At this stage of the explosion, the fireball is a sphere of superheated plasma reaching millions of degrees. It expands so quickly that it compresses the surrounding air into an immense shock wave, while the spikes below are the rope trick effect caused by vaporizing support cables. If a person were close enough to witness this, the thermal energy would cause fatal injuries almost instantly. Nerve signals travel much slower than the heat and light, meaning the body would be destroyed before the brain could consciously process pain or even fully register what had happened. 📸 Photographs from United States nuclear tests in Nevada, 1952. Captured by Rapatronic cameras developed by MIT engineer Harold Edgerton. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Inspired from: biologistmichael Want more interesting content like this ? Follow gravitonomy :) #science #nuclearexplosion #oppenheimer #physics #nuclearbomb