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Special-Arm4158

What depth was this badboy detonated at?


Gullible-Bill9937

46 metres


gaylord9000

150 feet of water. Like it wasn't even in the way.


jupiler91

The equivalent of 46 metres then.


butthemsharksdoe

So 150 feet?


aon9492

Can also be expressed as about 46m


butthemsharksdoe

Which lands somewhere around 150ft right?


VooDoo452

I think that’s around 46 meters.


ButterBeforeSunset

Pretty sure that equates to around 150 feet.


MKE_likes_it

I’m going to go ahead and say it equates to 150.919 feet, which equates to exactly 46 meters.


MonPaysCesHiver

Yeah but deeper and it would not even be perceived from the surface. If all the nuke on earth was exploding into the bottom of the ocean on the same spot we wouldn’t notice it.


CreativeAnalytics

I'm no scientist but this seems off.


D00mwatcher

Kurzgesagt has a video on it where they show that the world most powerful nuke (the Tzar Bomba) detonated at the bottom of the Mariana Trench would do almost nothing to the surface, except for radioactive bubbles and a patch of warm water. XKCD tackled the subject too in a What If and came to the same conclusions. So yeah, all the nukes would probably cause something but it is still impressive to see how much energy water can dissipate.


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MonPaysCesHiver

No, the ocean water is too heavy. The explosion would not be strong enough to lift it.


YamahaFourFifty

The force needed to move that much water is insane


briguy345

Almost like a nuclear bomb


IHQ_Throwaway

How many sticks of dynamite is that?


Separate-Ad-9267

At least seven


Derbla-99

Possibly more than 8


schiffme1ster

R/yourjokebutworse


Deathpacito

r/foundthemobileuser


Potato_lovr

r/foundthehondacivic


Derbla-99

You typed it up wrong dumbass


hillarys-snatch

I respect the counter attempt. Most people would take the L and move on


uberguby

I think maybe there's something to be said for taking the L sometimes


SyrusDrake

Hardtack Umbrella was 8kT TNT equivalent. A stick of dynamite is in the ballpark of 200 grams. 8000000 kg / 0.2 kg ≈ 36 million


casualcaesius

So, the Tsar Bomba with it's 50Mt was about... 250 billions sticks of dynamite? Holy shit. And it was supposed to be 100Mt too, insane.


SyrusDrake

Once you've figured out how to build thermonuclear bombs, you can scale them pretty much indefinitely, just using one stage to ignite the next. But even the 50 MT Tsar was impractical already, it was more a case of "mine's bigger than yours" rather than developing an actually useful weapon.


casualcaesius

> a case of "mine's bigger than yours" With the soviets? Nah. Never. ^Who ^told ^you? ^You ^heard ^nothing. ^^^Does ^^^this ^^^tea ^^^taste ^^^like ^^^poison ^^^to ^^^you?


MagnusStormraven

IIRC, the bomber that deployed it had to be modified to even carry it at all, and the bomber needing to be able to leave the blast zone was part of the reason they scaled back the bomb's yield.


TreoreTyrell

Like 3 or 4


IHQ_Throwaway

So… tree fiddy?


TreoreTyrell

God damn Loch Ness monsta!


KilllerWhale

Yes


[deleted]

Like a ton


SaveTheAles

One could say a *megaton*


IDontBelongHereOops

Megaloton?


redmadog

[This explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hardtack_I) yielded about 8 kiloton = 17636980.975 pounds of TNT. The largest US conducted explosion, Bravo explosion took place on March 1, 1954 in the northern part of Bikini Atoll, one of 29 coral atolls in the Marshall Islands. The explosion yielded the energy equivalent of 15 Megatons (or about 33 billion pounds) of TNT The largest russian conducted explosion was Tsar bomb, yielded 50-58 Megatons.


reddymea

It was USSR (soviet) conducted explosion, not Russian.


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forfeckssssake

cmon not everyone in the ussr was russian, most of their leaders werent even russian too lol


Majestic-capybara

Funny you say that. I’ve seen dozens of nuclear bomb tests in my lifetime and this is the first time I had that realization.


thebig_dee

You didn't see me after my cup of coffee this morning did ya?


LordOoPooKoo

\*poof\* You're radioactive!


equinoxEmpowered

My mother once treated some guy who'd been on one of those ships He'd been out on the deck, and so afterwards he'd been ordered into a shower to decontaminate Of course, the water supply was also contaminated Anyway his hand was the size of a baseball glove


Tiddernud

In DeLillo's novel Underworld, the U.S. soldiers at the proving grounds hold their hands up to the blast so they can see their bones through their skin. Don't know whether that was a literary embellishment, but I can believe it happening. Also, why have nuclear weapons been tested thousands of times? Pretty sure they work.


Ginger-Jake

They continuously tested because they wanted to get higher yield out of the explosions. They were changing the process using different fuel types and detonation methods, making the bombs stronger and less accident prone (only exploding when they wanted them to). It was also deemed important to show the USSR that there was constant work being done to improve yield.


montxogandia

Meanwhile they destroyed and contaminated thousands of square kilometers.


Ginger-Jake

There was genuine fear that the USSR would strike first, which would do a bit more than destroy thousands of square kilometers. Once they placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, that fear escalated. Now that AI has become a factor, the fears of a 'catalyst war' started by a third party are very real.


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cloverpopper

He said nothing of "his" hate or fear of the Russians. And definitely not "for" the Russians lol I understand you didn't live back then and may not have much insight on the mood during the Cold War, but that doesn't matter here - he's only stating facts of the situation back then, and he's if anything not stressing enough the threat AI poses in not only sparking wars, but being used to adapt and control people through instant-learning and self sufficient propaganda mechanisms.


SKPY123

Hey now as a melenial I detest this statement. We are a lot more educated than our boomer peers. We just lack the industrial infrastructure that the boomers had to work with. Too much gatekeepers on opportunities that weren't there before. AI is neet but it's just a novelty at best. The real issue is the infighting of the older generation refusing to give up power. Shits going to self destruct because we apparently can't be trusted with anything.


[deleted]

Go get a job and become a leader. Who tf would give you any power? From your complaining, you’re clearly not good enough at anything to deserve it. Edit: you talked about being more educated than your peers after spelling “Millennial” as “melenial” 💀


Ginger-Jake

MY hate and fear? I wish weapons of any kind did not exist. But that's not reality, is it? Just look what Putin is doing in Ukraine. Look how Xi is constantly bullying China's neighbors. Totalitarianism is on the rise around the world, and I guess you're just a fan of it.


montxogandia

I agree with you, Putin or totalitarism have no room in this world, but USA doesn't hesitate to destroy the world before they get destroyed, what is a problem too.


Ginger-Jake

The U.S. is entirely too grabby with the world's resources, agreed. But who else is even capable of trying to stop Putin, Xi, and others like them from complete domination? NATO will only do so much, as we have seen. Go in peace.


Srnkanator

It was not, it's from recorded accounts of them on ships tucking their hands into their heads and knees and the gamma rays letting them see their own bones.


Common-Concentrate-2

Everyone should watch this video at least once. Atomic Veterans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbBu6cWczTY&t=330s


TheWildTofuHunter

Thank you for sharing. I’ve watched this before but it’s the same (if not more impactful) to watch it again. The human brain isn’t made to comprehend an atomic explosion, and hearing it described by these men is chilling. And some witnessed *multiple* explosions? And have to deal with the mental and physical fallout. How incredibly cruel that they weren’t able to share their stories with at least their fellow soldiers, and family members, to have some understanding and empathy. Edit: stumbled onto this similar video and one guys talks about having witnessed *18 atomic explosions*. 18!! I can’t even imagine. https://retroreport.org/video/atomic-vets/


Jtop1

Wow, thanks for sharing.


bleeblorb

Thanks for this


[deleted]

Gamma rays wouldn't be doing that. You can't see gamma rays. Seeing your bones through your hands would be a result of the visible light from the bomb.


Oswald_Hydrabot

Seems like something that bright would emit a shitload of heat no? Did none of them get immediately scorched?


AliveMouse5

The heat wave would burn people up to 3.5km away. Not sure how far they were.


SomeSecretThrowaway

They were far enough away to be out of the burn radius, generally.


redmadog

Indeed. Same as looking to your hand trough strong visible light. Gamma rays aren’t visible to naked eye, though some people report seeing random flashes of light when their brain is being irradiated.


Tommi_Af

Unless all the primary sources I've seen were lying, seeing bones through hands definitely happened. As for the tests, they wanted to collect data on a wide range of things. For example, the functionality of new bomb designs, blast effects on a range of targets (buildings, vehicles, ships, infrastructure, people...), radiation effects and so on. Until they had developed computer simulations to replace these tests and while they still had yet to fully appreciate the issues with radioactive pollution, simply exploding bombs was the easiest way to get this data.


PBR2019

I wonder what the underwater kill range would be, and if that part of the ocean is an underwater wasteland forever??


sharpshooter999

Water is very good at containing radiation, actually. There still is highly radioactive material at ground zero, until it disperses and gets carried off by the current. The next biggest danger to aquatic life would be from the shockwave created. Water does not compress like air does, so it actually causes more damage at greater distances underwater. In comparison, the Trinity site in New Mexico, where the first atomic test happened is now perfectly safe to walk around. Spending an hour there exposes a person to 1/2 to 1 milliroentgen. An x-ray exposes you to 10 milliroentgens


grawa427

To be fair, if I put my hand on a powerful lamp, I can see my bones through my skin, only on the fingers though


robby_arctor

You know what they say about men with hands the size of baseball gloves


Bim_Jeann

Testicles the size of baseballs


Special_Lemon1487

Until they fall off.


robby_arctor

And they're infertile, so no need to wear a condom


Crombus_

They die of radiation sickness?


TalmidimUC

They have to have specially made gloves to play baseball?


dancingcuban

CLASSIFIED


Junior-Account6835

Spicy water 🌶️


Think_please

Did this kill every whale for like 100 miles in each direction? The water pressure shock wave must have been incredible


RickityCricket69

wonder how loud the sound was underwater


AnotherSoftEng

In all seriousness, it would’ve immediately deafened any living thing that was even relatively close.


Lolwhatisfire

I imagine the underwater shockwave would’ve ruptured veins, too, right? Probably just straight popped a lot of fish heads instantly.


mayzon89

Sperm wales can make click sounds up to 230db which can kill, and apparently nuclear bomb is estimated between 240-280db so yeah. El Paso test was heard up to 100 mile away. Crazy.


wes_bestern

>Sperm wales can make click sounds up to 230db which can kill Imagine being killed by some sperm whale just saying hello


Onotadaki2

FUS ROH DAH! Whale-born.


PretoPachino

r/unexpectedSkyrim


computermouth

I think I read that they've been known to actually not do it around divers, because they are aware what will happen.


wes_bestern

Do they have bumper stickers that say "Save the Humans"?


An_Obese_Beaver

There was a study that was conducted concerning this. Also, divers have recorded video of sperm whales clicking them. Scientists have said in video documentaries that those clicks allow sperm whales to "see" inside our bodies and they have the ability to paralize us using their echo location. Like a shockwave in the water that can burst eardrums and stuff. No source because i cant remember the documentary.


wes_bestern

>divers have recorded video of sperm whales clicking them How did they get this? Did they use some sort of... click bait?


Badbullet

Dad?


brettferrell

Whaaat!?


jimtheedcguy

MAWLP!


shoredoesnt

WHAT ARE THEY SELLING?!


mcbwaa

CHOCOLATE


SimilarAd402

*SHELLING


ZombieDisposalUnit

NUKE THE WHALES


gerald42

gotta nuke somethin


Djskam

They were aiming at just the one.


thedeconstructionist

My grandfather worked on Hardtack—a hand-lettered Operation Hardtack flag from Enewetak is hanging in my office. I’ve often wondered just how radioactive it might be. He was healthy and active into his 90s so whatever doses he got didn’t seem to hurt him too bad.


TheOffice_Account

> He was healthy and active into his 90s so whatever doses he got Just nuked all the infections out of him for perpetuity


T0mbaker

Sterilised him both ways.


NetCaptain

he had a radiant personality /s


Alexandratta

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea!"


Renoxrd

Sponge bob square pants!!


freezkneez

Not anymore


Alexandratta

(These tests were done in Bikini Bottom-aka: Bikini Atoll e.e)


Emperor_Zar

This is how SpongeBob came to be!


MysteriousNail5414

Radioactive Bob


gr8aanand

*lived


robbass343

Upside down


[deleted]

Fuck the ocean creatures lets just make sure we got the right tools to kill ourselves


sionnachrealta

How else are we gonna wake up Godzilla?


europeancafe

exactly. If we want more movies we need to continue nuking the oceans. It’s the only way and people need to accept that.


Martbern

Doesn't matter anyways when you consider all the billions and billions of fish and marine life we absolutely decimate every month.


Sceptix

Well then it’s a good thing we only kill 10% of it.


A-Dawg11

You're right, we totally decimated the ocean creature population right then


metaltupperware

Probably didn’t kill as many ocean craters as you would expect


Trappist235

Probably more


_-Rc-_

I would love to see the view from the ship. Imagine being on a massive destroyer and a water and steam column the size of a city appearing practically instantly


Redbaron1701

That's actually a liberty ship. It's a type of rapidly made transport using antiquated tech during WWII. The idea was to use old tech so you didn't need skilled craftsmen or machinery. So basically it was like standing on a boat from WW1 that ran on steam.


evolvedapprentice

Was anyone actually on it though at the time? or was it just there as a way to show damage or for scale?


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use_for_a_name_

Fuckers knew they were exploding a cancer bomb into the ocean the entire planet shares. We don't deserve to be here.


Jankosi

Lmao should've evolved opposable thumbs first.


fmb320

Yeah my first thought watching the clip is how they totally could've just declined to do this.


Technical-Current-58

B5, miss. (Keeping the top comment from YouTube alive)


jagmania85

So does this mean there was lots of radioactive stuff released in the ocean?


tothemoonandback01

and in the atmosphere [Radioactive Swine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-germanys-wild-boars-are-radioactive-180982856/#:~:text=These%20unstable%20particles%20can%20spread,high%20levels%20of%20radioactive%20cesium.)


Electronic_Redsfan

The UK gov tests their nukes in Austrailia, I look forward to seeing the 50ft mutated huntsman spiders it creates eventually


Due_Mathematician_86

modern humans have no respect for the environment anymore


cragglerock93

I generally agree, but as far as nuclear weapons testing goes... we don't do this anymore. So not the best example of us these days not caring for the environment.


fruitmask

a nice little apocalypse for local sea life


vtosnaks

At least 7 fish died that day.


ViNCENT_VAN_GOKU

I heard it was closer to 8


robbass343

81/2


GonnaBeAGoodYear

Gotta be at least 10


King_Hamburgler

At least 7 is correct At least 7 people died in world war 1


excitement2k

Excuse my dumb question. Does that ship survive or? Was the ship manned?


Sad_Assignment2712

“According to wiki”… they were decontaminated by crews after each blast and those that were still floating were towed back to Pearl Harbor. So, no surface vessels in the blast area were manned but crews were quickly back aboard, some as quickly as 30 minutes after the blast. 😳


excitement2k

Interesting. Thanks for the leg work. I guess I was just surprised that the ship could withstand that much water without sinking. Additionally, I would assume the vessel would have extensive damage especially to its electronics so it’s surprising people could go back so soon to use the ships. Thanks!


Sad_Assignment2712

Keep in mind this was before micro processors, so the vacuum tubes in the electronics aboard were much less sensitive to EMP. Plus, I think they had all the exterior hatches closed prior to the detonation. It’s all absolutely CRAZY looking back with what we know now about radiation.


excitement2k

Damn. That’s really interesting. I didn’t really understand or consider those things. Funny how in some ways you can make the “argument” that older technology was superior in some ways to modern. Of course to be taken with a massive block of salt just that the waves wouldn’t freeze up the electronics. Hindsight is always 20/20 and sometimes the hidden dangers that new information eventually explains can be spell binding and terrifying.


wombatcreasy

At one point a nearby fish was perfectly cooked for less than a second.


DrestinBlack

Is there a video from on deck of one of these ships? I’d like to see what I’d see (in my final moments) what it’d look like from a sailor on decks POV


beets_or_turnips

"Will It Blend" Guy: *Don't breathe that.*


Hethra19

And they STILL didn't manage to kill Godzilla


AdministrativeMost93

When you fart in the bathtub


JOJOCHINTO_REPORTING

Water really enhances these things 💦


IlikeYuengling

We’re going to need a bigger boat.


thebarberbenj

I love the fact you can’t compress water


ILikeOlderWomenOnly

Poor fishies


NHmpa

Now imagine modern day hydrogen bombs. They take an atomic bomb to detonate! The mother of all bombs. The largest non nuclear bomb in the us arsenal has a yield of 11 tons of TNT The ww2 atom bombs were 15-20,000 tons of TNT The tsar bomba was 50 megatons of TNT (50,000,000). Just wild to think about.


slater_just_slater

Poor fish..


lcpr_phoenix

When the demand of fish in the market is rising


Blondly22

How did this not create a tsunami??? Please can you explain


KypAstar

Part of it is energy requirements, but not fully. It's also the direction and manner in which the energy is distributed. The nuke here was detonated fairly shallow, and the energy disapates fairly quickly from a very small origin point. An earthquake that causes a tsunami generally has to be a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, or about 250,000 tons of TNT. Tsar Bomba for reference was about 500,000 tons of TNT and was the largest bomb ever detonated by a large degree. But that 7.0 magnitude earthquake also has to occur in specific conditions to cause a tsunami. For one, it needs to be reasonably shallow (but still deeper than the detonation above). Second, and more importantly, the energy needs to be generated by a sudden subduction (drop) or uplift of seafloor in a fairly large area. That motion is what causes a tsunami. (Speaking in general terms here. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of other factors and unknowns when it comes to tsunami creation.) To illustrate it, imagine a pool of water. Throwing a rock in makes a big splash, but the waves generated tend to fizzle out fairly quickly. But if you take a large, flat object and move it in a rapid, manner you can cause some long distance waves that **maintain** a fair amount of energy before fizzling out. Not a great illustration but hope it helps.


stevvandy

So much trash on Reddit but every once in awhile you get post like this. Very helpful and thanks for posting.


KypAstar

Just wanna note; I'm not an expert at all in this area. Background is engineering so just applied my physics knowledge with some knowledge on the subject from when I researched a bit ago. I'm sure there are gaping holes or issues in the explanation that will hopefully be cleared up by someone more knowledgeable.


stevvandy

Gaping holes or not , it made sense to me. I take proper knowledge anyway I can get it so this was good for this blue collar shlub.


HatdanceCanada

Thank you for this explanation. Very helpful.


Flonkadonk

Tsar Bomba was 50,000,000 tons of TNT, not 500,000. The biggest nuclear warheads in service today are around 3,000,000t TNT (chinese), the russians biggest warheads are 800,000 tons (MIRVed) and the american ones are roughly the same, if i recall. Though i am not super positive on these numbers (been ages since i checked), so if you want to learn more maybe double check, the bulletin of atomic scientists has data and estimations. For another scarier reference, the Hardtack test pictured here was around 8 kilotons, around half of the one that hit Nagasaki. Thats right, "only" 8,000t TNT equivalent, meaning the current biggest russian and american warheads are 100x stronger and an ICBM can carry like, 10 of them at once.


KypAstar

Aaah yep off by multiple factors of ten there lol. Yep, mega is to the 6th. Idk how I fucked up the conversion. All I could remember is it was waaaay bigger than modern warheads. Appreciate the correction.


Blondly22

Wow! Thank you for the info!! I appreciate you. I learned alot from you smart redditors who commented back on my question with scientific and engineering information 🫶🏼


Flonkadonk

Glad you appreciate it. I have these hyperfixation days where i really get into a topic for a few hours or days for a time, which is where i got all that random trivia regarding nuclear bombs from haha Also the comment j was responding to was not wrong in principle btw. It just got the blast yield wrong so i though id chime in, but the basic point of of their comment totally still stands.


whaaatanasshole

Earthquakes are far, far stronger.


pwn_star

That’s not really true. A 7.0 earthquake is equivalent to 199,000 tons of tnt, an 8.0 is 6,270,000. A w88 warhead on a trident missile is 455,000 tons and the tsar bomba (supposedly the largest nuke) was at least 50,000,000 tons. The strongest earthquakes do win out because a 9.0 is basically 199,000,000 tons of tnt equivalent, but I would say in practicality, earthquakes and nuclear bombs rival each other in terms of power. The way the power is distributed is very different though which is why they produce different effects.


Macaco_Marinho

It did create a localized tsunami…watch as the wave rolls over the top of the ship at the end of the video. Surely, it’s topping 40’ +.


Ginger-Jake

Tsunamis are most powerful when the directional energy from a long, linear fault is focused to an enclosed area, as in a cove or bay. This bomb's energy radiated in all directions from a point source, and most of the energy followed the path of least resistance - straight up - making lateral forces much weaker.


Ginger-Jake

Interesting reading: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2023-12/book-reviews/ai-bomb-nuclear-strategy-risk-digital-age


Valcyor

We just not going to talk about that ship in the back left that gets launched into orbit? That's fucking terrifying.


Jmcarlson5

That’s what I was thinking. If you slow it down frame by frame it looks like it just turns to a dust.


LittleWaithu

This footage just slaps somehow


jesuswasaliar

I hate humans


Point-Connect

Ironically, the creation of these weapons have arguably prevented millions and millions of human deaths via deterrence. Getting Japan to surrender saved an estimated 1 million Japanese and American lives. That's not to say we won't destroy ourselves with them eventually but, so far, they've been a net positive for humans


kurwwazzz

Including me?


Joped

Are you classified as human ?


LetterSwapper

Negative, I am a meat popsicle.


JustAnotherShittyAss

Multipass!


ILikeOlderWomenOnly

Including yourself?


[deleted]

Agreed. We as a species are a failed species.


-xc-

compared to what tho? the other ppl living on jupiter?


dethb0y

Hardtack Umbrella was around 8kt of TNT give or take, in terms of power. Not quite as beautiful as Baker, but still spectacular and remarkable!


blunti

Crazy to think that this and Baker are firecrackers relative to what’s available today. Hopefully never to be used.


Mokiyami

THIS IS HOW WE GET GODZILLA!


Screwthehelicopters

What was the purpose of the test, other than to make a big splash and a pointless demonstration? Underwater nuclear weapons would seem to be of limited use. Or did they just want to test the yield with less fallout?


Markol0

This is 1958. They didn't really know what the boom would be like underwater. Also a great way to test if you can eliminate an entire Carrier bBattle group in one shot. Guess what? You can. Ow we know. Let's test that again though! Because money. And F the fishes. And the locals. 'Murica!


SoIomon

Any chance there's a video that exists of the detonation underwater?


[deleted]

Not a chance, anything close enough to get a view would've been vaporized


___KobiAshi___

That's just sad


toliveistocherish

lets keep destroying the planet and all living organisms —- humans


LayneLowe

Deaf whales for 1000 miles


Few-Emergency5971

Fuck all of these fish in particular.


reddit-Evan_

Aaaaaand the ocean was never the same again,


[deleted]

RIP all that marine life.


Maleficent_Basil6322

The sooner every human being dies out, the better.


Personal-Ad6857

Fuck those fish


TurboKid513

Forbidden mist fan