What is the range of an atomic and hydrogen bomb? and got the best answer
Answer from Razor[newbie]
It is very difficult to determine the maximum radius of destruction of an atomic and even more so nuclear bomb. In total, a nuclear bomb has several damaging factors:
Penetrating radiation is a stream of hard gamma radiation. Its radius is very large - from kilometers to several tens of kilometers. Within a radius of several kilometers, all living things receive the strongest dose of radiation.
Shock wave - the radius of destruction from half a kilometer (a zone of continuous destruction), and ending with kilometers (glasses fly out) and up to thousands of kilometers (explosion sound). In rare cases (50MT bomb "Kuzkin's mother" Khrushchev) shock wave goes around Earth.... 3 times. Although at such distances it does not bring destruction.
Residual radiation - the radius depends on the direction and strength of the wind. In other words, this is the area where radioactive rain (snow, dust, fog) will fall - the remains of a mushroom cloud.
EMP - electromagnetic impulse. Burns all electronics. Radius of tens of kilometers.
Light radiation is a strong stream of light that burns everything it falls on. The affected area depends on the strength of the explosion and the weather. Usually several tens of kilometers - within the line of sight. And even at a great distance it can burn the retina. For example, in Hiroshima, the bark of trees was charred at a distance of 9 km. In the city itself, bottles were melting and people were instantly burned. And there the explosion power was only 12-16 kilotons (16,000 tons) in TNT equivalent.
During the legendary explosion of "Ivan" 50 MT (50,000,000 tons of TNT. eq.) stones evaporated.
Everything was bigger there.
Vysoat "mushroom" - 64 km.
The radius of the "active zone" (temperature over a million degrees) is 4.5 km.
Destruction from the shock wave - 400 km. from the center.
Light pulse (impact) - 270 km.
From the island over which the charge was blown up, an even "licked" stone "skating rink" remained.
It was the most stylish man-made explosion.
But then they wanted to blow up not 50 MT, but all 100 MT .. . I'm afraid to imagine what would happen...
So the radius is always huge, but strongly depends on the power.
Answer from Boy bezpravil....[newbie]
1 kiloton strikes from 200 meters to 500 meters maximum. In the 1st kiloton, 1000 tons of TNT. 1 megaton is 10,000 that of TNT. The radius of the 1st Megaton is from 1 km, the average explosion is super-large 2 km in the radius of defeat. Topol-M has a capacity of 550 kt. This is 0.55 Mt. The radius of defeat is 165 km. Taking into account all the obstacles. Super-large explosion 550 Kt 275 km in the radius of destruction. If 300 Mt. That ultra-small explosion of 200 km is complete destruction without a chance for anyone to live. Destruction 100% super-large explosion up to 1000 km in the radius of destruction. This is the maximum. I do not agree that 50 Megatons hits up to 400 km, a maximum of 100 km if an extra-large explosion was used.
Answer from Alexey Kasyanov[guru]
so it depends on the power
Times are turbulent now, with more and more talk of a new Cold War. We want to believe that things will not come to the Third World War, but they decided to tighten up the theory. So, we disassembled a nuclear explosion into five damaging factors and figured out how to survive from each of them. Ready? Flash on the left!
1. Shock wave
Most of the destruction from a nuclear explosion will come from a shock wave rushing at supersonic speeds (more than 350 m/s in the atmosphere). While no one saw, we took a W88 thermonuclear warhead with a yield of 475 kilotons, which is located in the United States, and found out that when it explodes within a radius of 3 km from the epicenter, absolutely nothing and no one will remain; at a distance of 4 km, the buildings will be thoroughly destroyed, and at a distance of 5 km and further, the destruction will be medium and weak. The chances of survival will appear only if you are at least 5 km from the epicenter (and then if you have time to hide in the basement). To independently calculate the radii of damage from an explosion of various capacities, you can use our simulator.
2. Light emission
Causes ignition of combustible materials. But even when you are far from gas stations and warehouses with Moment, you risk getting burns and eye damage. Therefore, hide behind some obstacle like a huge stone block, cover your head with a sheet of metal or other non-combustible thing and close your eyes. After detonating a W88 nuclear bomb at a distance of 5 km, you may not be killed by the shock wave, but the light beam can cause second-degree burns. These are the ones with nasty blisters on the skin. At a distance of 6 km there is a risk of getting first-degree burns: redness, swelling, swelling of the skin - in a word, nothing serious. But the most pleasant thing will happen if you manage to be 7 km from the epicenter: an even tan and survival is guaranteed.
3. Electromagnetic pulse
If you are not a cyborg, you are not afraid of an electromagnetic impulse: it disables only electrical and electronic equipment. Just know that if a mushroom cloud appears on the horizon, it is useless to take a selfie in front of it. The range of the pulse depends on the height of the explosion and the environment and ranges from 3 to 115 km.
4. Penetrating radiation
Despite such a terrible name, the thing is cheerful and harmless. It destroys all living things only within a radius of 2-3 km from the epicenter, where you will be killed by a shock wave anyway.
5. Radioactive contamination
The meanest part of a nuclear explosion. It is a huge cloud consisting of radioactive particles raised into the air by an explosion. The territory of the spread of radioactive contamination is highly dependent on natural factors, primarily on the direction of the wind. If you blow up W88 with a wind of 5 km / h, the radiation will be dangerous at a distance of up to 130 km from the epicenter in the direction of the wind (against the wind nuclear contamination does not extend beyond 3 km). The rate of death from radiation sickness depends on the remoteness of the epicenter, weather, terrain, the characteristics of your body and a bunch of other factors. Radiation-infected people can either die instantly or live for years. How this happens depends solely on personal luck and the individual characteristics of the body, in particular on the strength of immunity. Also, patients with radiation sickness are prescribed certain drugs and food to remove radionuclides from the body.
Remember that the one who is warned is armed, and the one who prepares the sled in the summer will survive. Today we are in literally we live on the threshold, which has already begun and at any moment you can go into the hottest phase with the use of mass destruction. To protect yourself and your loved ones, you must think in advance where you can hide and survive the atomic bombing of your village.
On October 30, 1961, the USSR exploded the most powerful bomb in world history: a 58-megaton hydrogen bomb ("Tsar Bomba") was detonated at a test site on the island of Novaya Zemlya. Nikita Khrushchev joked that the 100-megaton bomb was originally supposed to be detonated, but the charge was reduced so as not to break all the windows in Moscow.
Explosion AN602 according to the classification was a low air explosion of extra high power. His results were impressive:
- The fireball of the explosion reached a radius of approximately 4.6 kilometers. Theoretically, it could grow to the surface of the earth, but this was prevented by a reflected shock wave that crushed and threw the ball off the ground.
- The light radiation could potentially cause third-degree burns at distances up to 100 kilometers.
- Atmospheric ionization caused radio interference even hundreds of kilometers from the test site for about 40 minutes
- The tangible seismic wave resulting from the explosion circled the globe three times.
- Witnesses felt the impact and were able to describe the explosion at a distance of a thousand kilometers from its center.
- Nuclear mushroom explosion rose to a height of 67 kilometers; the diameter of its two-tier "hat" reached (near the upper tier) 95 kilometers.
- The sound wave generated by the explosion reached Dixon Island at a distance of about 800 kilometers. However, sources do not report any destruction or damage to structures, even in those located much closer (280 km) to the landfill, the urban-type settlement of Amderma and the settlement of Belushya Guba.
- The radioactive contamination of the experimental field with a radius of 2-3 km in the area of the epicenter was no more than 1 mR/hour, the testers appeared at the site of the epicenter 2 hours after the explosion. Radioactive contamination posed little to no danger to test participants
All nuclear explosions produced by the countries of the world in one video:
The creator of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, said on the day of the first test of his brainchild: “If hundreds of thousands of suns rose at once in the sky, their light could be compared with the radiance emanating from the Supreme Lord ... I am Death, the great destroyer of worlds, bringing death to all living things ". These words were a quotation from the Bhagavad Gita, which the American physicist read in the original.
Photographers from Lookout Mountain stand waist-deep in dust raised by the shock wave after a nuclear explosion (photo from 1953).
Challenge Name: Umbrella
Date: June 8, 1958
Power: 8 kilotons
An underwater nuclear explosion was carried out during Operation Hardtack. Decommissioned ships were used as targets.
Test name: Chama (as part of the Dominic project)
Date: October 18, 1962
Location: Johnston Island
Capacity: 1.59 megatons
Test Name: Oak
Date: June 28, 1958
Location: Eniwetok Lagoon in the Pacific Ocean
Capacity: 8.9 megatons
Upshot-Knothole project, Annie test. Date: March 17, 1953; project: Upshot-Knothole; test: Annie; Location: Knothole, Nevada Proving Ground, Sector 4; power: 16 kt. (Photo: Wikicommons)
Challenge Name: Castle Bravo
Date: March 1, 1954
Location: Bikini Atoll
Explosion type: on the surface
Capacity: 15 megatons
The explosion of the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb was the most powerful explosion ever carried out by the United States. The power of the explosion turned out to be much higher than the initial forecasts of 4-6 megatons.
Challenge Name: Castle Romeo
Date: March 26, 1954
Location: On a barge in Bravo Crater, Bikini Atoll
Explosion type: on the surface
Capacity: 11 megatons
The power of the explosion turned out to be 3 times more than the initial forecasts. Romeo was the first test made on a barge.
Project Dominic, Test Aztec
Trial Name: Priscilla (as part of the Plumbbob trial series)
Date: 1957
Power: 37 kilotons
This is exactly what the process of releasing a huge amount of radiant and thermal energy during an atomic explosion in the air over the desert looks like. Here you can also see military equipment, which in a moment will be destroyed by a shock wave, imprinted in the form of a crown that surrounded the epicenter of the explosion. You can see how the shock wave was reflected from the earth's surface and is about to merge with the fireball.
Test name: Grable (as part of Operation Upshot Knothole)
Date: 25 May 1953
Location: Nevada Nuclear Test Site
Power: 15 kilotons
At a test site in the Nevada desert, photographers from the Lookout Mountain Center in 1953 took a photograph of an unusual phenomenon (a ring of fire in a nuclear mushroom after an explosion of a projectile from a nuclear cannon), the nature of which has long occupied the minds of scientists.
Upshot-Knothole project, Rake test. As part of this test, a 15 kiloton atomic bomb was detonated, launched by a 280 mm atomic cannon. The test took place on May 25, 1953 at the Nevada test site. (Photo: National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)
A mushroom cloud formed by the atomic explosion of the Truckee test carried out as part of Project Dominic.
Project Buster, Test Dog.
Project "Dominic", test "Yeso". Trial: Yeso; date: June 10, 1962; project: Dominic; location: 32 km south of Christmas Island; test type: B-52, atmospheric, height - 2.5 m; power: 3.0 mt; charge type: atomic. (Wikicommons)
Test Name: YESO
Date: June 10, 1962
Location: Christmas Island
Power: 3 megatons
Test "Licorn" in French Polynesia. Image #1. (Pierre J./French Army)
Test name: "Unicorn" (fr. Licorne)
Date: July 3, 1970
Location: atoll in French Polynesia
Power: 914 kilotons
Test "Licorn" in French Polynesia. Image #2. (Photo: Pierre J./French Army)
Test "Licorn" in French Polynesia. Image #3. (Photo: Pierre J./French Army)
For good pictures on test sites often entire teams of photographers work. In the photo: a nuclear test explosion in the Nevada desert. To the right are the missile plumes that scientists use to determine the characteristics of the shock wave.
Test "Licorn" in French Polynesia. Image #4. (Photo: Pierre J./French Army)
Project Castle, test Romeo. (Photo: zvis.com)
Hardtack project, Umbrella test. Challenge: Umbrella; date: June 8, 1958; project: Hardtack I; Location: Eniwetok Atoll Lagoon test type: underwater, depth 45 m; power: 8kt; charge type: atomic.
Project Redwing, Seminole test. (Photo: Nuclear Weapons Archive)
Riya test. Atmospheric test of an atomic bomb in French Polynesia in August 1971. As part of this test, which took place on August 14, 1971, a thermonuclear warhead, codenamed "Riya", with a capacity of 1000 kt, was detonated. The explosion occurred on the territory of the Mururoa atoll. This picture was taken from a distance of 60 km from zero. Photo: Pierre J.
Mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right). In the final stages of World War II, the United States launched two atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first explosion occurred on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. This was the only time nuclear weapon used for military purposes. By order of President Truman, August 6, 1945 american army dropped the nuclear bomb "Kid" on Hiroshima, and on August 9 followed the nuclear explosion of the bomb "Fat Man" dropped on Nagasaki. Between 90,000 and 166,000 people died in Hiroshima within 2-4 months after the nuclear explosions, and between 60,000 and 80,000 died in Nagasaki. (Photo: Wikicommons)
Upshot-Knothole project. Landfill in Nevada, March 17, 1953. The blast wave completely destroyed Building No. 1, located at a distance of 1.05 km from the zero mark. The time difference between the first and second shot is 21/3 seconds. The camera was placed in a protective case with a wall thickness of 5 cm. The only source of light in this case was a nuclear flash. (Photo: National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)
Project Ranger, 1951. The name of the test is unknown. (Photo: National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office)
Trinity test.
Trinity was the code name for the first nuclear test. This test was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, at an area approximately 56 kilometers southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the White Sands Missile Range. For the test, an implosion-type plutonium bomb was used, nicknamed "Thing". After the detonation, there was an explosion with a power equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT. The date of this test is considered the beginning of the atomic era. (Photo: Wikicommons)
Challenge Name: Mike
Date: October 31, 1952
Location: Elugelab ("Flora") Island, Eneweita Atoll
Power: 10.4 megatons
The device detonated in Mike's test, dubbed the "sausage", was the first true megaton-class "hydrogen" bomb. The mushroom cloud reached a height of 41 km with a diameter of 96 km.
Explosion "MET", carried out as part of Operation "Teepot". It is noteworthy that the MET explosion was comparable in power to the Fat Man plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki. April 15, 1955, 22 ct. (Wiki media)
One of the most powerful explosions of a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb on the account of the United States is Operation Castle Bravo. The charge power was 10 megatons. The explosion took place on March 1, 1954 in Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. (Wiki media)
Operation Castle Romeo is one of the most powerful thermonuclear bomb explosions carried out by the United States. Bikini Atoll, March 27, 1954, 11 megatons. (Wiki media)
The Baker explosion, showing the white surface of the water disturbed by the air shock wave and the top of the hollow column of spray that formed the hemispherical Wilson cloud. In the background is the coast of Bikini Atoll, July 1946. (Wiki media)
The explosion of the American thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb "Mike" with a capacity of 10.4 megatons. November 1, 1952 (Wiki media)
Operation Greenhouse is the fifth series of American nuclear tests and the second of them in 1951. During the operation, designs of nuclear charges were tested using thermonuclear fusion to increase the energy yield. In addition, the impact of the explosion on structures, including residential buildings, factory buildings and bunkers, was studied. The operation was carried out at the Pacific nuclear test site. All devices were blown up on high metal towers, simulating an air explosion. Explosion of "George", 225 kilotons, May 9, 1951. (Wiki media)
A mushroom cloud that has a column of water instead of a dust leg. On the right, a hole is visible on the pillar: the battleship Arkansas blocked the spray. Test "Baker", charge capacity - 23 kilotons of TNT, July 25, 1946. (Wiki media)
A 200-meter cloud over the territory of Frenchman Flat after the MET explosion as part of Operation Tipot, April 15, 1955, 22 kt. This projectile had a rare uranium-233 core. (Wiki media)
The crater was formed when a 100 kiloton blast wave was blasted under 635 feet of desert on July 6, 1962, displacing 12 million tons of earth. 
Time: 0s. Distance: 0m. Initiation of the explosion of a nuclear detonator.
Time: 0.0000001c. Distance: 0m Temperature: up to 100 million °C. The beginning and course of nuclear and thermonuclear reactions in a charge. With its explosion, a nuclear detonator creates the conditions for the start of thermonuclear reactions: the thermonuclear combustion zone passes by a shock wave in the charge substance at a speed of about 5000 km / s (106 - 107 m / s) About 90% of the neutrons released during the reactions are absorbed by the bomb substance, the remaining 10% fly out out.
Time: 10-7c. Distance: 0m. Up to 80% or more of the energy of the reactant is transformed and released in the form of soft X-ray and hard UV radiation with great energy. The X-rays form a heat wave that heats up the bomb, escapes and begins to heat the surrounding air.
Time:< 10−7c. Расстояние: 2м Temperature: 30 million°C. The end of the reaction, the beginning of the expansion of the bomb substance. The bomb immediately disappears from sight and a bright luminous sphere (fireball) appears in its place, masking the spread of the charge. The growth rate of the sphere in the first meters is close to the speed of light. The density of the substance here drops to 1% of the density of the surrounding air in 0.01 seconds; the temperature drops to 7-8 thousand °C in 2.6 seconds, it is held for ~5 seconds and further decreases with the rise of the fiery sphere; pressure after 2-3 seconds drops to slightly below atmospheric.
Time: 1.1x10−7c. Distance: 10m Temperature: 6 million °C. The expansion of the visible sphere up to ~10 m is due to the glow of ionized air under x-rays nuclear reactions, and then through radiative diffusion of the heated air itself. The energy of radiation quanta leaving the thermonuclear charge is such that their free path before being captured by air particles is on the order of 10 m and is initially comparable to the size of a sphere; photons quickly run around the entire sphere, averaging its temperature, and fly out of it at the speed of light, ionizing more and more layers of air, hence the same temperature and near-light growth rate. Further, from capture to capture, photons lose energy and their path length is reduced, the growth of the sphere slows down.
Time: 1.4x10−7c. Distance: 16m Temperature: 4 million °C. In general, from 10−7 to 0.08 seconds, the 1st phase of the glow of the sphere goes on with a rapid drop in temperature and an output of ~ 1% of the radiation energy, mostly in the form of UV rays and the brightest light radiation that can damage the vision of a distant observer without formation skin burns. The illumination of the earth's surface at these moments at distances up to tens of kilometers can be a hundred or more times greater than the sun.
Time: 1.7x10-7c. Distance: 21m Temperature: 3 million °C. Bomb vapors in the form of clubs, dense clumps and jets of plasma, like a piston, compress air in front of them and form a shock wave inside the sphere - an internal shock that differs from a conventional shock wave in non-adiabatic, almost isothermal properties and at the same pressures several times higher density: compressing with a shock the air immediately radiates most of the energy through the ball, which is still transparent to radiation.
At the first tens of meters, the surrounding objects before the fire sphere hits them, due to its too high speed, do not have time to react in any way - they even practically do not heat up, and once inside the sphere under the radiation flux they evaporate instantly.
Temperature: 2 million °C. Speed 1000 km/s. As the sphere grows and the temperature drops, the energy and density of the photon flux decrease, and their range (of the order of a meter) is no longer enough for near-light speeds of the fire front expansion. The heated volume of air began to expand and a stream of its particles is formed from the center of the explosion. A thermal wave at still air at the boundary of the sphere slows down. The expanding heated air inside the sphere collides with the stationary air near its boundary, and somewhere from 36-37 m a density increase wave appears - a future external air shock wave; before that, the wave did not have time to appear due to the huge growth rate of the light sphere.
Time: 0.000001s. Distance: 34m Temperature: 2 million °C. The internal shock and vapors of the bomb are in a layer of 8-12 m from the explosion site, the pressure peak is up to 17,000 MPa at a distance of 10.5 m, the density is ~ 4 times the air density, the speed is ~ 100 km/s. Hot air area: pressure at the boundary 2.500 MPa, inside the area up to 5000 MPa, particle velocity up to 16 km/s. The bomb vapor substance begins to lag behind the internal. jump as more and more air in it is involved in movement. Dense clots and jets maintain speed.
Time: 0.000034c. Distance: 42m Temperature: 1 million °C. Conditions at the epicenter of the explosion of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb (400 kt at a height of 30 m), which formed a crater about 50 m in diameter and 8 m deep. At 15 m from the epicenter or 5-6 m from the base of the tower with the charge, there was a reinforced concrete bunker with walls 2 m thick. For placing scientific equipment on top, covered with a large mound of earth 8 m thick, it was destroyed.
Temperature: 600 thousand ° C. From this moment, the nature of the shock wave ceases to depend on the initial conditions of a nuclear explosion and approaches the typical one for a strong explosion in air, i.e. such wave parameters could be observed in the explosion of a large mass of conventional explosives.
Time: 0.0036s. Distance: 60m Temperature: 600 thousand ° C. The internal shock, having passed the entire isothermal sphere, catches up and merges with the external one, increasing its density and forming the so-called. a strong jump is a single front of the shock wave. The density of matter in the sphere drops to 1/3 atmospheric.
Time: 0.014c. Distance: 110m Temperature: 400 thousand ° C. A similar shock wave at the epicenter of the explosion of the first Soviet atomic bomb with a power of 22 kt at a height of 30 m generated a seismic shift that destroyed an imitation of metro tunnels with various types of fastenings at depths of 10 and 20 m 30 m, animals in tunnels at depths of 10, 20 and 30 m died . An inconspicuous dish-shaped depression about 100 m in diameter appeared on the surface. Similar conditions were at the epicenter of the Trinity explosion of 21 kt at a height of 30 m, a funnel 80 m in diameter and 2 m deep was formed.
Time: 0.004s. Distance: 135m
Temperature: 300 thousand ° C. The maximum height of an air burst is 1 Mt for the formation of a noticeable funnel in the ground. The front of the shock wave is curved by the impacts of the bomb vapor clots:
Time: 0.007s. Distance: 190m Temperature: 200k°C. On a smooth and, as it were, shiny front, oud. waves form large blisters and bright spots (the sphere seems to be boiling). The density of matter in an isothermal sphere with a diameter of ~150 m falls below 10% of atmospheric density.
Non-massive objects evaporate a few meters before the fire arrives. spheres ("Rope tricks"); the human body from the side of the explosion will have time to char, and completely evaporate already with the arrival of the shock wave.
Time: 0.01s. Distance: 214m Temperature: 200k°C. A similar air shock wave of the first Soviet atomic bomb at a distance of 60 m (52 m from the epicenter) destroyed the tips of the trunks leading to the simulated metro tunnels under the epicenter (see above). Each head was a powerful reinforced concrete casemate, covered with a small earth embankment. Fragments of the heads fell into the trunks, the latter were then crushed by a seismic wave.
Time: 0.015s. Distance: 250m Temperature: 170 thousand ° C. The shock wave strongly destroys rocks. The shock wave speed is higher than the speed of sound in metal: the theoretical tensile strength of the entrance door to the shelter; the tank collapses and burns out.
Time: 0.028c. Distance: 320m Temperature: 110 thousand ° C. A person is dispersed by a stream of plasma (shock wave speed = speed of sound in the bones, the body collapses into dust and immediately burns out). Complete destruction of the most durable ground structures.
Time: 0.073c. Distance: 400m Temperature: 80 thousand ° C. Irregularities on the sphere disappear. The density of the substance drops in the center to almost 1%, and at the edge of the isotherms. spheres with a diameter of ~320 m to 2% atmospheric. At this distance, within 1.5 s, heating to 30,000 °C and falling to 7000 °C, ~5 s holding at ~6.500 °C and decreasing temperature in 10-20 s as the fireball goes up.
Time: 0.079c. Distance: 435m Temperature: 110 thousand ° C. Complete destruction of highways with asphalt and concrete pavement. Temperature minimum of shock wave radiation, the end of the 1st glow phase. A subway-type shelter lined with cast-iron tubing and monolithic reinforced concrete and buried by 18 m is calculated to be able to withstand an explosion (40 kt) at a height of 30 m at a minimum distance of 150 m (shock wave pressure of the order of 5 MPa) without destruction, 38 kt RDS- 2 at a distance of 235 m (pressure ~1.5 MPa), received minor deformations and damage. At temperatures in the compression front below 80 thousand ° C, new NO2 molecules no longer appear, the nitrogen dioxide layer gradually disappears and ceases to screen the internal radiation. The shock sphere gradually becomes transparent and through it, as through darkened glass, for some time, clubs of bomb vapors and an isothermal sphere are visible; in general, the fiery sphere is similar to fireworks. Then, as the transparency increases, the intensity of the radiation increases and the details of the flaring up sphere, as it were, become invisible. The process resembles the end of the era of recombination and the birth of light in the Universe several hundred thousand years after the Big Bang.
Time: 0.1s. Distance: 530m Temperature: 70 thousand ° C. Separation and moving forward of the front of the shock wave from the boundary of the fiery sphere, its growth rate noticeably decreases. The 2nd phase of the glow begins, less intense, but two orders of magnitude longer, with the release of 99% of the explosion radiation energy mainly in the visible and IR spectrum. At the first hundreds of meters, a person does not have time to see the explosion and dies without suffering (a person's visual reaction time is 0.1 - 0.3 s, the reaction time to a burn is 0.15 - 0.2 s).
Time: 0.15s. Distance: 580m Temperature: 65k°C. Radiation ~100 000 Gy. Charred fragments of bones remain from a person (the speed of the shock wave is of the order of the speed of sound in soft tissues: a hydrodynamic shock that destroys cells and tissues passes through the body).
Time: 0.25s. Distance: 630m Temperature: 50 thousand ° C. Penetrating radiation ~40 000 Gy. A person turns into charred debris: a shock wave causes traumatic amputationsa coming up in a fraction of a second. a fiery sphere chars the remains. Complete destruction of the tank. Complete destruction of underground cable lines, water pipelines, gas pipelines, sewerage, manholes. Destruction of underground reinforced concrete pipes with a diameter of 1.5 m, with a wall thickness of 0.2 m. Destruction of the arched concrete dam of the HPP. Strong destruction of long-term reinforced concrete fortifications. Minor damage underground structures metro.
Time: 0.4s. Distance: 800m Temperature: 40 thousand ° C. Heating objects up to 3000 °C. Penetrating radiation ~20 000 Gy. Complete destruction of all protective structures of civil defense (shelters) destruction of the protective devices of entrances to the subway. Destruction of the gravitational concrete dam of the hydroelectric power station Pillboxes become incapable of combat at a distance of 250 m.
Time: 0.73c. Distance: 1200m Temperature: 17 thousand ° C. Radiation ~5000 Gy. At an explosion height of 1200 m, the heating of surface air at the epicenter before the arrival of beats. waves up to 900°C. Man - 100% death from the action of the shock wave. Destruction of shelters designed for 200 kPa ( type A-III or class 3). Complete destruction of reinforced concrete bunkers of prefabricated type at a distance of 500 m under the conditions of a ground explosion. Complete destruction of railroad tracks. The maximum brightness of the second phase of the glow of the sphere by this time it released ~ 20% of the light energy
Time: 1.4c. Distance: 1600m Temperature: 12k°C. Heating objects up to 200°C. Radiation 500 Gr. Numerous burns of 3-4 degrees up to 60-90% of the body surface, severe radiation injury, combined with other injuries, lethality immediately or up to 100% on the first day. The tank is thrown back ~ 10 m and damaged. Complete destruction of metal and reinforced concrete bridges with a span of 30-50 m.
Time: 1.6s. Distance: 1750m Temperature: 10 thousand ° C. Radiation ok. 70 Gr. The crew of the tank dies within 2-3 weeks from extremely severe radiation sickness. Complete destruction of concrete, reinforced concrete monolithic (low-rise) and seismic-resistant buildings 0.2 MPa, built-in and free-standing shelters rated at 100 kPa (type A-IV or class 4), shelters in the basements of multi-storey buildings.
Time: 1.9c. Distance: 1900m Temperature: 9 thousand ° C Dangerous damage to a person by a shock wave and rejection up to 300 m with an initial speed of up to 400 km / h, of which 100-150 m (0.3-0.5 of the path) is free flight, and the rest of the distance is numerous ricochets about the ground. Radiation of about 50 Gy is a lightning-fast form of radiation sickness [, 100% lethality within 6-9 days. Destruction of built-in shelters designed for 50 kPa. Strong destruction of earthquake-resistant buildings. Pressure 0.12 MPa and above - all dense and rarefied urban development turns into solid blockages (individual blockages merge into one continuous blockage), the height of the blockages can be 3-4 m. The fiery sphere at this time reaches its maximum size (D ~ 2 km), is crushed from below by a shock wave reflected from the ground and begins to rise; the isothermal sphere in it collapses, forming a fast upward flow in the epicenter - the future leg of the fungus.
Time: 2.6c. Distance: 2200m Temperature: 7.5 thousand ° C. Severe injury to a person by a shock wave. Radiation ~ 10 Gy - extremely severe acute radiation sickness, according to a combination of injuries, 100% mortality within 1-2 weeks. Safe stay in a tank, in a fortified basement with a reinforced reinforced concrete floor and in most shelters G. O. Destruction of trucks. 0.1 MPa - design pressure of the shock wave for designing structures and protective devices of underground structures of shallow subway lines.
Time: 3.8c. Distance: 2800m Temperature: 7.5 thousand ° C. Radiation 1 Gy - in peaceful conditions and timely treatment, non-dangerous radiation injury, but with the accompanying unsanitary conditions and severe physical and psychological stress, the absence medical care, nutrition and normal rest, up to half of the victims die only from radiation and related diseases, and much more in terms of the amount of damage (plus injuries and burns). Pressure less than 0.1 MPa - urban areas with dense buildings turn into solid blockages. Complete destruction of basements without reinforcement of structures 0.075 MPa. The average destruction of earthquake-resistant buildings is 0.08-0.12 MPa. Severe damage to prefabricated reinforced concrete pillboxes. Detonation of pyrotechnics.
Time: 6c. Distance: 3600m Temperature: 4.5 thousand ° C. Average damage to a person by a shock wave. Radiation ~ 0.05 Gy - the dose is not dangerous. People and objects leave "shadows" on the pavement. Complete destruction of administrative multi-storey frame (office) buildings (0.05-0.06 MPa), shelters of the simplest type; strong and complete destruction of massive industrial structures. Almost all urban development has been destroyed with the formation of local blockages (one house - one blockage). Complete destruction of cars, complete destruction of the forest. An electromagnetic pulse of ~3 kV/m strikes insensitive electrical appliances. Destruction is similar to an earthquake of 10 points. The sphere turned into a fiery dome, like a bubble floating up, dragging a column of smoke and dust from the surface of the earth: a characteristic explosive mushroom grows with an initial vertical speed of up to 500 km / h. The wind speed near the surface to the epicenter is ~100 km/h.
Time: 10c. Distance: 6400m Temperature: 2k°C. The end of the effective time of the second glow phase, ~80% of the total energy of light radiation was released. The remaining 20% are safely illuminated for about a minute with a continuous decrease in intensity, gradually getting lost in the puffs of the cloud. Destruction of shelters of the simplest type (0.035-0.05 MPa). In the first kilometers, a person will not hear the roar of the explosion due to the damage to the hearing by the shock wave. Rejection of a person by a shock wave of ~20 m with an initial speed of ~30 km/h. Complete destruction of multi-storey brick houses, panel houses, severe destruction of warehouses, moderate destruction of frame administrative buildings. The destruction is similar to an earthquake of 8 points. Safe in almost any basement.
The glow of the fiery dome ceases to be dangerous, it turns into a fiery cloud, growing in volume as it rises; incandescent gases in the cloud begin to rotate in a torus-shaped vortex; hot explosion products are localized in the upper part of the cloud. The flow of dusty air in the column moves twice faster ascent"mushroom", overtakes the cloud, passes through, diverges and, as it were, is wound on it, like on a ring-shaped coil.
Time: 15c. Distance: 7500m. Light damage to a person by a shock wave. Third-degree burns on exposed parts of the body. Complete destruction of wooden houses, strong destruction of brick multi-storey buildings 0.02-0.03 MPa, average destruction of brick warehouses, multi-storey reinforced concrete, panel houses; weak destruction of administrative buildings 0.02-0.03 MPa, massive industrial buildings. Car fires. Destruction is similar to a 6 magnitude earthquake, a 12 magnitude hurricane. up to 39 m/s. The "mushroom" has grown up to 3 km above the center of the explosion (the true height of the mushroom is greater by the height of the warhead explosion, by about 1.5 km), it has a "skirt" of water vapor condensate in a stream of warm air, which is drawn like a fan by a cloud into the cold upper layers atmosphere.
Time: 35c. Distance: 14km. Second degree burns. Paper ignites, dark tarpaulin. A zone of continuous fires, in areas of dense combustible buildings, a fire storm, a tornado are possible (Hiroshima, "Operation Gomorrah"). Weak destruction of panel buildings. Decommissioning aircraft and missiles. The destruction is similar to an earthquake of 4-5 points, a storm of 9-11 points V = 21 - 28.5 m/s. "Mushroom" has grown to ~5 km fiery cloud shines ever weaker.
Time: 1min. Distance: 22km. First degree burns - death is possible in beach clothes. Destruction of reinforced glazing. Uprooting large trees. The zone of individual fires. The “mushroom” has risen to 7.5 km, the cloud stops emitting light and now has a reddish tint due to the nitrogen oxides it contains, which will stand out sharply from other clouds.
Time: 1.5min. Distance: 35km. The maximum radius of destruction of unprotected sensitive electrical equipment by an electromagnetic pulse. Almost all ordinary and part of the reinforced glass in the windows were broken - actually in a frosty winter, plus the possibility of cuts by flying fragments. "Mushroom" climbed up to 10 km, climbing speed ~ 220 km/h. Above the tropopause, the cloud develops predominantly in width.
Time: 4min. Distance: 85km. The flash is like a big unnatural bright sun at the horizon, can cause a retinal burn, a rush of heat to the face. The shock wave that arrived after 4 minutes can still knock a person down and break individual panes in the windows. "Mushroom" climbed over 16 km, climbing speed ~ 140 km / h
Time: 8min. Distance: 145km. The flash is not visible beyond the horizon, but a strong glow and a fiery cloud are visible. The total height of the "mushroom" is up to 24 km, the cloud is 9 km high and 20-30 km in diameter, with its wide part it "leans" on the tropopause. The mushroom cloud has grown to its maximum size and is observed for about an hour or more, until it is blown away by the winds and mixed with the usual cloudiness. Precipitation with relatively large particles falls out of the cloud within 10-20 hours, forming a near radioactive trace.
Time: 5.5-13 hours Distance: 300-500km. The far boundary of the zone of moderate infection (zone A). The level of radiation at the outer boundary of the zone is 0.08 Gy/h; total radiation dose 0.4-4 Gy.
Time: ~10 months. Effective time half the deposition of radioactive substances for the lower layers of the tropical stratosphere (up to 21 km), the fallout also occurs mainly in the middle latitudes in the same hemisphere where the explosion was made.
Monument to the first test of the Trinity atomic bomb. This monument was erected at White Sands in 1965, 20 years after the Trinity test. The memorial plaque of the monument reads: "On this site, on July 16, 1945, the world's first test of the atomic bomb took place." Another one Memorial plaque, set below, indicates that the site has been designated a National Historic Landmark. (Photo: Wikicommons)
Many films and essays have been made about the possible consequences of a nuclear warhead explosion over the city, many articles and books have been written. It just gets forgotten over time. The hair moved while watching / reading, and after a couple of three weeks, the memory obligingly pushed unpleasant things deep into the subcortex, the sharpness of perception became dull and "people" continue to live and enjoy life.
The constant fueling of tension in the face of unprovoked, brazen and unprincipled aggression (fortunately not yet military) by the United States and its vassals leads to the fact that the possible consequences of the use of nuclear weapons begin to worry not only us Russians, but also the aggressors themselves. And they begin to remember what the real use of nuclear weapons is, and not its pictures in propaganda videos and memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Especially the use of MODERN nuclear weapons, which Russia has and which WILL FLY to the UWB, despite all their missile defense systems.
The appearance on the site http://thebulletin.org/ (The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) of the article "What happens if an 800 kiloton warhead explodes over midtown Manhattan?" On February 25 of this year KMK is no coincidence. Despite everything, in America there are still quite a lot of thinking people who understand the essence of what is happening, who have a sober look at the consequences of the neocons' frantic policy. However, it may also be the opposite, that this article has found a second life under the weight of bricks in diapers. This article was first published on the same resource in 2004.
I made the translation quite free, because the authors themselves have a lot of confusion and inconsistencies in an attempt to describe the process of destruction in time. However, let's go.
The author of the article recalls that Russia has an estimated 1,000 strategic nuclear warheads that could reach US soil in less than 30 minutes after launch. Of this 1,000 warheads, about 700 have a yield of 800 kilotons, or 800,000 tons of TNT. So what will happen if such a warhead explodes in the heart of New York over midtown Manhattan ( Americans like to use epithets like heart and soul in relation to their cities).
Let me remind you what this part of New York is like: part of the Manhattan area between 14th Street in the south and 59th Street and Central Park in the north. In fact - the main business and shopping district of New York, the location of such American symbols as the Empire State Building (Empire State Building), Rockefeller Center (Rockefeller Center), Ford Foundation (Ford Foundation Building), Chrysler Building (Chrysler Building ) etc. The UN complex is located in the same area. And Wall Street too.
Primary fireball. The warhead will detonate at an altitude of about 1 mile (1.6 km) above the city, which maximizes the damage caused by the shock wave. A few milliseconds after the explosion, the center of the warhead will heat up to 100 million degrees Celsius, which is 5 times hotter than the core of the Sun ( Tthe temperature of the core of the Sun is 1.5 million Celsius, the surface is 6000 degrees, the temperature of the corona is 1 million).
The resulting ball of super-hot air will expand at a speed of several million kilometers per hour, acting as an ultra-fast piston that compresses the surrounding air along the periphery of the fireball, and creates a giant shock wave of enormous destructive force.
(KMK the author exaggerates the speed a little. At a speed of movement of the air mass at the level of Max1 - 350 m / s - the speed will be about 30.2 thousand km. at one o'clock. To achieve a speed of 1 million km / h - the air speed must be 11,574 m / s).
One second after the explosion, the fireball will reach 1 mile in diameter, having cooled down to 16,000 degrees Fahrenheit ( the authors of the article at the end begin to give already in Celsius and in kilometers), which is about 4000 degrees Celsius hotter than the surface of the Sun.
On a clear day, such temperatures would cause flash fires over an area of about 100 square miles ( over 250 sq. km).
Fire storm. Within seconds of the explosion, the fires that erupt will cause hot air to rise, sucking in cool, oxygen-rich air from all directions.
All ignition sources will gradually unite into one giant fire, the energy release of which can be 15-50 times higher than the initial energy release of the explosion itself. The firestorm will rapidly gain in strength, heating huge masses of air that can reach speeds of 300 miles (480 km) per hour. Due to the chimney effect, cool and oxygen-rich air from the periphery of the fires will continue to be sucked in, which will further increase the power of the fire. The force of the wind along the edges of the fire zone will be sufficient to uproot trees up to a meter in diameter and suck people into the flames.
Epicenter of the explosion: Midtown Manhattan. The fireball will vaporize any structure directly below it, and its shockwave will flatten even solid concrete structures within a radius of several miles to the ground. Buildings not immediately destroyed will be subjected to blast and super high temperatures, igniting anything that can burn.
In less than a second from the moment of the explosion, the asphalt will melt, all the paint on the walls will burn, and the steel surfaces will melt. In a second, a shock wave at 750 miles per hour will destroy buildings, throw cars into the air like leaves. Throughout midtown, all the insides of buildings and machines that are in the line of sight of the explosion will ignite.
In the Chelsea, Midoutn East and Lenox Hill areas, as well as in the UN, located at a distance of approximately 1 mile from the epicenter, all flammable objects will ignite with the intensity of the fireball's light, 10,000 times brighter than the midday desert sun.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2 miles from ground zero, will be razed to the ground along with all of its priceless historical treasures.
In the East Village, Lower Manhattan and Stusant Town, the fireball's light will be 2,700 times brighter than the midday sun in the desert. Thermal radiation will melt and warp aluminum surfaces, ignite cars, and incinerate skin before the shockwave even arrives.
At a distance of about 3 miles from the epicenter of the explosion, fires will begin in areas (Queens, Brooklyn, Western New York, Jersey City) located along the banks of the Hudson and the East River. Despite the influence of water masses on the direction of the fiery winds in the area, their effect will be similar to the effect of continuous fire, which will cover Midtown Manhattan. Here the strength of the light will be stronger in 1900 strength of the noonday sun. Clothing worn by people in the line of sight of the explosion will instantly ignite, causing third and fourth degree burns. After 12-14 seconds, the blast wave will reach here, driving the air in front of it at a speed of 200 to 300 miles per hour. Low-rise residential buildings will be destroyed, high-rise buildings will be severely damaged.
The fire will completely cover the entire territory within a radius of 5 miles from the epicenter of the explosion.
At a distance of 5.35 miles from the epicenter, the flash output will be twice as powerful as the thermal energy impact in Hiroshima. Thermal and light pressure in Jersey City, Cliffside Park, Woodside in Queens, Harlem and Governors Island will exceed the power of 600 noon suns.
At this distance, wind speeds will reach 70-100 miles per hour ( 130-160 km/h). Sturdy buildings will be subject to serious structural damage, all windows and doors, as well as non-load-bearing walls and partitions, will be demolished. Wooden (residential) houses and their interiors will spew clouds of black smoke as the paint and interiors ignite.
At a distance of 6 to 7 miles from the epicenter in the area from Monacha to New Jersey to Crown Heights in Brooklyn, from Yankee Stadium in Queens to the Crown in Queens and Crown Heights in Brooklyn, the thermal power of the ball will exceed the power of 300 noon suns and everyone in the line of sight of the ball will receive third-degree burns. A firestorm can engulf all areas within a 7 mile radius of the epicenter.
At 9 miles from the epicenter, the luminous power of the ball will exceed the power of 100 noon suns, which will cause second and third degree burns. After 36 seconds from the moment of the explosion, the blast wave will get here, knocking out windows, doors and partitions inside buildings.
There will be no survivors. In 10 minutes, the entire area within a 7-mile radius of the epicenter of the explosion in Midtown Manhattan will be engulfed in flames. A continuous fire can cover from 90 to 152 square miles (230 - 389 sq. km.) And it can last at least 6 hours. Air temperatures in the affected area will reach 400 - 500 degrees Fahrenheit (200 - 260 Celsius).
At the end of the fire, the surface of the earth will be so hot that even caterpillar vehicles will be able to drive on it only after a few days. Unburned flammable materials buried under rubble and the ground may ignite spontaneously when released into the air, even after several months.
Those who tried to escape across the open countryside and along the roads will be incinerated by the firestorm. Even those who managed to hide in the fortified cellars of buildings are likely to suffocate from the smoke and burning or be baked alive as their shelters heat up.
Fire will consume and destroy all life. For tens of miles from the site of direct destruction, radiation will be carried by the wind.
But that is another story.
After the end of World War II, the country anti-Hitler coalition rapidly tried to get ahead of each other in the development of a more powerful nuclear bomb.
The first test, conducted by the Americans on real objects in Japan, heated up the situation between the USSR and the USA to the limit. The powerful explosions that thundered in Japanese cities and practically destroyed all life in them forced Stalin to abandon many claims on the world stage. Most of the Soviet physicists were urgently "thrown" to the development of nuclear weapons.
When and how did nuclear weapons appear
1896 can be considered the year of birth of the atomic bomb. It was then that French chemist A. Becquerel discovered that uranium is radioactive. Chain reaction uranium forms a powerful energy that serves as the basis for a terrible explosion. It is unlikely that Becquerel imagined that his discovery would lead to the creation of nuclear weapons - the most terrible weapon in the whole world.
The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century was a turning point in the history of the invention of nuclear weapons. It was in this time period that scientists from various countries of the world were able to discover the following laws, rays and elements:
- Alpha, gamma and beta rays;
- Many isotopes have been discovered chemical elements having radioactive properties;
- The law of radioactive decay was discovered, which determines the time and quantitative dependence of the intensity of radioactive decay, depending on the number of radioactive atoms in the test sample;
- Nuclear isometry was born.
In the 1930s, for the first time, they were able to split atomic nucleus uranium with neutron absorption. At the same time, positrons and neurons were discovered. All this gave a powerful impetus to the development of weapons that used atomic energy. In 1939, the world's first atomic bomb design was patented. This was done by French physicist Frederic Joliot-Curie.
As a result of further research and development in this area, the nuclear bomb. The power and range of destruction of modern atomic bombs is so great that a country that has nuclear potential practically does not need a powerful army, since one atomic bomb is capable of destroying an entire state.
How an atomic bomb works
An atomic bomb consists of many elements, the main of which are:
- Atomic Bomb Corps;
- Automation system that controls the explosion process;
- Nuclear charge or warhead.
The automation system is located in the body of an atomic bomb, along with a nuclear charge. The hull design must be sufficiently reliable to protect the warhead from various external factors and influences. For example, various mechanical, thermal or similar influences, which can lead to an unplanned explosion of great power, capable of destroying everything around.
The task of automation includes complete control over the explosion at the right time, so the system consists of the following elements:
- Device responsible for emergency detonation;
- Power supply of the automation system;
- Undermining sensor system;
- cocking device;
- Safety device.
When the first tests were carried out, nuclear bombs were delivered by planes that had time to leave the affected area. Modern atomic bombs are so powerful that they can only be delivered using cruise, ballistic, or even anti-aircraft missiles.
Atomic bombs use a variety of detonation systems. The simplest of them is a conventional device that is triggered when a projectile hits a target.
One of the main characteristics of nuclear bombs and missiles is their division into calibers, which are of three types:
- Small, the power of atomic bombs of this caliber is equivalent to several thousand tons of TNT;
- Medium (explosion power - several tens of thousands of tons of TNT);
- Large, the charge power of which is measured in millions of tons of TNT.
It is interesting that most often the power of all nuclear bombs is measured precisely in TNT equivalent, since there is no scale for measuring the power of an explosion for atomic weapons.
Algorithms for the operation of nuclear bombs
Any atomic bomb operates on the principle of using nuclear energy, which is released during a nuclear reaction. This procedure is based on either the fission of heavy nuclei or the synthesis of lungs. Since this reaction releases a huge amount of energy, and in shortest time, the radius of destruction of a nuclear bomb is very impressive. Because of this feature, nuclear weapons are classified as weapons of mass destruction.
There are two main points in the process that starts with the explosion of an atomic bomb:
- This is the immediate center of the explosion, where the nuclear reaction takes place;
- The epicenter of the explosion, which is located at the site where the bomb exploded.
The nuclear energy released during the explosion of an atomic bomb is so strong that seismic tremors begin on the earth. At the same time, these shocks bring direct destruction only at a distance of several hundred meters (although, given the force of the explosion of the bomb itself, these shocks no longer affect anything).
Damage factors in a nuclear explosion
The explosion of a nuclear bomb brings not only terrible instantaneous destruction. The consequences of this explosion will be felt not only by people who fell into the affected area, but also by their children, who were born after the atomic explosion. Types of destruction by atomic weapons are divided into the following groups:
- Light radiation that occurs directly during the explosion;
- The shock wave propagated by a bomb immediately after the explosion;
- Electromagnetic pulse;
- penetrating radiation;
- A radioactive contamination that can last for decades.
Although at first glance, a flash of light poses the least threat, in fact, it is formed as a result of the release of a huge amount of thermal and light energy. Its power and strength far exceeds the power of the rays of the sun, so the defeat of light and heat can be fatal at a distance of several kilometers.
The radiation that is released during the explosion is also very dangerous. Although it does not last long, it manages to infect everything around, since its penetrating ability is incredibly high.
The shock wave in an atomic explosion acts like the same wave in conventional explosions, only its power and radius of destruction are much larger. In a few seconds, it causes irreparable damage not only to people, but also to equipment, buildings and the surrounding nature.
Penetrating radiation provokes the development of radiation sickness, and an electromagnetic pulse is dangerous only for equipment. The combination of all these factors, plus the power of the explosion, makes the atomic bomb the most dangerous weapon in the world.
The world's first nuclear weapons test
The first country to develop and test nuclear weapons was the United States of America. It was the US government that allocated huge cash subsidies for the development of promising new weapons. By the end of 1941, many prominent scientists in the field of atomic development were invited to the United States, who by 1945 were able to present a prototype atomic bomb suitable for testing.
The world's first test of an atomic bomb equipped with an explosive device was carried out in the desert in the state of New Mexico. A bomb called "Gadget" was detonated on July 16, 1945. The test result was positive, although the military demanded to test a nuclear bomb in real combat conditions.
Seeing that there was only one step left before the victory on the Nazi coalition, and there might not be more such an opportunity, the Pentagon decided to launch a nuclear strike on the last ally Nazi Germany- Japan. In addition, the use of a nuclear bomb was supposed to solve several problems at once:
- To avoid the unnecessary bloodshed that would inevitably occur if US troops set foot on Imperial Japanese territory;
- To bring the uncompromising Japanese to their knees in one blow, forcing them to agree to conditions favorable to the United States;
- Show the USSR (as a possible rival in the future) that the US Army has a unique weapon that can wipe out any city from the face of the earth;
- And, of course, to see in practice what nuclear weapons are capable of in real combat conditions.
On August 6, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which was used in military operations. This bomb was called "Baby", as its weight was 4 tons. The bomb drop was carefully planned, and it hit exactly where it was planned. Those houses that were not destroyed by the blast burned down, as the stoves that fell in the houses provoked fires, and the whole city was engulfed in flames.
After a bright flash, a heat wave followed, which burned all life within a radius of 4 kilometers, and the shock wave that followed it destroyed most of the buildings.
Those who were hit by heatstroke within a radius of 800 meters were burned alive. The blast wave tore off the burnt skin of many. A couple of minutes later, a strange black rain fell, which consisted of steam and ash. Those who fell under the black rain, the skin received incurable burns.
Those few who were lucky enough to survive fell ill with radiation sickness, which at that time was not only not studied, but also completely unknown. People began to develop fever, vomiting, nausea and bouts of weakness.
On August 9, 1945, the second American bomb, called "Fat Man", was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. This bomb had about the same power as the first, and the consequences of its explosion were just as devastating, although people died half as much.
Two atomic bombs dropped on Japanese cities turned out to be the first and only case in the world of the use of atomic weapons. More than 300,000 people died in the first days after the bombing. About 150 thousand more died from radiation sickness.
After the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities, Stalin received a real shock. It became clear to him that the question of developing nuclear weapons in Soviet Russia This is a matter of national security. Already on August 20, 1945, a special committee on atomic energy began to work, which was urgently created by I. Stalin.
Although research on nuclear physics carried out by a group of enthusiasts back in tsarist Russia, V Soviet time she wasn't getting enough attention. In 1938, all research in this area was completely stopped, and many nuclear scientists were repressed as enemies of the people. After the nuclear explosions in Japan Soviet authority sharply began to restore the nuclear industry in the country.
There is evidence that the development of nuclear weapons was carried out in Nazi Germany, and it was German scientists who finalized the “crude” American atomic bomb, so the US government removed all nuclear specialists and all documents related to the development of nuclear weapons from Germany.
The Soviet intelligence school, which during the war was able to bypass all foreign intelligence services, back in 1943 transferred secret documents related to the development of nuclear weapons to the USSR. At the same time, Soviet agents were introduced into all major American nuclear research centers.
As a result of all these measures, already in 1946, the terms of reference for the manufacture of two Soviet-made nuclear bombs were ready:
- RDS-1 (with plutonium charge);
- RDS-2 (with two parts of the uranium charge).
The abbreviation "RDS" was deciphered as "Russia does itself", which almost completely corresponded to reality.
The news that the USSR was ready to release its nuclear weapons forced the US government to take drastic measures. In 1949, the Troyan plan was developed, according to which 70 largest cities The USSR planned to drop atomic bombs. Only the fear of a retaliatory strike prevented this plan from being realized.
This alarming information comes from Soviet intelligence officers, forced scientists to work in emergency mode. Already in August 1949, the first atomic bomb produced in the USSR was tested. When the US found out about these tests, the Trojan plan was postponed indefinitely. The era of confrontation between the two superpowers, known in history as the Cold War, began.
The most powerful nuclear bomb in the world, known as the "Tsar bomb" belongs precisely to the period " cold war". Soviet scientists have created the most powerful bomb in the history of mankind. Its capacity was 60 megatons, although it was planned to create a bomb with a capacity of 100 kilotons. This bomb was tested in October 1961. The diameter of the fireball during the explosion was 10 kilometers, and the blast wave circled the globe three times. It was this test that forced most countries of the world to sign an agreement to end nuclear tests not only in the earth's atmosphere, but even in space.
Although atomic weapons are an excellent means of intimidating aggressive countries, on the other hand, they are capable of extinguishing any military conflicts in the bud, since all parties to the conflict can be destroyed in an atomic explosion.
