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Nuclear explosive devices have been built as small as cylinders 6 inches in diameter and 20 inches long or as small as spheres 11 inches in diameter to as large as cylinders 20 feet in diameter and 80 feet tall.
If you meant explosive yield then devices have been built with yields as low as 10 tons to over 50 megatons.
The physical size and yield are not necessarily proportional.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 7y agoNuclear explosions are typically measured in tons of TNT equivalent.
Their size varies from a few hundred tons (artillery shell) to tens of mega tons - big big bombs.
There is no such thing as a nominal atomic bomb, despite what much literature of the 1950s might have said. The yield (size of explosion) is whatever the designers made it. Bombs have been built, tested, and stockpiled with yields from 10 tons (Davy Crocket & SADM - US) to more than 50 megatons (Tsar Bomba - USSR). The Tsar Bomba was designed to be capable of a 100 megaton yield, but wasn't tested in that configuration in order to limit fallout effects. The US even did a study on building a 1 gigaton bomb, but decided against it when calculations showed that most of its blast effect would only be expended on blowing the top of the atmosphere off into space above the burst location! But there was no practical problem preventing building such a bomb or even far larger ones.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoDepends on how much TNT you use...but if you mean "how powerful is TNT compared to other high explosives"...brace yourself. TNT is not all that powerful of an explosive. Explosives are rated on the Relative Effectiveness scale, which judges the power of an explosive relative to that of TNT. Most explosives are more powerful than TNT.
TNT's advantage is its stability and insensitivity to shock. Also, it melts at a far lower temperature than it burns at, so they can safely pour it into artillery shells and things like that.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoThey can grow up to earths size multiplied 8 times, the biggest one saw was 17 times the size of earth!
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Would the nuclear explosions in Chernobyl and Japan affect the Ozone and climate?
Very unlikely. Also neither were nuclear explosions:Chernobyl was a massive steam explosion in the cooling system, and Japan was a combination of steam explosions and maybe hydrogen/oxygen explosions. The nuclear releases in both cases were due to breaches of the containment by these explosions. If they had been nuclear explosions many miles from the plants would have been leveled and that did not happen.
How does nuclear fusion power the sun for 10 billion years?
First, the Sun is pretty big, and there is a LOT of hydrogen. Second, nuclear fusion generates a WHOLE lot of energy.
What planet has wrinkles?
explosions from the sun
What drives all outbursts of explosions on the sun?
photons
The sun produces big explosions of energy called?
These are called Solar Flares .
How is light generated from the sun?
By nuclear explosions in the earth's core that cause chemical reactions, basically the sun is one big bomb!
How big are the explosions on the sun?
Quite big
What characteristics does the sun have in common with other stars?
They explode with nuclear explosions.
Which is bigger a nuclear or atomic explosion?
Nuclear explosions are the result of splitting the atom. It is actually what powers the sun.
Why can't we hear nuclear explosions from the sun?
We cannot hear the explosions from the sun as sound cannot travel through a vacuum, and the sound would have to travel through one to reach the Earth.
Nuclear weapon how hot are they to the sun?
Theoretically any Thermonuclear Fusion Explosions (what happens on the surface of the sun) are the same heat.
How does the medium affect the speed of a wave?
medium really affect the speed of sound the big example in front of us is sun as there are a lot of explosions on the surface of sun because of nuclear reactions but we cant hear them because there is a vaccum between earth and sun.
When will the sun be colonized?
The Sun cannot be colonized as life would become rapidly unbearable if we got to close to it. It is a great big ball of continual nuclear explosions. Going anywhere near it would be unwise... unless you go at night.
How does the medium affect the speed of a sound wave?
medium really affect the speed of sound the big example in front of us is sun as there are a lot of explosions on the surface of sun because of nuclear reactions but we cant hear them because there is a vaccum between earth and sun.
Could nuclear explosions harm the atmosphere?
yes exended use of nuclear bombs would send tons of debris and dust in the air that will block out the sun
What kind of explosions are used in nuclear bombs?
nuclear
Why cant you hear nuclear explosions from the sun?
because an average human is only able to hear sounds that are 20 watts and higher.
