Mushroom cloud

Phenomena
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive post-bast pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of debris, hot air, gaseous vapour (usually condensed water vapour and usual air components like nitrogen gas) and smoke and resulting from the occurence of a large explosion. The buoyant mass of gases, vapour and intraped debris rises rapidly, resulting in turbulent vortices curling downward around its edges, forming a temporary vortex ring that draws up a central column, possibly with smoke, debris, or/and condensed water vapor to form the "mushroom stem". When it cools and reaches a

They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently energetic detonation or deflagration will produce the same sort of effect. Major conventional arms, exploding arms depots,