A theory as to what will occur regarding the nuclear exposion...
When the nuke went off, the strange matter at the Swan site absorbed the energy of the explosion. When this happens, the magnetic effect is neutralized and stops pulling in all the metal.
Everything seems to be fine, for almost two hours. Then, the magnetic pull starts up again. A quick thinking person (perhaps Dr. Chang), figures out a way to release some of the absorbed energy, which causes the magnetic effect to cease, for almost another two hours - or 108 minutes, to be more exact. They release some energy again...
They go ahead and build the Swan, to study the strange matter, and also serve as a bunker from which energy can be released every 108 minutes. Concerned that the nature of the release is radioactive, they quarantine the area outside the hatch. Inoculations against radiation sickness are provided (I believe the injections given during orientation @ the barracks are against local disease and not related to the injections inside the Swan).
A failsafe is installed, which can be used to destroy the station by releasing all of the energy at once.
After 20+ years of slowly releasing some of the energy, when Desmond finally turns the key, the force of the explosion is lessened to the point that it just screws with the sky a bit and leaves the swan a smoldering crater. Some technobabble about strange matter and energy release, and you end up with Desmond's mind unstuck in time.
I don't think the radiation has anything to do with women dying during pregnancy, though.
When the nuke went off, the strange matter at the Swan site absorbed the energy of the explosion. When this happens, the magnetic effect is neutralized and stops pulling in all the metal.
Everything seems to be fine, for almost two hours. Then, the magnetic pull starts up again. A quick thinking person (perhaps Dr. Chang), figures out a way to release some of the absorbed energy, which causes the magnetic effect to cease, for almost another two hours - or 108 minutes, to be more exact. They release some energy again...
They go ahead and build the Swan, to study the strange matter, and also serve as a bunker from which energy can be released every 108 minutes. Concerned that the nature of the release is radioactive, they quarantine the area outside the hatch. Inoculations against radiation sickness are provided (I believe the injections given during orientation @ the barracks are against local disease and not related to the injections inside the Swan).
A failsafe is installed, which can be used to destroy the station by releasing all of the energy at once.
After 20+ years of slowly releasing some of the energy, when Desmond finally turns the key, the force of the explosion is lessened to the point that it just screws with the sky a bit and leaves the swan a smoldering crater. Some technobabble about strange matter and energy release, and you end up with Desmond's mind unstuck in time.
I don't think the radiation has anything to do with women dying during pregnancy, though.
