Talk:Mushroom cloud

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Is the Nagasaki blast really appropriate here, considering how many people's death that represents? Perhaps we should use an image of the Trinity explosion instead. What do you think? Foobaz

The photo shows a mushroom cloud. It's appropriate regardless of the results of the blast. Should we remove the Nagasaki entry too because of the kill count? No, I don't think so. Adraeus 05:51, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)

It perhaps would be good to add a photo of a natural mushroom cloud, for the skeptic ones ;) I once saw one of these clouds emerging from a volcano, but it was in a film =( euyyn 11:21, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I don't think that condensation rings are caused by a drop in temperature. Why would a shockwave front cause the temperature to drop? That makes no sense. I think it is a drop in pressure, like behind the shockwave of a plane breaking through the sound barrier in moist air.

This seems more plausible to me too, but it would be nice to have someone who knows what they're talking about confirm this, and explain its shape while they're at it. Though it should be noted that a sudden decrease in pressure does result in a decrease in temperature in a gas. The page Smoke ring claims that it is observed in atomic bombs, which would explain its shape and movement, but in that case it is unclear to me how it forms in the first place.

Where are the photographs of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 m-clouds? euyyn 11:49, 13 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Why would it be unclear as to why it's called a "mushroom" cloud? Doesn't it, in fact, look very much like a mushroom? --24.118.77.253 18:50, 6 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. The photo on the article is not a good example of a "perfect" mushroom cloud, as it appears in the first few seconds after the explosion. The one on the picture (besides the bad quality of the image) has been release for a longer period than what is usually depicted in film, so the mushroom shape is already a bit lost.

'The reasons why the cloud has been described as a "mushroom" are not entirely understood, though the actual shape of a mushroom, with its wide cap on a narrow stem, likely played a part.' This bit made me laugh. It seems a bit ludicrous. Also, the last line, 'Most of the stuff written here has not been confirmed and extra research needs to be done, before its validity can be verified.' should not be there, it isn't very... proper, and there seems to be quite a lot of confirmation (quotes being cited and such), so I'll remove it until someone can think of a good reason to put it back up. Bgh251f2 16:25, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

1 Emphasize photographic evidence over art
2 Spherical Cap Bubble
3 Doughnut
4 Volcanic mushroom clouds?

[edit] Emphasize photographic evidence over art

I suggest that at least during the present state of the article, minimizing the amount of art and focusing more on actual photographic evidence. I think this will provide much more credibility. — FJ | hello 06:43, May 16, 2005 (UTC)

Evidence of what, exactly? There is no "art" in the current article that I can see (there is one diagram, but I assume that is not what you mean). --Fastfission 14:39, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spherical Cap Bubble

Isn't it worth cross-referring to the analogies here? It's only the close proximity of the ground that causes the stem to develop IIRC. see say Batchelor 'Fluid Dynamics' p476 section 6.11 ('large gas bubbles in liquid') which notes that spherical cap bubble theory give the right-ish rate of rise. Linuxlad 10:32, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

So... add it in. --Fastfission 14:37, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

Fine, dun. Bob aka linuxlad (sans tilde)

[edit] Doughnut

I always thought the vertical column (or stem) was created when the blast is blocked and diverted upward by the doughnut shape cloud of debris kicked up from the ground around the point of impact. Does this contribute even a little to the shape, or is my physics way off? 205.174.22.28 06:01, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I assume you are talking about the blast being reflected off of the ground? I don't think that contributes to the stem. There are a few shots where you can actually see it reflecting off the ground and while it raises the ground a bit and deforms the fireball (and of course can created a Mach stem, which is different) it doesn't seem to be responsible for a visible stem. I could easily be wrong, but I don't recall that being a big aspect of the stem formation. --Fastfission 14:34, 17 August 2006 (UTC)