How do atomic bombs kill you?
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Depends on where you are. If you are right next to them – and keep in mind for most atomic weapons “right next to them” can be further than less powerful weapons – you die from the standard bomb things like shrapnel, heat, concussive force.
If you are further out, while you might not die to the force of the bomb itself, you get blasted with radiation, which damages your cells so severely that they cannot reproduce, so you just die in a day or two when your body runs out of cells to do cell things.
Further out still and you might not directly die at all, but things like irradiated particles can contaminate your area. These particles give off small amounts of radiation and are much less powerful than the straight radiation from being to close to the bomb. Your skin can generally protect you as long as you aren’t exposed forever; however when you ingest them or breathe them in, they will emit that radiation right next to your much less protected internal organs. This interferes with your cells and will generally cause all sorts of nasty diseases like cancer.
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