Effects of Nuclear Explosions - Other Phenomena

Other Phenomena

Gamma rays from the nuclear processes preceding the true explosion may be partially responsible for the following fireball, as they may superheat nearby air and/or other material. However, the vast majority of the energy that goes on to form the fireball is in the soft X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with these X-rays being produced by the inelastic collisions of the high speed fission and fusion products. It is these reaction products and not the gamma rays which primarily contain most of the energy of the nuclear reactions in the form of kinetic energy. This kinetic energy of the fission and fusion fragments is converted into internal and then radiation energy by approximately following the process of Blackbody radiation emitting in the soft X-ray region.

For an explosion in the atmosphere, the fireball quickly expands to maximum size, and then begins to cool as it rises like a balloon through bouyancy in the surrounding air. As it does so it takes on the flow pattern of a vortex ring with incandescent material in the vortex core as seen in certain photographs. This effect is known as a mushroom cloud.

Sand will fuse into glass if it is close enough to the nuclear fireball to be drawn into it, and is thus heated to the necessary temperatures to do so; this is known as trinitite.

At the explosion of nuclear bombs lightning discharges sometimes occur.

Smoke trails are often seen in photographs of nuclear explosions. These are not from the explosion itself; they are left by sounding rockets launched just prior to detonation. These trails allow observation of the blast's normally invisible shock wave in the moments following the explosion.

The heat and airborne debris created by a nuclear explosion can cause rain, debris is thought to do this by acting as Cloud condensation nuclei. During the city firestorm which followed the Hiroshima explosion, drops of water were recorded to have been about the size of marbles. This was termed black rain, and has served as the source of a book and film by the same name. Black rain is not unusual following large fires, and is commonly produced by pyrocumulus clouds during large forest fires. The rain at Hiroshima on that day also carried with it nuclear weapon debris or fallout, as well as soot particles from the city firestorm.

The element einsteinium was discovered when analyzing nuclear fallout.

A side-effect of the Pascal-B nuclear test during Operation Plumbbob may have resulted in the first man-made object launched into space. The so-called "thunder well" effect from the underground explosion may have launched a metal cover plate into space at six times earth's escape velocity, although the evidence remains subject to debate.