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Nuclear Weapons
This category is for questions about weapons that use nuclear fission or fusion to gain explosive power.
3,869 Questions
How many nuclear warheads would it take to end life on earth?
It is difficult to determine an exact number of nuclear warheads needed to end all life on Earth as it would depend on various factors such as targeting and the size of the warheads. However, it is believed that even a small fraction of the world's nuclear arsenal could potentially cause catastrophic global consequences.
How many nuclear bombs would it take to blow up the moon?
It is impossible to blow up the Moon with nuclear bombs as it is too massive and its gravity would likely prevent such an event from happening. Additionally, any attempt to do so would have catastrophic consequences for Earth due to the debris and environmental impact.
Literally, no. A "nuke" refers to a nuclear weapon or device. While it may have the potential to detonate or be detonated, by itself, it is largely inert, aside from a small amount of radioactive leakage, and in the case of liquid fueled missile engines a bit corrosive.
The detonation of a nuclear device can certainly produce the heat to instantly vaporize your whole body (A thermo-nuclear detonation--such as produced by a hydrogen bomb--produces temperatures that peak at 350 MK [million Kelvin]; that of a regular fission device peaks at 50 to 100 MK).
Further from the point of detonation, the heat falls off to that necessary to melt flesh. This is typically the zone of flash fires that the blast is not able to extinguish.
Still further out, it is still hot enough to flash burn the skin.
And even at distances of a hundred miles or more, the light energy is intense enough to produce flash blindness in those who faced the fireball.
To get a better idea of this, consider a very real scenario that was considered during the cold war. US expectations were that the Soviets had at any one time a device as large as 5 megatons pointed at the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the center of Grand Rapids is a sculpture made by artist Alexander Calder, known locally simply as "The Calder." If the device detonated square on The Calder, the blast crater would be a half mile deep and extend from the south end of Riverside park to the north to Dickinson St SW to the south and from near the end of Lionsdale Dr. NE to Edison Park Ave. NW. That's roughly five times the size of meteor crater in Arizona. This is the ring of vaporization. Everything would be flattened from there to Lake Michigan in the West, south of Wayland in the South, past Ionia to the East, and Howard City in the North. This is the ring of melting flesh. Heat would be felt from the center of Lake Michigan in the West, Owosso in the East, ten miles north of Reed City, and Constantine in the south.
How many Tsar Bomba size nuclear explosions would be required to cause a nuclear winter?
It depends on where they are set off, as nuclear winter is precipitated mostly by the transfer of materials such as smoke and soot from flammable cities (not just nuclear materials) from the blast site into the upper atmosphere.
The Tsar Bomba detonation was scaled back from 100 megatons to 50 megatons to mitigate nuclear fallout, not nuclear winter, and it was not detonated over a city.
It is estimated, from a 2007 study, that one third of the world's arsenal could release 50 Tg (teragrams) of smoke, and reduce global temperatures by -3°C to -4°C for years, with half that shift persisting for more than a decade. There might be more than a -20°C shift in North America, and more than -15°C in Eurasia, covering all agricultural areas.
This would be comparable to the ice age of 18,000 years ago, and would devastate the planet. Even a "small" conflict, involving "50 Hiroshima scale weapons", less than 100 kilotons each, very small in comparison to today's weapons, would be terrible. The study has been criticized, but I believe it to be accurate.
Do Intercontinental ballistic missiles ICBM go into space?
Yes, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are designed to travel into space during their flight trajectory. They follow a ballistic path that involves traveling outside of the Earth's atmosphere before re-entering to reach their target.
Who barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere?
The Partial Test Ban Treaty, signed in 1963, prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space. This treaty was signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom.
What was the treaty that stopped nuclear testing in the atmosphere?
The treaty that stopped nuclear testing in the atmosphere was the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed in 1963 by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. This treaty prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space, helping to reduce the environmental and health risks associated with nuclear weapons testing.
What happens when the mass of fissile material used in nuclear weapons is subcritical?
Nothing, it has to become supercritical for a nuclear detonation to happen. Most bombs perform this transition from subcritical state to supercritical state by an implosion driven by conventional explosive lenses. Once supercritical a neutron source is fired through the fissile material to start the reaction leading to the nuclear detonation.
There is a special type of test detonation called a hydronuclear test where the amount of fissile material remains subcritical throughout the implosion. When the neutron source fires the reaction simply multiplies the number of neutrons by a factor then dies out. No nuclear detonation happens. Measurements of this neutron flux can tell about the quality of the implosion, safety, etc. But as there is no nuclear yield, several of the nuclear test ban treaties allowed these hydronuclear tests while banning tests with nuclear yields.
Can a nuclear power reactor be cool externaly by space on spacecraft?
On a spacecraft the reactor thermal output would probably be used to make electricity directly using an array of thermocouples. It would not be using a steam/water cycle as in land based power plants. Without knowing what the system design would be, it's difficult to give a definite answer.
Can you blow up a nuke in space?
It's possible, though it's (probably... see below) prohibited by both the Outer Space Treaty and the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963. All countries known to possess nuclear weapons capability, with the exception of North Korea, have ratified at least one of these (North Korea has signed, but not ratified, the Outer Space Treaty).
Whether or not a non-weapon nuclear explosion (for example: using a nuclear device as a sort of improved dynamite for, say, mining purposes) would violate the Outer Space Treaty is an interesting legal question, since the treaty expressly refers to nuclear weapons and goes on to say that the use of any equipment or facility necessary for peaceful exploration shall not be prohibited. This could potentially eventually become important.
A more powerful weapon like the hydrogen bomb would escalate tensions and increase the risk of mutually assured destruction within the framework of brinkmanship. This weapon would make the policy of massive retaliation more credible, as the threat of its devastating power could deter adversaries from taking aggressive actions. However, the presence of such a destructive weapon also heightens the stakes and increases the potential for miscalculation or accidental conflict.
How big is the crater that is caused from a nuclear explosion?
The size of the crater created from a nuclear explosion can vary depending on the size of the bomb and the type of terrain it impacts. In general, a nuclear explosion can create a crater several hundred meters wide and tens of meters deep, with larger bombs resulting in larger craters.
What proof is there that Mohenjodaro was destroyed by nuclear weapon?
There is currently no credible evidence or scientific consensus to support the claim that Mohenjo-daro was destroyed by a nuclear weapon. The theory does not align with archaeological findings or historical records of the ancient Indus Valley civilization. Most experts believe that the city's decline was likely due to environmental factors, such as natural disasters or changes in the river's course.
Has a nuke ever been lanched not for a test?
On a missile? No, the only nuclear weapons ever used in war were the 2 aerial bombs dropped by B-29 bombers on Japan to end WW2. All the nuclear tipped missiles ever launched with live warheads were tests, either air defense missiles or high altitude effects shots.
The Limited Test Ban Treaty, signed in 1963, prohibited nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater. This allowed for a reduction in tensions between the USA and the USSR by lessening the risk of radioactive fallout and environmental damage caused by nuclear tests.
Type of nuclear detonation creates Hugh crater mushroom cloud?
A low altitude detonation or a groundburst will cause a crater to form.
Nuclear detonations that take place near the ground (but not underground) will create a mushroom cloud (this is caused by a Raleigh-Taylor instability).
I have noted that a lower level detonation close to the ground will suck up material into the fireball and create a more pronounced stem.
What happens if you stare at a mushroom cloud?
Staring at a mushroom cloud can expose your eyes to harmful levels of radiation, heat, and intense light, leading to serious eye injuries or even permanent blindness. It is important to take immediate cover and protect your eyes if you witness a nuclear explosion.
Yes, the sentence is grammatically correct. It effectively compares the Space Race with the Cold War by highlighting the difference between nuclear missiles and spacecraft, showcasing a clear analogy between the two historical events.
Who was president when you dropped the hydrogen bomb?
Only two atomic bombs were used against man kind in war and neither of those were a thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb.
Careful grinding and gold leaf was used to repair the damage caused by the poor electroplating of the hemispheres. A very thin (0.1 mm) gold gasket was also fitted between the hemispheres to prevent penetration of jets of material from the implosion assembly, which could have deformed the pit or destroyed the urchin initiator inside.
How many megatons would it take to destroy the sun?
The first question is why.
The second question is also why,
The third is how far are you willing to go towards the Sun to detonate the explosion.
The fourth is like the second - why,
The fifth is how would you deliver the payload, as a central insertion would be impossible - it would disintegrate before it reached to core.
The sixth - What sort of megatons - TNT, Semtex, C4, Nuclear?
The Seventh - What sort of rocket will you use to extend the payload?
The Eighth - Where in the Sun do you intend to detonate this payload.
The Ninth - I assume you have a good lawyer, as if you do kill the Sun, there will be a billion law suites coming your way.
At the end of the day, whatever the payload you imagine, there is not enough stuff on Earth to destroy the Sun. However if you could find 5 times the mass of the Sun in hydrogen, then we could have a party
Yes, a nuclear bomb can detonate in space since it does not require oxygen to ignite. However, the effects of the explosion would be different from those on Earth, as there would be no atmosphere to absorb the blast wave and no mushroom cloud formation.
Can a scorpian survive a nuclear explosion?
No cockroaches are one of the few organisms able to survive nuclear explosions. Scorpions cannot.
How many nuclear warheads have been lost in the oceans?
It's hard to tell. I was only able to come up with numbers for the USA.
10 weapons were lost in the drink, and possibly more (see USS scorpion)
The policy of the US military is to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons in accidents so it's kind of hard to tell exactly.
B36 Bomber, Pacific Ocean, 1950 - 1 weapon
Atlantic Coast of Palomares Spain 1966 - 1 lost in the drink.
1 lost in the ocean, 2 exploded (no nuclear yield), and one over earth. Recovered later that year.
USA, Atlantic coast 1957 - 2 weapons
Two weapons without their fissile cores were jetissoned and lost. Never found.
USS Ticonderoga, Pacific Ocean near Ryukyu Islands, Japan, 1965 - 1 weapon.
A4 aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon rolled off the elevator. Pilot, plane and weapon lost.
USS Scorpion, Atlantic Ocean 500 miles from Azores, 1968 - unknown number of weapons, although there were two nuclear torpedoes onboard.
USS Scorpion nuclear sub with an unidentified amount of weapons (probably just two nuclear torpedoes)
B36 Bomber, Pacific Ocean off the cost of British Columbia, 1950 - 1 weapon.
Weapon jetissoned by plane and exploded on impact. Dummy warhead, so no nuclear material on board.
Thor Rocket, Pacific Ocean near Johnston Atoll, 1962 - 2 weapons.
Rocket booster malfunctioned and rocket destroyed after liftoff. Payload fell into the ocean. They tried the launch again, it failed again and another weapon was lost.
Why do large explosions form into mushroom clouds?
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. Mushroom clouds are formed by many sorts of large explosions under earth gravity, though they are best known for their appearance after nuclear detonations.
Inside a mushroom cloud: cooler air is drawn into the rising toroidal fireball, which itself cools into the familiar cloud appearance.
