OldSchoolCoder
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In the early morning of October 30th 1961, a large bomb was detonated in the air above the island Novaja Zemlja
This was the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear detonation in history.
It had an explosive force of 50 million tons of TNT, and the shockwave was measured going round the world 3 times.
Three. Times. Around. The. World!
History channel segment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNYe_UaWZ3U
Someone made a very nice animation of the Tsar Bomba Explosion.
He analyzed some of the best videoclips, and recreated it in high detail without annoying clouds to disturb the view:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s8iie0zZ-g
Shupegts
Check out the documentary "Trinity and Beyond". It shows numerous videos about the different atomic bomb tests including the Tsar bomb.
TheRicM
“Bomba” means naked in Filipino
MrFNSunshine
Drop one one your favorite city http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
EcchiWithATwist
There’s something beautiful about the pure raw power in a thermo nuclear warhead
LosPer
I wonder if the crater is visible from Satellite imagery...
LosPer
It is .
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Oh yeah, well when we discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belt, we nuked it a few days later, just to see what would happen. 2/
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
2/ check-out Starfish Prime: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/going-nuclear-over-the-pacific-24428997/
HOLAKOOO
ok, but why is it awesome??
lurch9944
Also a killer song by avatar
TheRicM
Just looked that up, hey that’s pretty good, thanks for the info
TheUrlFieldCan0nlyContainLettersAndNumbers
I've seen them 3 times this year xD
HomosexualCorpse
Ah that explains the dip in human intelligence after this event
Craftworks
https://imgur.com/7AwjkOH
eromitlab
cuddlydingo
At some point, weren't they worried about actually igniting the atmosphere?
557365726e616d652062757420696e2068657861646563696d616c
Before the first ever test of a nuke, yes. Some scientists were worried but calculated that it was impossible.
DrWaK1
The fact that this references the History Channel and it isn't Pawn Stars or American Pickers makes me both happy and sad
eromitlab
History Channel back when it was the Hitler channel and not just another reality TV platform.
politicallyincorrectass
I read that as largest bomb ever donated...took me a second
StevenHackett
I mean... they did donate it for science and the atmosphere when they set it off
juffowup00
Receiver must be pleased
DaisyfromDownunder
Well near enough - the Ruskies can home deliver.
IAmTiredOfRacismAndAnger
by the salvation army?
Greytrek90
The militant wing, yes.
zatoichi007
Geofrywasright
Has science gone too tsar??
CheeseborgarSoop
The mushroom cloud went 200,000 feet high.
HardcoreMango
~7 times the height of Mount Everest. Must have been a sight to see.
00110001001001111010000110110110011
Jesus that’s like 60 km high
NostrilSnowboarder
You wanna punch a hole in the atmosphere?? Because that's how you punch a hole in the atmosphere.
disguisenburg
Thanks to vsauce I allready knew that! Cause knowledge is power!
beatlestarbearlactica
"YOUR CHANNEL IS DYING"
merre
France is bacon!
Piloerection69
And as always
Shakes20
VSauce! Michael here...
BigglesMcSqueez
Michael from vsauce is cool, some of his darker stuff is intriguing.
AtsaMattaForYou
PuppersAreWhyILiveNow
France is bacon.
lucyboo
Thank you
ArmathyAndTheUnfinishedBusiness2
The pilots who dropped it were given a 50/50 chance of living
Oceanzaway
Why the fuck do we keep doing this.
Hickory405
So far.*
KrilatiVoin
island name translates to "new land" I believe... it ain't new no more, but it's still hot ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
MukieK
Bombs that big and bigger are like jelous girlfriends. If I can't have you then no one can. Just blow the whole planet up.
Uniquesnowflake420
Curious to know how this shit affected the ozone. I was always told it was the CFC's in spray cans & freon lol, seems like BS
velvetthornweaver
Hey, how about we stop making destructive shit like this?
sparkingfuse
What an awful thing to do to our blue marble.
ShouldersDeepInAHorse
Wonder how many people the money used to make it could have fed. Considering it's communist russia, still no one probably.
Fahargo
When you think of it no one should really go hungry. 100 billion could feed 39 million people an entire year on $7 a day.
ShouldersDeepInAHorse
Well, from what I gather it's not the amount that's the problem, it's rural countries without the ability to produce their own resources.
Fahargo
We have the ability to make sure no one starves to death. We just don't
ShouldersDeepInAHorse
Money and amount is not the problem, distribution is, and giving some countries the ability to produce it themselves.
jumbosmooth
A bomb so big it was tactically useless. But I guess it made the Soviets feel better about themselves.
AtsaMattaForYou
Russians like to do everything bigger
WhyWouldIUseMyRealNick
A bomb this big and being miles ahead in the space race, so yeah, no one in the west shat their pants.
SomeGrayFox
So tactically useless they increased the yield to 100MT and put a submarine around it so they could drive it up the Chesapeake just cuz.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Nuclear weapons have been deemed, by just about all sides, to be "tactically" useless. Instead, it refers to the delivery method.
Anonaru
I suppose "I can blow up part of your country even if I miss your country" has some tactical value
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Horseshoes, hand grenades, and so on...
oumajgad
It was created only to show US that Russia has technology to create something like that. Everyone knew it is useless due to it's size.
HairytheSheep
When tactical warfare takes a backseat to out right annihilation
FuzzyX
It was discovered while you get a huge blast the use of multiple smaller nukes did more damage.
Fahargo
In terms of hitting you target, smaller more accurate nukes work better. But if your intention is to kill civilians, this thing could 1/2
Fahargo
Flatten all of Paris.
FuzzyX
Mentioning dropping the Tsar Bomba on Paris sounds like you a plan.
Remmon1
The main reason for the switch to smaller warheads was the increase in accuracy. No need for a megaton bomb if a 50 kiloton bomb will do.
Remmon1
And you can make and launch more of the latter, thus hitting more targets.
TomBrokaw
So you're saying 7 dwarves > John Holmes?
zatoichi007
Flyndaran
Tactical nukes are the tiny ones. This would be massive strategic war ender.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Tactical nukes are defined by delivery method, not yield.
Flyndaran
Not according to Wikipedia or any source I've read. If you have another source, please link. I hate spreading misinformation.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Strategic weapons are your stationary silo-based ballistic missiles. A tactical nuke will be aircraft or ground deliverable. 2/
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
3/ Sub silo-launched weapons are considered strategic as well, while nuke torps are considered tactical.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
I served nuke duty on B-52s for many years. We have aircraft deliverable weapons "dial-a-yield" as powerful as any single MIRV.
WhyWouldIUseMyRealNick
A bomb this big and being miles ahead in the space race, so yeah, no one in the west shat their pants.
FuccTheDevil
Isn't it funny that the Soviets were miles ahead of the US in the space race and yet the US landed on the moon first, I'm always 1/2
FuccTheDevil
Astounded that the Soviets didn't do it first, it doesn't make much sense to me that they didn't.
Fahargo
They were very practical. And while they beat us to space, landing and getting someone back took time to develop. We won
557365726e616d652062757420696e2068657861646563696d616c
They were trying to set as many records as possible with what they had, while the US developed specific technologies to land on the Moon.
Remmon1
They made the wrong choice when it came to developing their moon rocket. They went with LOTS of engines, which was a lot harder than the 1/2
Remmon1
US's big engine approach, even if the big engine itself was much harder to build. 2/2
wolfethequarrellsome
This post drunkenly made me look up videos of this, then the Tunguska event. Lots of aliens. Got weird quickly.
StephPho
..
leon512
The truth is out there!
wrongthread
That is literally every night for me lol
wolfethequarrellsome
My nights are more serial killer/cult related. I haven't delved too much into aliens as I find conversation in work difficult enough haha
Codeman785
XD it's so true!! You have to find specific co-workers that are just as psycho to talk about aliens
wolfethequarrellsome
But, you get to feel that sense of joy when you bring a topic like that up, and you see a coworkers face light up haha
BannedAdviceForLife
I actually read a sci fi book about the Tunguska event centered around a theory that it was a sub-microscopic primordial black hole. It was
BannedAdviceForLife
a really good read. Although it had more sex scenes than grade 6 me expected.
wolfethequarrellsome
That sounds great actually. What was it called? I wanna find a sexy fan fic that centres around the event!
Totallyscrewedinaustin
JdrummerG
.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
timmy26
Thank you omg I have been looking for this version for ages
Totallyscrewedinaustin
timmy26
FloridaTurtle
And thank you!!!!
rezpawner
The Tonguska event was more than likely just an asterroid disintegrating in Earth's atmosphere above Tonguska.
TheChaotik
That's what they want you to think...
Sm9yCg
More likely what would otherwise be called a comet (less rock, more water, leaving little trace of extraterrestial material)
wolfethequarrellsome
And they're (any researchers) that it wasn't man made? Is it even possible for us to make such a bang do ya reckon?
rezpawner
Six of one tbh. Going to let the scientists argue that one, since they still can't agree on it.
wolfethequarrellsome
Even still, it's cool. I remember reading somewhere that Nikola Tesla was involved, Could be a good DnD mage quest to find out what happened
rezpawner
Lots and lots of myths are born out of things that don't have a simple explanation. Don't believe all you hear :)
IAmTiredOfRacismAndAnger
Analysis show it was actually 57 megatons. But still omg still blowing out windows hundreds of miles away. Yes you read that right hundreds!
IAmTiredOfRacismAndAnger
and emf radiated through the atmosphere for hours. Imagine if they had done the full yield at 100. oy
Flyndaran
Or now when everything is wifi and cell phones.
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Read up on the Starship Prime tests.
IAmTiredOfRacismAndAnger
boy that makes something like Revolution (show) entirely possible
IAmTiredOfRacismAndAnger
starfish* but yeah reading now
UglyHorribleGrouchyOldMan
Grammarly is not my friend. It's been tripping me up all month, still trying to get used to it.
MyFavouriteHoodie
They say they halved its explosive output at the last minute. Fucker was capable of splitting the earth in half
TheChainBreaker
And now you know.
TZO2k15
The most worthless invention known to humankind...
Lambast
They replaced the uranium tamper in the second and third stages with lead. Tampers are guaranteed to work, so no need for them in testing.
Thatllbuffrightout
Larger one was supposed to be 100MT but they were concerned about fallout mostly and scaled it back.
snipekill1997
It also would have killed those in the plane that dropped it, as it was they barely didn't get knocked out of the sky.
Slippsterunderthecovers
They couldnt get the bomb to fall slow enough for the pilots to get away in its 100 megaton configuration, as it was the plane was 1/2
Slippsterunderthecovers
Coated in a special reflective paint and a massive parachute was used to slow the bombs decent enough. 2/2
rebelhobo
Must have been the first time people cared about a parachute other than their own deploying lol
JohnMorbid
You know something is truly terifying when even Russkies have to scale it down a bit
Slippsterunderthecovers
Bombs of that magnitued start to lose effecrieness because the initial ahockwave bounces of the ground and blocks some of the main blast
zeiji
i'm so much more scared of a hand grenade.
louferrigno
Inteterstfrwfwing,
MoooCow
We should like not detonate bombs like that. Pls
lykwo
Russia has been notified. Thank you for your input!
WhoYouGonnaCallGhostNappa
We should not detonate bombs like that...in our own atmosphere
SirLucifer616
Mars it is.
OldSchoolCoder
That is somewhat true. They had a bigger version too. The "small" one was built because they weren't sure they wanted to blast the big one.
DarthFluffyBottom
What I heard, they were afraid it would ignite all the air on earth.
OldSchoolCoder
Nah, that's just public speculation. Compared to e.g. the asteroid that took out the dinosaurs, 100mt is nothing.
elyk26
Wasn’t that because they thought if they used the big one it had a potential to light the atmosphere on fire and kill everything or somethin
Goldenhead17
I read that they were afraid the pilots wouldn’t make it out of the blast radius with the large one
SUGG8
That’s why the bomb has a parachute. If it fell straight down the pilot would have no chance.
LeroyShabazAli
That was the one they set off. They have the pilots a 50/50 chance
Tsurani499
I mean it's not like the Soviets ever gave two shits about the death of their people.
FloridaTurtle
Cosmonauts
MyFavouriteHoodie
Tragedy vs statistic
OldSchoolCoder
And after they saw what it was capable of, the big one was disarmed and put on museum.
DwayneTheDuckJohnson
Neat
Wanderingmaniac
Huh? Now it's on display?
OldSchoolCoder
Wanderingmaniac
I suppose he brown periphery tape ensures accidental detonation doesn't annihilate the surroundings
AimlessSavant
Oh I thought it was used for the set of Megaton :v
RedneckAvengers
Breaking News: Putin calls for largest Tsar Bomba to be rearmed.
FloridaTurtle
Today's nukes are already four times stronger. Take into consideration the # of these devices, we have enough to erase our solar system.
DrCryptid
Yeah no it would take a quadrillion ton weapon to cause issues assuming all the energy went directly into the earth but that being said
jmeyers1983
This is simply inaccurate.