"COVID-19’s lesson for nuclear detonation warning is that satellite-based nuclear detonation detection broadcasts must be declassified now so that in the future they can be received directly by cellphones in time to save lives," writes Vaughn H. Standley. Credit: Adobe Stock/Magann

You are driving on the highway when, without warning, there is a bright flash that fills the sky. Thirty seconds later there is a thunderous explosion. Traffic on the highway quickly comes to a standstill. Radio broadcast and cellular communications cease. However, an app in your smartphone immediately informs you of a ground-level nuclear detonation in the city. A short time later, the same app is advising you to set out on foot to avoid radioactive fallout that will arrive at your location in about an hour. You and thousands of others receiving this information are spared radiation poisoning.

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