70 years ago, an H-bomb test went awry. We must never forget the fallout

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/05/fallout-nuclear-test-70-years-marshall-islands/

by wolverine876 • 2 years ago

81 5 2 years ago

washingtonpost.com

boilerupnc• 2 years ago

https://archive.is/bMBDC

cpleppert• 2 years ago

Fantastically chronicled in Atoms and Ashes. [^1]

The explosion was so powerful that the personnel in the monitoring station who were not expected to receive any radiation at all had to hide in a back room of their concrete bunker and hope an evacuation was possible. The radiation & fallout was so intense that all the monitoring ships had to leave their assigned stations. The bomb was a full 2.5 times what the designers expected: 15 megatons as opposed to 6. Just a complete unnecessary tragedy for the islanders.

[^1]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VCPQZWP

ffsm8• 2 years ago

Thinking about it makes me kinda doubt the mental stability of the people greenlighting such creations.

I mean, why do they want to spend silly amounts of money to create something that will only ever be a complete overkill.

The only thing weapons of such magnitude (even if it "only" met the expectation) achieve is killing lots of civilians.

Ignoring the morality of doing that, it's much less risky to deliver multiple smaller payloads which are also harder to counter from a strategic pov.

Very questionable all around

nasmorn• 2 years ago

MIRV warheads were not a thing yet. Also by being possible you kinda need to build them to uphold MAD. Being able to kill all civilians is the whole point

marssaxman• 2 years ago

The resulting crater is clearly visible in aerial photographs:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tEL1XM5mUZ1DqBfk8

Craters from two of the Operation Hardtack tests can also be seen, scooped out of the atoll:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/9HhpqYfZ14m2qhLDA

https://maps.app.goo.gl/r3KLzeprZgf8SDtE9

Due west of Bikini, at Enewetak, the first thermonuclear test "Ivy Mike" also left a distinct mark, and there's quite a tidy little crater visible in the shallow water next to the famous containment dome:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CFTuQ7zhA4CKE9CR8

https://maps.app.goo.gl/vEXg28JaFvkA9ED96

70 years ago, an H-bomb test went awry. We must never forget the fallout

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