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Weapons of Mass Destruction

General

The term “ nuclear, bacteriological, chemical weapons ” (NBC) and “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD) can be used interchangeably. The use of the WMD can have an enormous impact on the conduct of all operations. In general an explosion is the very rapid release of a large amount of energy in short interval of time within a limited space. The liberation of this energy is accompanied by a considerable increase of temperature, so that the products of the explosion become extremely hot gases. They move outward with great force pushing away the surrounding medium - air, water, or earth. The term “ blast wave ” is used for the effect in the air because it resembles a very strong wind. In water or under ground the effect is referred to as “ shock wave ” because it is like a sudden impact. The atomic or nuclear bomb (A-bomb) is similar to the more conventional or high explosive type of bomb in destructive action. However, in a nuclear explosion a fairly large proportion of the energy is emitted in the form of light and heat, generally referred to as “ thermal radiation ”. The very high temperatures attained in a nuclear explosion result in the formation of a fireball. The thermal radiation falling on exposed skin can cause what are called flash burns. An exploding nuclear bomb releases penetrating nuclear radiation. The highly penetrating and harmful invisible rays are called “ prompt nuclear radiation ”. The prompt radiation consists of an instantaneous burst of neutrons and gamma rays, which travel over an area of several square miles. Gamma rays are identical in effect to X-rays. The residual nuclear radiation, generally known as fallout, can be a hazard over very large areas that are completely free from other effects of a nuclear explosion. Two distinct categories of fallout, namely, early and delayed, are known. If a nuclear explosion occurs near the surface, earth or water is taken up into a mushroom-shaped cloud and becomes contaminated with the radioactive weapon residues. In high-altitude nuclear bursts a bomb is exploded well above the ground, the radioactive residues rise to a great height in the mushroom cloud and descend gradually over a large area.

In A-bombs the source of energy is the fusion process, in which nuclei of the isotopes of hydrogen combine to form a heavier helium nucleus. Furthermore, the physical size of a nuclear bomb drastically reduces, permitting the development of nuclear artillery shells and small missiles that can be fired from portable launchers in the field. Large rockets can carry multiple warheads for delivery to separate targets.

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