Nuclear explosion - Nuclear explosion A nuclear explosion (nuclear detonation) can be caused by a nuclear weapon. Nuclear explosions are associated with "mushroom clouds" although mushroom clouds can occur with ground based chemical explosions and it is possible to have an air burst nuclear explosion without these clouds. Nuclear explosions produce large amounts of radiation and can also produce large amounts of radioactive materials. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Effects of a nuclear weapon 1.1 Blast Damage 1.2 Thermal radiation 1.3 Electromagnetic pulse 1.4 Radiation 1.5 Nuclear fallout 1.5.1 Fission Products 1.5.2 Unfissioned Nuclear Material 1.5.3 Neutron-Induced Activity 1.5.4 Worldwide Fallout 1.5.5 Local Fallout 1.5.6 Meteorological Effects 1.5.7 Median Lethal Dose (LD50) 2 References 2.6 External Links Effects of a nuclear weapon The energy released from a nuclear weapon.
Indian Point nuclear power plant - Indian Point nuclear power plant The Indian Point nuclear power plant is located in Buchanan, New York just south of Peekskill, New York on the banks of the Hudson River approximately 35 miles north of New York City. The plant, which includes two operating nuclear reactors, is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation; Entergy also owns the intact decommissioned Indian Point 1 reactor and several on-site gas turbines. Activists have been calling for the shutdown of Indian Point since 1979 when a near meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania demonstrated the possible dangers of placing nuclear reactors near areas of heavy population density. Since September 11, 2001 there has been renewed interest in mothballing the plant. The thirty.
History of nuclear weapons - History of nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is a weapon of enormous destructive potential, deriving its energy from nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reactions. These weapons were initially developed in the United States during World War II in the Manhattan Project. A considerable amount of international negotiating has focused on the threat of nuclear warfare and the proliferation of nuclear weapons to new nations or groups. This article discusses the historical development of nuclear weapons. Related articles include: nuclear weapons, nuclear weapon design, nuclear explosion, nuclear warfare, nuclear proliferation, nuclear strategy, nuclear reactor, Manhattan Project, Los Alamos National Laboratory Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Development 2 World War II 3 Cold War 4 Hydrogen bomb 5 Other countries with nuclear weapons 6 Nuclear test explosions 7 See.
Explosion - Explosion An explosion is a sudden release of mechanical, chemical, or nuclear energy in a violent manner, usually with the generation of high temperature and the release of gases. An explosion causes pressure waves in the local medium in which it occurs. Explosions are categorized as deflagrations if these waves are subsonic and detonations if they are supersonic (shock waves). Most common artificial explosives are chemical explosives, usually involving a rapid and violent oxidation reaction that produces large amounts of hot gas. Gunpowder was the first explosive to be discovered and put to use. Other notable early developments in chemical explosive technology were Abel's invention of nitrocellulose (guncotton) in 1865 and Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite (stabilized nitroglycerin). See the article on explosive material for more.
Springfield Nuclear Powerplant - Springfield Nuclear Powerplant In the television cartoon series The Simpsons, the fictional Springfield Nuclear Powerplant, owned by Charles Montgomery Burns, employs Homer Simpson, Waylon Smithers, Lenny, Mindy Simmons and Carl Carlson. Frank Grimes (aka Homer's Enemy) once worked at the plant. Aristotle Amadopolis owns the Shelbyville Nuclear Powerplant, SNPP's chief rival institution. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Employees 2 Other characters 3 Other powerplants in The Simpsons Employees Waylon Smithers (voiced by Harry Shearer) is Montgomery Burns' adoring henchman. There has been much speculation about the relationship between Burns and Smithers, and Smithers' sexuality in particular. This has now been compounded by the tendency of Simpsons writers to emphasise Smithers' sexual orientation to the extent that he is probably the first overtly gay cartoon icon (though he.
Nuclear fusion - Nuclear fusion In physics, nuclear fusion (a thermonuclear reaction) is a process in which two nuclei join to form a larger nucleus, thereby giving off energy. Nuclear fusion is the energy source which causes stars to "shine", and hydrogen bombss to explode. Any two nuclei can be forced to fuse with enough energy. When lighter nuclei fuse, the resulting nucleon has too many neutrons to be stable, and the neutron is ejected with high energy. Most lighter nuclei will produce more energy than initially required to cause them to fuse, making the reaction exothermic and chain or transiently self-sustaining, and generating net power. For the opposite case, heavy nuclei with too few neutrons are also unstable and lead to nuclear fission. Unlike fusion however, fission reactions.
Nuclear weapon - Nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is a weapon deriving its energy from nuclear reactions. These weapons have enormous destructive potential and are posessed by only a handful of nations. They have been used only twice in combat, by the United States against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the conclusion of World War II. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Types of weapons 1.1 Advanced Thermonuclear Weapons Designs 2 Effects of a nuclear explosion 2.2 Blast Damage 2.3 Thermal radiation 2.4 Electromagnetic pulse 2.5 Radiation 2.6 Nuclear fallout 3 Weapons delivery 4 Nuclear weapons in culture 5 Related articles 6 References 6.7.
Nuclear fission - Nuclear fission In physics, fission is a nuclear process in which a heavier unstable nucleus divides or splits into two or more lighter nuclei, with the release of substantial amounts of energy. When a free neutron of the proper energy is captured by the nucleus of a fissionable atom, the resulting unstable nucleus will split producing two or more fission products (atomic nuclei of different elements formed from the protons and neutrons originally comprising the nucleus before its fission), two or three free neutrons and a tremendous amount of energy. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Introduction 2 Critical Mass 3 Moderators 4 Reduction of non-fission capture by isotope separation 5 Production and purification of materials 6 Control - Weapons or Power? 7 History Introduction Atomic nuclei.
Nuclear fallout - Nuclear fallout Fallout is radioactive dust created when a nuclear weapon explodes. A nuclear explosion vaporizes any material within the fireball, including the ground if it is nearby. In water, the minerals (including sodium in ocean water) are made radioactive by neutrons from the bomb core. Fallout from seawater is unusually dangerous because it is difficult to remove by washing. When this material condenses in the cloud, it forms dust and light sandy material that resembles ground pumice. In the case of seawater, it forms a heavy fog from the base of the mushroom cloud (the "base surge"). This highly irradiated material then falls to earth. The fallout behaves much like thousands of tiny x-ray machines, emitting gamma rays in all directions. A fallout shelter is.
Nuclear bunker buster - Nuclear bunker buster Bunker-busting nuclear weapons are a proposed type of nuclear weapon that would be designed to penetrate into soil, rock or concrete to deliver a low-yield nuclear warhead. These weapons would be used to destroy hardended, underground military bunkers buried deep in the ground usually under 25 to 100 meters or more of concrete. "Bunker-buster nukes" as they are called, would, in theory, limit the amount of radioactive nuclear fallout by confining the explosion underground. Some have argued in peer-reviewed journals that even a low yield underground blast would at least shoot fallout through its entry hole (Roman candle-style), contaminate water supplies for centuries and if detonated beneath a highly populated area would lead to tens of thousands of eventual deaths. Others state that.
Nuclear pulse propulsion - Nuclear pulse propulsion Nuclear pulse propulsion (or External Pulsed Plasma Propulsion, as it is termed in recent NASA documents) is a proposed method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust. It was briefly developed as Project Orion by ARPA. It was invented by Stanislaw Ulam in 1957, and is the invention of which he was most proud. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Capabilities 2 Design 3 Problems 4 Medusa 5 The Plumbbob Test 5.1 Reference: Capabilities Calculations show that this form of rocket would combine both high thrust and a high specific impulse, a rarity in rocket design. Specific impulses from 2000 (easy, yet ten times chemical specific impulses) to 100,000 (requires specialized nuclear explosives and spacecraft design) are possible, with thrusts in the.
Nuclear meltdown - Nuclear meltdown A nuclear meltdown occurs when the core of a nuclear reactor melts. In pressurized water reactors, boiling water reactors, and breeder reactors, this can occur after a loss of coolant accident in which emergency cooling systems fail. Although the emergency systems are designed to reinsert the control rods and stop the fission reaction in the event of an emergency, radioactive decay from the reaction products will continue to generate heat in the absence of coolant and fission reactions. This heat will cause the reactor core to melt within an hour after coolant is stopped. What happens at this point is the subject of conjecture and, perhaps fortunately, little actual experience. The worst case scenario would be if the molten reactor core penetrates the containment.
Nuclear weapon design - Nuclear weapon design Nuclear weapon designs are often divided into two classes, based on the dominant source of the nuclear weapon's energy. Fission bombs derive their power from nuclear fission, where heavy nuclei (uranium or plutonium) split into lighter elements when bombarded by neutrons (produce more neutrons which bombard other nuclei, triggering a chain reaction). These are historically called atom bombs or A-bombs, though this name is not precise due to the fact that chemical reactions release energy from atomic bonds and fusion is no less atomic than fission. Despite this possible confusion, the term atom bomb has still been generally accepted to refer specifically to nuclear weapons, and most commonly to pure fission devices. Fusion bombs are based on nuclear fusion where light nuclei such.
Nuclear artillery - Nuclear artillery Shortly after the development of the first atomic bombs the USA and the USSR began investigations into devices with limited yield that could by used in sub-strategic situations, even tactically. This developed into a number of short-range delivery systems and low yield warheads from the late 1950s onwards. The weapons included landmines, depth charges, torpedoes, demolition munitions and artillery shells. US nuclear artillery Operation Upshot/Knothole, a 1953 test of a nuclear artillery projectile at Nevada Test Site (photo depicts 280 mm gun and explosion) The US development resulted in a number of test weapons. The first artillery test was on May 25, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site. Fired as part of Operation Upshot-Knothole and codenamed Shot GRABLE a 280 mm shell with a.
Nuclear testing - Nuclear testing A nuclear test explosion is an experiment using a nuclear weapon to observe its actual (not just theoretical) destructive power. It may also be a demonstration of the possessing nation's strength. (See North Korea nuclear weapons program) The United States successfully detonated the first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike" ["m" for megaton], at Eniwetok island in the Bikini atoll on November 1, 1952. The Soviet Union detonated a 50 megaton yield hydrogen bomb over Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961 (this is still the largest nuclear device to ever be detonated). The U.S estimated the yield to be 57 megatons, which was the figure circulated by the Soviet Union after the test. There have been around 2,000 nuclear test explosions: U.S: 1,030 tests (involving 1,125.
Krzysztof Penderecki - string instruments. In it, Penderecki makes used of extended instrumental techniques (for example, playing on the wrong side of the bridge, bowing on the tailpiece), and creates novel textures. He makes great use of tone clusters (notes close together played at the same time) to evoke the effects and aftermath of a nuclear bomb explosion. The St. Luke Passion (1963-66) brought Penderecki popular acclaim. Various different styles can be seen at work. The experimental textures such as were seen in the Threnody are balanced by the baroque form of the work and the more traditional harmonies seen in places. The Stabat Mater section ends on a simple major chord. Penderecki makes use of serialism in this piece, and the tone row he uses includes the BACH motif, which acts as a.
January 14 - to travel via airplane while in office (Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill to discuss World War II). 1951 - The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles, California). 1952 - The Today show premieres on NBC. 1954 - The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator forming the American Motors Corporation. 1963 - George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. 1969 - An explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 25. 1970 - Sato Eisaku is elected to his third term as Prime Minister of Japan. 1973 - Super Bowl VII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins become the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season. 1972 - Queen Margaret II of Denmark's accession to the throne. 1972.
Journalism fraud - story, "Jimmy's World", about an 8 year old heroin addict, won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. Shortly afterwards, Cooke confessed that "Jimmy" was in fact a composite of several child addicts, and returned her Pulitzer and resigned from the Post. NBC Dateline (1992) In a November 1992 segment on its Dateline news program called "Waiting to Explode", NBC showed a General Motors truck exploding after a low-speed side collision with another car. The explosion, though, was actually generated by hidden remote-controlled incendiary devices. GM sued and eventually won a settlement. Stephen Glass (1998) Stephen Glass was a reporter and associate editor for The New Republic magazine during the late 1990s. On May 8, 1998, Forbes Magazine presented The New Republic with evidence that Glass completely fabricated the story "Hack Heaven", a.
Immortality - immortality 4 The freedom from concerns of annihilation and death is insufficient for immortality 5 When talk of a "soul" arises 6 Religion Types of immortality Quantum immortality is the name for the speculation that the Everett many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that a conscious being cannot cease to be. The idea is highly controversial. Suppose a physicist detonates a nuclear bomb next to him. In almost all parallel universes, the nuclear explosion would vaporize the physicist. However, there is a small set of alternate universes in which the physicist somehow survives. The idea behind quantum immortality is that the physicist would only be able to experience the universes in which he survives, even though they may be a small subset of the possible universes. In this way, the physicist.
Ireland in the 20th Century - World War II ends after six years of violence. Winston Churchill attacks Irish neutrality. An Taoiseach Eamon de Valera defends the Irish position. Sean T. O'Kelly is elected the second President of Ireland. Nationalist Eoin MacNeill dies. Irish tenor Count John McCormack dies. Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the state transport service, begins. The National Stud is established in Kildare. The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Cork (football) 1946 The population of Éire is 2,955,000. Éire's application to join the United Nations is vetoed by the Soviet Union. Clann na Poblachta is founded by Sean MacBride. Bord na Móna is established. The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football) 1947 Shannon Airport becomes a duty-free area. The All-Ireland Football Final takes place in the Polo Grounds, New York. Cavan beat.
