Atomic bomb....atoms are split.
Results:
The short-term and long-term effects of atomic explosions on human health have been studied on survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Radiation and radioactive fallout affect those cells in the body that actively divide (hair, intestine, bone marrow, reproductive organs). Some of the conditions (short- and long-term) include:
nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
cataracts
hair loss
loss of blood cells
These conditions often increase risks of:
leukemia
cancer (e.g., stomach, liver, colon, bladder, breast, ovaries, thyroid, skin)
infertility
birth defects including growth and mental disorders
Scientists and physicians are still studying the survivors of the bombs dropped on Japan and expect more results to appear over time.
Nuclear bomb...the nucleus of atoms are split...much greater damage.....long and short term.
In the 1980s, scientists assessed the possible effects of nuclear warfare and proposed the theory that a nuclear winter could occur. In the nuclear winter scenario, the explosion nuclear bombs would raise great clouds of dust and radioactive material that would travel high into Earth's atmosphere. These clouds would block out sunlight. The reduced level of sunlight would lower the surface temperature of the planet and reduce photosynthesis by plants and bacteria. The reduction in photosynthesis would disrupt the food chain, and that would cause mass extinction of life, including humans. This scenario is similar to the asteroid hypothesis that has been proposed to explain the extinction of the dinosaurs. People who believed in the possibility of a nuclear winter pointed to the clouds of dust and debris that traveled far across the planet after the volcanic eruptions of Mount St. Helens in the U.S. and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.
Nuclear weapons have incredible, long-term destructive power that travels far beyond the original target. That's why the world's governments are trying to control the spread of nuclear bomb making technology and materials and to reduce the nuclear weapons that were deployed during the Cold War.
Anything else? Same theory....but nukes have more destructive power, if we were to use nukes in Afganistan....no one would be living there for some time....well, past my life time and my childrens lifetime....and the radiation cloud created could blow anywhere the wind takes it....and poison those in the way. Nukes will not be an option to the US...unless they don't care about killing thousands (millions?) of innocent people, which would make the US as bad as the terrorsist.