Airbursts always produce a mushroom cloud; check the movie Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie: many of the detonations in the old days of above ground tests were air bursts, as well as the two combat drops at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1850 ft. AGL) The Warsaw detonations over the city center would've likely produced three fireballs that merged into one. Also, the first atomic artillery shell (the 280-mm Atomic Annie) was an air burst (15 KT).
Yes, at that distance, someone would've been blinded permanently if they'd looked at the blast at the moment of detonation. Once that flash is gone, then it's safe to look, if the footage of observers of those above-ground tests is any clue. You'd have to be at least 20-30 miles, or more, to look at a blast and not risk losing one's sight.
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02-12-2009, 07:31 PM
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