Overview
The effects caused by nuclear explosion on its immediate vicinity are typically much more destructive and multifaceted than those caused by conventional explosives. In most cases, the energy released from a nuclear weapon detonated within the lower atmosphere can be approximately divided into four basic categories:
- the blast and shock wave: 50% of total energy
- thermal radiation: 35% of total energy
- ionizing radiation: 5% of total energy
- residual radiation: 5–10% of total energy with the mass of the explosion.