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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