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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 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.
Are nuclear weapons tested in space?
It is possible to test a nuclear weapon in space, but it is banned.
Nuclear weapons have been exploded in space. In 1962 starfish prime test exploded a 1.4 megaton bomb (~100 times bigger than the Hiroshima bomb) was detonated 400 km over the central pacific. The electromagmetic pulse (called an EMP) damaged communications and electronics from Hawaii to New Zealand (a distance of 7000 km). If this was done today it would cause billions of dollars in damages by wiping out computer systems and satellites over an area of millions of square kilometers. The gamma energy of a nuclear weapon is normally turned into heat when exploded in the atmosphere but in space there is no atmosphere to heat up so all the gamma energy is turned into an EMP that fries electronics. Just one bomb exploded over the United states at 500 km would destroy all computers and electronics that were turned on at the time in the entire country. Military electronics are hardened against this.
How big of a range can a nuke destroy?
The range of destruction from a nuclear weapon varies depending on its size, type, and delivery method. A large nuclear weapon, such as a hydrogen bomb, can cause destruction over a wide area, with a range of several miles to tens of miles from the point of detonation. However, the effects of a nuclear explosion can also be influenced by factors such as terrain, weather conditions, and the presence of structures or shelters.
Can non-nuclear bombs explode in space?
The only nations to detonate nuclear weapons in outer space are the United States and the Soviet Union. During the heart of the Cold War, the United States and the former Soviet Union launched and detonated a combined total of over 20 thermo nuclear weapons in the upper atmosphere and near space region of earth in an effort to test the effects of launching an offense as well as countering an offense. Even during the Cuban Missile Crisis!
Can nuclear bomb explode in space?
Yes. There have been several tests establishing this beyond a doubt, including the actual detonation of nuclear devices. It's currently prohibited by international treaties, though, since the tests produced new radiation belts and resulted in damage to the electronics of several satellites that passed through the belts.
The radiation belts also produced bright auroral displays in both the north and south (until the belts finally disbursed). At least one manned US spaceflight had to be delayed following one of these tests for fear the capsule would pass through the radiation belt and result in overexposure to the astronauts.
Where was the largest nuclear explosion?
On the island Novaya Zemlya in the USSR above the Arctic Circle in 1961. It was called Tsar Bomba (King of bombs) and had a yield of 52 MTons to 58 MTons, depending on how it was measured. The design (AN602) had a potential yield of 100 MTons, if they had wanted to go all the way.
Why is the hydrogen bomb the clean bomb?
A hydrogen bomb can be either clean, conventional, or salted depending on the material used for the fusion (secondary) stage tamper and how it interacts with the high energy fusion reaction neutrons.
- a clean hydrogen bomb uses a tamper material that does not capture or fission when hit by the high energy neutrons. Lead is one such material. Significant yield is sacrificed compared to a conventional hydrogen bomb.
- a conventional hydrogen bomb uses depleted or natural uranium as the tamper material, which fissions when hit by the high energy neutrons providing up to 90% of the bomb's yield and fallout.
- a salted hydrogen bomb uses materials in the tamper that readily capture neutrons and produce highly radioactive isotopes in the fallout.
Note a very very clean hydrogen bomb has a tamper material so transparent to neutrons that almost all escape in a flash: this is sometimes called a neutron bomb!
How many nuclear bombs does it take to blow up Pluto?
It is impossible to blow up Pluto with nuclear bombs, as it is a dwarf planet located over 3.6 billion miles away from Earth. Additionally, the use of nuclear weapons in space is banned by international laws and treaties.
What is a dial-a-yield nuclear bomb - fission or fusion?
"Dial-a-yield," or Variable Yield, is a method of adjusting the yield of a nuclear weapon through various means. While most modern high-energy weapons are thermonuclear, both fission and thermonuclear weapons can have their yield adjusted. In a boosted fission weapon (which can also be the primary to a staged radiation implosion weapon), the yield can be adjusted by changing the amount of deuterium/tritium gas that is injected into the plutonium pit, or by the timing of the external neutron initiator, or both. In a staged weapon, causing the secondary to not ignite by adjusting the yield of the primary (see above), or blocking the radiation channel in some way, can also change the yield of the weapon.
Which types of nuclear detonations create a large crater?
Both underground and surface nuclear detonations can create large craters. Underground detonations can result in a deep, narrower crater due to the explosion taking place beneath the surface, while surface detonations can produce wider, shallower craters as the blast occurs on the surface.
How is heavy water used in the hydrogen bomb?
Heavy water is not used directly in the hydrogen bomb.
The deuterium in the heavy water is separated and reacted with lithium metal to make lithium deuteride. Lithium deuteride is a dry powder that is the fusion fuel for hydrogen bombs.
What would happen if NASA detonated a nuclear bomb on the moon?
Detonating a nuclear bomb on the moon would have long-lasting consequences such as creating a large crater, sending debris into space, and potentially disturbing the moon's surface composition. The resulting explosion could affect the moon's gravitational pull and impact future lunar exploration projects.
What types of nuclear detonations cause mushroom clouds?
Nuclear detonations that occur above ground tend to create mushroom clouds due to the rapid release of energy and heat into the atmosphere. The cloud is formed as the hot air and debris rise, expand, and cool, condensing moisture and creating the distinct mushroom shape.
What comes after the atomic bomb in terms of intensity?
After the atomic bomb, the intensity of destruction increases with hydrogen bombs, which are significantly more powerful and devastating due to the fusion reaction they utilize. Hydrogen bombs are capable of producing much larger explosions compared to atomic bombs due to their ability to release vast amounts of energy.
Will a nuke set off a volcano?
Probably not. A volcano has a relatively large rock plug that would be very resistant to a nuclear blast. However, some volcanos that have a thinner plug, or a VERY big ground-penetrating nuke could possibly set off a volcano.
That is called the Partial Test Ban Treaty. It was signed in 1963 and banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.
What was the biggest nuclear explosion?
The biggest nuclear explosion in history was a 50 megaton (equivalent to 50 million tons of tnt) bomb tested by the soviet union called the "Tsar Bomb". nobody was killed in the blast. the previous answer was completely false, Chernobyl was one of the smallest nuclear explosions in history, smaller than the Hiroshima bomb, which was only 17 kilotons (17 thousand tons of tnt, almost 3000 times smaller than the Tsar Bomb). People were mainly killed by the radiation. The blast didn't even kill everybody inside the actual plant (I'm not sure how many were killed in the blast, if somebody would like to add to this)
First, all aeroplanes do leave a carbon foot print. Second, a nuclear bomb would do horrific damage to the ozone layer ( that's why nuclear testing is banned). Lastly, since no one proved that alien exist their spaceships are not real, but if they are I would imagine that they would do damage to the ozone layer.
It should be pointed out that a carbon foot print has nothing at all to do with the thinning caused by a lack of sunlight to a layer of our atmosphere. CO2 may be a greenhouse gas, but has nothing to do with the ozone layer.
Nuclear bombs could do damage to this layer, but that is not why they are banned. They do damage in many other ways.
Rockets to space dump water vapor, and some of them dump chlorine containing molecules. These all tend to decrease ozone levels
Aircraft dump water vapor, and decrease oxygen levels. These all tend to decrease ozone levels. This is a much stronger effect than for rockets, since many more tons of fuel are involved annually.
Nuclear bombs loft large quantites of contaminants to the upper atmosphere, but very few of them are not fully oxidized. Some water vapor is lofted ahead of the mushroom cloud, and this will do some damage. Thankfully these do not occur often.
CFCs are extremely stable, and the only place they can go away, is where sunlight is strong enough to break them down. Unfortunately, this is where the sunlight is strong enough to make ozone... the ozone layer. So where we have dumped CFCs to the atmosphere since the early 1900s, it will take a while for them to leave the system. And Nature is continually adding Her bit to this loading as well... plants do also make / release chloromethane, especially when burned.
How far can a nuclear bomb reach?
That depends on:
- yield
- burst height/depth
- terrain
- construction methods and materials
- fallout distribution due to wind and weather
- atmospheric humidity, inversion layers, wind sheer
What happens if a nuclear weapon explodes in space?
why don't you try that
No need to, already been done. It creates a new "radiation belt", causing bright auroral displays at both pole regions. The radiation belt can damage or destroy the electronics of any unhardened satellites that cross the belt.
