What is a nuclear blast and what are the effects of such a blast?
A nuclear blast, produced by explosion of a nuclear weapon (sometimes called a nuclear detonation), involves the joining or splitting of atoms (called fusion and fission) to produce an intense pulse or wave of heat, light, air pressure and radiation. The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II produced nuclear blasts. People may experience two types of exposure from radioactive materials from a nuclear blast:External and internal exposure. External exposure would occur when people are exposed to radiation outside of their bodies from the blast or its fallout.Internal exposure would occur when people eat food or breathe air contaminated with radioactive fallout.Both internal and external exposure from fallout could occur miles away from the blast site. Exposure to very large doses ofexternal radiation may cause death within a few days or months. External exposure to lower doses of radiation and internal exposure from breathing or eating food contaminat
