This manual was created to be a comprehensive and authoritative publication on nuclear weapons effects that would be accessible to the non-technical for emergency and civil defense planning. It was written to serve as a compliment to existing manuals that are either too vague or too detailed to be of practical use for the average reader searching for such information.
This manual was created by the Defense Research Board at the request of the Emergency Measures Organization to fulfill the need for such a booklet. While not intended as a substitute for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s “Effects of Nuclear Weapons”, this manual has been prepared with proven and reliable up-to-date and accurate information. It is provided for the use of any individuals who need information to prepare for emergency planning in the event of a nuclear attack.
The Topics Covered in this Manual
- Air blast
- Ground shock
- Explosions in water
- Thermal radiation
- Radiation effects
- Tables
- Relative degrees of effects for various burst conditions
- Peak overpressures near ground surface
- Maximum dynamic pressures
- Maximum wind speed
- Times of arrival of peak overpressures
- Duration of positive phase
- Incident and reflective overpressure
- Relations between peak overpressures and structural failures
- Maximum ranges from ground zero for structural damage from air bursts
- Crater dimensions for surface bursts in dry soil
- Damage criteria for moderately deep underground structures
- Estimated overpressures for direct blast casualties
- Velocities, masses and densities of fragments
- Probabilities of glass fragments penetrating abdominal cavities
- Weapons effects for air bursts with maximized ranges
- Thermal effects
- Ignition energy for various materials
- Frequency of exterior ignition points in a city
- Ranges from ground zero for various initial radiation doses from air bursts
- Heights of burst above which negligible early fallout is produced
- Radiation protection factors
- Dose rate reduction factors related to dose rate at 11 + 1 hours
- Lifetime dose rate factors related to 11 + 7 dose rate
- Half lives of some radioisotopes
- Data for high yield weapons
- Wave heights produced by nuclear weapons at specific distances from surface zero
