affected by cancer. As for frogs, they have adapted to have more melanin in their bodies, a form of protection against radiation, making them black.

What now?

Fallout uses the horrific reality of nuclear war to create a black comedy-tinged science fiction narrative, but Pran Nath reminds us that it’s important to remember how devastating these bombs are.

It is estimated that 146,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 people in Nagasaki were killed by the effects of the bombs dropped by the United States. According to Nath, the fallout could even exacerbate global warming.

“A thermonuclear war would be a global problem,” the scientist concludes, without mentioning that today’s bombs are much more powerful than those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Fallout is currently available on Prime Video