Nuclear fallout

Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the atmosphere in the minutes, hours, and days after the explosion. The bulk of the radioactivity from nuclear fallout comes from fission products, which are created by the nuclear fission reactions of the nuclear device. Un-fissioned bomb fuel (such as plutonium and uranium), and radioactive isotopes created by neutron activation, make up a smaller amount of the radioactive content of fallout. The amount of fallout and its distribution is dependent on several factors, including the overall yield of the weapon, the fission yield of the weapon, the height of burst of the weapon, and meteorological conditions. Fallout can have serious human health consequences on both short- and long-term time scales, and can cause radioactive contamination far away from the areas impacted by the more immediate effects of nuclear weapons.^[1]

^ Glasstone, Samuel; Dolan, Philip J. (1977). The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (3rd ed.). U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. ISBN 9780318203690., chapter 9.

[1] Glasstone, Samuel; Dolan, Philip J. (1977). The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (3rd ed.). U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. ISBN 9780318203690., chapter 9.

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