I was morbidly curious about fallout from laser heads and other nuclear weapons used in the Honorverse. Normally, fallout is just dust particles that got blown around by a groundburst or other surface level nuclear detonation, so in space it can't be all that bad. Still, the actual metal and components of a nuclear weapon carry radioactivity - bomb fragments, etc.
I'm sure that with the sheer volume of any given star system, even a major fleet engagement would dissipate fallout pretty well, but thousands of nuclear warheads going off would still produce some bad stuff. The novels go on about radiation shielding on warships, but how well are civilian vessels and construction shielded? Is there the building code that mandates X amount of radiation protection in all space-based industry?
This topic is probably close to discussing the bylaws of the Royal Manticoran Navy BuDentistry but it was just something that came to mind.
I'm sure that with the sheer volume of any given star system, even a major fleet engagement would dissipate fallout pretty well, but thousands of nuclear warheads going off would still produce some bad stuff. The novels go on about radiation shielding on warships, but how well are civilian vessels and construction shielded? Is there the building code that mandates X amount of radiation protection in all space-based industry?
This topic is probably close to discussing the bylaws of the Royal Manticoran Navy BuDentistry but it was just something that came to mind.
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