OPERATION CROSSROADS. ATOMIC BOMB TESTS. VOLUME 6, PART 2, APPENDIX IX.
Abstract
Potential fires within approximately 800 yards of the detonation center were extinguished by the closely following air blast, (except where high porosity of certain material enabled the heat radiation to penetrate) where as many distant fires would have been extinguished had the air blast been greater. Inflammability of fiber materials was greatly increased by presence of surface fuzz and high porosity. Objects having a cylindrical surface enabled the blast radiation to be directly normal to a portion of the surface and thus, if porous, penetrate deeper than would have otherwise been the case. The velocity of the air blast, and therefore its fire extinguishing power was greatly reduced by deck houses and other obstructions. Close packaging increased the fire hazard by forming crevasses where heat radiation could penetrate. Underground metal objects of a high surface/mass ratio that were directly exposed to the blast were the recipients of energy that manifested itself in the form of heat. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1946
- Accession Number
- AD0367504
Entities
People
- J. B. Frederick