I have a question about nuclear weapons. Anyone here know much about them? [View all]
My question is this: What happens to them if the human race were to pretty much disappear tomorrow? Do the computer systems that run them just wind down and the missiles are then forever locked away in silos or bunkers or wherever they keep them? Is there any way for missiles to launch themselves without human interaction providing access codes or turning keys or whatever it is they have to do to give the final "Go?" (And outside of our country, do you figure all other nuclear-armed nations have similar safeguards in place?)
The reason I ask is that I had this weird thought the other night (it's always the middle of the night when these things come to you, right? 
) that if we suffered a massive pandemic that decimated the population, there would be no one left to watch over all these complex things we have made. And wouldn't it be ironic if we disappeared and the planet started to heal from our treatment of it, only to suffer further damage from us as things like nuclear warheads went off long after we were gone?
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