The 21-kt Underwater Explosion - Baker Test of Crossroads Operation - Generates Wilson Cloud.
Wilson's cloud is a cloud that temporarily appears during a nuclear explosion in humid air. It is formed in rarefied air after the passage of a shock wave , which creates a low-pressure region, in which the temperature in turn decreases. These factors together lead to the formation of the Wilson cloud.
In various conditions, such as the type of nuclear explosion: ground, underground, air, the Wilson cloud can significantly change: a ring-shaped cloud in a certain radius and plane of the explosion under the same conditions, and can be a dome type , obscuring the entire fireball.
Named after Charles Wilson , inventor of the Wilson chamber .