Nuclear Explosives

Nuclear explosives are the most powerful types of explosives and there are several different varieties of explosive devices based upon the mechanics of the explosion. Nuclear explosives were developed around the time of World War II. Several variations became operational after the war.

Nuclear explosives are one of the key factors that separate the technological era of before World War II as the modern era from the technological era of the periods during and after World War II as the post-modern era of military technology.

Some of the spin-offs from nuclear explosive technology include nuclear power generation and many radio-active devices such as smoke detector sensors. There are many other devices that use radioactive components that owe their existence to the practical application of radio activity made possible by defense nuclear technology.

Marines Participate in A-Bomb Tests – A Joshua tree and two Marine infantrymen at a machine gun emplacement are silhouetted against the sky during an early morning A-bomb blast, Yucca Flat, Nevada. Test conducted by the Department of Defense in connection with the Atomic Energy Commission.
Photo: 22 March, 1955. Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. U.S. Marine Corps.
National Archives and Records Administration.
Still Picture Branch; College Park, Maryland.