300 Megaton Nuke?

Originally posted by Aelita
If you look at the size, it's not bigger than the payloads already delivered to orbit, such as Mir spacestation main module, ISS, etc.

Yeah, it isn't useless... it's unpractical.
For a same amount of money you could get lot of smaller ICBMs with MIRVs which would be ten times more usefull against hardened point targets distributed over larger area.

Originally posted by E_T

Originally posted by Aelita
If you look at the size, it's not bigger than the payloads already delivered to orbit, such as Mir spacestation main module, ISS, etc.

Yeah, it isn't useless... it's unpractical.
For a same amount of money you could get lot of smaller ICBMs with MIRVs which would be ten times more usefull against hardened point targets distributed over larger area.

On the other hand, if you are going after a large metropolitan area, that would fit the bill.

On second thought, why would one do that.


[edit on 15-9-2004 by Aelita]

Originally posted by Johnny
I think that there are enough nukes to blast the Earth out of orbit several times, no need to build something that big.

Well, what average yield of nuke... couple hundreds kilotons, half megatons at most.
And what's amount of nukes build?
Some hint



And then let's go to really big events.
First, let's take Hale-Bob "shoot" earth with it:

quote: Your Inputs:
Distance from Impact: 1000.00 km = 621.00 miles
Projectile Diameter: 50000.00 m = 164000.00 ft = 31.05 miles
Projectile Density: 1500 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: 50.00 km/s = 31.05 miles/s
Impact Angle: 60 degrees
Target Density: 2750 kg/m3
Target Type: Crystalline Rock

Energy:
Energy before atmospheric entry: 1.23e+26 Joules = 2.93e+10 MegaTons TNT

Major Global Changes:
The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass.
The impact does not make a noticeable change in the Earth's rotation period or the tilt of its axis.
The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.
And that's with impact energy equal to 30 billion megatons.


Crater Dimensions:
Crater shape is normal in spite of atmospheric crushing; fragments are not significantly dispersed.

Transient Crater Diameter: 296 km = 184 miles
Transient Crater Depth: 105 km = 65 miles

Final Crater Diameter: 623 km = 387 miles
Final Crater Depth: 2.05 km = 1.28 miles
The crater formed is a complex crater.
The volume of the target melted or vaporized is 1.09e+06 km3 = 262000 miles3
Roughly half the melt remains in the crater , where its average thickness is 15.9 km = 9.86 miles

Thermal Radiation:
Time for maximum radiation: 19.9 seconds after impact

Visible fireball radius: 915 km = 568 miles
The fireball appears 208 times larger than the sun
Thermal Exposure: 5.27e+9 Joules/m2
Duration of Irradiation: 1290 seconds
Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 4080

Effects of Thermal Radiation:

Clothing ignites
Much of the body suffers third degree burns
Newspaper ignites
Plywood flames
Deciduous trees ignite
Grass ignites


Seismic Effects:
The major seismic shaking will arrive at approximately 200 seconds.
Richter Scale Magnitude: 11.6 (This is greater than any earthquake in recorded history)


Ejecta:
The ejecta will arrive approximately 494 seconds after the impact.
Average Ejecta Thickness: 79.7 m = 262 ft
Mean Fragment Diameter: 9.97 mm = 0.393 inches

Air Blast:
The air blast will arrive at approximately 3030 seconds.
Peak Overpressure: 8.84e+06 Pa = 88.4 bars = 1260 psi
Max wind velocity: 2380 m/s = 5320 mph
Sound Intensity: 139 dB (Dangerously Loud)
Damage Description:

Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.
Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.
Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.
Highway truss bridges will collapse.
Highway girder bridges will collapse.
Glass windows will shatter.
Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.
Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.

So is it because these hallucinations about human superiority over nature why people tend to think that human can destroy whole earth?

I agree, really the stuff about the nukes ending life on earth is just Soviet propaganda, made to scare the American public. Billions of people would survive, there's nothing to bomb in southern hemisphere. Also, most of US would be intact, major cities and bases are the main targets. A massive comet or asteroid would be required to destroy earth, humans couldn't do it.

Originally posted by DanD9
I agree, really the stuff about the nukes ending life on earth is just Soviet propaganda, made to scare the American public. Billions of people would survive, there's nothing to bomb in southern hemisphere. Also, most of US would be intact, major cities and bases are the main targets. A massive comet or asteroid would be required to destroy earth, humans couldn't do it.

I disagree. "Nuclear Winter" and effects of massive fallout can turn really nasty. The temperature inversion happened once on Venus... Not a prety sight.

There was a Doomsday nuke that was proposed and plans were drawn up for but never build. It consisted of a large tanker ship that was in itself humongus Hydrogen bomb. It would monitor the soviet union for radiation and special radio traffic if these stopped the crew would detonate the ship in the ocean. The estimates were that this one weapon if ever built could wipe out human life on earth. It was so insane that even the russians wouldnt build it.

I heard that the Armenia Earthquake in 1988 was really a underground nuclear weapon going off. Is this true? My Armenian friends think so and they say their friends in Armenia think the same.

300 Megaton Nuclear Bomb... Hmmm.. I know of something Bigger..
A Cobalt Bomb.. luckily never made..Would Destroy all life on the planet.

I would take a 300 Megaton detonation any day.

reply to post by Lantian


Hmm, in order for a cobalt bomb to remain effective at a relatively, well decent scale, it would weigh several hundreds of tonnes.

I'll stick to Neutron weaponry if I want something that causes similar damage, but on a smaller scale.

Shattered OUT...

i believe the largest was 50 megatons at it was the Hydrogen2(something) bomb made by the USSR to show their massive ego and to tell the world that they wouldn't be messed with...later in the same year of 1961 Berlin wall went up...my idea of a 300 Megaton bomb would be the equivalent of having six consecutive H-bombs going off across in a circle...i could imagine the effects ranging from leveling all of Australia and causing massive damage around it...it would probably be either very hot or very cold for then next few years over head and on the land itself. I don't know what it would effect with conditions to the planet as a whole but it would be the thought of having a few hundred Tsunamis going onto shore all around the earth...it could effect the rotation...i don't know exactly...but if i am correct...the region bombed would be completely devastated and there would be one hell of an exodus from the continent.

erm a cobalt bomb and neutron are `technically` the same , since the core is the same - a fusion bomb , its the outer wrapping of the fusion core that gives the properties ; chromium or nickel is used in a neutron bomb or `enhanced radiation weapon`

the outer core or shell is made of the above metal(s) to allow the fast passge of the neutron flux (and also as a side effect increase the output of xrays)


cobalt is used for a salted bomb `cobalt bomb` gold and zinc can also be used depending on the duration you want to highest intensity radiation to last - gold-197 lasts 3 days , zinc-64 lasts 244 days , whislt cobalt-60 lasts for 5 years

^^* by highest intensity , i mean 1/2 life*

nuclearweaponarchive.org...

[edit on 1/7/08 by Harlequin]

How are they technically the same if they're wrapped with different materials?

Obviously, during the manufacturing process, you're using something different to make each separately. Are you not?

Shattered OUT...

pedantic today?

by technically the same , they both have a small fusion device as the core , and certainly do not weigh hundreds of tons by any stretch of the imagination;

The W66 warhead (ERW) as used by the Sprint ABM , was 35 inches long , 18 inches wide and weighed 150 lbs and was the first operational US Neutron `bomb`

a salted weapon would be similar in size and weight

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
i believe the largest was 50 megatons at it was the Hydrogen2(something) bomb made by the USSR to show their massive ego and to tell the world that they wouldn't be messed with...later in the same year of 1961 Berlin wall went up...my idea of a 300 Megaton bomb would be the equivalent of having six consecutive H-bombs going off across in a circle...i could imagine the effects ranging from leveling all of Australia and causing massive damage around it...it would probably be either very hot or very cold for then next few years over head and on the land itself. I don't know what it would effect with conditions to the planet as a whole but it would be the thought of having a few hundred Tsunamis going onto shore all around the earth...it could effect the rotation...i don't know exactly...but if i am correct...the region bombed would be completely devastated and there would be one hell of an exodus from the continent.

No, you're just completely wrong there.

Because of the fact that you need your energy to increase exponentially to double the size of the blast, a 300 megaton bomb would be scarecly larger than that of the Tsar Bomba. It wouldn't be the same size as 6 50-ton nukes going off. It'd be more like just over 200% the size of a 50 ton nuke going off...

So if you dropped it in the centre of Australia, the windows in Alice Springs might get smashed, and there'd be some pretty depressed kangaroos, but that's about it.

reply to post by Harlequin


*shrugs*

Errm, nevermind, I was going to say something, but I feel like it'd be wasted.

Just ignore this post.

Shattered OUT...

[edit on 1-7-2008 by ShatteredSkies]

after actually getting some sleep (yeah for a newborn baby in the house) i think i understand what you mean now ; yes they are different , having a different material tamper , but the size and *basics* of the weapon (the bang part) are very similar for most of the US mirv weapons.

Wow a 300 megaton nuke made by russia if that ever falls on united states... The all intire or half the country might be gone... I just wonder why they would like to make something that big and that powerful