On October 30, 1961, the biggest explosion occurred at the Soviet nuclear test site on Novaya Zemlya. powerful explosion in the history of mankind. The nuclear mushroom rose to a height of 67 kilometers, and the diameter of the “cap” of this mushroom was 95 kilometers. The shock wave circled three times Earth(and the blast wave demolished wooden buildings at a distance of several hundred kilometers from the test site). The flash of the explosion was visible from a distance of a thousand kilometers, despite the fact that thick clouds hung over Novaya Zemlya. For almost an hour there was no radio communication throughout the entire Arctic. The power of the explosion, according to various sources, ranged from 50 to 57 megatons (million tons of TNT).
However, as Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev joked, they did not increase the power of the bomb to 100 megatons, only because in this case all the windows in Moscow would have been broken. But every joke has its share of a joke - it was originally planned to detonate a 100 megaton bomb. And the explosion on Novaya Zemlya convincingly proved that creating a bomb with a capacity of at least 100 megatons, at least 200, is a completely feasible task. But 50 megatons is almost ten times the power of all the ammunition expended throughout the Second World War. World War all participating countries. Moreover, in the event of testing a product with a capacity of 100 megatons, only a melted crater would remain from the test site on Novaya Zemlya (and most of this island). In Moscow, the glass most likely would have survived, but in Murmansk they could have been blown out.
Layout hydrogen bomb. Historical and Memorial Museum nuclear weapons in Sarov
The device, detonated at an altitude of 4200 meters above sea level on October 30, 1961, went down in history under the name “Tsar Bomba”. One more not official name- “Kuzka’s Mother.” But the official name of this hydrogen bomb was not so loud - the modest product AN602. This miracle weapon had no military significance - not in tons of TNT equivalent, but in ordinary metric tons The “product” weighed 26 tons and it would be problematic to deliver it to the “addressee”. It was a show of force - clear proof that the Soviet Union was capable of creating weapons of mass destruction of any power. What made the leadership of our country take such an unprecedented step? Of course, nothing more than a worsening of relations with the United States. Just recently it seemed that the United States and Soviet Union reached mutual understanding on all issues - in September 1959, Khrushchev visited the United States on an official visit, and a return visit to Moscow by President Dwight Eisenhower was also planned. But on May 1, 1960, over Soviet territory An American U-2 spy plane was shot down. In April 1961 American intelligence agencies organized the landing of well-prepared and trained troops in Cuba Cuban immigrants in the Bay of Playa Giron (this adventure ended in a convincing victory for Fidel Castro). In Europe, the great powers could not decide on the status of West Berlin. As a result, on August 13, 1961, the capital of Germany found itself blocked by the famous Berlin Wall. Finally, in 1961, the United States deployed PGM-19 Jupiter missiles in Turkey - European part Russia (including Moscow) was within range of these missiles (a year later the Soviet Union would place missiles in Cuba and the famous Cuban Missile Crisis would begin). This is not to mention the fact that there is parity in numbers nuclear charges and there were no carriers between the Soviet Union and America at that time - we could oppose only three hundred to 6 thousand American warheads. So, the demonstration of thermonuclear power was not at all superfluous in the current situation.
Soviet short film about the testing of the Tsar Bomba
There is a popular myth that the superbomb was developed on Khrushchev’s orders all in 1961, a record-breaking year. short time– in just 112 days. In fact, the development of the bomb began in 1954. And in 1961, the developers simply brought the existing “product” to the required power. At the same time, the Tupolev Design Bureau was modernizing Tu-16 and Tu-95 aircraft for new weapons. According to initial calculations, the weight of the bomb should have been at least 40 tons, but aircraft designers explained to nuclear scientists that this moment There are no carriers for a product with such weight and there cannot be. Nuclear scientists promised to reduce the weight of the bomb to a quite acceptable 20 tons. True, such weight and such dimensions required a complete rework of the bomb compartments, fastenings, and bomb bays.
Hydrogen bomb explosion
Work on the bomb was carried out by a group of young nuclear physicists under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatova. This group also included Andrei Sakharov, who at that time had not yet thought about dissent. Moreover, he was one of the leading developers of the product.
Such power was achieved through the use of a multi-stage design - a uranium charge with a power of “only” one and a half megatons launched a nuclear reaction in a second-stage charge with a power of 50 megatons. Without changing the dimensions of the bomb, it was possible to make it three-stage (this is already 100 megatons). Theoretically, the number of stage charges could be unlimited. The design of the bomb was unique for its time.
Khrushchev hurried the developers - in October, the 22nd Congress of the CPSU was taking place in the newly built Kremlin Palace of Congresses, and the news about the most powerful explosion in the history of mankind should have been announced from the rostrum of the congress. And on October 30, 1961, Khrushchev received a long-awaited telegram signed by the Minister of Medium Engineering E.P. Slavsky and Marshal of the Soviet Union K.S. Moskalenko (test leaders):
"Moscow. The Kremlin. N.S. Khrushchev.The test on Novaya Zemlya was successful. The safety of testers and the surrounding population is ensured. The training ground and all participants completed the task of the Motherland. We're going back to the convention."
The explosion of the Tsar Bomba almost immediately served as fertile ground for various kinds myths. Some of them were distributed ... by the official press. So, for example, Pravda called “Tsar Bomba” nothing more than yesterday atomic weapons and claimed that more powerful charges had already been created. There were also rumors about a self-sustaining thermonuclear reaction in the atmosphere. The reduction in the power of the explosion, according to some, was caused by the fear of splitting earth's crust or... cause a thermonuclear reaction in the oceans.
But be that as it may, a year later, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States still had an overwhelming superiority in the number of nuclear warheads. But they never decided to use them.
In addition, it is believed that this mega-explosion helped shift dead center negotiations on a ban on nuclear tests in three environments, which were conducted in Geneva since the late fifties. In 1959-60, all nuclear powers, with the exception of France, accepted a unilateral refusal to test while these negotiations were ongoing. But we talked below about the reasons that forced the Soviet Union not to comply with its obligations. After the explosion on Novaya Zemlya, negotiations resumed. And on October 10, 1963, the Treaty Banning Atmospheric Tests of Nuclear Weapons was signed in Moscow. outer space and underwater." As long as this Treaty is respected, the Soviet Tsar Bomba will remain the most powerful explosive device in human history.
Modern computer reconstruction
Ivy Mike - the first atmospheric test of a hydrogen bomb conducted by the United States at Eniwetak Atoll on November 1, 1952.
65 years ago, the Soviet Union detonated its first thermonuclear bomb. How does this weapon work, what can it do and what can it not do? On August 12, 1953, the first “practical” thermonuclear bomb was detonated in the USSR. We will tell you about the history of its creation and figure out whether it is true that such ammunition hardly pollutes the environment, but can destroy the world.
Idea thermonuclear weapons, where the nuclei of atoms are fused rather than split, as in an atomic bomb, appeared no later than 1941. It came to the minds of physicists Enrico Fermi and Edward Teller. Around the same time, they became involved in the Manhattan Project and helped create the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Designing a thermonuclear weapon turned out to be much more difficult.
You can roughly understand how much more complicated a thermonuclear bomb is than an atomic bomb by the fact that working nuclear power plants have long been commonplace, and working and practical thermonuclear power plants are still science fiction.
To atomic nuclei merged with each other, they must be heated to millions of degrees. The Americans patented a design for a device that would allow this to be done in 1946 (the project was unofficially called Super), but they remembered it only three years later, when the USSR successfully tested a nuclear bomb.
President of the U.S.A Harry Truman stated that the Soviet breakthrough must be answered with “the so-called hydrogen, or superbomb.”
By 1951, the Americans assembled the device and tested it under code name"George". The design was a torus - in other words, a donut - with heavy isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. They were chosen because such nuclei are easier to merge than ordinary hydrogen nuclei. The fuse was a nuclear bomb. The explosion compressed deuterium and tritium, they merged and gave a flow fast neutrons and lit the uranium plate. In an ordinary atomic bomb it does not fission: there are only slow neutrons that cannot be forced to fission stable isotope uranium. Although nuclear fusion energy accounted for approximately 10% of total energy explosion of "George", the "ignition" of uranium-238 made it possible to increase the power of the explosion twice as high as usual, to 225 kilotons.
Due to the additional uranium, the explosion was twice as powerful as with a conventional atomic bomb. But thermonuclear fusion accounted for only 10% of the energy released: tests showed that hydrogen nuclei were not compressed strongly enough.
Then mathematician Stanislav Ulam proposed a different approach - a two-stage nuclear fuse. His idea was to place a plutonium rod in the “hydrogen” zone of the device. The explosion of the first fuse “ignited” plutonium, two shock waves and two flows x-rays collided - the pressure and temperature jumped enough for thermonuclear fusion to begin. The new device was tested on the Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1952 - the explosive power of the bomb was already ten megatons of TNT.
However, this device was also unsuitable for use as a military weapon.
In order for hydrogen nuclei to fuse, the distance between them must be minimal, so deuterium and tritium were cooled to liquid state, almost to absolute zero. This required a huge cryogenic installation. The second thermonuclear device, essentially an enlarged modification of the George, weighed 70 tons - you can’t drop that from an airplane.
The USSR began developing a thermonuclear bomb later: the first scheme was proposed by Soviet developers only in 1949. It was supposed to use lithium deuteride. This is metal solid, it does not need to be liquefied, and therefore a bulky refrigerator, as in the American version, was no longer required. Equally important, lithium-6, when bombarded with neutrons from the explosion, produced helium and tritium, which further simplifies the further fusion of nuclei.
The RDS-6s bomb was ready in 1953. Unlike American and modern thermonuclear devices, it did not contain a plutonium rod. This scheme is known as a “puff”: layers of lithium deuteride were interspersed with uranium layers. On August 12, RDS-6s was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site.
The power of the explosion was 400 kilotons of TNT - 25 times less than in the second attempt by the Americans. But the RDS-6s could be dropped from the air. The same bomb was going to be used on intercontinental ballistic missiles. And already in 1955, the USSR improved its thermonuclear brainchild, equipping it with a plutonium rod.
Today, virtually all thermonuclear devices—even North Korean ones, apparently—are a cross between early Soviet and American designs. They all use lithium deuteride as fuel and ignite it with a two-stage nuclear detonator.
As is known from leaks, even the most modern American thermonuclear warhead, the W88, is similar to the RDS-6c: layers of lithium deuteride are interspersed with uranium.
The difference is that modern thermonuclear munitions are not multi-megaton monsters like the Tsar Bomba, but systems with a yield of hundreds of kilotons, like the RDS-6s. No one has megaton warheads in their arsenals, since, militarily, a dozen less powerful warheads are more valuable than one strong one: this allows you to hit more targets.
Technicians work with an American W80 thermonuclear warhead
What a thermonuclear bomb cannot do
Hydrogen is an extremely common element; there is enough of it in the Earth’s atmosphere.
At one time it was rumored that a sufficiently powerful thermonuclear explosion could start a chain reaction and all the air on our planet would burn out. But this is a myth.
Not only gaseous, but also liquid hydrogen is not dense enough for thermonuclear fusion to begin. It needs to be compressed and heated nuclear explosion, preferably c different sides, how it is done with a two-stage igniter. There are no such conditions in the atmosphere, so self-sustaining nuclear fusion reactions are impossible there.
This is not the only misconception about thermonuclear weapons. It is often said that an explosion is “purer” than a nuclear one: they say, when hydrogen nuclei merge, “fragments” - dangerous short-lived nuclei of atoms that give Nuclear pollution, - it turns out less than when fissioning uranium nuclei.
This misconception is based on the fact that when thermonuclear explosion most of energy is allegedly released due to the fusion of nuclei. It is not true. Yes, the Tsar Bomba was like that, but only because its uranium “jacket” was replaced with lead for testing. Modern two-stage fuses result in significant radioactive contamination.
The zone of possible total destruction by the Tsar Bomba, plotted on the map of Paris. The red circle is the zone of complete destruction (radius 35 km). The yellow circle is the size of the fireball (radius 3.5 km).
True, there is still a grain of truth in the myth of the “clean” bomb. Take the best American thermonuclear warhead, W88. If it explodes at the optimal height above the city, the area of severe destruction will practically coincide with the zone of radioactive damage, dangerous to life. Deaths from radiation sickness will be vanishingly small: people will die from the explosion itself, not from radiation.
Another myth says that thermonuclear weapons are capable of destroying all human civilization, and even life on Earth. This is also practically excluded. The energy of the explosion is distributed in three dimensions, therefore, with an increase in the power of the ammunition by a thousand times, the radius lethal effect grows only ten times - a megaton warhead has a destruction radius only ten times greater than a tactical, kiloton warhead.
66 million years ago, an asteroid impact led to the extinction of most land animals and plants. The impact power was about 100 million megatons - this is 10 thousand times more than the total power of all thermonuclear arsenals of the Earth. 790 thousand years ago, an asteroid collided with the planet, the impact was a million megatons, but no traces of even moderate extinction (including our genus Homo) occurred after that. Both life in general and people are much stronger than they seem.
The truth about thermonuclear weapons is not as popular as the myths. Today it is as follows: thermonuclear arsenals of compact warheads of medium power provide a fragile strategic balance, because of which no one can freely iron other countries of the world with atomic weapons. Fear of a thermonuclear response is more than enough of a deterrent.
The explosion occurred in 1961. Within a radius of several hundred kilometers from the test site, a hasty evacuation of people took place, as scientists calculated that all houses without exception would be destroyed. But no one expected such an effect. The blast wave circled the planet three times. The landfill remained a “blank slate”; all the hills on it disappeared. Buildings turned to sand in a second. A terrible explosion was heard within a radius of 800 kilometers.
If you think that the atomic warhead is the most terrible weapon of mankind, then you do not yet know about the hydrogen bomb. We decided to correct this oversight and talk about what it is. We have already talked about and.
A little about the terminology and principles of work in pictures
Understanding what a nuclear warhead looks like and why, it is necessary to consider the principle of its operation, based on the fission reaction. First, an atomic bomb detonates. The shell contains isotopes of uranium and plutonium. They disintegrate into particles, capturing neutrons. Next, one atom is destroyed and the fission of the rest is initiated. This is done using chain process. At the end it begins nuclear reaction. The bomb's parts become one whole. The charge begins to exceed critical mass. With the help of such a structure, energy is released and an explosion occurs.
By the way, a nuclear bomb is also called an atomic bomb. And hydrogen is called thermonuclear. Therefore, the question of how an atomic bomb differs from a nuclear one is inherently incorrect. It is the same. The difference between a nuclear bomb and a thermonuclear bomb is not only in the name.
The thermonuclear reaction is based not on the fission reaction, but on the compression of heavy nuclei. A nuclear warhead is the detonator or fuse for a hydrogen bomb. In other words, imagine a huge barrel of water. An atomic rocket is immersed in it. Water is a heavy liquid. Here the proton with sound is replaced in the hydrogen nucleus by two elements - deuterium and tritium:
- Deuterium is one proton and a neutron. Their mass is twice that of hydrogen;
- Tritium consists of one proton and two neutrons. They are three times heavier than hydrogen.
Thermonuclear bomb tests
, the end of World War II, a race began between America and the USSR and global community realized that a nuclear or hydrogen bomb is more powerful. The destructive power of atomic weapons began to attract each side. The United States was the first to make and test a nuclear bomb. But it soon became clear that it could not be large. Therefore, it was decided to try to make a thermonuclear warhead. Here again America succeeded. The Soviets decided not to lose the race and tested a compact but powerful missile that could be transported even on a regular Tu-16 aircraft. Then everyone understood the difference between a nuclear bomb and a hydrogen bomb.
For example, the first American thermonuclear warhead was as tall as a three-story house. It could not be delivered by small transport. But then, according to developments by the USSR, the dimensions were reduced. If we analyze, we can conclude that these terrible destructions were not that great. In TNT equivalent, the impact force was only a few tens of kilotons. Therefore, buildings were destroyed in only two cities, and the sound of a nuclear bomb was heard in the rest of the country. If it were a hydrogen rocket, all of Japan would be completely destroyed with just one warhead.
A nuclear bomb with too much charge may explode inadvertently. Will begin chain reaction and there will be an explosion. Considering the differences between nuclear atomic and hydrogen bombs, it is worth noting this point. After all, a thermonuclear warhead can be made of any power without fear of spontaneous detonation.
This interested Khrushchev, who ordered the creation of the most powerful hydrogen warhead in the world and thus get closer to winning the race. It seemed to him that 100 megatons was optimal. Soviet scientists pushed themselves hard and managed to invest 50 megatons. Tests began on the island of Novaya Zemlya, where there was a military training ground. To this day, the Tsar Bomba is called the largest bomb exploded on the planet.
The explosion occurred in 1961. Within a radius of several hundred kilometers from the test site, a hasty evacuation of people took place, as scientists calculated that all houses without exception would be destroyed. But no one expected such an effect. The blast wave circled the planet three times. The landfill remained a “blank slate”; all the hills on it disappeared. Buildings turned to sand in a second. A terrible explosion was heard within a radius of 800 kilometers. The fireball from the use of such a warhead as the universal destroyer runic nuclear bomb in Japan was visible only in cities. But from the hydrogen rocket it rose 5 kilometers in diameter. The mushroom of dust, radiation and soot grew 67 kilometers. According to scientists, its cap was a hundred kilometers in diameter. Just imagine what would have happened if the explosion had occurred within the city limits.
Modern dangers of using the hydrogen bomb
We have already examined the difference between an atomic bomb and a thermonuclear one. Now imagine what the consequences of the explosion would have been if the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been a hydrogen bomb with a thematic equivalent. There would be no trace left of Japan.
Based on the test results, scientists concluded the consequences of a thermonuclear bomb. Some people think that a hydrogen warhead is cleaner, meaning it is not actually radioactive. This is due to the fact that people hear the name “water” and underestimate its deplorable impact on the environment.
As we have already figured out, a hydrogen warhead is based on a huge amount of radioactive substances. It is possible to make a rocket without a uranium charge, but so far this has not been used in practice. The process itself will be very complex and costly. Therefore, the fusion reaction is diluted with uranium and a huge explosion power is obtained. The radioactive fallout that inexorably falls on the drop target is increased by 1000%. They will harm the health of even those who are tens of thousands of kilometers from the epicenter. When detonated, a huge fire ball. Everything that comes within its radius of action is destroyed. The scorched earth may be uninhabitable for decades. Absolutely nothing will grow over a vast area. And knowing the strength of the charge, using a certain formula, you can calculate the theoretically contaminated area.
Also worth mentioning about such an effect as nuclear winter. This concept is even more terrible than destroyed cities and hundreds of thousands human lives. Not only the dump site will be destroyed, but virtually the entire world. At first, only one territory will lose its habitable status. But there will be a release into the atmosphere radioactive substance, which will reduce the brightness of the sun. This will all mix with dust, smoke, soot and create a veil. It will spread throughout the planet. The crops in the fields will be destroyed for several decades to come. This effect will provoke famine on Earth. The population will immediately decrease several times. And nuclear winter looks more than real. Indeed, in the history of mankind, and more specifically, in 1816, a similar case was known after a powerful volcanic eruption. There was a year without summer on the planet at that time.
Skeptics who do not believe in such a coincidence of circumstances can be convinced by the calculations of scientists:
- When on Earth will happen the temperature drops by a degree, no one will notice it. But this will affect the amount of precipitation.
- In autumn there will be a cooling of 4 degrees. Due to the lack of rain, crop failures are possible. Hurricanes will begin even in places where they have never existed.
- When temperatures drop a few more degrees, the planet will experience its first year without summer.
- This will be followed by a small glacial period. The temperature drops by 40 degrees. Even in a short time it will be destructive for the planet. On Earth there will be crop failures and the extinction of people living in the northern zones.
- Afterwards the ice age will come. Reflection of the sun's rays will occur without reaching the surface of the earth. Due to this, the air temperature will reach a critical level. Crops and trees will stop growing on the planet, and water will freeze. This will lead to the extinction of most of the population.
- Those who survive will not survive last period- irreversible cooling. This option is completely sad. It will be the real end of humanity. The earth will turn into new planet, unsuitable for human habitation.
Now about another danger. As soon as Russia and the United States emerged from the Cold War stage, new threat. If you have heard about who Kim Jong Il is, then you understand that he will not stop there. This missile lover, tyrant and ruler of North Korea all rolled into one could easily provoke a nuclear conflict. He talks about the hydrogen bomb constantly and notes that his part of the country already has warheads. Fortunately, no one has seen them live yet. Russia, America, as well as our closest neighbors - South Korea and Japan are very concerned about even such hypothetical statements. Therefore, we hope that North Korea will have developments and technologies for a long time to come. insufficient level to destroy the whole world.
For reference. At the bottom of the world's oceans lie dozens of bombs that were lost during transportation. And in Chernobyl, which is not so far from us, huge reserves of uranium are still stored.
It is worth considering whether such consequences can be allowed for the sake of testing a hydrogen bomb. And, if between the countries possessing these weapons happens global conflict, there will be no states, no people, or anything at all left on the planet, the Earth will turn into a blank slate. And if we consider how a nuclear bomb differs from a thermonuclear bomb, the main point is the amount of destruction, as well as the subsequent effect.
Now a small conclusion. We figured out that a nuclear bomb and an atomic bomb are one and the same. It is also the basis for a thermonuclear warhead. But using neither one nor the other is not recommended, even for testing. The sound of the explosion and what the aftermath looks like is not the worst thing. It's threatening nuclear winter, the death of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants at one time and numerous consequences for humanity. Although there are differences between charges such as an atomic bomb and a nuclear bomb, the effect of both is destructive for all living things.
The hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb became the cornerstone of the arms race between the USA and the USSR. The two superpowers argued for several years about who would become the first owner of a new type of destructive weapon.
Thermonuclear weapon project
At the beginning of the Cold War, the test of a hydrogen bomb was the most important argument for the leadership of the USSR in the fight against the United States. Moscow wanted to achieve nuclear parity with Washington and invested huge amounts of money in the arms race. However, work on creating a hydrogen bomb began not thanks to generous funding, but because of reports from secret agents in America. In 1945, the Kremlin learned that the United States was preparing to create a new weapon. It was a superbomb, the project of which was called Super.
The source of valuable information was Klaus Fuchs, an employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA. He provided the Soviet Union with specific information regarding the secret American development of a superbomb. By 1950, the Super project was thrown into the trash, as it became clear to Western scientists that such a new weapon scheme could not be implemented. The director of this program was Edward Teller.
In 1946, Klaus Fuchs and John developed the ideas for the Super project and patented own system. The principle of radioactive implosion was fundamentally new in it. In the USSR, this scheme began to be considered a little later - in 1948. In general, we can say that at the starting stage it was completely based on American information received by intelligence. But by continuing research based on these materials, Soviet scientists were noticeably ahead of their Western colleagues, which allowed the USSR to obtain first the first, and then the most powerful thermonuclear bomb.
On December 17, 1945, at a meeting of a special committee created under the Council People's Commissars USSR, nuclear physicists Yakov Zeldovich, Isaac Pomeranchuk and Julius Hartion made a report “Use nuclear energy light elements." This paper examined the possibility of using a deuterium bomb. This performance marked the beginning of the Soviet nuclear program.
In 1946 theoretical research began to be held at the Institute chemical physics. The first results of this work were discussed at one of the meetings of the Scientific and Technical Council in the First Main Directorate. Two years later, Lavrentiy Beria instructed Kurchatov and Khariton to analyze materials about the von Neumann system, which were delivered to the Soviet Union thanks to secret agents in the West. Data from these documents gave additional impetus to the research that led to the birth of the RDS-6 project.
"Evie Mike" and "Castle Bravo"
On November 1, 1952, the Americans tested the world's first thermonuclear device. It was not yet a bomb, but already its most important component. The explosion occurred on Enivotek Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. and Stanislav Ulam (each of them actually the creator of the hydrogen bomb) had recently developed a two-stage design, which the Americans tested. The device could not be used as a weapon, as it was produced using deuterium. In addition, it was distinguished by its enormous weight and dimensions. Such a projectile simply could not be dropped from an airplane.
The first hydrogen bomb was tested by Soviet scientists. After the United States learned about the successful use of the RDS-6s, it became clear that it was necessary to close the gap with the Russians in the arms race as quickly as possible. The American test took place on March 1, 1954. The Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was chosen as the test site. The Pacific archipelagos were not chosen by chance. There was almost no population here (and the few people who lived on the nearby islands were evicted on the eve of the experiment).
The Americans' most destructive hydrogen bomb explosion became known as Castle Bravo. The charge power turned out to be 2.5 times higher than expected. The explosion led to radiation contamination of a large area (many islands and Pacific Ocean), which led to a scandal and a revision of the nuclear program.
Development of RDS-6s
The project of the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb was called RDS-6s. The plan was written by the outstanding physicist Andrei Sakharov. In 1950, the USSR Council of Ministers decided to concentrate work on the creation of new weapons in KB-11. According to this decision, a group of scientists led by Igor Tamm went to the closed Arzamas-16.
Especially for this grandiose project was prepared Semipalatinsk test site. Before the hydrogen bomb test began, numerous measuring, filming and recording instruments were installed there. In addition, on behalf of scientists, almost two thousand indicators appeared there. The area affected by the hydrogen bomb test included 190 structures.
The Semipalatinsk experiment was unique not only because of the new type of weapon. Unique intakes designed for chemical and radioactive samples were used. Only a powerful shock wave could open them. Recording and filming instruments were installed in specially prepared fortified structures on the surface and in underground bunkers.
Alarm Clock
Back in 1946, Edward Teller, who worked in the USA, developed a prototype of the RDS-6s. It's called Alarm Clock. The project for this device was originally proposed as an alternative to the Super. In April 1947, a series of experiments began at the Los Alamos laboratory designed to study the nature of thermonuclear principles.
Scientists expected the greatest energy release from Alarm Clock. In the fall, Teller decided to use lithium deuteride as fuel for the device. Researchers had not yet used this substance, but expected that it would improve efficiency. It is interesting that Teller already noted in his memos dependence of the nuclear program on the further development of computers. This technique was necessary for scientists to make more accurate and complex calculations.
Alarm Clock and RDS-6s had much in common, but they also differed in many ways. American version was not as practical as the Soviet one due to its size. Big sizes it inherited from the Super project. In the end, the Americans had to abandon this development. The last studies took place in 1954, after which it became clear that the project was unprofitable.
Explosion of the first thermonuclear bomb
The first test of a hydrogen bomb in human history occurred on August 12, 1953. In the morning, a bright flash appeared on the horizon, which was blinding even through protective glasses. The RDS-6s explosion turned out to be 20 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. The experiment was considered successful. Scientists were able to achieve an important technological breakthrough. For the first time, lithium hydride was used as a fuel. Within a radius of 4 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, the wave destroyed all buildings.
Subsequent tests of the hydrogen bomb in the USSR were based on the experience gained using the RDS-6s. This destructive weapon was not only the most powerful. An important advantage of the bomb was its compactness. The projectile was placed in a Tu-16 bomber. Success allowed Soviet scientists to get ahead of the Americans. In the United States at that time there was a thermonuclear device the size of a house. It was not transportable.
When Moscow announced that the USSR's hydrogen bomb was ready, Washington disputed this information. The main argument of the Americans was the fact that the thermonuclear bomb should be made according to the Teller-Ulam scheme. It was based on the principle of radiation implosion. This project will be implemented in the USSR two years later, in 1955.
Physicist Andrei Sakharov made the greatest contribution to the creation of RDS-6s. The hydrogen bomb was his brainchild - it was he who proposed the revolutionary ones technical solutions, which made it possible to successfully complete tests at the Semipalatinsk test site. Young Sakharov immediately became an academician at the USSR Academy of Sciences, a Hero of Socialist Labor and a laureate of the Stalin Prize. Other scientists also received awards and medals: Yuli Khariton, Kirill Shchelkin, Yakov Zeldovich, Nikolai Dukhov, etc. In 1953, a hydrogen bomb test showed that Soviet science can overcome what until recently seemed fiction and fantasy. Therefore, immediately after the successful explosion of the RDS-6s, the development of even more powerful projectiles began.
RDS-37
On November 20, 1955, the next tests of a hydrogen bomb took place in the USSR. This time it was two-stage and corresponded to the Teller-Ulam scheme. The RDS-37 bomb was about to be dropped from an airplane. However, when it took off, it became clear that the tests would have to be carried out in an emergency situation. Contrary to weather forecasters, the weather deteriorated noticeably, causing dense clouds to cover the training ground.
For the first time, experts were forced to land a plane with a thermonuclear bomb on board. Some time on Central command post there was a discussion about what to do next. A proposal to drop a bomb in the mountains nearby was considered, but this option was rejected as too risky. Meanwhile, the plane continued to circle near the test site, running out of fuel.
Zeldovich and Sakharov received the final word. A hydrogen bomb that exploded outside the test site would have led to disaster. The scientists understood the full extent of the risk and their own responsibility, and yet they gave written confirmation that the plane would be safe to land. Finally, the commander of the Tu-16 crew, Fyodor Golovashko, received the command to land. The landing was very smooth. The pilots showed all their skills and did not panic critical situation. The maneuver was perfect. The Central Command Post breathed a sigh of relief.
The creator of the hydrogen bomb, Sakharov, and his team survived the tests. The second attempt was scheduled for November 22. On this day everything went without any emergency situations. The bomb was dropped from a height of 12 kilometers. While the shell was falling, the plane managed to move away safe distance from the epicenter of the explosion. A few minutes later, the nuclear mushroom reached a height of 14 kilometers, and its diameter was 30 kilometers.
The explosion was not without tragic incidents. From shock wave At a distance of 200 kilometers, windows were broken, causing several injuries. A girl who lived in a neighboring village also died when the ceiling collapsed on her. Another victim was a soldier who was in a special holding area. The soldier fell asleep in the dugout and died of suffocation before his comrades could pull him out.
Development of the Tsar Bomba
In 1954, the country's best nuclear physicists, under the leadership, began developing the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the history of mankind. Andrei Sakharov, Viktor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Smirnov, Yuri Trutnev, etc. also took part in this project. Due to its power and size, the bomb became known as the “Tsar Bomba”. Project participants later recalled that this phrase appeared after famous saying Khrushchev about “Kuzka’s Mother” at the UN. Officially, the project was called AN602.
Over seven years of development, the bomb went through several reincarnations. At first, scientists planned to use components from uranium and the Jekyll-Hyde reaction, but later this idea had to be abandoned due to the danger of radioactive contamination.
Test on Novaya Zemlya
For some time, the Tsar Bomba project was frozen, since Khrushchev was going to the USA, and in cold war there was a short pause. In 1961, the conflict between the countries flared up again and in Moscow they again remembered thermonuclear weapons. Khrushchev announced the upcoming tests in October 1961 during the XXII Congress of the CPSU.
On the 30th, a Tu-95B with a bomb on board took off from Olenya and headed for New Earth. The plane took two hours to reach its destination. Another Soviet hydrogen bomb was dropped at an altitude of 10.5 thousand meters above nuclear test site"Dry Nose" The shell exploded while still in the air. A fireball appeared, which reached a diameter of three kilometers and almost touched the ground. According to scientists' calculations, the seismic wave from the explosion crossed the planet three times. The impact was felt a thousand kilometers away, and everything living at a distance of a hundred kilometers could receive third-degree burns (this did not happen, since the area was uninhabited).
At that time, the most powerful US thermonuclear bomb was four times less powerful than the Tsar Bomba. The Soviet leadership was pleased with the result of the experiment. Moscow got what it wanted from the next hydrogen bomb. The test demonstrated that the USSR had weapons much more powerful than the United States. Subsequently, the destructive record of the “Tsar Bomba” was never broken. The most powerful hydrogen bomb explosion ever major milestone in the history of science and the Cold War.
Thermonuclear weapons of other countries
British development of the hydrogen bomb began in 1954. The project manager was William Penney, who had previously been a participant in the Manhattan Project in the USA. The British had crumbs of information about the structure of thermonuclear weapons. American allies did not share this information. In Washington they referred to the law on atomic energy, adopted in 1946. The only exception the British were given permission to observe the tests. They also used aircraft to collect samples left behind by American shell explosions.
At first, London decided to limit itself to creating a very powerful atomic bomb. Thus began the Orange Messenger trials. During them, the most powerful non-thermonuclear bomb in human history was dropped. Its disadvantage was its excessive cost. On November 8, 1957, a hydrogen bomb was tested. The history of the creation of the British two-stage device is an example of successful progress in conditions of lagging behind two superpowers that were arguing among themselves.
The hydrogen bomb appeared in China in 1967, in France in 1968. Thus, today there are five states in the club of countries possessing thermonuclear weapons. Information about the hydrogen bomb in North Korea. The head of the DPRK stated that his scientists were able to develop such a projectile. During the tests, seismologists different countries recorded seismic activity caused by a nuclear explosion. But there is still no concrete information about the hydrogen bomb in the DPRK.
At the end of the 30s of the last century, the laws of fission and decay were already discovered in Europe, and the hydrogen bomb moved from the category of science fiction to reality. The history of the development of nuclear energy is interesting and still represents an exciting competition between scientific potential countries: Nazi Germany, USSR and USA. The most powerful bomb, which any state dreamed of owning, was not only a weapon, but also a powerful political tool. The country that had it in its arsenal actually became omnipotent and could dictate its own rules.
The hydrogen bomb has its own history of creation, which is based on physical laws, namely the thermonuclear process. Initially, it was incorrectly called atomic, and illiteracy was to blame. The scientist Bethe, who later became a laureate Nobel Prize, worked on artificial source energy - fission of uranium. This was the peak time scientific activity many physicists, and among them there was an opinion that scientific secrets should not exist at all, since initially the laws of science are international.
Theoretically, the hydrogen bomb had been invented, but now, with the help of designers, it had to acquire technical forms. All that remained was to pack it in a specific shell and test it for power. There are two scientists whose names will forever be associated with the creation of this powerful weapons: in the USA it is Edward Teller, and in the USSR it is Andrei Sakharov.
In the USA, a physicist began to study the thermonuclear problem back in 1942. By order of Harry Truman, then President of the United States, the best people worked on this problem scientists of the country, they created a fundamentally new weapon of destruction. Moreover, the government’s order was for a bomb with a capacity of at least a million tons of TNT. The hydrogen bomb was created by Teller and showed humanity in Hiroshima and Nagasaki its limitless but destructive capabilities.
A bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that weighed 4.5 tons and contained 100 kg of uranium. This explosion corresponded to almost 12,500 tons of TNT. Japanese city Nagasaki was destroyed by a plutonium bomb of the same mass, but equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT.
Future Soviet academician A. Sakharov in 1948, based on his research, presented the design of a hydrogen bomb under the name RDS-6. His research followed two branches: the first was called “puff pastry” (RDS-6s), and its feature was atomic charge, which was surrounded by layers of heavy and light elements. The second branch is the “pipe” or (RDS-6t), in which the plutonium bomb was contained in liquid deuterium. Subsequently, much was done important discovery, which proved that the “pipe” direction is a dead end.
The principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is as follows: first, an HB charge explodes inside the shell, which is the initiator of a thermonuclear reaction, resulting in a neutron flash. In this case, the process is accompanied by the release high temperature, which is needed for further Neutrons begin bombarding the lithium deuteride insert, and it, in turn, under the direct action of neutrons, splits into two elements: tritium and helium. The atomic fuse used forms the components necessary for fusion to occur in the already detonated bomb. This is the complicated operating principle of a hydrogen bomb. After that preliminary action starts immediately thermonuclear reaction in a mixture of deuterium and tritium. At this time, the temperature in the bomb increases more and more, and everything participates in fusion. large quantity hydrogen. If you monitor the time of these reactions, then the speed of their action can be characterized as instantaneous.
Subsequently, scientists began to use not the synthesis of nuclei, but their fission. The fission of one ton of uranium creates energy equivalent to 18 Mt. This bomb has enormous power. The most powerful bomb created by mankind belonged to the USSR. She even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Her blast wave equated to 57 (approximately) megatons of TNT. It was blown up in 1961 in the area of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.