For the first seven episodes of this series, we've built an understanding of explosions based almost exclusively on records of their radius over time. In this final episode we describe explosions from different perspectives. We first discuss alternative kinematic perspectives, like the ones offered by tracking the front speed over time, or the speed at various distances from ground zero. We then give an example of representation including a mechanical variable: the pressure measured at various distances from ground zero. Overall, we show that the choice of kinematic or mechanical perspective changes the geometry of the domain of explosions, but does not seem to change its topology. The regimes, the units and the base are still given by the four mechanical parameters: the energy of the explosion, the ejected mass, and the density and pressure of the ambient medium. This kinship between mechanical and kinematic variables allows to translate pressure to radius measurements and vice-versa, concluding this introduction to the profound connections between mechanics, kinematics, geometry and arithmetic.

*Video Content*

On this page, you will find the pdf slides used in the making of the video, together with some films, gifs, images and plots used in the video. Feel free to use this content in any way you see fit.

A link to the datasets we used is available at the end of this page, together with the references associated with this video.

Slides

A8_SLIDES_compressed.pdf

On this page, you will find the pdf slides used in the making of the video, links to the historic footage of the Trinity test, and some of the gifs, images and plots used in the video. Feel free to use this content in any way you see fit.

Taylor's data on the Trinity explosion are available at the end of this page, together with the references associated with this video.

Films

Images

Plots

References

New:
Barschall (1945) LA-352
Graves (1945) LA-354
Manley (1945) LA-360
Bright (1945) LA-366
Marley (1945) LA-431
Modernized version of Dr. Strangelove's ending, by Ivanovo Detstvo

And from previous episodes:
Mack (1946)
Mack (1947)
Bainbridge (1976)
Taylor (1950a)
Taylor (1950b)
O'Connell (1957)
Schmitt (2016)
Nguyen (2017)
Porzel (1957)
Kingerey (1962)
Aouad (2021)
Hargather (2007)
Kleine (2010)
Porneala (2006)
Campanella (2019)
Grun (1991)
Xiang (2017)
Trinity and Beyond
Greg Spriggs and the curation of nuclear atmospheric tests:
https://str.llnl.gov/october-2017/spriggs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWpqGKUG5yY&ab_channel=LawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratory
LLNL Nuclear Test Films Browser:
http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/misc/llnlfilms/

More on Trinity:
Source of the Trinity footage and pictures: Los Alamos National Laboratory https://www.lanl.gov/ https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/trinity-test-1945 https://www.atomicheritage.org/profile/julian-e-mack https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/high-speed-photography
More nuclear tests:
https://www.atomcentral.com/ https://www.sonicbomb.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFbzthhT2eRcBpEPc5FPGtQ

Authors:
Marc-Antoine Fardin (Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Université Paris Cité)
Mathieu Hautefeuille (Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine, Sorbonne Université)
Vivek Sharma (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago)

Acknowledgements:
Anna Part (Atomic Heritage Foundation, National Museum of Nuclear Science & History)
Greg Spriggs (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)