Explosion of a hydrogen bomb on new earth. The most powerful bomb in the world

At the beginning of the "atomic age" the United States and Soviet Union entered the race not only in the number of atomic bombs, but also in their power.

USSR, which acquired atomic weapons later than a competitor, sought to level the situation by creating more advanced and more powerful devices.

The development of a thermonuclear device codenamed “Ivan” was started in the mid-1950s by a group of physicists led by Academician Kurchatov. The team involved in this project included Andrey Sakharov,Victor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Trunov And Yuri Smirnov.

During research work scientists also tried to find the limits of the maximum power of a thermonuclear explosive device.

Design research lasted for several years, and the final stage of development of “product 602” occurred in 1961 and took 112 days.

The AN602 bomb had a three-stage design: the first stage nuclear charge (calculated contribution to the explosion power was 1.5 megatons) launched a thermo nuclear reaction in the second stage (contribution to the explosion power - 50 megatons), and it, in turn, initiated the so-called nuclear “Jekyll-Hyde reaction” (nuclear fission in uranium-238 blocks under the influence of fast neutrons generated as a result of the thermonuclear fusion reaction) in the third stage (another 50 megatons of power), so that the total calculated power of AN602 was 101.5 megatons.

However, the original version was rejected, since in this form a bomb explosion would cause extremely powerful radiation pollution(which, however, according to calculations, would still be seriously inferior to that caused by much less powerful American devices).

"Product 602"

As a result, it was decided not to use the “Jekyll-Hyde reaction” in the third stage of the bomb and to replace the uranium components with their lead equivalent. This reduced the estimated total power of the explosion by almost half (to 51.5 megatons).

Another limitation for the developers was the capabilities of aircraft. The first version of a bomb weighing 40 tons was rejected by aircraft designers from the Tupolev Design Bureau - the carrier aircraft would not be able to deliver such a cargo to the target.

As a result, the parties reached a compromise - nuclear scientists reduced the weight of the bomb by half, and aviation designers were preparing a special modification of the Tu-95 bomber for it - the Tu-95V.

It turned out that it would not be possible to place a charge in the bomb bay under any circumstances, so the Tu-95V had to carry the AN602 to the target on a special external sling.

In fact, the carrier aircraft was ready in 1959, but nuclear physicists were instructed not to speed up work on the bomb - just at that moment there were signs of a decrease in tension in international relations in the world.

At the beginning of 1961, however, the situation worsened again, and the project was revived.

Time for “Mother Kuzma”

The final weight of the bomb including the parachute system was 26.5 tons. The product turned out to have several names at once - “ Big Ivan", "Tsar Bomba" and "Kuzka's Mother". The latter stuck to the bomb after the speech of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in front of the Americans, in which he promised to show them “Kuzka’s mother.”

In 1961, Khrushchev quite openly spoke to foreign diplomats about the fact that the Soviet Union was planning to test a super-powerful thermonuclear charge in the near future. On October 17, 1961, the Soviet leader announced the upcoming tests in a report at the XXII Party Congress.

The testing site was determined to be the Sukhoi Nos test site on Novaya Zemlya. Preparations for the explosion were completed in last days October 1961.

The Tu-95B carrier aircraft was based at the airfield in Vaenga. Here, in a special room, final preparations for testing were carried out.

On the morning of October 30, 1961, the crew pilot Andrei Durnovtsev received an order to fly to the test site area and drop a bomb.

Taking off from the airfield in Vaenga, the Tu-95B reached calculation point. Bomb on parachute system was dropped from a height of 10,500 meters, after which the pilots immediately began to move the car away from the dangerous area.

At 11:33 Moscow time, an explosion was carried out at an altitude of 4 km above the target.

There was Paris - and there is no Paris

The power of the explosion significantly exceeded the calculated one (51.5 megatons) and ranged from 57 to 58.6 megatons in TNT equivalent.

Witnesses of the test say that they have never seen anything like this in their lives. The nuclear mushroom of the explosion rose to a height of 67 kilometers, the light radiation could potentially cause third-degree burns at a distance of up to 100 kilometers.

Observers reported that at the epicenter of the explosion, the rocks took a surprisingly flat shape, and the ground turned into some kind of military parade ground. Complete destruction was achieved over an area equal to the territory of Paris.

Ionization of the atmosphere caused radio interference even hundreds of kilometers from the test site for about 40 minutes. The lack of radio communication convinced the scientists that the tests went as well as possible. The shock wave resulting from the explosion of the Tsar Bomba circled three times globe. The sound wave generated by the explosion reached Dikson Island at a distance of about 800 kilometers.

Despite the heavy clouds, witnesses saw the explosion even at a distance of thousands of kilometers and could describe it.

Radioactive contamination from the explosion turned out to be minimal, as the developers had planned - more than 97% of the explosion power was provided by virtually no radioactive contamination thermonuclear fusion reaction.

This allowed scientists to begin studying the test results on the experimental field within two hours after the explosion.

Sakharov’s “cannibalistic” project

The explosion of the Tsar Bomba really made an impression on the whole world. She turned out to be more powerful than the most powerful American bomb four times.

There was a theoretical possibility of creating even more powerful charges, but it was decided to abandon the implementation of such projects.

Oddly enough, the main skeptics turned out to be the military. From their point of view, such weapons had no practical meaning. How do you order him to be delivered to the “den of the enemy”? The USSR already had missiles, but they were unable to fly to America with such a load.

Strategic bombers were also unable to fly to the United States with such “luggage.” In addition, they became easy targets for air defense systems.

Atomic scientists turned out to be much more enthusiastic. Plans were put forward to place several super-bombs with a capacity of 200-500 megatons off the coast of the United States, the explosion of which was supposed to cause a giant tsunami that would wash away America in the literal sense of the word.

Academician Andrei Sakharov, future human rights activist and laureate Nobel Prize peace, put forward another plan. “The carrier could be a large torpedo launched from a submarine. I fantasized that it was possible to develop a direct-flow water-steam nuclear power plant for such a torpedo. jet engine. The target of an attack from a distance of several hundred kilometers should be enemy ports. A war at sea is lost if the ports are destroyed, the sailors assure us of this. The body of such a torpedo can be very durable; it will not be afraid of mines and barrage nets. Of course, the destruction of ports - both by a surface explosion of a torpedo with a 100-megaton charge that “jumped out” of the water, and by an underwater explosion - is inevitably associated with very large casualties,” the scientist wrote in his memoirs.

Sakharov spoke about his idea Vice Admiral Pyotr Fomin. An experienced sailor, who headed the “atomic department” under the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy, was horrified by the scientist’s plan, calling the project “cannibalistic.” According to Sakharov, he was ashamed and never returned to this idea.

Scientists and military personnel received generous awards for the successful testing of the Tsar Bomba, but the very idea of super-powerful thermonuclear charges began to become a thing of the past.

Constructors nuclear weapons focused on things less spectacular, but much more effective.

And the explosion of the “Tsar Bomba” to this day remains the most powerful of those ever produced by humanity.

October 30, 1961 is a significant date in history Cold War. On this day, the Soviet Union tested the most powerful thermostat in history. nuclear bomb, which later received the unofficial name “Tsar Bomba”.

The AN602 bomb (or “product 602”), detonated over the test site on Novaya Zemlya, was intended by the Soviet leadership to clearly show the West that the days of its superiority in nuclear weapons were in the past. The power of the thermonuclear device was monstrous - it was 57 megatons (according to other sources 58) in TNT equivalent.

In addition to propaganda purposes, the tests also had a completely practical significance: Soviet scientists needed to experimentally test their theoretical calculations related to the design of thermonuclear ammunition and the calculation of the power of their explosion. As a result of this "experiment" it was proven that the power thermonuclear weapons is unlimited.

Initially, they wanted to increase the power of the ammunition to 100 megatons, but then physicists had concerns about excessive radioactive contamination that such a charge could lead to. Therefore, it was decided to reduce the power of the bomb by half. Khrushchev himself later joked that they planned to explode 100 megatons, but were afraid for the windows in Moscow.

Almost immediately after the tests, AN602 received another unofficial name - “Kuzka’s Mother”, in honor of catchphrase Secretary General Khrushchev, which he threw from the UN rostrum. Then Nikita Sergeevich promised to “bury imperialism” and show the United States “Kuzka’s mother.” Soon it was clearly demonstrated to the Americans on Novaya Zemlya.

Above creation Soviet Tsar Bomba The best domestic minds worked: Trutnev, Sakharov, Babaev, Adamsky, Smirnov. The project was led by the famous Kurchatov, its implementation began in 1954.

History of creation

The atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki opened new era in the history of mankind and at the same time they gave rise to a period of intense confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, which entered the history books under the name of the Cold War. From that moment to this day, the power and status of any state is determined not only by the size of its armed forces and the level of economic development, but also by the presence of nuclear weapons.

The United States did not have a monopoly on the nuclear bomb for long. Thanks to the brilliant work of intelligence, by 1949 the Soviet Union managed to create its first nuclear charge and conduct its successful tests.

In 1953 soviet army received the first aviation nuclear bomb RDS-3, which theoretically could be used to strike US territory.

However, in the early 60s main problem The USSR was not in the number of nuclear warheads, but in the means of delivering nuclear weapons. Those that were available could not be guaranteed to provide a sufficiently powerful retaliatory strike against the adversary. At that time, rocket technology was just taking its first steps, and the main means of delivering nuclear weapons was strategic aviation. The Americans were significantly ahead of the USSR in this area. In addition to a significant fleet strategic bombers, the USA also had a large number military bases near the Soviet borders where they could station their aircraft. The USSR did not have anything like this, so the bet was placed on the superiority of Soviet nuclear weapons over their American counterparts. Roughly speaking, the military chose to increase the power of the bombs, hoping that if anything reached enemy territory, it would fly in earnest. Even one Soviet bomber breaking through the air defense cordons could destroy a large American city or industrial area.

Around the mid-50s, work began on the creation of thermonuclear weapons in the USA and USSR. At the end of 1952, the Americans successfully tested the first hydrogen bomb, and eight months later the Soviet Union acquired similar weapons. It should be noted that soviet bomb had a more advanced design and could be used in practice.

Thermonuclear weapons fit perfectly into the Soviet concept of “asymmetric retaliatory strike,” because their power was theoretically unlimited. At the end of the 50s, work began in the Soviet Union on several projects of thermonuclear ammunition of monstrous power, as well as means of their delivery. For example, in 1960, a resolution of the Council of Ministers was issued on the start of the development of the N-1 intercontinental missile with a take-off weight of 2.2 thousand tons and a thermonuclear warhead of 75 tons. It is difficult to accurately indicate its power; we can only say that the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba weighed 26.5 tons. Around the same time, Chelomei was developing the UR-500 missile with a 150-megaton warhead. However, all these projects were so expensive and technically complex that they remained on paper.

There is a legend that when a project missile complex Khrushchev saw the UR-500 and estimated its approximate cost; he asked the designer: “What are we going to build? Communism or silos for your missiles? After this, the program was discontinued.

We can also mention the project giant torpedo with a multi-megaton warhead, which was planned to be detonated off the coast of America, thereby causing a devastating tsunami. The author of this project was the future Nobel Prize winner, Academician Sakharov. However, this idea was also not realized.

The creation of such monstrous thermonuclear monsters required mandatory practical testing. Moreover, for testing a sample of similar power was needed. Scientists needed to test their theoretical calculations, and the military needed to try to use such ammunition in practice to understand how to cause probable enemy greatest damage.

Work on a super-powerful thermonuclear device began in the mid-50s. This project was carried out by specialists from NII-1011 (Chelyabinsk-70), today it is RFNC-VNIITF. At the same time, OKB-156 was working on creating a carrier aircraft for such an unusual ammunition. Initially, the bomb weighed 40 tons, which was categorically rejected by aircraft manufacturers. In the end, nuclear scientists promised to reduce the weight of the product by half.

In 1958 political reasons the superpower bomb project was closed.

There is a legend that the Soviet “Kuzkina Mother” was developed in record time short terms(112 days). This is not entirely true.

In 1960, the international situation deteriorated again and the Soviet leadership decided to resume the superbomb program. This project was transferred to KB-11 and the final part of the creation of the Tsar Bomba actually took 112 days. However, the AN602 product was based on developments made in the period from 1954 to 1958 at NII-1011. Although, it should be noted that many significant changes were made to the ammunition at the completion stage.

The development of a carrier aircraft for the AN602 was also a very difficult task. The designers of the Tupolev Design Bureau had to make serious changes to the power circuit of the Tu-95 aircraft, remodel its cargo compartment, and also change the suspension and ammunition release devices. The bomber designed for this mission was named Tu-95B. After the project was suspended, it was transported to a military airfield in Uzin, where it was used as a training tool.

The Tsar Bomba was intended to have a three-stage design. A nuclear charge with a yield of 1.5 megatons was used as the first stage. Its main function was to launch the second stage thermonuclear reaction, the power of which was 50 megatons. She, in turn, initiated the detonation of the third 50-megaton stage. Thus, a munition with a yield of 101.5 megatons was initially conceived.

Already during the implementation of the project, it was decided to abandon the third stage. The danger of radioactive contamination of territories outside the test site was too great, and they also did not want to cause too much damage to Novaya Zemlya, the future site of the Tsar Bomba explosion. So the bomb's power was reduced to 55 megatons, and lead plates were placed instead of the third stage.

To protect the aircraft crew from exposure damaging factors explosion, AN602 was equipped with three parachutes at once. The area of the main parachute was more than 1.6 thousand square meters. meters. He should have allowed the bomber, after completing its mission, to move to a safe distance from the explosion site. A special reflective coating was applied to the fuselage of the aircraft.

The Tsar Bomba itself had a characteristic streamlined teardrop shape with four stabilizers in the tail section. Its weight was 26.5 tons, its length was 8 meters, and its largest diameter was 2.1 meters.

On October 17, 1961, Nikita Khrushchev, during the opening of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, told the audience that the USSR had a thermonuclear bomb with a capacity of 100 megatons and was going to detonate a 50-megaton charge. After such a statement, nothing could stop the tests. The UN officially appealed to the Soviet leadership to abandon the explosion, but it was ignored.

AN602 tests and their results

The Tsar Bomba test was scheduled for October 30, 1961. On the morning of this day, a Tu-95V with an AN602 on board took off from the Olenya airfield, which Murmansk region, and headed for Novaya Zemlya. The crew consisted of nine people, the bomber was accompanied by a Tu-16A laboratory aircraft.

About two hours later, the Tu-95 reached its intended point above the Dry Nose training ground. AN602 was dropped from a height of 10 thousand meters. The explosion occurred after 188 seconds, during which time the bomber managed to move 39 km away. The shock wave caught up with it at a distance of 115 km, causing strong vibration, although it did not cause much harm to the car.

The force of the Tsar Bomba explosion exceeded the expected one (51.5 Mt) and amounted to 58.5 Mt.

The duration of the flash was 65-70 seconds, the height of the “mushroom” exceeded 67 km, and the diameter of its cap was 95 km. The light radiation from the explosion could cause serious burns (third degree) at a distance of 100 kilometers.

The explosion caused a seismic wave that circled the planet three times. Thousands of witnesses stated that they felt a tangible blow, even being a thousand from its epicenter.

The sound wave reached Dikson Island (800 km). Some sources report that windows in buildings on the island were broken by the blast wave.

The severe ionization of the atmosphere generated by the explosion caused interference with radio communications within a radius of hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter. They lasted about an hour.

Radioactive contamination of the site was insignificant. Within a few hours, a group of testers landed on it and took the necessary measurements.

After the success of the test, the commander and navigator of the Tu-95V received the titles of Heroes, eight people from the bomb development team became Heroes of Socialist Labor, several dozen scientists and designers received Lenin Prizes.

By the way, immediately after the test, scientists proposed several projects for creating even more powerful thermonuclear ammunition (300, 500 Mt). However, the military spoke out categorically against such ideas. An exploded 50-megaton bomb had already burned out an area the size of Paris, so why make even more powerful devices? And the mass of such ammunition made their practical use almost impossible.

If we talk about the results of the tests on Novaya Zemlya, the main one, of course, was propaganda. The USSR clearly showed all ill-wishers that it was better not to joke with it. Fifty megatons is a lot good way cool down too hot heads. Tests of AN602 very quickly brought results: literally a few months later in Moscow, an agreement was signed between the USA, USSR and Great Britain banning any tests of nuclear weapons on land, on water and in space. This international document is still being implemented today.

The explosion also had important practical significance. In essence, AN602 was a large test bench with the help of which Soviet scientists and designers tested their theoretical calculations. And there was no other way to do it. In addition, the Soviet military received invaluable information regarding the use of ammunition of such power. In fact, due to its significant dimensions, the Tsar Bomba was not very suitable for practical use.

It should also be understood that the Soviet Union was not developing super-powerful ammunition out of a good life. To be honest, the main element of the Soviet “asymmetric response” strategy, of course, was intimidation. The Tu-95 simply could not deliver AN602 to the United States: due to the significant mass of ammunition, it simply would not have reached the target. After improving domestic intercontinental missiles the need for super-powerful nuclear charges disappeared; it was much more profitable to deliver a dozen warheads with relatively small charges to enemy territory than one multi-megaton monster.

October 30, 1961 at the island training ground New Earth The most powerful bomb in world history was tested. The thermonuclear bomb, called the Tsar Bomba, with a yield of 58 megatons, was developed by a group of scientists that included such luminaries as A.D. Sakharov, V.B. Adamsky, Yu.A. Trutnev and others. SmartNews will tell you about five tests of the USSR that made the whole world shudder.

On October 30, 1961, a test took place of a thermonuclear aerial bomb developed by a group of nuclear physicists under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatova. In the world, AN602 is better known as “Kuzka’s Mother” and “Tsar Bomba”. The first nickname appeared because of Khrushchev’s statement: “We will still show America Kuzka’s mother.” But the AN602 was called the “Tsar Bomba” because it became the most powerful and destructive weapons throughout the history of mankind. So, during the tests, the carrier aircraft, which managed to fly almost 40 kilometers from the explosion site, landed burnt and with melted parts. Is it worth talking about what was happening within a radius of 20 kilometers from the explosion? The most important point in the AN602 test there was a demonstration that the USSR now has unlimited possession powerful weapon mass destruction. In TNT equivalent, the power of the Kuzkina Mother was four times more powerful than any US weapon.

On August 29, 1949, the first Soviet atomic bomb RDS-1 was successfully tested. The bomb received this name after a government decree in which the bomb was written as a “special jet engine.” The people called the bomb “Stalin’s Jet Engine.” The power of this weapon was 22 kilotons. During the test, the tower, almost 40 meters high, on which the bomb was installed, was not only wiped off the face of the earth - in its place a crater one and a half meters deep was formed. The explosion killed a fifth of the experimental animals and 10 cars located at a distance of a kilometer from the epicenter of the events. Log houses within a 5 km radius were completely destroyed. In the early fifties, five such bombs were manufactured, which made up the country's entire nuclear arsenal at that time.

On August 12, 1953, the first Soviet missile was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. hydrogen bomb, which was developed by a group of scientists led by A.D. Sakharov and Yu.B. Khariton. They managed to get ahead of the whole world and create the first weapon of enormous destructive power that was mobile and lifted by a bomber. For comparison, the best thermonuclear device in the United States at that time was the size of a three-story house. In addition, our scientists were the first to use “dry” thermonuclear fuel, which was a huge breakthrough in the field of technology. The test result of the RDS-6s exceeded the expectations of even its creators. The recorded power of the explosion was 400 kilotons. Within a radius of 4 km, all brick buildings collapsed. And the heaviest railway bridge, weighing several hundred tons, was thrown 200 m from its original point.

The test of the T-5 torpedo is the first Soviet underwater nuclear test. When the Soviet Union acquired its own nuclear weapons, scientists took up the problem of anti-nuclear protection of ships and the need to conduct nuclear test V sea conditions. The test site was Chernaya Bay. One of the reasons for this choice was that water exchange with Barents Sea in that area is extremely weak, and this could create some kind of obstacle to the release of radiation into the sea. On the appointed day, the torpedo test had to be postponed due to fog. The charge was detonated the next day - September 21, 1955. The explosion occurred at a depth of approximately 57 m. Its TNT equivalent was 3.5 kilotons. Based on the results of the experiment, scientists came to the conclusion that ships become most vulnerable if they are close to each other. If the ships are at the maximum distance from each other, then only one ship can be shot down with one torpedo. The data obtained as a result of the test was taken into account in the subsequent construction of the ships.

First two-stage thermonuclear bomb The Soviet Union, although it had an unprecedented capacity of more than 1 Mt, caused many problems during testing. One of the troubles that happened with the RDS-37 was emergency situation at the Semipalatinsk test site. When the plane with the bomb had already taken off, the weather turned bad. It took the command two hours to accept firm decision about the plane with the bomb landing back on the ground. It was decided to carry out a repeat test a day later, on November 22, 1955. The second attempt was more successful, but entailed a number of unplanned casualties. So, 36 km from the explosion, six soldiers were buried in the ground, one of whom died. A girl died due to a ceiling collapse in a local village. Dozens of people were injured from broken glass. And various injuries and injuries to people were recorded in almost 60 populated areas located within a radius of 200 km from the explosion.

Tsar Bomba is the name of the AN602 hydrogen bomb, which was tested in the Soviet Union in 1961. This bomb was the most powerful ever detonated. Its power was such that the flash from the explosion was visible 1000 km away, and the nuclear mushroom rose almost 70 km.

The Tsar Bomba was a hydrogen bomb. It was created in Kurchatov's laboratory. The power of the bomb was such that it would have been enough to destroy 3800 Hiroshimas.

Let's remember the history of its creation.

At the beginning of the “atomic age,” the United States and the Soviet Union entered into a race not only in the number of atomic bombs, but also in their power.

The USSR, which acquired atomic weapons later than its competitor, sought to level the situation by creating more advanced and more powerful devices.

The development of a thermonuclear device codenamed “Ivan” was started in the mid-1950s by a group of physicists led by Academician Kurchatov. The group involved in this project included Andrei Sakharov, Viktor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Trunov and Yuri Smirnov.

During research, scientists also tried to find the limits of the maximum power of a thermonuclear explosive device.

The theoretical possibility of obtaining energy by thermonuclear fusion was known even before World War II, but it was the war and the subsequent arms race that raised the question of creating technical device to practically create this reaction. It is known that in Germany in 1944, work was carried out to initiate thermonuclear fusion by compression nuclear fuel using conventional explosive charges - but they were unsuccessful because they could not obtain the required temperatures and pressures. The USA and the USSR have been developing thermonuclear weapons since the 40s, almost simultaneously testing the first thermonuclear devices in the early 50s. In 1952, the United States exploded a charge with a yield of 10.4 megatons on the Eniwetak Atoll (which is 450 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki), and in 1953, the USSR tested a device with a yield of 400 kilotons.

The designs of the first thermonuclear devices were poorly suited for actual combat use. For example, the device tested by the United States in 1952 was a ground-based structure the height of a 2-story building and weighing over 80 tons. Liquid thermonuclear fuel was stored in it using a huge refrigeration unit. Therefore, in the future, serial production of thermonuclear weapons was carried out using solid fuel - lithium-6 deuteride. In 1954, the United States tested a device based on it at Bikini Atoll, and in 1955, a new Soviet thermonuclear bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. In 1957, tests of a hydrogen bomb were carried out in Great Britain.

Design research lasted for several years, and the final stage of development of “product 602” occurred in 1961 and took 112 days.

The AN602 bomb had a three-stage design: the nuclear charge of the first stage (calculated contribution to the explosion power is 1.5 megatons) triggered a thermonuclear reaction in the second stage (contribution to the explosion power - 50 megatons), and it, in turn, initiated the so-called nuclear “ Jekyll-Hyde reaction" (nuclear fission in uranium-238 blocks under the influence of fast neutrons generated as a result of the thermonuclear fusion reaction) in the third stage (another 50 megatons of power), so that the total calculated power of AN602 was 101.5 megatons.

However, the original option was rejected, since in this form it would have caused extremely powerful radiation contamination (which, however, according to calculations, would still have been seriously inferior to that caused by much less powerful American devices).
As a result, it was decided not to use the “Jekyll-Hyde reaction” in the third stage of the bomb and to replace the uranium components with their lead equivalent. This reduced the estimated total power of the explosion by almost half (to 51.5 megatons).

It turned out that it would not be possible to place a charge in the bomb bay under any circumstances, so the Tu-95V had to carry the AN602 to the target on a special external sling.

At the beginning of 1961, however, the situation worsened again, and the project was revived.

The final weight of the bomb including the parachute system was 26.5 tons. The product had several names at once - “Big Ivan”, “Tsar Bomba” and “Kuzka’s Mother”. The latter stuck to the bomb after Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s speech to the Americans, in which he promised to show them “Kuzka’s mother.”

The testing site was determined to be the Sukhoi Nos test site on Novaya Zemlya. Preparations for the explosion were completed in late October 1961.

The Tu-95B carrier aircraft was based at the airfield in Vaenga. Here, in a special room, final preparations for testing were carried out.

On the morning of October 30, 1961, the crew of pilot Andrei Durnovtsev received an order to fly to the test site area and drop a bomb.

Taking off from the airfield in Vaenga, the Tu-95B reached its design point two hours later. The bomb was dropped from a parachute system from a height of 10,500 meters, after which the pilots immediately began to move the car away from the dangerous area.

At 11:33 Moscow time, an explosion was carried out at an altitude of 4 km above the target.

The power of the explosion significantly exceeded the calculated one (51.5 megatons) and ranged from 57 to 58.6 megatons in TNT equivalent.

Operating principle:

The action of a hydrogen bomb is based on the use of energy released during the thermonuclear fusion reaction of light nuclei. It is this reaction that takes place in the depths of stars, where, under the influence of ultra-high temperatures and enormous pressure, hydrogen nuclei collide and merge into heavier helium nuclei. During the reaction, part of the mass of hydrogen nuclei is converted into large number energy - thanks to this, stars release huge amounts of energy constantly. Scientists copied this reaction using isotopes of hydrogen - deuterium and tritium, which gave it the name "hydrogen bomb". Initially, liquid isotopes of hydrogen were used to produce charges, and later lithium-6 deuteride was used, solid, a compound of deuterium and an isotope of lithium.

Lithium-6 deuteride is the main component of the hydrogen bomb, thermonuclear fuel. It already stores deuterium, and the lithium isotope serves as the raw material for the formation of tritium. To start a thermonuclear fusion reaction, it is necessary to create high temperature and pressure, and also to isolate tritium from lithium-6. These conditions are provided as follows.

The shell of the container for thermonuclear fuel is made of uranium-238 and plastic, and a conventional nuclear charge with a power of several kilotons is placed next to the container - it is called a trigger, or initiator charge of a hydrogen bomb. During the explosion of the plutonium initiator charge under the influence of powerful X-ray radiation, the container shell turns into plasma, compressing thousands of times, which creates the necessary high blood pressure and enormous temperature. At the same time, neutrons emitted by plutonium interact with lithium-6, forming tritium. Deuterium and tritium nuclei interact under the influence of ultra-high temperature and pressure, which leads to a thermonuclear explosion.

If you make several layers of uranium-238 and lithium-6 deuteride, then each of them will add its own power to the bomb explosion - that is, such a “puff” allows you to increase the power of the explosion almost unlimitedly. Thanks to this, a hydrogen bomb can be made of almost any power, and it will be much cheaper than a conventional nuclear bomb of the same power.

Ionization of the atmosphere caused radio interference even hundreds of kilometers from the test site for about 40 minutes. The lack of radio communication convinced the scientists that the tests went as well as possible. The shock wave resulting from the explosion of the Tsar Bomba circled the globe three times. The sound wave generated by the explosion reached Dikson Island at a distance of about 800 kilometers.

Despite the heavy clouds, witnesses saw the explosion even at a distance of thousands of kilometers and could describe it.

Radioactive contamination from the explosion turned out to be minimal, as the developers had planned - more than 97% of the power of the explosion was provided by the thermonuclear fusion reaction, which practically did not create radioactive contamination.

This allowed scientists to begin studying the test results on the experimental field within two hours after the explosion.

The explosion of the Tsar Bomba really made an impression on the whole world. It turned out to be four times more powerful than the most powerful American bomb.

There was a theoretical possibility of creating even more powerful charges, but it was decided to abandon the implementation of such projects.

Strategic bombers were also unable to fly to the United States with such “luggage.” In addition, they became easy targets for air defense systems.

Atomic scientists turned out to be much more enthusiastic. Plans were put forward to place several super-bombs with a capacity of 200–500 megatons off the coast of the United States, the explosion of which would cause a giant tsunami that would literally wash away America.

Academician Andrei Sakharov, future human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, put forward a different plan. “The carrier could be a large torpedo launched from a submarine. I fantasized that it was possible to develop a ramjet water-steam nuclear jet engine for such a torpedo. The target of an attack from a distance of several hundred kilometers should be enemy ports. A war at sea is lost if the ports are destroyed, the sailors assure us of this. The body of such a torpedo can be very durable; it will not be afraid of mines and barrage nets. Of course, the destruction of ports - both by a surface explosion of a torpedo with a 100-megaton charge that “jumped out” of the water, and by an underwater explosion - is inevitably associated with very large casualties,” the scientist wrote in his memoirs.

Sakharov told Vice Admiral Pyotr Fomin about his idea. An experienced sailor, who headed the “atomic department” under the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy, was horrified by the scientist’s plan, calling the project “cannibalistic.” According to Sakharov, he was ashamed and never returned to this idea.

Scientists and military personnel received generous awards for the successful testing of the Tsar Bomba, but the very idea of super-powerful thermonuclear charges began to become a thing of the past.

Nuclear weapons designers focused on things less spectacular, but much more effective.

And the explosion of the “Tsar Bomba” to this day remains the most powerful of those ever produced by humanity.

Tsar Bomba in numbers:

Weight: 27 tons
Length: 8 meters
Diameter: 2 meters
Yield: 55 megatons of TNT
Mushroom height: 67 km
Mushroom base diameter: 40 km
Fireball diameter: 4.6 km
Distance at which the explosion caused skin burns: 100 km
Explosion visibility distance: 1000 km
The amount of TNT required to equal the power of the Tsar Bomb: a giant TNT cube with a side of 312 meters (the height of the Eiffel Tower).

On October 30, 1961, the most powerful bomb in the world was tested - the thermonuclear “Tsar Bomba”, later called “Kuzka’s Mother,” was dropped at the “Dry Nose” test site. Today we remember this and other explosions of enormous destructive power.

Humanity spends enormous amounts of money and enormous efforts to create weapons that are as effective as possible in destroying their own kind. And, as science and history show, it succeeds in this. About what will happen to our planet if suddenly a fire erupts on Earth nuclear war, many films have been made and dozens of books have been written. But the most terrible thing is still the dry description of the tests of weapons of mass destruction, reports formulated in terse clerical military language.

The incredibly powerful projectile was developed under the leadership of Kurchatov himself. As a result of seven years of work, the most powerful explosive device in the history of mankind was created. According to various sources, the bomb had from 57 to 58.6 megatons of TNT equivalent. For comparison, the explosion of the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki was equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. Many people know how much trouble she has caused.

"Tsar Bomba" served as a demonstration of the strength of the USSR to the Western community

As a result of the explosion there was fireball with a radius of about 4.6 kilometers. The light radiation was so powerful that it could cause third-degree burns at a distance of about 100 kilometers from the explosion site. The seismic wave resulting from the tests circled the globe three times. The nuclear mushroom rose to a height of 67 kilometers, and the diameter of its “cap” was 95 kilometers.

This is not the sun. This is a flash from the explosion of the Tsar Bomba

Tests of the "Mother of All Bombs"

Until 2007, American high-explosive aerial bomb, affectionately known as the Mother Of All Bombs by the US military, was considered the largest non-nuclear bomb in the world. The length of the projectile is more than 9 meters, its weight is 9.5 tons. Moreover, most of this weight falls on the explosive. The force of the explosion was 11 tons of TNT. That is, two “Moms” are enough to smash an average metropolis into dust. However, it is encouraging that bombs of this type have not yet been used in military operations. But one of the “Moms” was sent to Iraq just in case. Apparently, in the belief that the peacekeepers cannot do without weighty arguments.

The "Mother of All Bombs" was the most powerful non-nuclear weapon until the "Daddy of All Bombs" appeared.

According to the official description of the munition, “the force of the MOAB explosion is sufficient to destroy tanks and people on the surface within a few hundred meters and demoralize troops in the surrounding area who survived the explosion.”

Explosion during testing of the “Daddy of All Bombs”

This is our answer to the Americans - the development of an aircraft vacuum bomb of increased power, unofficially called the “Daddy of all bombs.” The ammunition was created in 2007 and now this particular bomb is considered the most powerful non-nuclear projectile in the world.

Bomb test reports say that the Papa's kill area is so large that it can reduce the cost of producing the munition by reducing precision requirements. Indeed, what's the point of a targeted hit if it blows everything around within a radius of 200 meters? And even at a distance of more than two kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, a person will be knocked off his feet shock wave. After all, the power of “Papa” is four times greater than that of “Mom” - the force of the explosion of a vacuum bomb is 44 tons of TNT. As a separate achievement, the testers argue that the projectile is environmentally friendly. “The test results of the created aviation munition showed that its effectiveness and capabilities are comparable to nuclear munitions, at the same time, I want to especially emphasize this, the effect of this munition does not pollute at all environment compared to nuclear weapons,” the acting report said. boss General Staff Russian Armed Forces Alexander Rukshin.

"Daddy of all bombs" is about four times more powerful than "Mom"

"Baby" and "Fat Man": Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The names of these two Japanese cities have long become synonymous with a large-scale disaster. The US military actually tested atomic bombs in public, dropping shells on Hiroshima on August 6 and on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Most of the victims of the explosions were not military personnel at all, but civilians. Children, women, old people - their bodies instantly turned into coal. Only silhouettes remained on the walls - this is how light radiation acted. Birds flying nearby burned in the air.

"Mushrooms" nuclear explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The number of victims has not yet been accurately determined: many did not die immediately, but later, as a result of developing radiation sickness. "Little" with an estimated yield of 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT, dropped on Hiroshima, killed between 90 and 166 thousand people. In Nagasaki, “Fat Man” with a capacity of 21 kilotons of TNT ended the lives of 60 to 90 thousand people.

“Fat Man” and “Little Boy” are on display at the museum as a reminder of the destructive power of nuclear weapons

This was the first and so far only time that nuclear weapons were used in military action.

The fall of the Tunguska meteorite: the most powerful miraculous explosion

The Podkamennaya Tunguska River was of no interest to anyone until June 17, 1908. On this day, at about seven o'clock in the morning, a huge fireball flashed over the territory of the Yenisei basin and exploded over the taiga near Tunguska. Now everyone knows about this river, and versions of what exploded over the taiga have since been published to suit every taste: from an alien invasion to a manifestation of the power of angry gods. However, the main and generally accepted cause of the explosion is still the fall of a meteorite.

The explosion was so powerful that trees were knocked down over an area of more than two thousand square kilometers. Windows were broken in houses located hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion. For several days after the explosion, in the area from the Atlantic to central Siberia, people saw the sky and clouds glowing.

Scientists have calculated the approximate power of the explosion - from 40 to 50 megatons of TNT. That is, comparable to the power of the Tsar Bomba, the most destructive man-made bomb. All that remains is to be glad that Tunguska meteorite fell in the remote taiga, far from villages and villages.