# In general, what are the components of an A or H-bomb blast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715 "2011-05-04T17:19:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/1 "2011-05-04T17:19:53Z")
The [video of the "Tsar Bomb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwlNPhn64TAhttp://)" has very clear components of the initial visuals of the blast. :eek: ☹ I know about the mushroom cloud–that it _exists_, only, not _why_–but it has such a clear double-donut…what’s that? As well as the stuff billowing up from the ground, and I guess a shock wave emanating through the atmosphere? Thanks, Leo ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/2 "2011-05-04T17:30:52Z")
Here’s [one trusted source](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1299/why-does-an-atom-bomb-form-a-mushroom-cloud) on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/3 "2011-05-04T21:48:10Z")
Um, just so you know, that’s not a real video. It’s just an animation. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/4 "2011-05-05T06:32:40Z")
First, a mushroom cloud is a feature of most any ground explosion, its not unique to nuclear ones and is not caused by there, um, ‘nuclear-ness’. It just makes the mushroom cloud enormous. The three main components of a nuclear blast are: [ol] [li]Heat (again, common to any explosion)[/li][li]Blast or over pressure (also common)[/li][li]Radiation (unique to nuclear explosions)[/li][/ol] The ‘doughnut holes’ you see are atmospheric disturbances caused by the intensely fast & strong shockwave. Again, any explosion can cause these but the extreme power and size of a nuclear blast also makes them extremely large and visible. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/5 "2011-05-05T12:16:27Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > Um, just so you know, that’s not a real video. It’s just an animation. You’re right, but it was pretty well done. [I think this clip is the real deal.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfoQsZa8F1c&feature=related) > [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > The ‘doughnut holes’ you see are atmospheric disturbances caused by the intensely fast & strong shockwave. Again, any explosion can cause these but the extreme power and size of a nuclear blast also makes them extremely large and visible. More specifically: these are condensation of atmospheric humidity caused by a temperature _drop_ associated with the rarefaction wave immediately following the compressive shock wave. Instead of being a contiguous spherical surface, we see rings because of the different conditions at different altitudes in the atmosphere: at some levels the initial temperature and humidity are such that the blast wave does not cause condensation. Like the mushroom cloud, these condensation rings are not unique to nuclear explosions; they can happen in any explosion that produces a shock wave. A condensation front is visible emanating upwards during the first explosion at Fukushima ([here, at 0:24](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjx-JlwYtyE&feature=player_detailpage#t=23s)); note that this was a hydrogen _chemical_ explosion, not a nuclear explosion. It’s also visible in this photo from [Operation Sailor Hat,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sailor_Hat_Kn11352.jpeg) which was a half-kiloton conventional explosive test. Finally, I’ve also seen them during [footage of aerial bombing of the jungle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88jrZjsNHPc&feature=player_detailpage#t=35s) during the Vietnam war; these are ideal conditions for forming these condensation waves, i.e. very high relative humidity. Note that in the case of the [4.2 kiloton Minor Scale conventional-explosive test,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_Scale) which took place in the low-humidity environ of New Mexico, no condensation front is visible. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/6 "2011-05-05T14:13:59Z")
If that’s Tsar Bomba, it’s not very vivid footage, just because there isn’t much else you can see for context. I’m rather more impressed by the [Castle Bravo test](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd1IFjBNNVo), if only because you see so much more of the effects. Like the clouds melting. And the heat baking water from the trees miles away. And the shockwave. Edited to add: if you want to hear what an atomic bomb really sounds like, this video has the actual sound of the blast: [Operation Upshot-Knothole, shot Annie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmTvl6EJtxM). It’s pretty much a loud “pow!” Because of the distance from the detonation, it takes about 30 seconds to heard the blast after seeing the explosion. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-what-are-the-components-of-an-a-or-h-bomb-blast/580715/7 "2011-05-05T14:35:12Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I know about the mushroom cloud–that it _exists_, only, not _why_– More on [why mushroom clouds exist.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushroom_cloud)