airbursts
Midair explosive blasts
Airbursts are explosions that occur in the atmosphere before reaching the ground.
The term most often describes nuclear detonations designed to maximize blast damage over a wide area: The bomb was set for airburst at 2,000 feet.
Airbursts also occur naturally when meteors explode upon entering Earth's atmosphere: The Tunguska airburst flattened hundreds of square miles of forest.
Pressure exceeding ambient levels
- blast wavePressure surge from detonation
- concussionBrain injury from impact
- compressionForcing into smaller space
- pressure waveMoving compression through medium
reflection · propagation · impulse · acoustic · reverberation · percussion · oscillation · amplitude
Severe widespread destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- casualtiesThose killed or wounded
- structural damageHarm to supporting elements
collapse · incineration · fireball · thermal radiation · blast damage · flattening · cratering · rubble
Explosive ignition event
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
- radiationEnergy propagation through space
- HiroshimaFirst nuclear-struck city
- NagasakiSecond city bombed atomically
mushroom cloud · fission · yield · kiloton · megaton · plutonium · uranium · gamma rays
Scattered explosion fragments
- ordnanceMilitary weapons collectively
- munitionsMilitary weapons and ammunition
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- warheadMunition's explosive section
flak · projectiles · casing · splinters · payload · cluster munitions · grenade · mortar
Detonating meteor, very bright
- meteorGlowing atmospheric space rock
- fireballLuminous meteor or explosion
- shock wavePropagating pressure disturbance
- asteroidSun-orbiting rocky mass
overpressure
Pressure exceeding ambient levels
- blast wavePressure surge from detonation
- concussionBrain injury from impact
- compressionForcing into smaller space
pressure wave · reflection · propagation · impulse · acoustic · reverberation · percussion · oscillation · amplitude · seismic
devastation
Severe widespread destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- casualtiesThose killed or wounded
structural damage · collapse · incineration · fireball · thermal radiation · blast damage · flattening · cratering · rubble · infrastructure
detonation
Explosive ignition event
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
- radiationEnergy propagation through space
- HiroshimaFirst nuclear-struck city
Nagasaki · mushroom cloud · fission · yield · kiloton · megaton · plutonium · uranium · gamma rays · EMP
shrapnel
Scattered explosion fragments
- ordnanceMilitary weapons collectively
- munitionsMilitary weapons and ammunition
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
warhead · flak · projectiles · casing · splinters · payload · cluster munitions · grenade · mortar · howitzer
bolide
Detonating meteor, very bright
- meteorGlowing atmospheric space rock
- fireballLuminous meteor or explosion
- shock wavePropagating pressure disturbance
- meteor impactscraters, impact crater, impact craters, crater, meteorite