First Hours: Nuclear Weapons

COMMUNICATING IN THE FIRST HOURS

A nuclear blast, produced by explosion of a nuclear bomb (a.k.a. nuclear detonation), involves the joining or splitting of atoms (called fusion and fission) to produce an intense pulse or wave of heat, light, air pressure and radiation.

Nuclear event resources:

• Short and Extended Messages

For more about VX, see the CDC Radiation Emergencies Web site.