Ground Zero: Standing Under A Nuclear Explosion

[Mal12345]

 

[Ism]

What the hell happened to the sky at 1:14? O^O I couldn't hear the audio that well.

Also, Ground Zero, Population: 5

 

[Mal12345]

What the hell happened to the sky at 1:14? O^O I couldn't hear the audio that well.

Also, Ground Zero, Population: 5

It was a 2 kiloton atomic explosion at 18,000 feet.

 

[RaptorWizard]

Hey [MENTION=13589]Mal+[/MENTION] , I don't know how many avatars you have cycled through but you could probably make an epic picture collection with all of your past avatars because there have been some pretty cool (and frankly geeky) avatars you used that make me laugh at you, of course in a good way, not to mention your funny posting style!

 

[Mal12345]

Hey [MENTION=13589]Mal+[/MENTION] , I don't know how many avatars you have cycled through but you could probably make an epic picture collection with all of your past avatars because there have been some pretty cool (and frankly geeky) avatars you used that make me laugh at you, of course in a good way, not to mention your funny posting style!

Geeky? Geeky?

 

[RaptorWizard]

Geeky? Geeky?

Yes geeky, but coming from me that is a good thinj because I am obviously also a geek.

Why is it geeky? Because they are all of strange fantasy pictures with an odd sense of art and beauty!

Hey don't take this the wrong way, because after all, you are my favorite forum member.

 

[Mal12345]

Yes geeky, but coming from me that is a good thinj because I am obviously also a geek.

Why is it geeky? Because they are all of strange fantasy pictures with an odd sense of art and beauty!

Hey don't take this the wrong way, because after all, you are my favorite forum member.

That reminds me. I was going to ask you why there isn't a gray side of the Force.

 

[RaptorWizard]

That reminds me. I was going to ask you why there isn't a gray side of the Force.

No, there is, it is the side that uses the powers of light and dark for the balance of the universe, the true state of the Force. It only becomes light and dark because of the way it is used.

 

[Ism]

It was a 2 kiloton atomic explosion at 18,000 feet.

Ya, but it went black. Then back to light blue. Maybe it was just a video-glitch-thing going on.

 

[Mal12345]

Ya, but it went black. Then back to light blue. Maybe it was just a video-glitch-thing going on.

I think the narrator on the scene said that the sky turned black. I can apparently hear it better than you can.

 

[Mal12345]

Ya, but it went black. Then back to light blue. Maybe it was just a video-glitch-thing going on.

I'll have to research why the sky turns black.

 

[Ism]

I think the narrator on the scene said that the sky turned black. I can apparently hear it better than you can.

Wild! I actually heard that, but it was such a drastic change that I wasn't too sure whether or not the black could have dissipated that quickly into a normal, friendly sky.

Pretty freakin awesome.

 

[Mal12345]

Wild! I actually heard that, but it was such a drastic change that I wasn't too sure whether or not the black could have dissipated that quickly into a normal, friendly sky.

Pretty freakin awesome.

I'm glad you pointed that out about the sky. I don't have an "official" explanation of the effect. But we know that the sky is really black all the time, as it is on the moon, and that the blue appearance is caused by molecules in the atmosphere scattering the blue part of the spectrum. If this didn't occur, the sky would appear black during the daytime. The intensity of the light from the atomic blast apparently interferes with this blue light-scattering phenomenon temporarily, causing the sky to appear as it really is.

 

[Mal12345]

Ah phooey, I don't think that's the right explanation. And anyway, the sky in the video doesn't turn black, so I've come up with a better explanation.

 

[Mal12345]

Observe that the sky in the video doesn't really turn black, it's just really dark blue. The blue coloration of the sky is caused by scattering of the blue spectrum. The intensity of light emanating from the blast magnifies this scattering effect.

 

[Fluffywolf]

I don't want to spoil the fun, but it looks like there are two camera's, neither of them change the color of the sky, the one pointing towards the explosin appears to have a shader lens of sorts as to try and record the flash the the explosion in proper contrast. Otherwise the explosion might not be visible as the light of the explosion would exceed the recording capacity of the camera, and would just appear white.

So, these boys had already seeded their offspring prior to the explosion I assume?

 

[Gish]

There are many eyewitness accounts of nuclear explosions that describe the sky as being dark, though cameras would definitely need to adjust for exposure and as such probably aren't reliable in this case. The darkness is likely a combination of multiple effects. disruption of the density of air around the explosion, combustion of various components in the atmosphere, and perhaps Mal's description as well.

 

[Fluffywolf]

There are many eyewitness accounts of nuclear explosions that describe the sky as being dark, though cameras would definitely need to adjust for exposure and as such probably aren't reliable in this case. The darkness is likely a combination of multiple effects. disruption of the density of air around the explosion, combustion of various components in the atmosphere, and perhaps Mal's description as well.

Or perhaps flash blindness.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Ya, but it went black. Then back to light blue. Maybe it was just a video-glitch-thing going on.

I don't know for sure because film from that day is different from film and video stock of today, but my guess is that the brightness of the explosion caused the iris to constrict and let less light in, making the sky turn from blue to black. You can get the same effect by taking a picture of a bare light bulb with your camera...the rest of the room will appear darker than it really is.

 

[sprinkles]

Or perhaps flash blindness.

Probably this. When it detonates you first get a fireball that travels at the speed of light at 10,000,000 kelvins - two thousand times hotter than the Sun. That's going to give you at least temporary flash blindness up to like 12 miles away, and burn out your retinas if you look directly at it.

Edit: also coincidentally, the only reason that this doesn't set the entire atmosphere on fire and incinerate the planet and everyone like they initially thought was possible is the inverse Compton effect, which cools it down so that this doesn't happen.