Nuclear Age Cause And Effect.
                     NUCLEAR AGE CAUSE 
AND EFFECT
Introduction
• The Earth exploded into the nuclear age on 16 July 1945. On 
that day, the US tested a completely new type of weapon in the 
New Mexico desert. 
• Crafted from a tennis-ball-sized plutonium sphere, the Trinity 
bomb produced an explosion equivalent to 20,000 tonnes of 
TNT.
Source: www.newscientist.com
Nuclear technology for peaceful means
• Nuclear technology has also been used for peaceful means. 
The first nuclear reactor to provide electricity to a national grid 
opened in England in 1956. 
• Now, 442 reactors in 32 nations generate 16% of the world’s 
electricity.
Source: www.newscientist.com
Cause of Nuclear Age
• Sixty years on, tens of thousands of tonnes of plutonium and 
enriched uranium have been produced. 
• The global nuclear arsenal stands at about 27,000 bombs. Nine 
countries very probably possess nuclear weapons, while 40 
others have access to the materials and technology to make 
them.
Source: www.newscientist.com
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR AGE
Blast
• Nuclear explosions produce air-blast effects similar to those 
produced by conventional explosives. 
• The shock wave can directly injure humans by rupturing 
eardrums or lungs or by hurling people at high speed, but most 
casualties occur because of collapsing structures and flying 
debris.
Source: www.nap.edu
Thermal radiation
• Unlike conventional explosions, a single nuclear explosion can 
generate an intense pulse of thermal radiation that can start 
fires and burn skin over large areas. 
Source: www.nap.edu
Initial radiation
• Nuclear detonations release large amounts of neutron and 
gamma radiation. Relative to other effects, initial radiation is an 
important cause of casualties only for low-yield explosions
Source: www.nap.edu
Fallout
• When a nuclear detonation occurs close to the ground surface, 
soil mixes with the highly radioactive fission products from the 
weapon. 
• The debris is carried by the wind and falls back to Earth over a 
period of minutes to hours.
Source: www.nap.edu
Electromagnetic pulse
• A nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is the time-varying 
electromagnetic radiation resulting from a nuclear explosion. 
• The development of the EMP is shaped by the initial nuclear 
radiation from the explosion—specifically, the gamma 
radiation.
Source: www.britannica.com
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