How does a hydrogen bomb work and what are the consequences of the explosion? What is the most powerful bomb in the world? vacuum vs thermonuclear

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 fiction into reality. The history of the development of nuclear energy is interesting and still represents an exciting competition between the scientific potential of the countries: Nazi Germany, the USSR and the 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 Nobel Prize winner, worked on an artificial source of energy - the 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 weapon: in the USA it is Edward Teller, and in the USSR it is Andrei Sakharov.

In the United States, a physicist began to study the thermonuclear problem back in 1942. By order of Harry Truman, then President of the United States, the best scientists in the country worked on this problem, 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. The Japanese city of Nagasaki was destroyed by a plutonium bomb of the same mass, but equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT.

The 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” (RDS-6s), and its feature was an 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, a very important discovery was made, which proved that the “pipe” direction is a dead end.

The principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is as follows: first, a charge inside the HB shell explodes, which is the initiator of a thermonuclear reaction, resulting in a neutron flash. In this case, the process is accompanied by the release of high temperature, which is needed for further neutrons begin to bombard 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 this preliminary action, the thermonuclear reaction begins directly 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. Its blast wave was equivalent to 57 (approximately) megatons of TNT. It was blown up in 1961 in the area of ​​the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

Our article is devoted to the history of creation and general principles of synthesis of such a device, sometimes called hydrogen. Instead of releasing explosive energy by splitting the nuclei of heavy elements like uranium, it generates even more energy by fusing the nuclei of light elements (such as isotopes of hydrogen) into one heavy one (such as helium).

Why is nuclear fusion preferable?

During a thermonuclear reaction, which consists in the fusion of the nuclei of the chemical elements participating in it, significantly more energy is generated per unit of mass physical device than in a pure atomic bomb that implements a nuclear fission reaction.

In an atomic bomb, fissile nuclear fuel quickly, under the influence of the energy of detonation of conventional explosives, combines in a small spherical volume, where its so-called critical mass is created, and the fission reaction begins. In this case, many neutrons released from fissile nuclei will cause the fission of other nuclei in the fuel mass, which also release additional neutrons, leading to a chain reaction. It covers no more than 20% of the fuel before the bomb explodes, or perhaps much less if conditions are not ideal: as in the atomic bombs Little Kid dropped on Hiroshima and Fat Man that hit Nagasaki, efficiency (if such a term can be applied to them) apply) were only 1.38% and 13%, respectively.

The fusion (or fusion) of nuclei covers the entire mass of the bomb charge and lasts as long as neutrons can find thermonuclear fuel that has not yet reacted. Therefore, the mass and explosive power of such a bomb are theoretically unlimited. Such a merger could theoretically continue indefinitely. Indeed, the thermonuclear bomb is one of the potential doomsday devices that could destroy all human life.

What is a nuclear fusion reaction?

Fuel for the reaction thermonuclear fusion The isotopes of hydrogen are deuterium or tritium. The first differs from ordinary hydrogen in that its nucleus, in addition to one proton, also contains a neutron, and the tritium nucleus already has two neutrons. IN natural water There is one deuterium atom for every 7000 hydrogen atoms, but out of its quantity. contained in a glass of water, as a result of a thermonuclear reaction, the same amount of heat can be obtained as from the combustion of 200 liters of gasoline. At a 1946 meeting with politicians, the father of the American hydrogen bomb, Edward Teller, stressed that deuterium provided more energy per gram of weight than uranium or plutonium, but cost twenty cents per gram compared with several hundred dollars per gram of fission fuel. Tritium does not occur in nature in a free state at all, so it is much more expensive than deuterium, with a market price of tens of thousands of dollars per gram, but the greatest amount of energy is released precisely in the fusion reaction of deuterium and tritium nuclei, in which the nucleus of a helium atom is formed and released neutron carrying away excess energy of 17.59 MeV

D + T → 4 He + n + 17.59 MeV.

This reaction is shown schematically in the figure below.

Is it a lot or a little? As you know, everything is learned by comparison. So, the energy of 1 MeV is approximately 2.3 million times more than that released during the combustion of 1 kg of oil. Consequently, the fusion of only two nuclei of deuterium and tritium releases as much energy as is released during the combustion of 2.3∙10 6 ∙17.59 = 40.5∙10 6 kg of oil. But we are talking about only two atoms. You can imagine how high the stakes were in the second half of the 40s of the last century, when work began in the USA and the USSR, which resulted in a thermonuclear bomb.

How it all began

Back in the summer of 1942, at the beginning of the implementation of the project to create atomic bomb in the United States (the Manhattan Project) and later in a similar Soviet program, long before the uranium fission bomb was built, the attention of some participants in these programs was drawn to a device that could use the much more powerful thermonuclear fusion reaction. In the USA, a supporter of this approach, and even, one might say, its apologist, was the above-mentioned Edward Teller. In the USSR, this direction was developed by Andrei Sakharov, a future academician and dissident.

For Teller, his fascination with thermonuclear fusion during the years of creating the atomic bomb was rather a disservice. As a participant in the Manhattan Project, he persistently called for the redirection of funds to implement own ideas, whose goal was a hydrogen and thermonuclear bomb, which did not please the leadership and caused tension in relations. Since at that time the thermonuclear direction of research was not supported, after the creation of the atomic bomb Teller left the project and began teaching, as well as researching elementary particles.

However, the outbreak of the Cold War, and most of all the creation and successful testing of the Soviet atomic bomb in 1949, became a new chance for the ardent anti-communist Teller to realize his scientific ideas. He returns to the Los Alamos laboratory, where the atomic bomb was created, and, together with Stanislav Ulam and Cornelius Everett, begins calculations.

The principle of a thermonuclear bomb

In order for the nuclear fusion reaction to begin, the bomb charge must be instantly heated to a temperature of 50 million degrees. The thermonuclear bomb scheme proposed by Teller uses for this purpose the explosion of a small atomic bomb, which is located inside the hydrogen casing. It can be argued that there were three generations in the development of her project in the 40s of the last century:

• Teller's variation, known as the "classic super";
• more complex, but also more realistic designs of several concentric spheres;
• the final version of the Teller-Ulam design, which is the basis of all thermonuclear weapon systems operating today.

Thermonuclear bombs of the USSR, whose creation was pioneered by Andrei Sakharov, went through similar design stages. He, apparently, completely independently and independently of the Americans (which cannot be said about the Soviet atomic bomb, created by the joint efforts of scientists and intelligence officers working in the USA) went through all of the above design stages.

The first two generations had the property that they had a succession of interlocking "layers", each of which enhanced some aspect of the previous one, and in some cases established Feedback. There was no clear division between the primary atomic bomb and the secondary thermonuclear one. In contrast, the Teller-Ulam thermonuclear bomb diagram sharply distinguishes between a primary explosion, a secondary explosion, and, if necessary, an additional one.

The device of a thermonuclear bomb according to the Teller-Ulam principle

Many of its details still remain classified, but it is reasonably certain that all thermonuclear weapons currently available are based on the device created by Edward Telleros and Stanislaw Ulam, in which an atomic bomb (i.e. the primary charge) is used to generate radiation, compresses and heats fusion fuel. Andrei Sakharov in the Soviet Union apparently independently came up with a similar concept, which he called the "third idea."

The design of a thermonuclear bomb in this version is shown schematically in the figure below.

She had cylindrical shape, with a roughly spherical primary atomic bomb at one end. The secondary thermonuclear charge in the first, not yet industrial samples, was made of liquid deuterium, a little later it became solid from chemical compound called lithium deuteride.

The fact is that industry has long used lithium hydride LiH for balloon-free hydrogen transportation. The developers of the bomb (this idea was first used in the USSR) simply proposed taking its isotope deuterium instead of ordinary hydrogen and combining it with lithium, since it is much easier to make a bomb with a solid thermonuclear charge.

The shape of the secondary charge was a cylinder placed in a container with a lead (or uranium) shell. Between the charges there is a neutron protection shield. The space between the walls of the container with thermonuclear fuel and the bomb body is filled with special plastic, usually polystyrene foam. The bomb body itself is made of steel or aluminum.

These shapes have changed in recent designs such as the one shown below.

In it, the primary charge is flattened, like a watermelon or an American football ball, and the secondary charge is spherical. Such shapes fit much more efficiently into the internal volume of conical missile warheads.

Thermonuclear explosion sequence

When the primary atomic bomb detonates, in the first moments of this process powerful X-ray radiation (neutron flux) is generated, which is partially blocked by the neutron protection shield, and is reflected from internal lining a housing surrounding the secondary charge so that x-rays fall symmetrically on it along its entire length.

On initial stages In a thermonuclear reaction, neutrons from an atomic explosion are absorbed by a plastic filler to prevent the fuel from heating up too quickly.

X-rays initially cause the appearance of a dense plastic foam that fills the space between the housing and the secondary charge, which quickly turns into a plasma state that heats and compresses the secondary charge.

In addition, the X-rays evaporate the surface of the container surrounding the secondary charge. The substance of the container, evaporating symmetrically relative to this charge, acquires a certain impulse directed from its axis, and the layers of the secondary charge, according to the law of conservation of momentum, receive an impulse directed towards the axis of the device. The principle here is the same as in a rocket, only if you imagine that rocket fuel scatters symmetrically from its axis, and the body contracts inward.

As a result of such compression of thermonuclear fuel, its volume decreases thousands of times, and the temperature reaches the level at which the nuclear fusion reaction begins. A thermonuclear bomb explodes. The reaction is accompanied by the formation of tritium nuclei, which merge with deuterium nuclei initially present in the secondary charge.

The first secondary charges were built around a rod core of plutonium, informally called a "candle", which entered into a nuclear fission reaction, i.e., another, additional atomic explosion was carried out in order to further raise the temperature to ensure the start of the nuclear fusion reaction. It is currently believed that more efficient systems compression eliminated the "candle", allowing further miniaturization of the bomb design.

Operation Ivy

This was the name given to the tests of American thermonuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands in 1952, during which the first thermonuclear bomb was detonated. It was called Ivy Mike and was built by standard scheme Teller-Ulama. Its secondary thermonuclear charge was placed in a cylindrical container, which was a thermally insulated Dewar flask with thermonuclear fuel in the form of liquid deuterium, along the axis of which a “candle” of 239-plutonium ran. The dewar, in turn, was covered with a layer of 238-uranium weighing more than 5 metric tons, which evaporated during the explosion, providing symmetrical compression of the thermonuclear fuel. The container containing the primary and secondary charges was housed in a steel casing 80 inches wide by 244 inches long with walls 10-12 inches thick, which was the largest example forged product until that time. The inner surface of the case was lined with sheets of lead and polyethylene to reflect radiation after the explosion of the primary charge and create plasma that heats the secondary charge. The entire device weighed 82 tons. A view of the device shortly before the explosion is shown in the photo below.

The first test of a thermonuclear bomb took place on October 31, 1952. The power of the explosion was 10.4 megatons. Attol Eniwetok, where it was produced, was completely destroyed. The moment of the explosion is shown in the photo below.

The USSR gives a symmetrical answer

The US thermonuclear championship did not last long. On August 12, 1953, the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb RDS-6, developed under the leadership of Andrei Sakharov and Yuli Khariton, was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. From the description above, it becomes clear that the Americans at Enewetok did not actually detonate a bomb, but a type of ready-to-use ammunition, but rather a laboratory device, cumbersome and very imperfect. Soviet scientists, despite the small power of only 400 kg, tested a completely finished ammunition with thermonuclear fuel in the form of solid lithium deuteride, and not liquid deuterium, like the Americans. By the way, it should be noted that only the 6 Li isotope is used in lithium deuteride (this is due to the peculiarities of thermonuclear reactions), and in nature it is mixed with the 7 Li isotope. Therefore, special production facilities were built to separate lithium isotopes and select only 6 Li.

Reaching Power Limit

What followed was a decade of continuous arms race, during which the power of thermonuclear munitions continually increased. Finally, on October 30, 1961, in the USSR over the Novaya Zemlya test site in the air at an altitude of about 4 km, the most powerful thermonuclear bomb that had ever been built and tested, known in the West as the “Tsar Bomba,” was exploded.

This three-stage munition was actually developed as a 101.5-megaton bomb, but the desire to reduce radioactive contamination of the area forced the developers to abandon the third stage with a yield of 50 megatons and reduce the design yield of the device to 51.5 megatons. At the same time, the power of the explosion of the primary atomic charge was 1.5 megatons, and the second thermonuclear stage was supposed to give another 50. The actual power of the explosion was up to 58 megatons. The appearance of the bomb is shown in the photo below.

Its consequences were impressive. Despite the very significant height of the explosion of 4000 m, the incredibly bright fireball with its lower edge almost reached the Earth, and with its upper edge it rose to a height of more than 4.5 km. The pressure below the burst point was six times higher than the peak pressure of the Hiroshima explosion. The flash of light was so bright that it was visible at a distance of 1000 kilometers, despite the cloudy weather. One of the test participants saw a bright flash through dark glasses and felt the effects of the thermal pulse even at a distance of 270 km. A photo of the moment of the explosion is shown below.

It was shown that the power of a thermonuclear charge really has no limitations. After all, it was enough to complete the third stage, and the calculated power would be achieved. But it is possible to increase the number of stages further, since the weight of the Tsar Bomba was no more than 27 tons. The appearance of this device is shown in the photo below.

After these tests, it became clear to many politicians and military men both in the USSR and in the USA that the limit of the nuclear arms race had been reached and it needed to be stopped.

Modern Russia inherited the nuclear arsenal of the USSR. Today, Russia's thermonuclear bombs continue to serve as a deterrent to those seeking global hegemony. Let's hope they only play their role as a deterrent and are never detonated.

The sun as a fusion reactor

It is well known that the temperature of the Sun, or more precisely its core, reaching 15,000,000 °K, is maintained due to the continuous occurrence of thermonuclear reactions. However, everything that we could glean from the previous text speaks of the explosive nature of such processes. Then why doesn't the Sun explode like a thermonuclear bomb?

The fact is that with a huge share of hydrogen in the solar mass, which reaches 71%, the share of its isotope deuterium, the nuclei of which alone can participate in the thermonuclear fusion reaction, is negligible. The fact is that deuterium nuclei themselves are formed as a result of the merger of two hydrogen nuclei, and not just a merger, but with the decay of one of the protons into a neutron, positron and neutrino (so-called beta decay), which is a rare event. In this case, the resulting deuterium nuclei are distributed fairly evenly throughout the volume of the solar core. Therefore, given its enormous size and mass, individual and rare centers of thermonuclear reactions are relatively small. high power as if smeared throughout its entire core of the Sun. The heat released during these reactions is clearly not enough to instantly burn out all the deuterium in the Sun, but it is enough to heat it to a temperature that ensures life on Earth.

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, testing 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 of the Super project and patented their 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 of nuclear energy of light elements.” This paper examined the possibility of using a deuterium bomb. This speech marked the beginning of the Soviet nuclear program.

In 1946, theoretical research was carried out at the Institute of 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 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 the 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.

The Semipalatinsk test site was prepared especially for this grandiose project. 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. The researchers had not yet used this substance, but expected that it would improve efficiency. Interestingly, Teller already noted in his memos the 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. The American version was not as practical as the Soviet one due to its size. It inherited its large size 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

First in human history The hydrogen bomb test took place 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 technical solutions that 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, the test of a hydrogen bomb showed that Soviet science can overcome what until recently seemed like 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 at 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. For some time there was a discussion at the Central Command Post 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 in a 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. The shock wave shattered glass at a distance of 200 kilometers, 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 Khrushchev’s famous statement 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, as Khrushchev was going to the United States, and there was a short pause in the Cold War. 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 the Sukhoi Nos nuclear test site. 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 was a 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 for the British was 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 of the non- thermonuclear bombs in the history of mankind. 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- this 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 remains controversial. 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 no specific information There is still no news of a hydrogen bomb in the DPRK.

Atomic energy is released not only during the fission of atomic nuclei of heavy elements, but also during the combination (synthesis) of light nuclei into heavier ones.

For example, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms combine to form the nuclei of helium atoms, and more energy is released per unit weight of nuclear fuel than when uranium nuclei fission.

These nuclear fusion reactions, occurring at very high temperatures, measured in tens of millions of degrees, are called thermonuclear reactions. Weapons based on the use of energy instantly released as a result of a thermonuclear reaction are called thermonuclear weapons.

Thermonuclear weapons, which use hydrogen isotopes as a charge (nuclear explosive), are often called hydrogen weapons.

The fusion reaction between hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium - is particularly successful.

Lithium deuterium (a compound of deuterium and lithium) can also be used as a charge for a hydrogen bomb.

Deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, occurs naturally in trace amounts in heavy water. Ordinary water contains about 0.02% heavy water as an impurity. To obtain 1 kg of deuterium, it is necessary to process at least 25 tons of water.

Tritium, or superheavy hydrogen, is practically never found in nature. It is obtained artificially, for example, by irradiating lithium with neutrons. Neutrons released in nuclear reactors can be used for this purpose.

Practically device hydrogen bomb can be imagined as follows: next to a hydrogen charge containing heavy and superheavy hydrogen (i.e., deuterium and tritium), there are two hemispheres of uranium or plutonium (atomic charge) located at a distance from each other.

To bring these hemispheres closer together, charges from a conventional explosive (TNT) are used. Exploding simultaneously, the TNT charges bring the hemispheres of the atomic charge closer together. At the moment of their connection, an explosion occurs, thereby creating conditions for a thermonuclear reaction, and consequently, an explosion of the hydrogen charge will occur. Thus, the reaction of a hydrogen bomb explosion goes through two phases: the first phase is the fission of uranium or plutonium, the second is the fusion phase, during which helium nuclei and free high-energy neutrons are formed. Currently, there are schemes for constructing a three-phase thermonuclear bomb.

In a three-phase bomb, the shell is made of uranium-238 (natural uranium). In this case, the reaction goes through three phases: the first fission phase (uranium or plutonium for detonation), the second is the thermonuclear reaction in lithium hydrite, and the third phase is the fission reaction of uranium-238. The fission of uranium nuclei is caused by neutrons, which are released in the form of a powerful stream during the fusion reaction.

Making a shell from uranium-238 makes it possible to increase the power of a bomb using the most accessible atomic raw materials. According to foreign press reports, bombs with a yield of 10-14 million tons or more have already been tested. It becomes obvious that this is not the limit. Further improvement of nuclear weapons is carried out both through the creation of especially high-power bombs and through the development of new designs that make it possible to reduce the weight and caliber of bombs. In particular, they are working on creating a bomb based entirely on fusion. There are, for example, reports in the foreign press about the possibility of using a new method of detonating thermonuclear bombs based on the use of shock waves of conventional explosives.

The energy released by the explosion of a hydrogen bomb can be thousands of times greater than the energy of an atomic bomb explosion. However, the radius of destruction cannot be as many times greater than the radius of destruction caused by the explosion of an atomic bomb.

The radius of action of a shock wave during an air explosion of a hydrogen bomb with a TNT equivalent of 10 million tons is approximately 8 times greater than the radius of action of a shock wave formed during the explosion of an atomic bomb with a TNT equivalent of 20,000 tons, while the power of the bomb is 500 times greater, tons . i.e. by the cubic root of 500. Accordingly, the destruction area increases by approximately 64 times, i.e., in proportion to the cubic root of the coefficient of increase in the power of the bomb squared.

According to foreign authors, with a nuclear explosion with a capacity of 20 million tons, the area of ​​complete destruction of ordinary ground-based structures, according to American experts, can reach 200 km 2, the zone of significant destruction - 500 km 2 and partial - up to 2580 km 2.

This means they conclude foreign specialists that the explosion of one bomb of similar power is enough to destroy a modern large city. As you know, the occupied area of ​​Paris is 104 km2, London - 300 km2, Chicago - 550 km2, Berlin - 880 km2.

The scale of damage and destruction from a nuclear explosion with a capacity of 20 million tons can be presented schematically in the following form:

The area of ​​lethal doses of initial radiation within a radius of up to 8 km (over an area of ​​up to 200 km 2);

Area of ​​damage by light radiation (burns)] within a radius of up to 32 km (over an area of ​​about 3000 km 2).

Damage to residential buildings (glasses broken, plaster crumbling, etc.) can be observed even at a distance of up to 120 km from the explosion site.

The given data from open foreign sources are indicative; they were obtained during testing of lower-yield nuclear weapons and through calculations. Deviations from these data in one direction or another will depend on various factors, and primarily on the terrain, the nature of the development, meteorological conditions, vegetation cover, etc.

The damage radius can be changed to a large extent by artificially creating certain conditions that reduce the effect of the damaging factors of the explosion. For example, you can reduce the damaging effect light radiation, reduce the area where people can be burned and objects can ignite by creating a smoke screen.

Experiments carried out in the USA to create smoke screens for nuclear explosions in 1954-1955. showed that with a curtain density (oil mists) obtained with a consumption of 440-620 liters of oil per 1 km 2, the impact of light radiation from a nuclear explosion, depending on the distance to the epicenter, can be weakened by 65-90%.

Other smokes also weaken the damaging effects of light radiation, which are not only not inferior, but in some cases superior to oil fogs. In particular, industrial smoke, which reduces atmospheric visibility, can reduce the effects of light radiation to the same extent as oil mists.

It is much possible to reduce the damaging effect of nuclear explosions through the dispersed construction of settlements, the creation of forest areas, etc.

Of particular note is the sharp decrease in the radius of destruction of people depending on the use of certain protective equipment. It is known, for example, that even at a relatively small distance from the epicenter of the explosion, a reliable shelter from the effects of light radiation and penetrating radiation is a shelter with a layer of earthen covering 1.6 m thick or a layer of concrete 1 m thick.

A light-type shelter reduces the radius of the affected area by six times compared to an open location, and the affected area is reduced by tens of times. When using covered slots, the radius of possible damage is reduced by 2 times.

Consequently, with the maximum use of all available methods and means of protection, it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in the impact of the damaging factors of nuclear weapons and thereby reduce human and material losses during their use.

Speaking about the scale of destruction that can be caused by explosions of high-power nuclear weapons, it is necessary to keep in mind that damage will be caused not only by the action of a shock wave, light radiation and penetrating radiation, but also by the action of radioactive substances falling along the path of movement of the cloud formed during the explosion , which includes not only gaseous explosion products, but also solid particles of various sizes, both in weight and size. Especially large amounts of radioactive dust are generated during ground explosions.

The height of the cloud and its size largely depend on the power of the explosion. According to foreign press reports, during tests of nuclear charges with a capacity of several million tons of TNT, which were carried out by the United States in the Pacific Ocean in 1952-1954, the top of the cloud reached a height of 30-40 km.

In the first minutes after the explosion, the cloud has the shape of a ball and over time it stretches in the direction of the wind, reaching a huge size (about 60-70 km).

About an hour after the explosion of a bomb with a TNT equivalent of 20 thousand tons, the volume of the cloud reaches 300 km 3, and with the explosion of a bomb of 20 million tons, the volume can reach 10 thousand km 3.

Moving in the direction of the flow of air masses, an atomic cloud can occupy a strip several tens of kilometers long.

From the cloud, as it moves, after rising to the upper layers of the rarefied atmosphere, within a few minutes radioactive dust begins to fall to the ground, contaminating an area of ​​several thousand square kilometers along the way.

At first, the heaviest dust particles fall out, which have time to settle within a few hours. The bulk of coarse dust falls in the first 6-8 hours after the explosion.

About 50% of the particles (the largest) of radioactive dust fall out during the first 8 hours after the explosion. This loss is often called local in contrast to general, widespread.

Smaller dust particles remain in the air at various altitudes and fall to the ground for about two weeks after the explosion. During this time, the cloud can circle the globe several times, capturing wide strip parallel to the latitude at which the explosion took place.

Small particles (up to 1 micron) remain in the upper layers of the atmosphere, distributed more evenly around the globe, and fall out over the next number of years. According to scientists, the fallout of fine radioactive dust has continued everywhere for about ten years.

The greatest danger to the population is radioactive dust falling in the first hours after the explosion, since the level of radioactive contamination is so high that it can cause fatal injuries to people and animals who find themselves in the area along the path of the radioactive cloud.

The size of the area and the degree of contamination of the area as a result of the fall of radioactive dust largely depend on meteorological conditions, terrain, height of the explosion, the size of the bomb charge, the nature of the soil, etc. The most important factor determining the size of the contamination area and its configuration is the direction and the strength of the winds prevailing in the area of ​​the explosion at various altitudes.

To determine the possible direction of cloud movement, it is necessary to know in which direction and at what speed the wind is blowing at various altitudes, starting from a height of about 1 km and ending at 25-30 km. To do this, the weather service must conduct continuous observations and measurements of wind using radiosondes at various altitudes; Based on the data obtained, determine in which direction the radioactive cloud is most likely to move.

During the explosion of a hydrogen bomb carried out by the United States in 1954 in the central Pacific Ocean (on Bikini Atoll), the contaminated area of ​​the territory had the shape of an elongated ellipse, which extended 350 km downwind and 30 km against the wind. The greatest width of the strip was about 65 km. The total area of ​​dangerous contamination reached about 8 thousand km 2.

As is known, as a result of this explosion, the Japanese fishing vessel Fukuryumaru, which was at that time at a distance of about 145 km, was contaminated with radioactive dust. The 23 fishermen on board the ship were injured, one of them fatally.

The radioactive dust that fell after the explosion on March 1, 1954 also exposed 29 American employees and 239 residents of the Marshall Islands, all of whom were injured at a distance of more than 300 km from the explosion site. Other ships located in the Pacific Ocean at a distance of up to 1,500 km from Bikini, and some fish near the Japanese coast also turned out to be infected.

The contamination of the atmosphere with explosion products was indicated by the rains that fell in May on the Pacific coast and Japan, in which greatly increased radioactivity was detected. The areas where radioactive fallout occurred during May 1954 cover about a third of Japan's entire territory.

The above data on the scale of damage that can be inflicted on the population by the explosion of large-caliber atomic bombs show that high-power nuclear charges (millions of tons of TNT) can be considered radiological weapons, i.e. weapons that damage more with the radioactive products of the explosion than with the impact wave, light radiation and penetrating radiation acting at the moment of explosion.

Therefore, during the preparation of settlements and facilities National economy to civil defense, it is necessary to provide everywhere for measures to protect the population, animals, food, fodder and water from contamination by products of the explosion of nuclear charges, which may fall along the path of the radioactive cloud.

It should be borne in mind that as a result of the fallout of radioactive substances, not only the surface of the soil and objects will be contaminated, but also the air, vegetation, water in open reservoirs, etc. The air will be contaminated both during the period of deposition of radioactive particles and in the future, especially along roads during traffic or in windy weather, when settled dust particles will again rise into the air.

Consequently, unprotected people and animals may be affected by radioactive dust that enters the respiratory system along with the air.

Food and water contaminated with radioactive dust, which, if entering the body, can cause serious illness, sometimes fatal, will also be dangerous. Thus, in the area where radioactive substances formed during a nuclear explosion fall out, people will be exposed not only to external radiation, but also when contaminated food, water or air enters the body. When organizing protection against damage from the products of a nuclear explosion, it should be taken into account that the degree of contamination along the trail of the movement of the cloud decreases with distance from the explosion site.

Therefore, the danger to which the population located in the area of ​​the contamination zone is exposed is not the same at different distances from the explosion site. The most dangerous areas will be areas close to the explosion site and areas located along the axis of the cloud movement (the middle part of the strip along the cloud movement track).

The unevenness of radioactive contamination along the path of cloud movement is to a certain extent natural. This circumstance must be taken into account when organizing and conducting measures for radiation protection of the population.

It is also necessary to take into account that some time passes from the moment of explosion to the moment radioactive substances fall out of the cloud. This time increases the further you are from the explosion site, and can amount to several hours. The population of areas remote from the explosion site will have sufficient time to take appropriate protective measures.

In particular, provided that warning means are prepared in a timely manner and the relevant civil defense units work efficiently, the population can be notified of the danger in about 2-3 hours.

During this time, with advance preparation of the population and high level of organization, a number of measures can be carried out to provide fairly reliable protection against radioactive damage to people and animals. The choice of certain measures and methods of protection will be determined by the specific conditions of the current situation. However general principles must be determined and civil defense plans developed in advance accordingly.

It can be considered that, under certain conditions, the most rational should be the adoption, first of all, of protective measures on the spot, using all means and. methods that protect both from the entry of radioactive substances into the body and from external radiation.

As is known, the most effective means protection from external radiation are shelters (adapted taking into account the requirements of anti-nuclear protection, as well as buildings with massive walls, built from dense materials (brick, cement, reinforced concrete, etc.), including basements, dugouts, cellars, covered crevices and ordinary residential buildings.

When assessing the protective properties of buildings and structures, one can be guided by the following indicative data: a wooden house weakens the effect of radioactive radiation depending on the thickness of the walls by 4-10 times, a stone house - by 10-50 times, cellars and basements by wooden houses- 50-100 times, a gap with an overlapping layer of earth 60-90 cm - 200-300 times.

Consequently, civil defense plans should provide for the use, if necessary, first of all of structures with more powerful protective means; upon receiving a signal about the danger of destruction, the population must immediately take refuge in these premises and remain there until further actions are announced.

The length of time people stay in the premises intended for shelter will depend mainly on the extent to which the area where the settlement is located is contaminated, and the rate at which the radiation level decreases over time.

So, for example, in populated areas located at a considerable distance from the explosion site, where the total radiation doses that unprotected people will receive can become safe within a short time, it is advisable for the population to wait this time in shelters.

In areas of severe radioactive contamination, where the total dose that unprotected people can receive will be high and its reduction will be prolonged under these conditions, long-term stay of people in shelters will become difficult. Therefore, the most rational thing to do in such areas is to first shelter the population in place and then evacuate it to uncontaminated areas. The beginning of evacuation and its duration will depend on local conditions: the level of radioactive contamination, the presence Vehicle, communication routes, time of year, remoteness of places where evacuees are accommodated, etc.

Thus, the territory of radioactive contamination according to the trace of the radioactive cloud can be divided conditionally into two zones with different principles protection of the population.

The first zone includes the territory where radiation levels remain high 5-6 days after the explosion and decrease slowly (by about 10-20% daily). Evacuation of the population from such areas can begin only after the radiation level has decreased to such levels that during the collection and movement in the contaminated area people will not receive a total dose of more than 50 rubles.

The second zone includes areas in which radiation levels decrease during the first 3-5 days after the explosion to 0.1 roentgen/hour.

Evacuation of the population from this zone is not advisable, since this time can be waited out in shelters.

Successful implementation of measures to protect the population in all cases is unthinkable without thorough radiation reconnaissance and monitoring and constant monitoring of radiation levels.

Speaking about protecting the population from radioactive damage following the movement of a cloud formed during a nuclear explosion, it should be remembered that it is possible to avoid damage or achieve its reduction only with a clear organization of a set of measures, which include:

• organization of a warning system that provides timely warning to the population about the most likely direction of movement of the radioactive cloud and the danger of damage. For these purposes, all available means of communication must be used - telephone, radio stations, telegraph, radio broadcast, etc.;
• training civil defense units to conduct reconnaissance both in cities and in rural areas;
• sheltering people in shelters or other premises that protect from radioactive radiation (basements, cellars, crevices, etc.);
• carrying out the evacuation of the population and animals from the area of ​​persistent contamination with radioactive dust;
• preparation of formations and institutions of the civil defense medical service for actions to provide assistance to the affected, mainly treatment, sanitization, water testing and food products on your contamination with radioactive substances;
• early implementation of measures to protect food products in warehouses, in trading network, at enterprises Catering, as well as sources of water supply from contamination by radioactive dust (sealing of warehouses, preparation of containers, improvised materials for covering products, preparation of means for decontamination of food and containers, equipping with dosimetric instruments);
• carrying out measures to protect animals and providing assistance to animals in case of defeat.

To provide reliable protection animals must be kept on collective farms, state farms, if possible, in small groups in teams, farms or settlements, having places of shelter.

It should also provide for the creation of additional reservoirs or wells that could become backup sources water supply in case of contamination of water from permanent sources.

Becoming important warehouses, in which forage is stored, as well as livestock premises which should be sealed whenever possible.

To protect valuable breeding animals it is necessary to have individual means protection, which can be made from available materials on site (bandages for eye protection, bags, blankets, etc.), as well as gas masks (if available).

To carry out decontamination of premises and veterinary treatment of animals, it is necessary to take into account in advance the disinfection installations, sprayers, sprinklers, liquid spreaders and other mechanisms and containers available on the farm, with the help of which disinfection and veterinary treatment work can be carried out;

Organization and preparation of formations and institutions to carry out work on the decontamination of structures, terrain, vehicles, clothing, equipment and other civil defense property, for which measures are taken in advance to adapt municipal equipment, agricultural machines, mechanisms and devices for these purposes. Depending on the availability of equipment, appropriate formations must be created and trained - detachments, teams, groups, units, etc.

During the construction of the nuclear test site at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, on August 12, 1953, I had to survive the explosion of the first globe a hydrogen bomb with a yield of 400 kilotons, the explosion occurred suddenly. The earth shook beneath us like water. A wave of the earth's surface passed and raised us to a height of more than a meter. And we were about 30 kilometers away from the epicenter of the explosion. A barrage of air waves threw us to the ground. I rolled over it for several meters, like wood chips. There was a wild roar. Lightning flashed dazzlingly. They inspired animal terror.

When we, observers of this nightmare, stood up, a nuclear mushroom was hanging above us. Warmth emanated from it and a cracking sound was heard. I looked enchanted at the stem of a giant mushroom. Suddenly a plane flew up to him and began making monstrous turns. I thought it was a hero pilot taking samples of radioactive air. Then the plane dived into the mushroom stem and disappeared... It was amazing and scary.

There were indeed planes, tanks and other equipment on the training ground. But later inquiries showed that not a single plane took air samples from the nuclear mushroom. Was this really a hallucination? The mystery was solved later. I realized that this was the effect chimney of gigantic proportions. There were no planes or tanks on the field after the explosion. But experts believed that they evaporated due to high temperature. I believe that they were simply sucked into the fire mushroom. My observations and impressions were confirmed by other evidence.

On November 22, 1955, an even more powerful explosion was carried out. The charge of the hydrogen bomb was 600 kilotons. We prepared the site for this new explosion 2.5 kilometers from the epicenter of the previous nuclear explosion. The melted radioactive crust of the earth was buried immediately in trenches dug by bulldozers; They were preparing a new batch of equipment that was supposed to burn in the flame of a hydrogen bomb. The head of the construction of the Semipalatinsk test site was R. E. Ruzanov. He left a evocative description of this second explosion.

Residents of “Bereg” (testers’ residential town), now the city of Kurchatov, were woken up at 5 o’clock in the morning. It was -15°C. Everyone was taken to the stadium. Windows and doors in the houses were left open.

At the appointed hour, a giant plane appeared, accompanied by fighters.

The flash of the explosion occurred unexpectedly and frighteningly. She was brighter than the sun. The sun has dimmed. It disappeared. The clouds have disappeared. The sky turned black and blue. There was a blow of terrible force. He reached the stadium with the testers. The stadium was 60 kilometers from the epicenter. Despite this, the air wave knocked people to the ground and threw them tens of meters towards the stands. Thousands of people were knocked down. There was a wild cry from these crowds. Women and children were screaming. The entire stadium was filled with groans of injury and pain, which instantly shocked the people. The stadium with testers and residents of the town drowned in dust. The city was also invisible from the dust. The horizon where the training ground was was boiling in clouds of flame. The leg of the atomic mushroom also seemed to be boiling. She was moving. It seemed as if a boiling cloud was about to approach the stadium and cover us all. It was clearly visible how tanks, planes, and parts of destroyed structures specially built on the training ground began to be drawn into the cloud from the ground and disappeared into it. The thought drilled into my head: we too will be drawn into this cloud! Everyone was overcome by numbness and horror.

Suddenly, the stem of a nuclear mushroom came off the boiling cloud above. The cloud rose higher, and the leg sank to the ground. Only then did people come to their senses. Everyone rushed to the houses. There were no windows, doors, roofs or belongings. Everything was scattered around. Those injured during the tests were hastily collected and sent to the hospital...

A week later, officers who arrived from the Semipalatinsk test site spoke in whispers about this monstrous spectacle. About the suffering that people endured. About tanks flying in the air. Comparing these stories with my observations, I realized that I had witnessed a phenomenon that can be called the chimney effect. Only on a gigantic scale.

During the hydrogen explosion, huge thermal masses were torn off from the surface of the earth and moved towards the center of the mushroom. This effect arose due to the monstrous temperatures produced by a nuclear explosion. IN initial stage The temperature of the explosion was 30 thousand degrees Celsius. In the leg of the nuclear mushroom it was at least 8 thousand. A huge, monstrous suction force arose, drawing any objects standing at the test site into the epicenter of the explosion. Therefore, the plane that I saw during the first nuclear explosion was not a hallucination. He was simply pulled into the stem of the mushroom, and he made incredible turns there...

The process that I observed during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb is very dangerous. Not only by its high temperature, but also by the effect I understood of the absorption of gigantic masses, be it the air or water shell of the Earth.

My calculation in 1962 showed that if a nuclear mushroom pierced the atmosphere to a great height, it could cause a planetary catastrophe. When the mushroom rises to a height of 30 kilometers, the process of sucking the Earth's water-air masses into space will begin. The vacuum will begin to work like a pump. The earth will lose its air and water shells along with the biosphere. Humanity will perish.

I calculated that for this apocalyptic process, an atomic bomb of only 2 thousand kilotons is enough, that is, only three times more powerful than the second one. hydrogen explosion. This is the simplest man-made scenario for the death of humanity.

At one time I was forbidden to talk about it. Today I consider it my duty to speak about the threat to humanity directly and openly.

Huge reserves of nuclear weapons have been accumulated on Earth. Reactors are working nuclear power plants Worldwide. They can become prey for terrorists. The explosion of these objects can reach a power greater than 2 thousand kilotons. Potentially, the scenario of the death of civilization has already been prepared.

What follows from this? It is necessary to protect nuclear facilities from possible terrorism so carefully that they are completely inaccessible to it. Otherwise, planetary catastrophe is inevitable.

Sergey Alekseenko

construction participant

Semipolatinsk Nuclear