A nuclear bomb explodes in the ocean. Paradise Island after US nuclear tests: irreversible consequences

I agree with the professor, as a person who deals with this.

I will add that they are afraid not only of an explosion at a distance of 1 km from the surface. 5 types: air, high-altitude, ground, underground, underwater, surface: for example:

Aerial nuclear explosions include explosions in the air at such a height that the luminous area of ​​the explosion does not touch the surface of the earth (water). One sign of an airburst is that the dust plume does not connect with the explosion cloud (high airburst). The air burst can be high or low.

The point on the surface of the earth (water) above which the explosion occurred is called the epicenter of the explosion.

An aerial nuclear explosion begins with a dazzling, short-term flash, the light from which can be observed at a distance of several tens and hundreds of kilometers. Following the flash, a spherical luminous area appears at the site of the explosion, which quickly increases in size and rises. The temperature of the luminous region reaches tens of millions of degrees. The luminous area serves as a powerful source of light radiation. As the fireball grows, it quickly rises and cools, turning into a rising swirling cloud. When a fireball rises, and then a swirling cloud, a powerful upward flow of air is created, which sucks dust raised by the explosion from the ground, which is held in the air for several tens of minutes.

In a low-air explosion, the dust column raised by the explosion may merge with the explosion cloud; the result is a mushroom-shaped cloud. If an air explosion occurs at a high altitude, the dust column may not connect with the cloud. The cloud of a nuclear explosion, moving with the wind, loses its characteristic shape and dissipates. A nuclear explosion is accompanied by a sharp sound, reminiscent of a strong clap of thunder. Aerial explosions can be used by the enemy to defeat troops on the battlefield, destroy city and industrial buildings, and destroy aircraft and airfield structures. The damaging factors of an airborne nuclear explosion are: shock wave, light radiation, penetrating radiation and electromagnetic pulse.

1.2. High altitude nuclear explosion

A high-altitude nuclear explosion is carried out at an altitude of 10 km or more from the surface of the earth. During high-altitude explosions at an altitude of several tens of kilometers, a spherical luminous area is formed at the explosion site; its dimensions are larger than during an explosion of the same power in the ground layer of the atmosphere. After cooling, the glowing area turns into a swirling ring cloud. A dust column and dust cloud are not formed during a high-altitude explosion. In nuclear explosions at altitudes up to 25-30 km, the damaging factors of this explosion are a shock wave, light radiation, penetrating radiation and an electromagnetic pulse.

As the height of the explosion increases due to atmospheric rarefaction, the shock wave weakens significantly, and the role of light radiation and penetrating radiation increases. Explosions occurring in the ionospheric region create areas or regions of increased ionization in the atmosphere, which can affect the propagation of radio waves (ultra-short wave range) and disrupt the operation of radio equipment.

There is practically no radioactive contamination of the earth's surface during high-altitude nuclear explosions.

High-altitude explosions can be used to destroy air and space attack and reconnaissance weapons: aircraft, cruise missiles, satellites, and ballistic missile warheads.

The creation of the hydrogen bomb began in Germany during the Second World War. But the experiments ended in vain due to the fall of the Reich. The first in the practical phase of research were American nuclear physicists. On November 1, 1952, a 10.4 megaton explosion occurred in the Pacific Ocean.

On October 30, 1961, a few minutes before noon, seismologists around the world recorded a strong shock wave that circled the globe several times. Such a terrible trail was left by a detonated hydrogen bomb. The authors of such a noisy explosion were Soviet nuclear physicists and military personnel. The world was horrified. This was another round of confrontation between the West and the Soviets. Humanity has reached a fork in its existence.

The history of the creation of the first hydrogen bomb in the USSR

Physicists from the leading powers of the world knew the theory of extracting thermonuclear fusion back in the 30s of the twentieth century. The thermonuclear concept developed intensively during the Second World War. The leading developer was Germany. Until 1944, German scientists worked diligently to activate thermonuclear fusion through compaction of nuclear fuel using conventional explosives. However, the experiment could not succeed due to insufficient temperatures and pressure. The defeat of the Reich put an end to thermonuclear research.

However, the war did not stop the USSR and the USA from engaging in similar developments since the 40s, albeit not as successfully as the Germans. Both superpowers approached the moment of testing at approximately the same time. The Americans became pioneers in the practical phase of research. The explosion took place on November 1, 1952 on the coral atoll of Enewetak in the Pacific Ocean. The operation was secretly called Ivy Mike.

Experts pumped the 3-story building with liquid deuterium. The total power of the charge was 10.4 megatons of TNT. It turned out 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. After the explosion, the island of Elugelab, which became the center for placing the charge, disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace. In its place a crater with a diameter of 1 mile formed.

Over the entire history of the development of nuclear weapons on Earth, more than 2,000 explosions have been carried out: aboveground, underground, airborne and underwater. The ecosystem has suffered colossal damage.

Operating principle

The design of a hydrogen bomb is based on the use of energy released during the thermonuclear fusion reaction of light nuclei. A similar process occurs inside a star, where the effects of ultra-high temperatures along with enormous pressure cause hydrogen nuclei to collide. At the exit, weighted helium nuclei are formed. In the process, part of the mass of hydrogen is transformed into energy of exceptional strength. This is why stars are constant sources of energy.

Physicists adopted the fission scheme, replacing hydrogen isotopes with elements such as deuterium and tritium. However, the product was still given the name hydrogen bomb based on the basic design. Early developments also used liquid isotopes of hydrogen. But later the main component became solid lithium-6 deuterium.

Lithium-6 deuterium already contains tritium. But to release it, it is necessary to create a peak temperature and enormous pressure. To do this, a shell of uranium-238 and polystyrene is constructed under the thermonuclear fuel. A small nuclear charge with a yield of several kilotons is installed nearby. It serves as a trigger.

When the charge explodes, the uranium shell goes into a plasma state, creating peak temperatures and enormous pressure. In the process, plutonium neutrons come into contact with lithium-6, allowing tritium to be released. Deuterium and lithium nuclei communicate, forming a thermonuclear explosion. This is the principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb.

Why does a “mushroom” form during an explosion?

When a thermonuclear charge is detonated, a hot glowing spherical mass is formed, better known as a fireball. As it forms, the mass expands, cools and rushes upward. During the cooling process, the vapors in the fireball condense into a cloud with solid particles, moisture and charge elements.

An air sleeve is formed, which draws moving elements from the surface of the landfill and transfers them into the atmosphere. The heated cloud rises to a height of 10-15 km, then cools and begins to spread across the surface of the atmosphere, taking on a mushroom shape.

First tests

In the USSR, an experimental thermonuclear explosion was first carried out on August 12, 1953. At 7:30 am, the RDS-6 hydrogen bomb was detonated at the Semipalatinsk test site. It is worth saying that this was the fourth test of atomic weapons in the Soviet Union, but the first thermonuclear one. The mass of the bomb was 7 tons. It could easily fit in the bomb bay of a Tu-16 bomber. For comparison, let's take an example from the West: the American Ivy Mike bomb weighed 54 tons, and a 3-story building similar to a house was built for it.

Soviet scientists went further than the Americans. To assess the severity of the destruction, a town of residential and administrative buildings was built at the site. We placed military equipment from each branch of the military around the perimeter. In total, 190 different objects of real and movable property were located in the affected area. At the same time, scientists prepared more than 500 types of all kinds of measuring equipment at the test site and in the air, on observation aircraft. Movie cameras were installed.

The RDS-6 bomb was installed on a 40-meter iron tower with the possibility of remote detonation. All traces of past tests, radiation soil, etc. were removed from the test site. The observation bunkers were strengthened, and next to the tower, just 5 meters away, a permanent shelter was built for equipment recording thermonuclear reactions and processes.

Explosion. The shock wave demolished everything that was installed at the test site within a radius of 4 km. Such a charge could easily turn a town of 30 thousand people into dust. The instruments recorded horrific environmental consequences: strontium-90 almost 82%, and cesium-137 about 75%. These are off-scale indicators of radionuclides.

The power of the explosion was estimated at 400 kilotons, which was 20 times greater than the American equivalent of Ivy Mike. According to 2005 studies, more than 1 million people suffered from tests at the Semipalatinsk test site. But these numbers are deliberately underestimated. The main consequences are oncology.

After testing, the developer of the hydrogen bomb, Andrei Sakharov, was awarded the degree of Academician of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Explosion at the Sukhoi Nos training ground

8 years later, on October 30, 1961, the USSR exploded the 58-megaton Tsar Bomba AN602 over the Novaya Zemlya archipelago at an altitude of 4 km. The projectile was dropped by a Tu-16A aircraft from a height of 10.5 km by parachute. After the explosion, the shock wave circled the planet three times. The fireball reached 5 km in diameter. The light radiation had a damaging force within a radius of 100 km. The nuclear mushroom has grown 70 km. The roar spread over 800 km. The power of the explosion was 58.6 megatons.

Scientists admitted that they thought that the atmosphere began to burn and oxygen burned out, and this would mean the end of all life on earth. But the fears turned out to be in vain. It was subsequently proven that the chain reaction from a thermonuclear explosion does not threaten the atmosphere.

The AN602 hull was designed for 100 megatons. Nikita Khrushchev later joked that the charge volume was reduced for fear of “breaking all the windows in Moscow.” The weapon did not enter service, but it was such a political trump card that it was impossible to cover it at that time. The USSR demonstrated to the whole world that it was capable of solving the problem of any megatonnage of nuclear weapons.

Possible consequences of a hydrogen bomb explosion

First of all, the hydrogen bomb is a weapon of mass destruction. It can destroy not only with a blast wave, as TNT shells are capable of, but also with radiation consequences. What happens after the explosion of a thermonuclear charge:

• a shock wave that sweeps away everything in its path, leaving behind large-scale destruction;
• thermal effect - incredible thermal energy, capable of melting even concrete structures;
• radioactive fallout - a cloud mass with drops of radiation water, charge decay elements and radionuclides, moves with the wind and falls as precipitation at any distance from the epicenter of the explosion.

Near nuclear test sites or man-made disasters, a radioactive background has been observed for decades. The consequences of using a hydrogen bomb are very serious, capable of harming future generations.

To clearly assess the effect of the destructive power of thermonuclear weapons, we suggest watching a short video of the RDS-6 detonation at the Semipalatinsk test site.

Ivy Mike - the first atmospheric test of a hydrogen bomb conducted by the United States at Eniwetak Atoll on November 1, 1952.

65 years ago, the Soviet Union detonated its first thermonuclear bomb. How does this weapon work, what can it do and what can it not do?

On August 12, 1953, the first “practical” thermonuclear bomb was detonated in the USSR. We will tell you about the history of its creation and figure out whether it is true that such ammunition hardly pollutes the environment, but can destroy the world.

The idea of ​​thermonuclear weapons, where the nuclei of atoms are fused rather than split, as in an atomic bomb, appeared no later than 1941. It came to the minds of physicists Enrico Fermi and Edward Teller. Around the same time, they became involved in the Manhattan Project and helped create the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Designing a thermonuclear weapon turned out to be much more difficult.

You can roughly understand how much more complicated a thermonuclear bomb is than a nuclear bomb by the fact that working nuclear power plants have long been commonplace, and working and practical thermonuclear power plants are still science fiction.

In order for atomic nuclei to fuse with each other, they must be heated to millions of degrees. The Americans patented a design for a device that would allow this to be done in 1946 (the project was unofficially called Super), but they remembered it only three years later, when the USSR successfully tested a nuclear bomb.

By 1951, the Americans assembled the device and conducted tests under the code name "George". The design was a torus - in other words, a donut - with heavy isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. They were chosen because such nuclei are easier to merge than ordinary hydrogen nuclei. The fuse was a nuclear bomb. The explosion compressed deuterium and tritium, they merged, gave a stream of fast neutrons and ignited the uranium plate. In a conventional atomic bomb, it does not fission: there are only slow neutrons, which cannot cause a stable isotope of uranium to fission. Although nuclear fusion energy accounted for approximately 10% of the total energy of the George explosion, the “ignition” of uranium-238 allowed the explosion to be twice as powerful as usual, to 225 kilotons.

Due to the additional uranium, the explosion was twice as powerful as with a conventional atomic bomb. But thermonuclear fusion accounted for only 10% of the energy released: tests showed that hydrogen nuclei were not compressed strongly enough.

Then mathematician Stanislav Ulam proposed a different approach - a two-stage nuclear fuse. His idea was to place a plutonium rod in the “hydrogen” zone of the device. The explosion of the first fuse “ignited” the plutonium, two shock waves and two streams of X-rays collided - the pressure and temperature jumped enough for thermonuclear fusion to begin. The new device was tested on the Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1952 - the explosive power of the bomb was already ten megatons of TNT.

However, this device was also unsuitable for use as a military weapon.

For hydrogen nuclei to fuse, the distance between them must be minimal, so deuterium and tritium were cooled to a liquid state, almost to absolute zero. This required a huge cryogenic installation. The second thermonuclear device, essentially an enlarged modification of the George, weighed 70 tons - you can’t drop that from an airplane.

The USSR began developing a thermonuclear bomb later: the first scheme was proposed by Soviet developers only in 1949. It was supposed to use lithium deuteride. This is a metal, a solid substance, it does not need to be liquefied, and therefore a bulky refrigerator, as in the American version, was no longer required. Equally important, lithium-6, when bombarded with neutrons from the explosion, produced helium and tritium, which further simplifies the further fusion of nuclei.

The RDS-6s bomb was ready in 1953. Unlike American and modern thermonuclear devices, it did not contain a plutonium rod. This scheme is known as a “puff”: layers of lithium deuteride were interspersed with uranium layers. On August 12, RDS-6s was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site.

The power of the explosion was 400 kilotons of TNT - 25 times less than in the second attempt by the Americans. But the RDS-6s could be dropped from the air. The same bomb was going to be used on intercontinental ballistic missiles. And already in 1955, the USSR improved its thermonuclear brainchild, equipping it with a plutonium rod.

Today, virtually all thermonuclear devices—even North Korean ones, apparently—are a cross between early Soviet and American designs. They all use lithium deuteride as fuel and ignite it with a two-stage nuclear detonator.

As is known from leaks, even the most modern American thermonuclear warhead, the W88, is similar to the RDS-6c: layers of lithium deuteride are interspersed with uranium.

The difference is that modern thermonuclear munitions are not multi-megaton monsters like the Tsar Bomba, but systems with a yield of hundreds of kilotons, like the RDS-6s. No one has megaton warheads in their arsenals, since, militarily, a dozen less powerful warheads are more valuable than one strong one: this allows you to hit more targets.

Technicians work with an American W80 thermonuclear warhead

What a thermonuclear bomb cannot do

Hydrogen is an extremely common element; there is enough of it in the Earth’s atmosphere.

At one time it was rumored that a sufficiently powerful thermonuclear explosion could start a chain reaction and all the air on our planet would burn out. But this is a myth.

Not only gaseous, but also liquid hydrogen is not dense enough for thermonuclear fusion to begin. It needs to be compressed and heated by a nuclear explosion, preferably from different sides, as is done with a two-stage fuse. There are no such conditions in the atmosphere, so self-sustaining nuclear fusion reactions are impossible there.

This is not the only misconception about thermonuclear weapons. It is often said that an explosion is “cleaner” than a nuclear one: they say that when hydrogen nuclei fuse, there are fewer “fragments” - dangerous short-lived atomic nuclei that produce radioactive contamination - than when uranium nuclei fission.

This misconception is based on the fact that during a thermonuclear explosion, most of the energy is supposedly released due to the fusion of nuclei. It is not true. Yes, the Tsar Bomba was like that, but only because its uranium “jacket” was replaced with lead for testing. Modern two-stage fuses result in significant radioactive contamination.

The zone of possible total destruction by the Tsar Bomba, plotted on the map of Paris. The red circle is the zone of complete destruction (radius 35 km). The yellow circle is the size of the fireball (radius 3.5 km).

True, there is still a grain of truth in the myth of the “clean” bomb. Take the best American thermonuclear warhead, W88. If it explodes at the optimal height above the city, the area of ​​severe destruction will practically coincide with the zone of radioactive damage, dangerous to life. There will be vanishingly few deaths from radiation sickness: people will die from the explosion itself, not from radiation.

Another myth says that thermonuclear weapons are capable of destroying all human civilization, and even life on Earth. This is also practically excluded. The energy of the explosion is distributed in three dimensions, therefore, with an increase in the power of the ammunition by a thousand times, the radius of destructive action increases only ten times - a megaton warhead has a radius of destruction only ten times greater than a tactical, kiloton warhead.

66 million years ago, an asteroid impact led to the extinction of most land animals and plants. The impact power was about 100 million megatons - this is 10 thousand times more than the total power of all thermonuclear arsenals of the Earth. 790 thousand years ago, an asteroid collided with the planet, the impact was a million megatons, but no traces of even moderate extinction (including our genus Homo) occurred after that. Both life in general and people are much stronger than they seem.

The truth about thermonuclear weapons is not as popular as the myths. Today it is as follows: thermonuclear arsenals of compact warheads of medium power provide a fragile strategic balance, because of which no one can freely iron other countries of the world with atomic weapons. Fear of a thermonuclear response is more than enough of a deterrent.

Tensions between the United States and the DPRK increased significantly after Donald Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly, in which he promised to “destroy the DPRK” if they pose a threat to the United States and allies. In response to this, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the response to the US President’s statement would be “the toughest measures.” And subsequently, North Korean Foreign Minister Lee Yong Ho shed light on a possible response to Trump - testing a hydrogen (thermonuclear) bomb in the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic writes about exactly how this bomb will affect the ocean (translation - Depo.ua).

What does it mean

North Korea has already conducted nuclear tests in underground silos and launched ballistic missiles. Testing a hydrogen bomb in the ocean could mean that the warhead would be attached to a ballistic missile that would be launched toward the ocean. If North Korea conducts its next test, it will be the first detonation of a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere for nearly 40 years. And, of course, it will have a significant impact on the environment.

A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than conventional nuclear bombs because it can produce much more explosive energy.

What exactly will happen

If a hydrogen bomb hits the Pacific Ocean, it will detonate with a blinding flash and a mushroom cloud will be visible afterwards. If we talk about the consequences, most likely they will depend on the height of the detonation above the water. The initial explosion can kill most of the life in the detonation zone - many fish and other animals in the ocean will die instantly. When the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, the entire population within a 500-meter radius was killed.

The explosion will send radioactive particles into the sky and water. The wind will carry them thousands of kilometers away.

The smoke—and the mushroom cloud itself—will obscure the Sun. Due to the lack of sunlight, organisms in the ocean that depend on photosynthesis will suffer. Radiation will also affect the health of life forms in neighboring seas. Radiation is known to damage human, animal and plant cells by causing changes in their genes. These changes may lead to mutation in future generations. According to experts, eggs and larvae of marine organisms are especially sensitive to radiation.

The test could also have long-term negative effects on people and animals if radiation particles reach the ground.

They can pollute the air, soil and water bodies. More than 60 years after the US tested a series of atomic bombs off Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the island remains “uninhabitable”, according to a 2014 report by The Guardian. Even before the tests, residents were displaced but returned in the 1970s. However, they saw a high level of radiation in the products grown near the nuclear testing zone, and were forced to leave this area again.

Story

Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out by different countries in underground mines and reservoirs. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been in force since 1996. The United States tested a nuclear missile, according to one of North Korea's vice foreign ministers, in the Pacific Ocean in 1962. The last ground test with nuclear power took place in China in 1980.

This year alone, North Korea conducted 19 ballistic missile tests and one nuclear test. Earlier this month, North Korea said it had conducted a successful underground test of a hydrogen bomb. Because of this, an artificial earthquake occurred near the test site, which was recorded by seismic activity stations around the world. A week later, the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for new sanctions against North Korea.

The site editors are not responsible for the content of materials in the “Blogs” and “Articles” sections. The editor's opinion may differ from the author's.

Koh Kambaran. Pakistan decided to conduct its first nuclear tests in the province of Balochistan. The charges were placed in a tunnel dug in Mount Koh Kambaran and detonated in May 1998. Local residents hardly visit this area, with the exception of a few nomads and herbalists.

Maralinga. The site in southern Australia, where atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons took place, was once considered sacred by local residents. As a result, twenty years after the end of the tests, a repeat operation was organized to clean up Maralinga. The first was carried out after the final test in 1963.

Reserved On May 18, 1974, an 8-kiloton bomb was tested in the Indian desert of Rajasthan. In May 1998, charges were exploded at the Pokhran test site - five of them, including a thermonuclear charge of 43 kilotons.

Bikini Atoll. In the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean there is Bikini Atoll, where the United States actively conducted nuclear tests. Other explosions were rarely caught on film, but these were filmed quite often. Of course - 67 tests between 1946 and 1958.

Christmas Island. Christmas Island, also known as Kiritimati, stands out because both Britain and the United States conducted nuclear weapons tests there. In 1957, the first British hydrogen bomb was detonated there, and in 1962, as part of Project Dominic, the United States tested 22 charges there.

Lop Nor. About 45 warheads were detonated at the site of a dry salt lake in western China, both in the atmosphere and underground. Testing was stopped in 1996.

Mururoa. The South Pacific atoll has been through a lot - 181 French nuclear weapons tests, to be exact, from 1966 to 1986. The last charge got stuck in an underground mine and when it exploded, it created a crack several kilometers long. After this, the tests were stopped.

New Earth. The archipelago in the Arctic Ocean was chosen for nuclear testing on September 17, 1954. Since then, 132 nuclear explosions have been carried out there, including a test of the most powerful hydrogen bomb in the world, the 58-megaton Tsar Bomba.

Semipalatinsk From 1949 to 1989, at least 468 nuclear tests were carried out at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. So much plutonium accumulated there that from 1996 to 2012, Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States conducted a secret operation to search for and collect and dispose of radioactive materials. It was possible to collect about 200 kg of plutonium.

Nevada. The Nevada Test Site, which has existed since 1951, breaks all records - 928 nuclear explosions, 800 of them underground. Considering that the test site is located only 100 kilometers from Las Vegas, nuclear mushrooms half a century ago were considered a completely normal part of entertainment for tourists.