Home > Science Fact Finder > General Science and Technology - What Is A Nuclear Winter?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

What is a nuclear winter?

A nuclear winter is a theoretical result of nuclear war. The term "nuclear winter" was coined by American physicist Richard P. Turco in a 1983 article in the journal Science. In the article he describes a postnuclear war scenario in which severe, worldwide climatic changes would take place.

Turco's predictions, which have been supported by subsequent research, include prolonged periods of darkness, below-freezing temperatures, violent windstorms, and persistent radioactive fallout. These conditions would be caused by the billions of tons of dust, soot, and ash being tossed into the atmosphere, as well as smoke and poisonous fumes from firestorms.

In the case of a severe nuclear war, Turco hypothesized, the entire Northern Hemisphere (the half of the Earth north of the equator) would be blanketed by a layer of dust and soot so thick that as little as1/10of 1 percent of available...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Inventions And Fairs
   1. Who invented the Xerox™ machine?
   2. Who invented the electron microscope?
   3. What is the formula for invisible ink?
   4. Who invented velcro™?
   5. Who invented teflon?
   6. Who invented the zipper?
   7. Which scientific discoveries were made accidentally?
   8. What is the origin of blue jeans?
   9. Which tools were used by Neanderthal man?
   10. Who invented the Slinky™?
   11. Who invented Rubik's cube™?
   12. What is the origin of the fire alarm box?
   13. How does a breathalyzer determine the alcohol level of the breath?
   14. How are scratch and sniff cards made?
   15. What is the name of the chemical used in watches to make them glow in the dark?
   16. When was cement first used?
   17. How are compact discs (CDs) made?
   18. How are colored fireworks made?
   19. Why are the letters all mixed up on the typewriter keyboard?
   20. When was the first world's fair?
   21. What is contained in the time capsule buried at the site of the New York World's Fair in 1940?
2. Accomplishments
   1. Who was the first American to receive a Nobel Prize?
   2. Who was the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize and how many women have received the prize?
   3. What were the discoveries of John Bardeen, the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in the same field?
   4. For what accomplishments did Marie Curie receive a Nobel Prize?
   5. What is the National Inventors Hall of Fame?
3. Patents And Trademarks
   1. What types of patents are available?
   2. What is the Guzman prize?
   3. How long does a patent a trademark, or a copyright protect the holder?
   4. What cannot be patented?
   5. What is the difference between the symbols ™ and ® when used with a trademark?
   6. Which patent was issued to a U.S. president?
   7. For what is Percy Lavon Julian noted?
   8. Which patents were issued to Mark Twain?
4. Oddities, Hoaxes, And Accidents
   1. What was the world's greatest fraud?
   2. What is the Bermuda Triangle?
   3. What is a jackalope?
   4. Which industrial accidents have become major disasters?
   5. What was the Great Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919?
5. Technological Achievements
   1. Which scientific and technological event was the most important in U.S. history?
   2. What are the ten outstanding engineering achievements of the last thirty years?
   3. What is "High Technology" or "High Tech"?
   4. What is the new science of chaos?
   5. In which industries are robots being used?
   6. What does the acronym "LASER" stand for?
   7. What is holography?
6. Weapons
   1. Who invented the bowie knife?
   2. When was the Colt revolver patented?
   3. When and where was gunpowder invented?
   4. Who invented dynamite?
   5. What was the Manhattan Project?
   6. What is a nuclear winter?

1. Atomic Bomb