INTEGRATION: CONDENSATION PART 1

This study series will start out going over the first type of condensation, wilson clouds and where it occurs. I first noticed wilson clouds watching nuclear bomb tests and digging into what the circular rings were around the mushroom:

According to “The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, by U.S. Dept. Of Defense/ Dept. Of Energy”, a wilson cloud is:

“A mist or fog of minute water droplets which temporarily surrounds the fireball following a nuclear (or atomic) donation 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.” 

An image from Operation Sailor Hat below shows a wilson cloud forming over the explosion of tnt:

Footage from Operation Sailor Hat:

This can also be seen at a smaller scale explosion:

And an even smaller scale explosion from the sides:

Wilson clouds are not present in every explosion, but they are useful for helping sell the scale of the explosion.