condensation cloud a mist or fog of water droplets that temporarily surrounds the fireball following a nuclear detonation in a relatively humid atmosphere.
contamination the deposit and/or absorption of radioactive material on and by structures, areas, personnel, or objects.
controlled effects nuclear weapons nuclear weapons designed to achieve variation of the intensity of specific effects other than normal blast effect.
critical altitude the altitude beyond which an air- breathing guided missile ceases to perform adequately.
critical mass the minimum amount of fissionable material capable of supporting a chain reaction.
cruise missile guided missile, the major portion of whose flight path to its target is conducted at approximately constant velocity.
decay, radioactive the decrease in the radiation intensity of any radioactive material over time.
destruct system a system that, when operated by external command, destroys the missile.
dirty bomb an early or less-advanced form of the atom bomb, which has an inefficient blast effect but produces large amounts of radiation or nuclear fallout.
Doomsday Clock introduced in 1947, a symbolic clock—showing the world on its face—maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and regularly reset to show how close the earth is to nuclear apocalypse, or "midnight."
dosimetry the measurement of radiation doses by dosimeters.
dwarf dud a nuclear weapon that, when launched at a target, fails to provide the expected blast yield or destruction.
electromagnetic pulse the electromagnetic radiation from a nuclear explosion caused by Compton- recoil electrons and photoelectrons from photons scattered in the materials of the nuclear device. The resulting electric and magnetic fields may couple with electrical systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges.
fallout the precipitation to Earth of radioactive particles from a nuclear cloud; also applied to the particles themselves.
fallout safe height of burst the height of burst at or above which no military significant fallout will be produced as a result of a nuclear weapon detonation.
fireball the luminous sphere of hot gases that forms a few millionths of a second after detonation of a nuclear weapon and immediately starts expanding and cooling.
360 military
fire storm stationary mass fire within a city that generates strong, inrushing wind from all sides; the winds keep the fires from spreading while adding fresh oxygen to increase their intensity; a side effect of a nuclear blast.
fission the splitting of the nucleus of a heavy element into two nuclei of lighter elements, with the release of substantial amounts of energy.
fission products a general term for the complex mixture of substances produced as a result of nuclear fission.
flare dud a nuclear weapon that detonates with expected yield but at an altitude much higher than intended so that its effects on a target are lessened.
free rocket a rocket not subject to guidance or control in flight.
ground zero the point on the surface of the Earth at, or vertically below or above, the center of a planned or actual nuclear detonation.
guided missile a missile whose flight path is controlled by external or internal mechanisms.
hard missile base a launching base that is protected against a nuclear explosion.
initial radiation the radiation, essentially neutrons and gamma rays, resulting from a nuclear burst and emitted from the fireball within one minute after burst.
intercontinental ballistic missile a ballistic missile with a range from 3,000 to 8,000 miles.
kiloton weapon a nuclear weapon, the yield of which is measured in terms of thousands of tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive equivalents, producing yields from 1 to 999 kilotons.
launcher a structural device designed to support and hold a missile in position for firing.
megaton weapon a nuclear weapon, the yield of which is measured in terms of millions of tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive equivalents.
NORAD North American Air Defense; the protective radar system network monitoring the airspace over the United States and Canada.
nuclear column a hollow cylinder of water and spray thrown up from an underwater burst of a nuclear weapon, through which the hot, high-pressure gases formed in the explosion are vented to the atmosphere.
nuclear exoatmospheric burst the explosion of a nuclear weapon above the atmosphere, from above 120 kilometers.
operation exposure guide the maximum amount of nuclear radiation a commander of a unit considers safe to be absorbed during an operation.
radiation sickness an illness, resulting from excess exposure to ionizing radiation. The earliest symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, followed by loss of hair, hemorrhage, inflammation of the mouth and throat, and general fatigue.
rainfall, nuclear the water that falls from base surge clouds after an underwater burst of a nuclear weapon. This rain is radioactive.
rainout radioactive material brought down from the atmosphere by precipitation.
rem roentgen equivalent mammal; 1 rem is the quantity of ionizing radiation of any type that, when absorbed by humans or other mammals, produces a physiologic effect equivalent to that produced by the absorption of 1 roentgen of X-ray or gamma radiation.
roentgen a unit of exposure dose of gamma or X- ray radiation. In field dosimetry, one roentgen is equal to 1 rad.
Safeguard a ballistic missile defense system.
salted weapon a nuclear weapon that has, in addition to its normal components, certain elements that capture neutrons at the time of the explosion and produce radioactive products over and above the usual radioactive weapons debris.
sea skimmer a missile designed to fly at less than 50 feet above the surface of the sea.
short-range ballistic missile a ballistic missile with a range of 600 nautical miles.
soft missile base a launching base not protected against a nuclear explosion.
spray dome the mound of water spray thrown up into the air from the shock wave of an underwater detonation of a nuclear weapon.
stellar guidance a system that refers to certain preselected celestial bodies to guide a missile.
tolerance dose the amount of radiation that may be absorbed by a person over a period of time with negligible health effects.
TOW missile a wire-guided missile.
two-man rule a system designed to prohibit access by an individual to nuclear weapons and related components by requiring the presence at all times of at least two authorized persons, each capable of detecting incorrect or unauthorized procedures with respect to the task to be performed.
warhead that part of a missile or rocket that contains the nuclear or thermonuclear system, high- explosive system, or chemical or biological agents intended to inflict damage.
zero point the center of a burst of a nuclear weapon at the instant of detonation.
Types of Missiles and Rockets
ADM-20 see Quail.
AGM-28A see Hound Dog.
AGM-45 see Shrike.