Nuclear Explosion - Effects of Nuclear Explosions

Effects of Nuclear Explosions

The dominant effects of a nuclear weapon (the blast and thermal radiation) are the same physical damage mechanisms as conventional explosives, but the energy produced by a nuclear explosive is millions of times more per gram and the temperatures reached are in the tens of megakelvins. Nuclear weapons are quite different from regular weapons because of the huge amount of explosive energy they can put out and the different kinds of effects they make, like high temperatures and nuclear radiation.

The devastating impact of the explosion does not stop after the initial blast, as with regular explosives. A cloud of nuclear radiation travels from the epicenter of the explosion, causing an impact to lifeforms even after the heat waves have ceased. The radiation can cause genetic mutation, radiation poisoning, and death.

Read more about this topic:  Nuclear Explosion

Famous quotes containing the words effects of, effects, nuclear and/or explosions:

    Like the effects of industrial pollution ... the AIDS crisis is evidence of a world in which nothing important is regional, local, limited; in which everything that can circulate does, and every problem is, or is destined to become, worldwide.
    Susan Sontag (b. 1933)

    The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.
    Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)

    The emotional security and political stability in this country entitle us to be a nuclear power.
    Ronald, Sir Mason (b. 1930)

    Our Lamaze instructor . . . assured our class . . . that our cervix muscles would become “naturally numb” as they swelled and stretched, and deep breathing would turn the final explosions of pain into “manageable discomfort.” This descriptions turned out to be as accurate as, say a steward advising passengers aboard the Titanic to prepare for a brisk but bracing swim.
    Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)