Effects of Nuclear Weapons (original) (raw)

The photo sequence below shows a wood-frame house exposed to a nuclear blast at the Nevada Test Site. The test was Upshot-Knothole Annie, a 16 Kt tower shot, on 17 March 1953. The house is 1100 meters from ground zero.

The exposure to thermal radiation was 25 cal/cm^2, about one-quarter of that experienced at ground zero in Hiroshima.

The blast over pressure was 5 psi, and the blast wave created surface winds of 160 mph.

This shows the famous "shadow effect" - the discoloration caused by intense flash heating sihouetting undamaged surfaces that were in shadow. "Shadows" can be either dark, like normal shadows, if the heat caused bleaching of the surrounding area (common with pigmented paints); or light, if the surrounding area is darkened (e.g. by charring).

Dark-on-light flash shadow of valve 2.1 km from ground zero in Hiroshima.