How Does A Nuclear Bomb Work?
A nuclear explosion occurs from the energy that is released when a radioactive material is split (a process called fission). Radioactive materials can include Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239. The force of a nuclear bomb is measured in terms of the number of kilotons (Kt) of the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) that it would take to recreate the same blast.
The energy that is produced by a nuclear explosion can be seen through the fireball, blast forces and waves, heat and light energy, radiation and delayed radiation. Sources 1, 2 and 3 demonstrate these effects.
The explosion of a nuclear bomb creates a significant amount of radiation, including electromagnetic radiation (ultraviolet, infrared, visible, gamma and x-ray), and particulate radiation (alpha and beta particles, and neutrons).
Figure 1 - Nuclear weapon explosion effects. Source: Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute's Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation Course on CD-ROM (1999)
Figure 2 - General patterns of damage from a 10-Kt nuclear explosion on the ground. Source: The National Academies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Figure 3 - Damage zones after a nuclear detonation. Source: Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, Second edition, 6/2010
Figure 2 - General patterns of damage from a 10-Kt nuclear explosion on the ground. Source: The National Academies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Figure 3 - Damage zones after a nuclear detonation. Source: Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, Second edition, 6/2010