Atomic mushroom. If you see a mushroom, run. What to do after a nuclear explosion? See what “Nuclear mushroom” is in other dictionaries

Unique archival footage of nuclear bomb tests from all over the planet.
It’s scary to imagine the consequences of this test.
A mushroom cloud with a column of water instead of a dust stalk. To the right, a hole is visible on the pillar: the battleship Arkansas covered the emission of splashes. Baker test, charge power - 23 kilotons of TNT, July 25, 1946.

Baker explosion, showing the white surface of water disturbed by an air shock wave, and the top of a hollow column of spray that formed a hemispherical Wilson cloud. In the background is the shore of Bikini Atoll, July 1946.

An aerial view of the Able nuclear mushroom rising from the Bikini Atoll lagoon, visible in the background. The cloud carried radioactive contamination into the stratosphere, 23 kilotons, July 1, 1946.

Operation Greenhouse - the fifth series of American nuclear tests and the second of them for 1951. The operation tested nuclear warhead designs using nuclear fusion to increase energy output. In addition, the impact of the explosion on structures, including residential buildings, factory buildings and bunkers, was studied. The operation was carried out at the Pacific nuclear test site. All devices were detonated on high metal towers, simulating an air explosion. George explosion, 225 kilotons, May 9, 1951.

The explosion of the American thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb “Mike” with a power of 10.4 megatons. November 1, 1952

AN602 (aka “Tsar Bomba”, aka “Kuzka’s Mother”) is a thermonuclear aerial bomb developed in the USSR in 1954-1961. a group of nuclear physicists under the leadership of Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences I.V. Kurchatov. The most powerful explosive device in the history of mankind. According to various sources, it had from 57 to 58.6 megatons of TNT equivalent. The bomb was tested on October 30, 1961.

One of the most powerful explosions of a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb in the US account was Operation Castle Bravo. The charge power was 10 megatons. The explosion took place on March 1, 1954 at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands.

Project Dominic – a series of tests nuclear weapons, consisting of 105 explosions. During the Dominic project, the last atmospheric nuclear explosions were carried out in the United States, since on August 5, 1963, a treaty was signed between the USSR, the USA and Great Britain banning nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, outer space and under water. The photograph shows the explosion of the Truckee thermonuclear bomb, which was part of the Dominic project. Charge power - 210 kilotons. The date of the explosion was June 9, 1969.

Destruction of a building located 1 kilometer from the epicenter of a nuclear explosion, March 17, 1953. The time from the 1st to the last frame is 2.3 seconds. The chamber was placed in a lead shell 5 centimeters thick to protect it from radiation.

MET explosion carried out as part of Operation Thipot. It is noteworthy that the MET explosion was comparable in power to the Fat Man plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki. April 15, 1955, 22 kt.

200 meter cloud over Frenchman Flat after the Teapot "MET" explosion on April 15, 1955, 22 ct. This projectile had a rare uranium-233 core.

In recent days, everyone has been discussing whether the third world war will begin between the USA and Russia or not. In the media and social networks you constantly come across materials about the coming “nuclear apocalypse”, which in turn provokes attacks of fear and hysteria in many. Over the past years, we have already forgotten the warning signals, and the younger generation knows about the threat only by computer games. Life tells what to do if a nuclear mushroom appears on the horizon.

This is, of course, not the Cuban Missile Crisis, but the degree of paranoia in the air has increased sharply. And although no one promises to turn other countries into “nuclear ashes,” there are still enough reasons. The latest of these is the US threat to launch a missile strike on Syria.

The atomic threat has already been largely erased from people's memory. Hardly anyone will now say what one long beep and two short beeps mean, or will quickly answer where the nearest bomb shelter is located. The nuclear mushroom on the horizon has become something like a zombie apocalypse - pure fantasy from books about stalkers and the third world war. We imagined how a reader of such literature would survive after a real nuclear strike.

First day

The threat of nuclear war was a tempting prospect for me. “Battles with marauders”, “survival in radioactive forests”, “clashes with mutants” - this sounded even cooler than a “zombie apocalypse”. I went online, found out that if something happened, Washington would start bombing cities at six o’clock in the evening, and read what products to take. I went to the dacha and took my grandfather’s cartridges - in the event of an apocalypse, they will become the most valuable resource. In addition, I purchased a pistol through an anonymous browser. In addition, I bought a used car so that after the explosion I could go into the forest.

Valuable tips:

• The need to take weapons and ammunition with you is one of the most common myths about the nuclear apocalypse. Marauders and even more so mutants are nothing more than a figment of the imagination of writers. If you take weapons and ammunition with you, you will have to part with them at the first checkpoint.
• Instead of filling your backpack with pasta, take as many medications as possible. You will need antibiotics, insulin, and a variety of wound care products. Please note: you will not be able to obtain truly effective anti-radiation agents in advance. Drinking iodine, as most guides advise, is also not worth it, except for self-soothing.

Day two

Still from the film “The Book of Eli” / © Kinopoisk

A huge nuclear mushroom appeared on the horizon. I admired it from the window of my house, then quickly grabbed my backpack and went down to the garage. He turned on the car and drove into the forests to survive.

Valuable tips:

• You will hardly need transport. And in the forest you definitely won’t be able to hide from the explosion (and subsequent radioactive fallout). If after the explosion you find yourself far from the affected area, then the car, of course, will help. However, a pre-prepared car in the garage of your home is not the most useful thing. In the first hours after the explosion, it is better to sit at home. If the glass has survived, then simply post a signal for help and wait. You need to wait about three days - during this time the radioactive background will significantly decrease.
• The walls of the house do a good job of weakening radiation contamination. Prepare clothing that is as closed as possible and try to assess the situation. Don't panic. Turn on the TV and try to understand what happened - an explosion at a nuclear power plant, a terrorist attack, or a third one has begun world war. After that, wait for rescuers or the military. Only they really know what needs to be done. It’s best not to believe memos that have been floating around the Internet for decades and guides from stalker forums. Only the military has valid manuals, and they are not suitable for civilians.
• It’s better not to look at the “mushroom” - you can get a burn to the retina.
• Don’t count too much on mobile communications - if the third world war breaks out, you most likely won’t have access to it.

Still from the film "The Road"/ © Kinopoisk

Valuable tips:

• Not all metro stations are suitable. You need deep stations that have retractable doors and a good ventilation system. Among the deep stations we can note "Admiralteyskaya" in St. Petersburg and the "Park Pobedy" station in Moscow. The metro may indeed be more useful than a bomb shelter, since it is regularly inspected. But staying in the subway for a long time is also not recommended. When the background subsides, try to leave the affected area. In this case, it is better to move underground - reduce your stay on the surface to a minimum.
• Once again: there is no need to go or run anywhere. Try to figure out which explosion zone you are in.

Still from the film "The Road"/ © Kinopoisk

Valuable tips:

• Don't expect your life in a bomb shelter to be filled with dramatic events. Kitchen, toilet, bedroom - this is your route for the next couple of weeks.
• The main entertainment is, of course, information from outside. Bomb shelters are equipped (if you're lucky) with communication points.
• Despite the nervous situation, it is better not to run around the bomb shelter, so as not to increase the production of carbon dioxide.

Still from the film "The Road"/ © Kinopoisk

Day ten

We rose to the surface for the first time. Now the adventures should definitely begin: searching for food, hunting, fighting with marauders.

• If you still have to look for food, then do it as far as possible from the affected area. We are talking about 100 kilometers from the epicenter of a nuclear explosion. Forget about hunting cats and dogs - the simpler the food, the less nuclides it contains. Therefore, it is better to get by with plant foods. But in general, of course, it is wiser not to get food, but to eat exclusively canned food.
• It's best to stay with the military as long as possible. The military will assemble buses for emergency evacuation of people. After transfer to the tent camp, you will need to change clothes and undergo disinfection. If the dose of radiation received is too high, you will be sent to hospital. In addition, you need to obtain anti-radiation medications.
• If the third world war begins, they will come for you from the military registration and enlistment office. The rest will wait to be transferred to the rear.
• In the event of a single explosion, you will be transferred to children's camps and rest homes for temporary accommodation.

nuclear mushroom- a mushroom cloud that appears after a nuclear or thermonuclear explosion, also called a radioactive cloud. So named because of the similarity of the shape to that of the fruiting body of mushrooms. A mushroom cloud is formed in all above-ground nuclear explosions, but this is not a distinctive feature of a nuclear explosion. A mushroom cloud is formed during ordinary explosions of sufficient power, during volcanic eruptions, strong fires and meteorite falls.

Physics of the phenomenon

Mushroom cloud.svg

Diagram of air flows in a mushroom

The height of the nuclear mushroom depending on the power of the explosion

The formation of a nuclear mushroom is the result of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability that occurs when a dust cloud rises. The air heated by the explosion rises, spins into a ring-shaped vortex and pulls a “leg” - a column of dust and smoke from the surface of the earth. Along the edges of the vortex, the air cools, becoming similar to an ordinary cloud due to the condensation of water vapor.

The “nuclear mushroom” after the end of the ascent is a mushroom-shaped cumulonimbus cloud that is highly developed in height, its top reaches a height of 15-20 km with an explosion power of about 1 megaton. After an explosion of sufficiently large power, heavy rains fall from the cloud, which can extinguish some of the ground fires along the path of the cloud.

A radioactive cloud poses a particular danger after a nuclear or thermonuclear explosion, especially on land. Dust particles containing radioactive substances become condensation nuclei. As a result, water vapor settles on them, and, as the cloud rises and cools, drops of water quickly form, falling to the ground in the form of radioactive rain, hail, snow, etc. The fallout of a nuclear mushroom cloud is a source of radioactive contamination and poses a threat to the living creatures.

A nuclear cloud does not form in all types of nuclear explosions. During space, high-altitude, underwater and deep underground (camouflage) nuclear explosions, a mushroom cloud does not form.

Image in culture

In modern culture, the nuclear mushroom is the most commonly used symbol of nuclear war.

Write a review about the article "Nuclear Mushroom"

Links

An excerpt characterizing the nuclear mushroom

Unique archival footage of nuclear bomb tests from all over the planet. It’s scary to imagine the consequences of this test.

A mushroom cloud with a column of water instead of a dust stalk. To the right, a hole is visible on the pillar: the battleship Arkansas covered the emission of splashes. Baker test, charge power - 23 kilotons of TNT, July 25, 1946.

An aerial view of the Able nuclear mushroom rising from the Bikini Atoll lagoon, visible in the background. The cloud carried radioactive contamination into the stratosphere, 23 kilotons, July 1, 1946.

Operation Greenhouse was the fifth series of American nuclear tests and the second of them in 1951. The operation tested nuclear warhead designs using nuclear fusion to increase energy output. In addition, the impact of the explosion on structures, including residential buildings, factory buildings and bunkers, was studied. The operation was carried out at the Pacific nuclear test site. All devices were detonated on high metal towers, simulating an air explosion. George explosion, 225 kilotons, May 9, 1951.

The explosion of the American thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb “Mike” with a power of 10.4 megatons. November 1, 1952

AN602 (aka “Tsar Bomba”, aka “Kuzka’s Mother”) is a thermonuclear aerial bomb developed in the USSR in 1954-1961. a group of nuclear physicists under the leadership of Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences I.V. Kurchatov. The most powerful explosive device in the history of mankind. According to various sources, it had from 57 to 58.6 megatons of TNT equivalent. The bomb was tested on October 30, 1961.

One of the most powerful explosions of a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb in the US account was Operation Castle Bravo. The charge power was 10 megatons. The explosion took place on March 1, 1954 at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands.

Project Dominic is a series of nuclear weapons tests consisting of 105 explosions. During the Dominic project, the last atmospheric nuclear explosions were carried out in the United States, since on August 5, 1963, a treaty was signed between the USSR, the USA and Great Britain banning nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, outer space and under water. The photograph shows the explosion of the Truckee thermonuclear bomb, which was part of the Dominic project. Charge power - 210 kilotons. The date of the explosion was June 9, 1969.

Destruction of a building located 1 kilometer from the epicenter of a nuclear explosion, March 17, 1953. The time from the 1st to the last frame is 2.3 seconds. The chamber was placed in a lead shell 5 centimeters thick to protect it from radiation.

MET explosion carried out as part of Operation Thipot. It is noteworthy that the MET explosion was comparable in power to the Fat Man plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki. April 15, 1955, 22 kt.

200 meter cloud over Frenchman Flat after the Teapot "MET" explosion on April 15, 1955, 22 ct. This projectile had a rare uranium-233 core.

Operation Castle Romeo was one of the most powerful thermonuclear bomb explosions carried out by the United States. Bikini Atoll, March 27, 1954, 11 megatons.

“Rhea” is one of the most powerful thermonuclear bomb explosions produced by France. Charge power - 955 kilotons. August 14, 1971, Mururoa Atoll.

Another view of the Ray explosion. Charge power - 955 kilotons. August 14, 1971, Mururoa Atoll.

It would be better, of course, to never know what a nuclear mushroom is. This radioactive cloud is named this way because of the external resemblance noticed by scientists to the fruiting bodies of ordinary mushrooms that can be found and collected in the forest. But mushrooms in the folk art of various countries are symbols of fertility and vital energy. A nuclear mushroom, on the contrary, is a symbol of destruction and war.

However, a mushroom cloud is not only a distinctive property of nuclear and thermonuclear explosions that occurred on earth. It is also formed during other, non-nuclear explosions of sufficient power, as well as during the eruptions of large volcanoes, during severe fires or when meteorites fall on the ground. Its height directly depends on the power of the explosion or impact that occurred or was produced, and on the quality of the filling: the substances used in the process.

Characteristics

How is it formed and how is this phenomenon characterized? A nuclear mushroom is formed when a dust cloud rises from the surface of the earth. In this case, the air, heated by the explosion to a certain level, tends upward and swirls in a ring-shaped vortex. The whirlwind pulls upward the “leg” of the mushroom, which consists of dust and smoky masses and looks like a column. And on the sides of the formed vortex, the air is already cooled and resembles a very ordinary cloud (steam condensation occurs into water droplets) or a “mushroom cap”. Accompanying the terrestrial mushroom is thus one of the consequences of his work. It is characteristic that when an explosion is carried out on water or in the air, a similar phenomenon does not occur.

Nuclear explosion mushroom

What happens after the end of the rise of dust and smoke from the surface of the earth? A nuclear mushroom is already a cumulus rain cloud that has grown greatly in height. It naturally has a mushroom shape (cap and stem). It is known that with a powerful explosion (up to a megaton), it can be up to 20 kilometers in height! From this cloud, if the explosion was of sufficient power, rains usually fall that can extinguish the fires that arose as a result of the explosion.

Radioactive cloud

It represents the greatest danger immediately after an explosion, nuclear or thermonuclear, carried out on the ground. Particles of radioactive dust containing act as condensates. And water vapor settles on them, concentrating around them in drops. The cloud rises and cools. Droplets of water form inside, which fall down onto the soil as radioactive rain (snow and hail are possible). Such precipitation falling from a radioactive mushroom cloud can cause significant harm to the national economy and pose a threat to all living things.

When is it formed

A nuclear mushroom, as already mentioned, does not occur in all types of nuclear or thermonuclear explosions. If they were carried out, for example, in outer space, deep underground or under water, as well as in the earth's atmosphere, then neither a mushroom nor a cloud will form.

Ominous symbol

In modern literature and art, the nuclear mushroom is identified with an ominous symbol of war, and its image is included in some world paintings as the embodiment of evil and a threat to everything living on planet Earth. In the fantastic literary works and films describing the future of the Earth after nuclear wars, this symbol is used by the authors quite often, and always in a negative and ominous sense. After all, nuclear evil has no future, but only ruins and a past that is remembered by people who survived the disasters.