Nuclear Weapons

Sand Cone: Dig out the dirt being tested for compaction, weigh it, heat it until absolutely dry, and weigh it again. (Determines the weight of water in the dirt sample. ) Then, using the sand cone device, fill the hole level with sand, using the device gradations to measure the sand volume. Then, using a math formula with the weight measurements and the volume of the sample, calculate the existing dry density of the dirt sample.

Half a day later (seems like), go advise the equipement operator as to whether he is getting enough compaction to meet your specs.

Nuclear Density Guage: Turn on and calibrate the guage once in the morning. For each test, drive a probe in the dirt to be sampled, position the guage over the hole, then, unlocking the handle, push the radioactive source into the hole, usually at selectable depths. Wait 30 to 60 seconds, and look at the readout, which will tell you wet and dry density of the soil, and usually these days, the percent of compaction of the soil at that location. Tell the operator whether the compaction meets your specs, or not.

The difference between them is what kind of fuel they use.

A nuclear power plant uses a nuclear reactor to break apart uranium or other radioactive materials in the process called fission. Breaking down these atoms into smaller atoms creates a lot of heat used to make steam and power steam turbines, which in turn generates electricity.

A normal power plant uses either coal, natural gas, oil, or other fossil fuel. It burns the fuel to create heat in order to make steam. The steam then powers steam turbines to generate electricity.

Green power plants use either Solar power, captured by solar panels, or wind power, captured by wind turbines.

Nuclear reactors have the potential to cause catastrophic accidents, such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, which can have long-lasting impacts. However, when operated safely, nuclear power is a reliable and low-carbon energy source. Each type of energy resource has its own risks and benefits, and it is important to consider all factors when evaluating their safety and environmental impact.

There are a few:

Plutonium or Uranium (either, or both, depending on the weapon)

Beryllium

Gold

Steel

Aluminum

Boron

Lead

Copper

Older style or more primitive weapons may contain polonium in the initiator.

Styrofoam is used in a hydrogen bomb as a material to provide the necessary compression needed to trigger the fusion reaction. When the bomb explodes, the styrofoam is compressed rapidly, creating the high temperatures and pressures required for fusion to occur.

• The US tested nuclear devices in the Trinity test site in NM, Bikini atoll in the Marshal islands, Eniwetok atoll in the Marshal islands, underwater offshore Mexico in international waters south of San Diego CA, the Nevada test site north of Las Vegas NV, in space, and for project Plowshare (peaceful uses of nuclear explosives) in about half a dozen other states.
• The USSR tested nuclear devices at 2 or 3 sites in Siberia and its largest fusion bomb tests were on the arctic island of Novaya Zemlya.
• The UK tested nuclear devices in Australia.
• France tested early nuclear devices in the Sahara desert while it still had colonies there, since then I'm not sure.

As of now, Russia possesses the largest nuclear bomb in the world known as the Tsar Bomba. It was tested in 1961 and had a yield of 50 megatons, making it the most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated.

Yes, for a nuclear weapon to work it has to use fission(splitting of atoms) to acquire its energy. When this fission occurs some small parts of atoms are not completely turned into energy or into the decayed form of uranium. These parts which are usually made up of pairs of one or two nutrons, protons or electrons are then flung at high speeds resulting in radiation.

Most debris from a nuclear weapons test consists of radioactive materials in the form of soil, rock, and other materials that were vaporized or melted during the explosion. This debris can be a significant hazard due to its potential for spreading radioactive contamination over a wide area. Cleanup efforts typically focus on containing and disposing of the debris to minimize the risk to human health and the environment.

The US, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, and Pakistan are known to have thermonuclear weapons ("hydrogen bombs"). North Korea has tested fission cores powerful enough to initiate a deuterium-tritium fusion reaction, and it's believed (though it's not known with certainty) that they have a (probably small) stockpile of thermonuclear weapons.

So, that's 7 for sure, 8 almost certainly, and then there's a 9th:

Israel certainly has the technology level and resources required to construct a thermonuclear weapon. However, Israel has never officially confirmed that they have such weapons, and they are a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (though it's generally suspected that they either have, or could in very short order construct, thermonuclear devices).

In addition, the US has nuclear weapons physically stored in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. The US formerly had thermonuclear devices in Canada, Greece and South Korea as well, though these have now been removed. The breakup of the USSR left some of its weapons in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, but these have likewise now been transferred back to Russia.

South Africa at one time had six nuclear weapons, but I believe these were fission ("atomic bomb") weapons and not fusion ("hydrogen bomb") weapons and they've since been disassembled anyway.

1952 Ivy Mike. Tested on Eugelab island of Eniwetok Atoll. Erased the island.

About 180 million degrees Fahrenheit upon detonation, which is some 10,000 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Love canal had nothing to do with nuclear, it was an old abandoned chemical waste dump for a nearby chemical company that had gone out of business several years earlier. A developer bought the land without properly checking on easements and built and sold houses there. The people living there started getting poisoned by small waste leaks where the dump had not been fully properly sealed. However easements should have prevented such construction in the first place.

The destructive radius of a five-kiloton nuclear explosion is typically around 500 to 700 meters, resulting in significant destruction of buildings and infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of the blast. This radius can vary depending on factors such as the height of the explosion, terrain, and weather conditions. However, it's important to note that the effects of a nuclear explosion extend far beyond the immediate blast radius due to factors like heat, radiation, and fallout.

Nothing, until it is detonated. After detonation it releases a extremely powerful energy wave leveling most objects. Also, there is a brilliant flash associated with their detonation. This flash is bright enough to burn images into concrete.

You can survive a nuclear explosion if you are far enough away from it for the initial heat and blast to have little or no effect on you.

You then need to be deep enough underground or in a well-built shelter to avoid the radioactive fallout that would occur for days and weeks after the explosion.

If you are far enough away, deep enough into a shelter, and have enough food, water, sanitation, medicine and luck, you would survive.

To what end, who knows? But you'd be alive.

Yes. Later, the Hydrogen Bomb used fission/fusion.

No, nuclear power is not the only energy source that gives off radiation. Coal-fired power plants, for example, also release radioactive materials into the environment. However, nuclear power plants do release more radiation than other energy sources.

The distance a nuclear blast can travel depends on the size and yield of the bomb. A typical atomic bomb can cause destruction within a radius of several miles, while more powerful thermonuclear weapons can have a destructive range of tens of miles. The effects of a nuclear blast also depend on factors such as weather conditions and geography.

Nuclear weapons currently produced are between the sizes of a microwave oven and a pickup truck. The smallest have an explosive yield in the sub-kiloton range, and the largest are equal to between 5 and 20 megatons of TNT.

For a nuclear bomb, most of the size and weight is shielding, to protect the handlers from the radiation from the bomb core.

The latest major nuclear power plant failure was the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan in 2011. It was caused by a tsunami triggered by an earthquake, resulting in a meltdown of three reactors and release of radioactive materials. Since then, safety measures and regulations have been strengthened to prevent similar incidents.

The W54 nuclear warhead used in the Davy Crocket, AIM-26 Falcon air-to-air missile and the SADM atomic demolition munition was a variable yield, linear implosion warhead most likely with an unreflected bare ovoid pit.

It boasted a variable yield of 0.01 kilotons (10 tons of TNT) or a variable yield variant of between 0.02 kilotons-1 kiloton. (20 tons of TNT - 1000 tons of TNT)

The cost to develop this weapon is not that easy to find, but many estimates and research have shown a price of anywhere from 14 - 40 million per weapon, not including the delivery system.

A gigaton is 1000 megatons so it would be destroy an an area the size of Louisiana. But of course there is no such thing as a gigaton for bombs.

IN FACT, there are already 1+ gigaton nuclear weapons. A 1 GT bomb would destroy an area the size of Texas, just with the expansive wave. A 90 GT bomb could change the planet trajectory.

A fission bomb relies on nuclear fission (splitting atoms) to release energy, while a fusion bomb relies on nuclear fusion (merging atoms) to release energy. Fusion bombs are more powerful than fission bombs and are often referred to as thermonuclear or hydrogen bombs.

Depends on yield and height/depth of burst. If subsurface also depends on material around them (soil, rock, water). Effects equations are not easy to solve and are highly empirical based on data from actual tests along with alot of interpolation and extrapolation where data did not exist.