The intensity of public debate on issues involving nuclear weapons and strategic policy is currently at an all‐time high. This is surely a welcome development. Although the issues are largely political, they cannot be addressed without some knowledge of the properties of nuclear weapons and of the destruction that their use could bring about It is our particular responsibility as technically trained citizens to be informed of the basic facts concerning nuclear weapons and to help our fellow citizens understand them so that they can contribute more effectively to the debate It is my hope that this article—a presentation of the fundamental principles governing nuclear explosions and their effects—will be useful to those interested in carrying out this responsibility for education on nuclear war.
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March 1983
March 01 1983
Effects of nuclear weapons Available to Purchase
An understanding of the technical details—thermal radiation, shock or blast wave, nuclear radiation—makes for more effective participation in the debate.
Physics Today 36 (3), 32–41 (1983);