Radioactive Fallout - Sources Of Radioactive Fallout, Types Of Fallout, Recent Developments Affecting Fallout
material nuclear atmosphere particles
Radioactive fallout is material produced by a nuclear explosion or a nuclear reactor accident that enters the atmosphere and eventually falls to Earth. This fallout consists of minute, radioactive particles of dust, soil, and other debris. While some fallout results from natural sources, the term is usually used in reference to radioactive particles that were released into the atmosphere by a nuclear explosion or reactor accident. Fallout refers to material that has fallen to Earth, and also to material that is still suspended in the atmosphere.
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Radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons began in 1945 when the United States tested the first atomic bomb in New Mexico. Atomic bombs create devastating explosions by "splitting the atom," a process more properly referred to as nuclear fission. The powerful blast of an atomic bomb is the result of energy released when the nuclei of unstable heavy elements are split, such as uranium-…
Particles that make up radioactive fallout can be as small as the invisible droplets produced by an aerosol spray can, or as large as ash that falls close to a wood fire. The type of radioactivity in fallout depends on the nature of the nuclear reaction that emitted the particles into the atmosphere. More than 60 different types of radioactive substances may be initially present in fallout. Some o…
The former Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain agreed in 1963 to stop all testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, under water, and in outer space. France and China, however, have continued such tests. The United States and Russia further agreed in 1993 to eliminate two-thirds of their nuclear warheads by 2003. This agreement, made possible by the ending of the Cold War, greatl…
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