A nuclear bomb explodes in the ocean. Destroy the world? Thermonuclear bomb: history and myths. Video: tests in the USSR

The creation of the hydrogen bomb began in Germany during the Second World War. But the experiments ended in vain due to the fall of the Reich. The first in the practical phase of research were American nuclear physicists. On November 1, 1952, a 10.4 megaton explosion occurred in the Pacific Ocean.

On October 30, 1961, a few minutes before noon, seismologists around the world recorded a strong shock wave that circled the globe several times. Such a terrible trail was left by a detonated hydrogen bomb. The authors of such a noisy explosion were Soviet nuclear physicists and military personnel. The world was horrified. This was another round of confrontation between the West and the Soviets. Humanity has reached a fork in its existence.

The history of the creation of the first hydrogen bomb in the USSR

Physicists from the leading powers of the world knew the theory of extracting thermonuclear fusion back in the 30s of the twentieth century. The thermonuclear concept developed intensively during the Second World War. The leading developer was Germany. Until 1944, German scientists worked diligently to activate thermonuclear fusion through compaction of nuclear fuel using conventional explosives. However, the experiment could not succeed due to insufficient temperatures and pressure. The defeat of the Reich put an end to thermonuclear research.

However, the war did not stop the USSR and the USA from engaging in similar developments since the 40s, albeit not as successfully as the Germans. Both superpowers approached the moment of testing at approximately the same time. The Americans became pioneers in the practical phase of research. The explosion took place on November 1, 1952 on the coral atoll of Enewetak in the Pacific Ocean. The operation was secretly called Ivy Mike.

Experts pumped the 3-story building with liquid deuterium. The total power of the charge was 10.4 megatons of TNT. It turned out 1,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. After the explosion, the island of Elugelab, which became the center for placing the charge, disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace. In its place a crater with a diameter of 1 mile formed.

Over the entire history of the development of nuclear weapons on Earth, more than 2,000 explosions have been carried out: aboveground, underground, airborne and underwater. The ecosystem has suffered colossal damage.

Operating principle

The design of a hydrogen bomb is based on the use of energy released during the thermonuclear fusion reaction of light nuclei. A similar process occurs inside a star, where the effects of ultra-high temperatures along with enormous pressure cause hydrogen nuclei to collide. At the exit, weighted helium nuclei are formed. In the process, part of the mass of hydrogen is transformed into energy of exceptional strength. This is why stars are constant sources of energy.

Physicists adopted the fission scheme, replacing hydrogen isotopes with elements such as deuterium and tritium. However, the product was still given the name hydrogen bomb based on the basic design. Early developments also used liquid isotopes of hydrogen. But later the main component became solid lithium-6 deuterium.

Lithium-6 deuterium already contains tritium. But to release it, it is necessary to create a peak temperature and enormous pressure. To do this, a shell of uranium-238 and polystyrene is constructed under the thermonuclear fuel. A small nuclear charge with a yield of several kilotons is installed nearby. It serves as a trigger.

When the charge explodes, the uranium shell goes into a plasma state, creating peak temperatures and enormous pressure. In the process, plutonium neutrons come into contact with lithium-6, allowing tritium to be released. Deuterium and lithium nuclei communicate, forming a thermonuclear explosion. This is the principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb.

Why does a “mushroom” form during an explosion?

When a thermonuclear charge is detonated, a hot glowing spherical mass is formed, better known as a fireball. As it forms, the mass expands, cools and rushes upward. During the cooling process, the vapors in the fireball condense into a cloud with solid particles, moisture and charge elements.

An air sleeve is formed, which draws moving elements from the surface of the landfill and transfers them into the atmosphere. The heated cloud rises to a height of 10-15 km, then cools and begins to spread across the surface of the atmosphere, taking on a mushroom shape.

First tests

In the USSR, an experimental thermonuclear explosion was first carried out on August 12, 1953. At 7:30 am, the RDS-6 hydrogen bomb was detonated at the Semipalatinsk test site. It is worth saying that this was the fourth test of atomic weapons in the Soviet Union, but the first thermonuclear one. The mass of the bomb was 7 tons. It could easily fit in the bomb bay of a Tu-16 bomber. For comparison, let's take an example from the West: the American Ivy Mike bomb weighed 54 tons, and a 3-story building similar to a house was built for it.

Soviet scientists went further than the Americans. To assess the severity of the destruction, a town of residential and administrative buildings was built at the site. We placed military equipment from each branch of the military around the perimeter. In total, 190 different objects of real and movable property were located in the affected area. At the same time, scientists prepared more than 500 types of all kinds of measuring equipment at the test site and in the air, on observation aircraft. Movie cameras were installed.

The RDS-6 bomb was installed on a 40-meter iron tower with the possibility of remote detonation. All traces of past tests, radiation soil, etc. were removed from the test site. The observation bunkers were strengthened, and next to the tower, just 5 meters away, a permanent shelter was built for equipment recording thermonuclear reactions and processes.

Explosion. The shock wave demolished everything that was installed at the test site within a radius of 4 km. Such a charge could easily turn a town of 30 thousand people into dust. The instruments recorded horrific environmental consequences: strontium-90 almost 82%, and cesium-137 about 75%. These are off-scale indicators of radionuclides.

The power of the explosion was estimated at 400 kilotons, which was 20 times greater than the American equivalent of Ivy Mike. According to 2005 studies, more than 1 million people suffered from tests at the Semipalatinsk test site. But these numbers are deliberately underestimated. The main consequences are oncology.

After testing, the developer of the hydrogen bomb, Andrei Sakharov, was awarded the degree of Academician of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Explosion at the Sukhoi Nos training ground

8 years later, on October 30, 1961, the USSR exploded the 58-megaton Tsar Bomba AN602 over the Novaya Zemlya archipelago at an altitude of 4 km. The projectile was dropped by a Tu-16A aircraft from an altitude of 10.5 km by parachute. After the explosion, the shock wave circled the planet three times. The fireball reached 5 km in diameter. The light radiation had a damaging force within a radius of 100 km. The nuclear mushroom has grown 70 km. The roar spread over 800 km. The power of the explosion was 58.6 megatons.

Scientists admitted that they thought that the atmosphere began to burn and oxygen burned out, and this would mean the end of all life on earth. But the fears turned out to be in vain. It was subsequently proven that the chain reaction from a thermonuclear explosion does not threaten the atmosphere.

The AN602 hull was designed for 100 megatons. Nikita Khrushchev later joked that the charge volume was reduced for fear of “breaking all the windows in Moscow.” The weapon did not enter service, but it was such a political trump card that it was impossible to cover it at that time. The USSR demonstrated to the whole world that it was capable of solving the problem of any megatonnage of nuclear weapons.

Possible consequences of a hydrogen bomb explosion

First of all, the hydrogen bomb is a weapon of mass destruction. It can destroy not only with a blast wave, as TNT shells are capable of, but also with radiation consequences. What happens after the explosion of a thermonuclear charge:

• a shock wave that sweeps away everything in its path, leaving behind large-scale destruction;
• thermal effect - incredible thermal energy, capable of melting even concrete structures;
• radioactive fallout - a cloud mass with drops of radiation water, charge decay elements and radionuclides, moves with the wind and falls as precipitation at any distance from the epicenter of the explosion.

Near nuclear test sites or man-made disasters, a radioactive background has been observed for decades. The consequences of using a hydrogen bomb are very serious, capable of harming future generations.

To clearly assess the effect of the destructive power of thermonuclear weapons, we suggest watching a short video of the RDS-6 detonation at the Semipalatinsk test site.

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.

The idea of ​​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 a nuclear bomb by the fact that working nuclear power plants have long been commonplace, and working and practical thermonuclear power plants are still science fiction.

In order for atomic nuclei to fuse 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.

US President Harry Truman said that the Soviet breakthrough should be answered with “the so-called hydrogen, or superbomb.”

By 1951, the Americans assembled the device and conducted tests under the 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, gave a stream of fast neutrons and ignited the uranium plate. In a conventional atomic bomb, it does not fission: there are only slow neutrons, which cannot cause a stable isotope of uranium to fission. Although nuclear fusion energy accounted for approximately 10% of the total energy of the George explosion, the “ignition” of uranium-238 allowed the explosion to be twice as powerful as usual, to 225 kilotons.

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” the plutonium, two shock waves and two streams of 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.

For hydrogen nuclei to fuse, the distance between them must be minimal, so deuterium and tritium were cooled to a 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 a metal, a solid substance, 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 by a nuclear explosion, preferably from different sides, as is done with a two-stage fuse. 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 “cleaner” than a nuclear one: they say that when hydrogen nuclei fuse, there are fewer “fragments” - dangerous short-lived atomic nuclei that produce radioactive contamination - than when uranium nuclei fission.

This misconception is based on the fact that during a thermonuclear explosion, most of the energy is supposedly 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. There will be vanishingly few deaths from radiation sickness: 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 of destructive action increases only ten times - a megaton warhead has a radius of destruction 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.

60 years ago, on March 1, 1954, the United States detonated a hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll. The power of this explosion was equivalent to the explosion of a thousand bombs that were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was the most powerful test ever carried out in the United States. The estimated yield of the bomb was 15 megatons. Subsequently, in the United States, increasing the explosive power of such bombs was considered inappropriate.

As a result of the test, about 100 million tons of contaminated soil were released into the atmosphere. People were also injured. The US military did not postpone the test, knowing that the wind was blowing towards the inhabited islands and that fishermen could be harmed. The islanders and fishermen were not even warned about the tests and possible danger.

Thus, the Japanese fishing vessel “Happy Dragon” (“Fukuryu Maru”), which was located 140 km from the epicenter of the explosion, was exposed to radiation, 23 people were injured (later 12 of them died). According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, more than 800 Japanese fishing vessels were exposed to varying degrees of contamination as a result of the Castle Bravo test. There were about 20 thousand people on them. Residents of Rongelap and Ailinginae atolls received serious radiation doses. Some American soldiers were also injured.

The world community expressed its concern about a powerful shock war and radioactive fallout. Several prominent scientists, including Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, and Frédéric Joliot-Curie, protested. In 1957, the first conference of a scientific movement was held in the Canadian town of Pugwash, the goal of which was to ban nuclear tests, reduce the risk of armed conflicts and jointly search for solutions to global problems (Pugwash Movement).

From the creation of the hydrogen bomb in the USA

The idea of ​​a bomb with thermonuclear fusion initiated by an atomic charge was proposed back in 1941. In May 1941, physicist Tokutaro Hagiwara from the University of Kyoto in Japan suggested the possibility of initiating a thermonuclear reaction between hydrogen nuclei using an explosive chain reaction of fission of uranium-235 nuclei. A similar idea was expressed in September 1941 at Columbia University by the outstanding Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. He outlined it to his colleague, American physicist Edward Teller. Then Fermi and Teller suggested the possibility of initiating thermonuclear reactions in a deuterium environment by a nuclear explosion. Teller was inspired by this idea and during the implementation of the Manhattan Project, he devoted most of his time to working on creating a thermonuclear bomb.

It must be said that he was a real “militarist” scientist who advocated ensuring the US advantage in the field of nuclear weapons. The scientist was against the ban on nuclear tests in three environments and proposed carrying out new work to create cheaper and more efficient types of nuclear power. He advocated the deployment of weapons in space.

A group of brilliant scientists from the USA and Europe, who worked at the Los Alamos laboratory, during the work on creating nuclear weapons, also touched upon the problems of the deuterium superbomb. By the end of 1945, a relatively holistic concept of the “classic super” had been created. It was believed that the stream of neutrons coming out of the primary atomic bomb based on uranium-235 could cause detonation in a cylinder of liquid deuterium (through an intermediate chamber with a DT mixture). Emil Konopinsky proposed adding tritium to deuterium to reduce the ignition temperature. In 1946, Klaus Fuchs, with the participation of John Von Neumann, proposed the use of a new initiation system. It included an additional secondary assembly of a liquid DT mixture, which was ignited as a result of radiation from the primary atomic bomb.

Teller's collaborator, Polish mathematician Stanislaw Ulam, made proposals that made it possible to move the development of a thermonuclear bomb into practice. Thus, to initiate thermonuclear fusion, he proposed compressing thermonuclear fuel before heating it, using the primary fission reaction for this and placing the thermonuclear charge separately from the primary nuclear component. Based on these calculations, Teller suggested that the x-ray and gamma radiation caused by the primary explosion would be able to transfer enough energy to the secondary component to initiate a thermonuclear reaction.

In January 1950, American President Harry Truman announced that the United States would work on all types of atomic weapons, including the hydrogen bomb (“superbomb”). It was decided to conduct the first field tests with thermonuclear reactions in 1951. Thus, they planned to test the “reinforced” atomic bomb “Point”, as well as the “classic super” model with a binary initiating compartment. This test was called "George" (the device itself was called "Cylinder"). In preparation for the George test, the classical principle of constructing a thermonuclear device was used, where the energy of the primary atomic bomb is retained and used to compress and initiate a second component with thermonuclear fuel.

On May 9, 1951, the George test was carried out. The first small thermonuclear flame broke out on Earth. In 1952, construction began on a lithium-6 plant. In 1953, production began.

In September 1951, Los Alamos decided to develop the Mike thermonuclear device. On November 1, 1952, a thermonuclear explosive device was tested at Enewetak Atoll. The power of the explosion was estimated at 10-12 megatons of TNT equivalent. Liquid deuterium was used as fuel for thermonuclear fusion. The idea of ​​a two-stage device with a Teller-Ulam configuration paid off. The device consisted of a conventional nuclear charge and a cryogenic container with a mixture of liquid deuterium and tritium. The “spark plug” for the thermonuclear reaction was a plutonium rod, which was located in the center of the cryogenic tank. The test was successful.

However, there was a problem - the superbomb was designed in a non-transportable version. The total weight of the structure was more than 70 tons. It could not be used during the war. The main task was the creation of transportable thermonuclear weapons. To do this, it was necessary to accumulate a sufficient amount of lithium-6. A sufficient amount had been accumulated by the spring of 1954.

On March 1, 1954, the Americans conducted a new thermonuclear test, Castle Bravo, at Bikini Atoll. Lithium deuteride was used as thermonuclear fuel. It was a two-stage charge: an initiating atomic charge and thermonuclear fuel. The test was considered successful. Although they were mistaken about the power of the explosion. He was much more powerful than expected.

Further tests made it possible to improve the thermonuclear charge. On May 21, 1956, the first bomb was dropped from an aircraft. The mass of the charge was reduced, which made the bomb smaller. By 1960, the United States was able to create megaton-class warheads, which were deployed on nuclear submarines.

(hydrogen bomb prototype) on Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean).

The test of a prototype hydrogen bomb, codenamed Ivy Mike, took place on November 1, 1952. Its power was 10.4 megatons of TNT, which was approximately 1000 times greater than the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. After the explosion, one of the islands of the atoll on which the charge was placed was completely destroyed, and the crater from the explosion was more than a mile in diameter.

However, the detonated device was not yet a real hydrogen bomb and was not suitable for transportation: it was a complex stationary installation the size of a two-story house and weighing 82 tons. In addition, its design, based on the use of liquid deuterium, turned out to be unpromising and was not used in the future.

The USSR carried out its first thermonuclear explosion on August 12, 1953. In terms of power (about 0.4 megatons), it was significantly inferior to the American one, but the ammunition was transportable and did not use liquid deuterium.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

North Korea conducted another nuclear weapons test on September 3. Now, they claim, a hydrogen bomb has been detonated. Seismic tremors have been recorded in the Far East. Based on them, experts estimated the charge power to be from 50 to 100 kilotons. The power of the bombs detonated by the Americans in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 was about 20 kilotons. Then two explosions killed more than 200 thousand people. The Korean bomb is many times more powerful. A few days earlier, North Korea tested its ballistic missile. This rocket flew 2,700 kilometers and fell in the Pacific Ocean. Flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that they will now fire missiles towards the American military base on the island of Guam. And this island is a little further from Korea - 3,300 kilometers. Moreover, some experts claim that this rocket can fly twice the distance. According to the map, such a missile could reach the United States. At least Alaska is already in the kill zone.

So, there is a rocket and there is a bomb. This does not mean that the Koreans are ready to launch a nuclear missile strike right now. A nuclear explosive device is not yet a warhead. Experts say that pairing a bomb and a missile requires several years of work. However, it is absolutely clear that for Korean engineers this is a solvable task. The Americans are threatening North Korea with a military strike. Indeed, it seems like a simple solution - to destroy launchers, missile and nuclear weapons factories with aviation. And the habits of Americans in this regard are simple. Anything - immediately bomb. Why aren't they bombing now? And they threaten somehow hesitantly. Because from the border separating North and South Korea to the center of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is a little over 30 kilometers.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles will not be needed here. Here you can shoot howitzers. And Seoul is a city of ten million. By the way, many Americans live there. The US and South Korea have extensive business relations. So in response to an American attack, the North Koreans may attack South Korea, Seoul first. North Korea's army is one million strong. There are another four million in reserve.

Some hotheads say: this is a poor country with a very weak economy. Well, firstly, the economy there is no longer as weak as it was 20 years ago. According to indirect signs, there is economic growth. Well, secondly, they were able to make a rocket. They made an atomic bomb and even a hydrogen one. They should not be underestimated. Therefore, there are risks of a major war on the Korean Peninsula. This topic was discussed on September 3 by the leaders of Russia and China. They met in the Chinese city of Xiamen ahead of the BRICS summit.

“There was a discussion of the situation on the Korean Peninsula in light of the DPRK’s hydrogen bomb test. Both Putin and Xi Jinping expressed deep concern about this situation, they noted the importance of preventing chaos on the Korean Peninsula, the importance of all parties showing restraint and focusing on finding a solution only through political and diplomatic means,” said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov .

No matter what Kim Jong-un is, no matter how he behaves, no matter what we think about him, negotiations and the search for a compromise are still better than war, especially since the interested parties have enough tools to put pressure on North Korea.

“Today, September 3, at 12 o’clock, North Korean scientists successfully tested a hydrogen warhead at the northern test site, designed to equip intercontinental ballistic missiles,” said a North Korean television announcer.

According to South Korean experts, the power of the bomb exploded in North Korea could reach 100 kilotons, which is about six Hiroshimas. The explosion was accompanied by an earthquake 10 times stronger than what happened last year when Pyongyang conducted its previous nuclear test. The echoes of this earthquake, which is now clearly man-made, were felt far beyond the borders of the DPRK. Even before Pyongyang’s official statement, seismologists in Vladivostok already guessed what had happened. “The coordinates coincide with the nuclear test site,” notes the seismologist.

“In terms of distance, it is approximately 250-300 kilometers from Vladivostok. At the epicenter of the earthquake itself, in all likelihood, the magnitude was about seven. On the border of Primorye it is somewhere around five points. In Vladivostok, no more than two or three points,” said seismologist on duty Amed Saiduloev.

Pyongyang confirmed the test report with a photo report on the development of a compact hydrogen warhead. It is alleged that the DPRK has enough of its own resources produced in the country to create such warheads. Kim Jong-un was personally present during the installation of the warhead on the missile. Pyongyang sees nuclear weapons as the only guarantee of the country's existence. For more than half a century, North Korea has legally remained in a state of temporarily suspended war, without any guarantee of its non-resumption. That is why any attempts to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear program have only accelerated it so far.

“The fragile armistice agreement of 1953, which still governs relations between the United States and the DPRK, is an anachronism, it does not fulfill its functions, it does not contribute and cannot somehow ensure security and stability on the Korean Peninsula; it needs to be replaced a long time ago,” emphasizes Alexander Vorontsov, head of the department of Korea and Mongolia at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

China and Russia have been insisting for years that there is no prospect of continuing pressure on Pyongyang and the need to start direct negotiations. Moreover, Washington is being offered a real opportunity to solve the problem: not even a suspension, but just a reduction in the scale of joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea in exchange for Pyongyang freezing its nuclear missile tests.

“We also spoke with John Kerry. They told us the same thing that the Trump administration is now repeating: this is an unequal proposal, because launches and nuclear tests in North Korea are prohibited by the Security Council, and military exercises are an absolutely legitimate thing. But to this we answer: yes, if we rely on such legalistic logic, of course, no one accuses you of violating international law. But if it comes to war, then the first step must be taken by the one who is smarter and stronger. And there can be no doubt who in this pair has such qualities. Although, who knows...,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

So, the Americans are pressing harshly and senselessly, the Koreans are responding with their teeth between their teeth, and it is proposed to us and China to cut this vicious circle. Otherwise - war!

“North Korea's provocative behavior could lead to the US intercepting their missiles - shooting them down both in the air and on the ground before launch, what we call a hot launch. There are both military methods of solution and diplomatic methods - economic pressure, tightening sanctions. There is, after all, the decisive role of China and the influence of Russia in the region, they can put pressure on North Korea,” says retired US Army General Paul Valley.

At the same time, today it is absolutely clear that neither Beijing, nor even more so Moscow, will be able to bring Pyongyang to reason without removing the main threat, and it comes from the United States, which is refusing our proposals to sit down with the Koreans at the negotiating table. At the same time, Trump deliberately continues to escalate the situation. In the context of the beginning economic war with China, it is beneficial for Americans to keep Beijing in constant tension in the position of the culprit, knowing that the key to solving the problem lies with them - in Washington. However, this cannot continue indefinitely. After all, Korean missiles fly further and further each time. Thus, on the one hand, increasing the risk of a fatal accident, on the other, pushing Trump to carry out his threats, which is completely impossible.

“China has a mutual defense treaty with North Korea. Thus, Trump does not have any way of influencing North Korea militarily, he can neither attack nor use military force, so all this is like an empty shock of the air,” says Pyotr Akopov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Vzglyad.ru portal.

Today's explosion is evidence that for the first time in the last quarter century the United States is faced with a situation where there is no alternative to negotiations. Sooner or later, they will have to agree to the scheme proposed by Moscow and Beijing - the cessation of military exercises and guarantees of non-aggression in exchange for freezing Pyongyang's nuclear missile program. The Americans, of course, will not remove their troops from South Korea, and North Korea will remain with its several nuclear warheads, just in case.

We will see how this will be arranged in the near future. However, the latest unexpected statement by the President of Kazakhstan about the need to legalize the nuclear status of states that actually possess nuclear weapons, and the subsequent invitation to Nazarbayev to Washington, may not be accidental.

On September 19, Trump, speaking from the UN rostrum, noted that the United States, “possessing enormous strength and patience,” could “completely destroy” the DPRK. The American president called Kim Jong-un a “rocket man” whose mission is “suicidal for himself and his regime.”

The DPRK's first reaction to these statements was disgusting: the Foreign Ministry compared Trump's promises to the “barking of a dog” that cannot frighten Pyongyang. However, a day later, the official North Korean news agency KCNA published Kim Jong-un’s commentary on the words of the American president. He described Trump as a “political heretic,” “a bully and a troublemaker,” threatening to wipe out a sovereign state. The North Korean leader advised his American colleague to “be careful in the choice of words and be attentive to the statements that he makes in front of the whole world.” Trump, according to Pyongyang, is an “outcast and a gangster” who is unsuitable for the country’s top command. The leader of the DPRK perceived his speech as a US refusal to peace, called it “the most outrageous declaration of war” and promised to seriously consider “super-harsh retaliatory measures.” Such measures, according to the DPRK Foreign Minister, could be a super-powerful test of a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

At the end of August, Pyongyang, commenting on the launch of its ballistic missile, which flew over Japanese territory for the first time, noted that this was “the first step in the military operation of the Korean People’s Army in the Pacific Ocean and a prelude to the containment of Guam,” where US military bases are located.

Pyongyang's threat to test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean came hours after Trump promised to further tighten sanctions against North Korea. New restrictions by the UN Security Council were introduced only on September 11. Then the world organization limited North Korea's ability to import more than 2 million barrels of petroleum products per year, and also imposed a ban on the export of all its textile products and labor, which annually brought in at least $1.2 billion. The UN also authorized the freezing of cargo transported under the North Korean flag in in case of refusal of the ship's command to perform an inspection.

These measures were unanimously supported by all 15 member countries of the UN Security Council. However, initially the United States demanded more, in particular, it insisted on a complete ban on the import of petroleum products and personal sanctions against Kim Jong-un. On September 21, Trump announced that he was expanding his administration’s authority to impose sanctions against North Korea. His order aims to cut off financial flows that "fuel North Korea's efforts" to develop nuclear weapons. In particular, Washington intends to tighten sanctions against individuals, enterprises and banks that do business with North Korea, Fox News reports. Separately, we are talking about suppliers of technology and information to the DPRK.

The signing of Trump's sanctions decree was preceded by his consultations on increasing pressure on North Korea with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Until now, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests underground. The last, most powerful, occurred on September 3. Initially, experts estimated its power at 100–120 kt, which is 5–6 times stronger than the previous one, but later increased their estimates to 250 kt. The magnitude of the explosion, initially estimated at 4.8, was later adjusted to 6.1. These estimates confirmed that the DPRK was able to create a hydrogen bomb, since the power of a conventional atomic bomb is limited to 30 kt. Pyongyang officially announced the successful testing of a hydrogen bomb - a warhead for a missile.

Even after the DPRK's underground nuclear test, South Korean observers recorded the release of radioactive gas xenon-133 into the atmosphere, although they stipulated that its concentration was not dangerous to health and the environment. At the same time, an explosion with a power of 250 kt is close to the maximum that the North Korean nuclear test site Punggye-ri could withstand, experts noted. On satellite images, they recorded landslides and rock subsidence at the underground testing sites, which could potentially lead to a violation of its integrity and the release of radionuclides to the surface. How many more tests he can withstand is unknown.

Until now, the presence of a hydrogen bomb has been officially recognized by five countries that have the status of nuclear powers - the USA, Russia, Great Britain, France and China. They are permanent members of the UN Security Council with the right of veto. The completion of the development of such weapons in the DPRK is not recognized.

A North Korean official has hinted at conducting a nuclear test at sea, which would have serious environmental consequences.

The latest heated exchange of pleasantries between the United States and North Korea has turned into a new threat. On Tuesday, during a speech at the United Nations, President Trump said his government would "completely destroy North Korea" if necessary to defend the United States or its allies. On Friday, Kim Jong-un responded, noting that North Korea “will seriously consider the option of appropriate, the most stringent countermeasures in history.”

The North Korean leader did not specify the nature of these countermeasures, but his foreign minister hinted that North Korea could test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

"This could be the most powerful bomb explosion in the Pacific," Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters at the UN General Assembly in New York. “We have no idea what actions may be taken as decisions are made by our leader Kim Jong Un.”

North Korea has so far conducted nuclear tests underground and in the sky. Testing a hydrogen bomb in the ocean means mounting a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile and delivering it to the sea. If North Korea did this, it would be the first time a nuclear weapon exploded in the atmosphere in nearly 40 years. This will lead to incalculable geopolitical consequences – and serious environmental impacts.

Hydrogen bombs are much more powerful than atomic bombs, and can produce many times more explosive energy. If such a bomb hits the Pacific Ocean, it will explode in a blinding flash and create a mushroom cloud.

The immediate consequences will likely depend on the height of detonation above water. The initial explosion can destroy most of the life in the impact zone - many fish and other marine life - instantly. When the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, the entire population within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the epicenter was killed.

The explosion will fill the air and water with radioactive particles. The wind can carry them hundreds of miles.

Smoke from the explosion could block sunlight and interfere with marine life that depends on photosynthesis. Exposure to radiation will cause serious problems for nearby marine life. Radioactivity is known to destroy cells in humans, animals and plants by causing changes in genes. These changes can lead to crippling mutations in future generations. Experts say eggs and larvae of marine organisms are particularly sensitive to radiation. Affected animals may be exposed throughout the food chain.

The test could also have devastating and long-lasting effects on people and other animals if fallout reaches land. The particles can poison the air, soil and water. More than 60 years after the US tested a series of atomic bombs near Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the island remains “uninhabitable,” according to a 2014 report by The Guardian. Residents who left the islands before the tests and returned in the 1970s found high levels of radiation in food grown near the nuclear test site and were forced to leave again.

Before the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed in 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted underground, above ground and under water by various countries between 1945 and 1996. The United States tested a nuclear-armed missile in the Pacific Ocean similar in description to what the North Korean minister hinted at in 1962. The last ground test conducted by a nuclear power was organized by China in 1980.

This year alone, North Korea has conducted 19 ballistic missile tests and one nuclear test, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative database. Earlier this month, North Korea said it had successfully tested an underground hydrogen bomb. The event resulted in an artificial earthquake near the test site, which was recorded by seismic activity stations around the world. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 6.3 on the Richter scale. A week later, the United Nations adopted a US-drafted resolution that imposed new sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear provocations.

Pyongyang's hints at a possible hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific are likely to increase political tensions and contribute to the ever-growing debate about the true capabilities of its nuclear program. A hydrogen bomb in the ocean, of course, will put an end to any assumptions.

Tensions between the United States and the DPRK increased significantly after Donald Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly, in which he promised to “destroy the DPRK” if they pose a threat to the United States and allies. In response to this, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the response to the US President’s statement would be “the toughest measures.” And subsequently, North Korean Foreign Minister Lee Yong Ho shed light on a possible response to Trump - testing a hydrogen (thermonuclear) bomb in the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic writes about exactly how this bomb will affect the ocean (translation - Depo.ua).

What does it mean

North Korea has already conducted nuclear tests in underground silos and launched ballistic missiles. Testing a hydrogen bomb in the ocean could mean that the warhead would be attached to a ballistic missile that would be launched toward the ocean. If North Korea conducts its next test, it will be the first detonation of a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere for nearly 40 years. And, of course, it will have a significant impact on the environment.

A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than conventional nuclear bombs because it can produce much more explosive energy.

What exactly will happen

If a hydrogen bomb hits the Pacific Ocean, it will detonate with a blinding flash and a mushroom cloud will be visible afterwards. If we talk about the consequences, most likely they will depend on the height of the detonation above the water. The initial explosion can kill most of the life in the detonation zone - many fish and other animals in the ocean will die instantly. When the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, the entire population within a 500-meter radius was killed.

The explosion will send radioactive particles into the sky and water. The wind will carry them thousands of kilometers away.

The smoke—and the mushroom cloud itself—will obscure the Sun. Due to the lack of sunlight, organisms in the ocean that depend on photosynthesis will suffer. Radiation will also affect the health of life forms in neighboring seas. Radiation is known to damage human, animal and plant cells by causing changes in their genes. These changes may lead to mutation in future generations. According to experts, eggs and larvae of marine organisms are especially sensitive to radiation.

The test could also have long-term negative effects on people and animals if radiation particles reach the ground.

They can pollute the air, soil and water bodies. More than 60 years after the US tested a series of atomic bombs off Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the island remains “uninhabitable”, according to a 2014 report by The Guardian. Residents were displaced before the tests, but returned in the 1970s. However, they saw a high level of radiation in the products grown near the nuclear testing zone, and were forced to leave this area again.

Story

Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out by different countries in underground mines and reservoirs. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been in force since 1996. The United States tested a nuclear missile, according to one of North Korea's vice foreign ministers, in the Pacific Ocean in 1962. The last ground test with nuclear power took place in China in 1980.

This year alone, North Korea conducted 19 ballistic missile tests and one nuclear test. Earlier this month, North Korea said it had conducted a successful underground test of a hydrogen bomb. Because of this, an artificial earthquake occurred near the test site, which was recorded by seismic activity stations around the world. A week later, the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for new sanctions against North Korea.

The site editors are not responsible for the content of materials in the “Blogs” and “Articles” sections. The editor's opinion may differ from the author's.

After the end of World War II in 1946, the American military arrived in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. They explained to the local residents what they were going to do here. nuclear tests in the name of saving humanity. No one suspected then, including the military themselves, what a disaster the “rescue” action would turn out to be. Bikini Atoll, where the tests were carried out, turned into a dead zone.

For more than 2,000 years, local aborigines lived on Bikini Atoll, which is part of Micronesia, a group of Pacific islands. After World War II, the Americans asked 167 islanders to temporarily leave their homes. The United States was to begin testing the atomic bomb “for the benefit of the human race, to end all wars.” Local residents obediently left their homes. 242 ships, 156 aircraft, and 42,000 American military and civilian personnel invaded their territory.

Between 1946 and 1958 At Bikini Atoll, 23 nuclear devices were detonated. About 700 movie cameras were installed on the island, ships and planes - the whole world had to learn about the power of a nuclear bomb. Its main target was enemy ships captured during the war and transported to Micronesia. Among them was the legendary Japanese battleship Nagato, one of the most powerful ships of the Second World War. To test the effects of radiation, 5,000 animals were loaded onto military ships. In the first hours after the explosion, the radiation level reached 8,000 roentgens, which is 20 times more than the lethal dose.

In 1954, testing of hydrogen bombs began. One of the explosions was more powerful than in Nagasaki or Hiroshima. Millions of tons of sand, coral and plants were blown into the air. The scale was underestimated by the military; the explosion was three times more powerful than expected. Three small islands disappeared from the face of the earth, and a crater with a diameter of 3 km formed in the center of the atoll.

Several islands 100 miles from Bikini, whose residents were not warned and evacuated, were covered with a layer of radioactive dust 2 cm thick. Unaware of the danger, children played in the ash. By nightfall, the islanders were in panic - the first signs of radioactive contamination began to appear: hair loss, weakness and severe vomiting. Two days passed before the US government provided medical assistance to the islanders and evacuated them.

In 1968, it was announced that Bikini Atoll was safe for life and local residents could return. Only 8 years later they were informed that the island had recorded “higher levels of radiation than originally expected.” As a result, many residents died from cancer and other diseases. Today, Bikini Atoll is still considered uninhabitable.

And today they make money from the tragic facts of history - for example, they arrange