Atomic Bomb

The firs atomic bomb exploded on July 16, 1945, near
Alamogordo, New Mexico. It produced an explosion equal to
that of 17,000 tons of TNT. It was then dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The fact that a single plane
could deliver such a destructive device revolutionized
warfare and ushered in the Atomic Age. 

The blast of an atomic bomb releases a large amount of
explosive power. The blast waves move through air at speeds
greater than the speed of sound. As they move away from the
point of the explosion, they create high pressure in the
atmosphere This pressure knocks down buildings and produces
great destruction. 

In addition to the blast effect, the bomb produces a
glowing ball of fire that may reach temperatures of
millions of degrees. The radiant energy produces in the
fireball travels out from point zero with the speed of
light. It includes ultraviolet and infrared rays
 
Atomic bombs emit radiation which are deadly. Radiation
released at the time of the explosion is called prompt
radiation and the type that is released after the blast is
called delayed radiation, or fallout. Prompt radiation
issues both neutrons and gamma rays (high energy rays
similar to X rays).
 
Fallout from an atomic bomb may occur swoon after the bomb
explodes, or it may be delayed for weeks, months,or even
years. When an atomic explodes near the earth's surface,
dirt is sucked into the fireball This dirt becomes coated
with radioactive fission fragments and is carried aloft in
the bomb cloud. The radioactive debris drifts back to earth
after the explosion. Some atomic bombs are detonated in the
air. In such cases, very little dust rises into the
fireball. But the radioactive fission fragments are swept
up into the bomb cloud. Depending on the size of the
explosion and the height to which the cloud rises, the
fission fragment may be scattered in the troposphere, the
lower air, or in the stratosphere, the upper air. Debris
scatters in the troposphere descends to earth as fallout
within a month after the blast. Stratospheric fallout may
not fall to earth for years.