condensation cloud

condensation cloud
A mist or fog of minute water droplets that temporarily surrounds the fireball following a nuclear (or atomic) detonation in a comparatively humid atmosphere. The expansion of the air in the negative phase of the blast wave from the explosion results in a lowering of the temperature, so that condensation of water vapor present in the air occurs and a cloud forms. The cloud is soon dispelled when the pressure returns to normal and the air warms up again. The phenomenon is similar to that used by physicists in the Wilson cloud chamber and is sometimes called the cloud chamber effect.

Military dictionary. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Condensation cloud — A 21 kiloton underwater nuclear weapon test, the Baker shot of Operation Crossroads, showing a Wilson cloud …   Wikipedia

  • Cloud condensation nuclei — Aerosol pollution over Northern India and Bangladesh NASA Cloud condensation nuclei or CCNs (also known as cloud seeds) are small particles typically 0.2 µm, or 1/100 th the size of a cloud droplet [1]) about which cloud droplets coalesce. Water… …   Wikipedia

  • Cloud — For other uses, see Cloud (disambiguation). Cumulus cloudscape over Swifts Creek, Australia A cloud …   Wikipedia

  • cloud chamber effect — See condensation cloud …   Military dictionary

  • Cloud chamber — with visible tracks from ionizing radiation (short, thick: α particles; long, thin: β particles). See also Animated Version Video of a Cloud chamber in action The cloud chamber, a …   Wikipedia

  • Cloud reflectivity modification — Cloud reflectivity enhancement is also known as marine cloud brightening or cloud whitening on low cloud. An opposite scheme exists to reduce the reflectivity of higher, colder cirrus clouds.[1] It is a geoengineering technique that works by… …   Wikipedia

  • Cloud seeding — can be done by ground generators, plane, or rocket (not shown). Cloud seeding, a form of intentional weather modification, is the attempt to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air… …   Wikipedia

  • cloud forest — ☆ cloud forest n. a forest, usually near coastal mountain peaks in tropical regions, that has an almost constant cloud cover, even during the dry season * * * ▪ ecology also called  montane rainforest,    vegetation of tropical mountainous… …   Universalium

  • Cloud physics — Atmospheric sciences Aerology …   Wikipedia

  • cloud — cloudlike, adj. /klowd/, n. 1. a visible collection of particles of water or ice suspended in the air, usually at an elevation above the earth s surface. 2. any similar mass, esp. of smoke or dust. 3. a dim or obscure area in something otherwise… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”