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These nuclear bombs are pure nightmare fuel. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the nuclear weaponry and testing that fueled our darkest existential fears.
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00:00For the first time in human history, we now were capable of our own destruction as a species.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the nuclear weaponry and testing that fueled
00:12our darkest existential fears.
00:14The bomb produces some of the worst psychological tension ever in world history.
00:21Number 20, Mark 4, Operation Sandstone.
00:25Created in 1948, Operation Sandstone marked the third series of nuclear tests carried
00:30out by the United States.
00:32The goal was to test new bomb designs.
00:34Before Operation Sandstone even concluded, the production of old cores was axed in favour
00:39of one of the newly-tested designs, and the Mark 4 nuclear bomb was born.
00:43Based on the Mark 3 Fat Man bomb, the Mark 4 became the first mass-produced atomic weapon.
00:48Because it was easier to manufacture, the Mark 4 signalled a pivotal moment in the nuclear
00:53arms race.
00:54While each piece of its predecessor had to be assembled by trained technicians under
00:57controlled conditions, the Mark 4 allowed for a more efficient modular assembly.
01:02By 1953, approximately 500 of these bombs had been created.
01:07Number 19, Gerboise Bleue.
01:09In February 1960, France conducted its first atomic test, becoming the fourth nuclear power
01:15after the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom.
01:19Gerboise Bleue was the largest detonation initiated by any country as a first test.
01:24With a yield of 70 kilotons, the bomb was more than three times as powerful as the Fat
01:28Man bomb used in the Nagasaki bombing.
01:31The official test records were heavily guarded, but over time, former military personnel came
01:36forward to accuse the French government of carrying out secret tests on humans to study
01:40the effects of radiation exposure.
01:43Immediately after Gerboise Bleue, soldiers were sent out with little protection near
01:46the detonation site, and ordinary citizens were also affected.
01:50The secrecy surrounding France's atomic legacy in Algeria still prevents access to
01:55full evidence of contamination of populations and the environment.
01:59Number 18, Project 596.
02:02Codenamed Miss Shoe, Project 596 was China's first atomic bomb.
02:07The success of the test gave rise to multiple subsequent nuclear tests for China, all occurring
02:11at the Lupner test site in the Xinjiang region.
02:15Just a few years after Project 596, the country's first thermonuclear test took place.
02:27With an astonishing 3.3 megaton yield, that blast was 200 times more powerful than the
02:32bomb used on Hiroshima.
02:34The toll of such prolific testing in the area remains unknown.
02:38However, some reports indicate that as many as 194,000 people may have died due to radiation
02:44exposure, and millions more may have been exposed to levels high enough to cause cancer
02:48and fetal damage.
02:50And it all started with Miss Shoe.
02:59Number 17, Operation Hurricane.
03:01The first British atomic test, Operation Hurricane, commenced on October 3, 1952.
03:14Although initially considered a great victory for the UK, jubilation was short-lived.
03:19The test was quickly outdated by the successful testing of the world's first hydrogen bomb
03:24in the US.
03:25The human toll of Operation Hurricane soon also became apparent.
03:29The men who worked on the test seemed fine, returning to their regular lives, but when
03:33they became fathers, the damage from their radiation exposure was clear.
03:37For many, their wives experienced numerous miscarriages, or their children were born
03:41with debilitating health conditions.
03:51The Operation Hurricane test site is now a wildlife park.
03:55However, visitors are advised not to take home any of the test fragments that still
03:58pepper the beach.
04:00Number 16, George, Operation Tumbler Snapper.
04:04To better study blast effects and further weapons development, the US initiated yet
04:08another series of atmospheric nuclear tests in 1952, referred to as Operation Tumbler
04:14Snapper.
04:22During the Snapper phase, the military also conducted Desert Rock 4, a series of military
04:27operations and manoeuvres designed to gain knowledge and experience within nuclear battlefield
04:32conditions.
04:33The radioactive fallout from Operation Tumbler Snapper was much higher than anticipated.
04:38Shot George, one of the last bombs detonated in the series, exposed more American citizens
04:43than any other atomic test ever conducted.
04:57Of the 1,032 nuclear tests carried out in the US, George is responsible for roughly
05:027% of all radiation exposure to the population.
05:05Number 15, Ivy Mike, Operation Ivy.
05:09On November 1, 1952, the US successfully set off the world's first hydrogen bomb, codenamed
05:14Ivy Mike.
05:23As part of Operation Ivy, the tests took place just after 7am, on a remote island at Inuit
05:29Atak Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
05:31With a massive yield of 10.4 megatons, Ivy Mike generated a fireball spanning over three
05:36miles and left a large crater where the island had once been.
05:40The blast pelted coral debris onto ships up to 35 miles away and decimated the neighbouring
05:45islands, wiping out all vegetation.
05:58The Ivy Mike design was quickly weaponised as the Mark 16 nuclear bomb, which was later
06:03made obsolete by Castle Bravo.
06:06Number 14, Project 56.
06:08The US initiated testing at the Nevada Test Site in November 1955 to determine if damaged
06:14weapons could produce a nuclear yield.
06:23This series of safety tests, referred to as Project 56, involved faulting test bombs in
06:28various ways before firing them.
06:30The test was considered a failure if any nuclear yield was present in the firing.
06:35One uranium and three plutonium devices were used.
06:38After the tests concluded in January 1956, radioactive dust and debris had contaminated
06:44nearly 900 acres of the Nevada Test Site.
06:47That area is now known as Plutonium Valley, due to its persistent radioactivity.
06:52Later attempts to remove the plutonium from the soil were unsuccessful.
06:56The site is still used for military safety exercises and radiological surveying.
07:01With the residual radiation, at safe levels that we can bring first responders into, we
07:06can take a historic site and turn it into something to help our national security today.
07:11Number 13, John and Rainier, Operation Plumbob.
07:14Carried out between May and October of 1957, Operation Plumbob involved 29 total nuclear
07:21tests.
07:22The Atomic Energy Commission and other agencies of the government once again participated
07:27in the detonations to amplify their understanding of effects.
07:31The purpose was to aid in the development of intercontinental and intermediate range
07:35weapons and to test air defence and anti-submarine warheads.
07:39Of particular note, during the John shot, five Air Force officers and a cameraman were
07:44positioned directly beneath the blast.
07:46This unusual PR stunt was meant to illustrate how nuclear weapons could potentially be used
07:51over populated areas without causing any adverse radiation side effects on civilians.
07:57Another notable test conducted as part of Operation Plumbob was the Rainier shot.
08:02The Rainier results indicate that it should be possible to utilise the underground technique
08:07to safely test devices with yields of up to at least 50 kilotons.
08:11As the first fully contained underground test, Rainier generated a shockwave so intense that
08:16it was detectable by seismic instruments across the globe.
08:19Number 12, 2017 North Korean Nuclear Test.
08:23On September 3rd, 2017, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization detected
08:29unusual seismic activity in North Korea.
08:31A jubilant newsreader on state TV announced that the bomb test had been a complete success.
08:37The device was of unprecedentedly large power, she said.
08:41Further analysis indicated the event was consisted with a manufactured explosion and occurred
08:45near the North Korean nuclear test site.
08:48The event was significantly larger than any previous event documented in the area.
08:52The North Korean government made an official announcement claiming that a hydrogen bomb
08:56had been successfully detonated, calling the device a variable yield weapon with adjustable
09:01explosive power.
09:02While some doubts linger about the overall success of the operation and its true magnitude,
09:07experts tend to agree that the bomb detonated was indeed a thermonuclear device.
09:12This development dramatically increased any threat imposed by the Korean People's Army
09:16Strategic Force.
09:18Today in South Korea, a show of force.
09:20Number 11, First Lightning, RDS-1.
09:23The first successful test of an atomic bomb by the Soviet Union in August 1949 rattled
09:28the United States government.
09:30To the immense surprise of everyone, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb and the
09:35balance of power was suddenly and dramatically shifted.
09:41While the U.S. anticipated the Soviet development of a nuclear device, First Lightning, also
09:45known as RDS-1, arrived sooner than expected, accelerating the nuclear arms race and amping
09:51up Cold War tensions between the two world superpowers.
09:54First Lightning had a nuclear yield of 22 kilotons and was comparable to the Fat Man
09:59bombs developed by the U.S.
10:01Data collected indicated that the explosion was 50% more destructive than pre-test estimates
10:06predicted.
10:07Psychologically, we are now on the same level with the United States.
10:12Now the United States cannot dictate to us.
10:15After some additional testing, the manufacture of RDS-1 bombs commenced in 1951, intensifying
10:21the already existing pressure within the U.S. to develop the first hydrogen bomb.
10:26Number 10, Trinity, Manhattan Project.
10:29It was in a remote location in New Mexico that the world experienced its first nuclear
10:33explosion.
10:43Eager to try out their then-new design in an effort to end the Second World War, the
10:47U.S. Army began assembling the Gadget, as the bomb was nicknamed, in a ranch house on
10:52July 13th, 1945.
10:54They hoisted it onto a 100-foot firing tower, from which they dropped it at 5.30am on July
10:5916th.
11:00The tower vaporised, the desert shook under a searing blast wave, and a mushroom cloud
11:05formed.
11:06Though a simple test, it was that bomb that triggered the nuclear age, which was a period
11:10characterised by suspicion, paranoia, and fear.
11:27Number 9, B-41.
11:29Also known as the MK-41, this bomb was called the most efficient weapon ever built at the
11:34time of its creation, when comparing its weight to its yield, or the amount of energy it emits
11:39at detonation.
11:53In fact, with a maximum yield of 25 megatons, this bomb has the ability to release the same
11:58destructive power as 25 million tons of TNT.
12:02Had it been detonated, it would have produced a fireball almost four miles wide, burned
12:06people to the third degree about 32 miles away, and annihilated most structures within
12:1115 miles.
12:13Although never used in actual warfare, the B-41 remains the most powerful nuclear bomb
12:18ever created by the United States.
12:27Number 8, Cherokee, Operation Red Wing.
12:29With a yield of simply 3.8 megatons, this bomb was far from the biggest to be dropped
12:34by the United States at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
12:45Detonated during the military's Operation Red Wing, which saw 17 nuclear test charges
12:49in 1956, Cherokee was, however, the country's first hydrogen, or thermonuclear, bomb to
12:54be delivered and dropped by air.
13:01What made this weapon even more terrifying was the navigation error that landed it almost
13:05four miles off of its target, raising the ironic question of how safe nuclear bomb tests
13:10really are, even when performed by trained personnel.
13:14Number 7, Baker, Operation Crossroads.
13:17For America's first deployment of a nuclear bomb underwater, the weapon was detonated
13:21at a depth of 90 feet on July 25, 1946, as part of the Baker test, somewhere near Bikini
13:27Atoll.
13:37Despite the underwater detonation, the effects of Hell in a Bikini were just as destructive.
13:42The target naval ship vaporized, and a total of 10 ships were sunk, including a damaged
13:47heavy cruiser that sank five months after the test, as a result of irreparable hull
13:52damage.
13:53Despite plans to test another bomb named Charlie in the area, severe decontamination problems
13:57brought the project to a halt 16 days after the blast, as the bomb had covered an unprecedented
14:03area with a catastrophic amount of radiation.
14:06Number 6, Storax Sedan.
14:09Although this nuclear detonation at Yucca Flat, Nevada was supposedly performed to measure
14:14its effectiveness for mining and other peaceful, practical purposes, it didn't do much more
14:19than cause a lot of damage.
14:20The area known as Sedan bears the results of this experiment, a scar in the earth four
14:25football fields long and 300 feet deep.
14:29Buried over 600 feet below the earth and exploded on July 6, 1962, the bomb removed 11 million
14:35tons of dirt and created the biggest man-made crater in the country.
14:39For perspective, it's visible from outer space.
14:41So they took a 104 kiloton nuclear bomb, put it down 635 feet, and it created the crater
14:49that we're standing in front of today.
14:51The bomb caused the greatest radionuclide activity our atmosphere had ever experienced,
14:56and contaminated more American civilians with radiation than almost any other nuclear test
15:00in history.
15:02Its failure ultimately helped spur the development of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
15:08Number 5, Starfish Prime, Operation Fishbowl.
15:11It was in the midst of the Cold War that, despite a moratorium on atmospheric tests
15:15of nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union and the United States resumed the testing of nuclear
15:20weapons.
15:21Emergency was the requirement for an evaluation of the effectiveness of nuclear detonations
15:26at high altitude for killing incoming ICBMs.
15:30On July 9, 1962, the American military detonated a nuclear warhead some 250 miles over the
15:36ground, as part of their Operation Fishbowl.
15:39Although scientists had expected an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, after the explosion, the sheer
15:45power of the ensuing EMP was shocking.
15:47With Starfish Prime an accomplished fact, project scientists began the final steps of
15:52reducing and interpreting the tremendous volume of data obtained.
15:56One-third of all active satellites were damaged by the pulse, and about 900 miles away in
16:01Hawaii, hundreds of streetlights, telephones, alarms, and radios blew, causing outages and
16:07blackouts.
16:08Number 4, Shrimp, Castle Bravo.
16:11Set off on March 1, 1954, this lithium-deuteride-fueled hydrogen bomb exceeded the military's expectations,
16:18and ended up becoming the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever dropped by the United States.
16:23This photograph was taken from an airplane at 50 miles.
16:28The width of the fireball at this time, about three seconds after detonation, was four miles.
16:34To give you an idea of just how destructive the Shrimp was, its blast was about 1,000
16:38times more powerful than the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the
16:43Second World War.
16:44Although a significant radioactive fallout was expected, due to an error made by designers,
16:49the yield of 15 megatons of TNT, much higher than the expected 5 to 6 megatons, caused
16:54enormous environmental contamination for years to come, as well as deaths and illness in
16:59over 1,000 of the locals.
17:02The tremendous yield resulted in a serious fallout situation at Bikini, and certain other
17:07locations.
17:083.
17:09Fat Man
17:10It was the second, and thankfully last, nuclear weapon ever used in warfare, and it was dropped
17:17over the city of Nagasaki in Japan on August 9, 1945, during the Second World War.
17:29Between 35,000 to 40,000 people died instantly during the explosion, while an estimated 80,000
17:35died in total as a result of leukemia, radiation poisoning, and burn injuries.
17:40The vast majority of these casualties were civilians and industrial workers.
17:44Much of the industrial production in the city took months, and even years, to repair.
17:57But in the end, it was just six days after this bomb was dropped that Japan announced
18:01its surrender.
18:022.
18:03Little Boy
18:04It's codename sounds innocent, but this bomb was anything but, as it was the first
18:09of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war, and the most destructive in terms
18:13of human casualties.
18:30Using less than a month after the Trinity Test, Little Boy was dropped over the Japanese
18:34city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
18:37Although a less powerful bomb than its successor, with a yield of 15-16 kilotons, the flat terrain
18:43of the city and the firestorm that ensued ultimately resulted in more deaths, with 66,000
18:49people dying in the initial blast, and tens of thousands more perishing in the aftermath
18:53due to illness.
19:02Though these two bombs arguably ended the war, they came with an unfathomable cost.
19:241.
19:25Tsar Bomba
19:26Some of the most powerful nuclear detonations in history have been from the Soviet Union,
19:30and this is the biggest of them all.
19:39Detonated shortly after Nikita Khrushchev's promise to show the United States what they've
19:43got, Tsar Bomba, also nicknamed Vanya and Big Ivan, was dropped on October 30, 1961,
19:49north of the Arctic Circle, over the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
19:53The yield of the bomb was over 50 megatons, or 50 million tons of TNT.
20:02The mushroom cloud grew to a height of seven Mount Everests, and the blast was so strong
20:07it broke windows 560 miles away.
20:10The Tsar Bomba showed, more than anything else, humankind's capacity for destructiveness.
20:16Are there any other nuclear bombs that cause you to lose sleep at night?
20:19Let us know in the comments.
20:20Are we saying there's a chance that when we push that button, we destroy the world?
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