The high speed photography series of a test house (below) shows a wood-frame house exposed to a nuclear blast at the Nevada Test Site. The test was Upshot-Knothole Annie, a 16 Kt tower shot, on 17 March 1953. The house is 1100 meters from ground zero. The blast over pressure was 5 psi, and the blast wave created surface winds of 160 mph.
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Original wood house |
Moment of explosion: House is illuminated by the fireball |
1 sec. after detonation, the thermal pulse has essentially ended |
Flash burned house 1.75 sec. after detonation, a short moment before blast wave arrival |
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The blast wave arrives and the house is teared to shreds |
Ruined house |
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Explosion of Annie: It was a weapon related testshot of 16 Kt. |
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Made in 1997 by Michael Schmid