The Effects of Nuclear Weapons |
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1-kiloton 1-megaton absorption air blast air burst amount atomic cloud attenuation ball of fire base surge beta particles blast wave body bomb residues building cause Chapter contaminated crater curve damage decay decrease depth detonation diffraction distance from ground dose rate dose received dynamic pressure effects emitted energy yield exposure factor fallout feet Figure fireball fission products flash burns frame gamma radiation gamma rays given ground zero Hiroshima ignition increase initial nuclear radiation injury isotope kilotons Mach material megaton mile from ground Nagasaki neutrons nuclear bomb nuclear explosion nuclei occurs peak overpressure plutonium positive phase pounds per square radiation dose radioactive range reflected residual nuclear radiation result roentgens roentgens per hour scale shielding shock front shock wave soil square inch steel strontium-90 structure surface burst temperature tests thermal energy thermal radiation thickness tion underwater burst velocity walls weapon wind
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Page 548 - FISSION PRODUCTS : A general term for the complex mixture of substances produced as a result of nuclear fission. A distinction should be made between these and the direct fission products or fission fragments which are formed by the actual splitting of the heavy-element nuclei.
Page 3 - Radioactivity The essential difference between atoms of different elements lies in the number of protons in the nucleus. A hydrogen atom, for example, contains only 1 proton ; a helium atom has 2 protons ; and a uranium atom has 92 protons. Although all the nuclei of a given element contain the same number of protons they may have different numbers of neutrons. The resulting atomic species, which have identical atomic numbers but which differ in their masses, are called "isotopes
Page 296 - For example, it is not possible to draw a sharp line of demarcation between...
Page 544 - ATOM: The smallest (or ultimate) particle of an element that still retains the characteristics of that element. Every atom consists of a positively charged central nucleus, which carries nearly all the mass of the atom, surrounded by a number of negatively charged electrons, so that the whole system is electrically neutral . (See Electron, Nucleus) ATOMIC BOMB (OR WEAPON): A term sometimes applied to a nuclear weapon utilizing fission energy only.
Page 552 - The number of protons determines the total positive charge, or atomic number; this is the same for all the atomic nuclei of a given chemical element. The total number of neutrons and protons, called the mass number, is closely related to the mass (or weight) of the atom. The nuclei of isotopes of a given element contain the same number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons. They thus have the same atomic number, and so are the same element, but they have different mass numbers (and masses)....
Page 24 - Commission handbook, states that "if only five per cent of a one megaton bomb's energy" is spent in scourging the earth with its fireball, "something like 20,000 tons of vaporized soil material will be added to the normal constituents of the fireball. In addition, the high winds of the earth's surface will cause large amounts of dirt, dust, and other particles to be sucked up as the ball of fire rises.
Page 471 - Vomiting and nausea in nearly all personnel on first day, followed by other symptoms of radiation sickness. About 20 percent deaths within 2 to 6 weeks after exposure; survivors convalescent for about 3 months.
Page 553 - Radioactivity. The spontaneous emission of radiation, generally alpha or beta particles, often accompanied by gamma rays, from the nuclei of an (unstable) isotope. As a result of this emission the radioactive isotope is converted (or decays) into the isotope of a different (daughter) element, which may or may not also be radioactive.
Page 546 - CONTAMINATION: The deposit of radioactive material on the surfaces of structures, areas, objects, or personnel, following a nuclear (or atomic) explosion. This material generally consists of fallout in which fission products and other weapon debris have become incorporated with particles of dirt, etc.
Page 547 - The term dose is often used in the sense of the exposure dose, expressed in roentgens, which is a measure of the total amount of ionization that the quantity of radiation could produce in air. This should be distinguished from the absorbed dose, given in reps or rads, which represents the energy absorbed from the radiation per gram of specified body tissue.