The shadow of nuclear war has always been a frightening specter when there was a conflict involving major powers. Such a picture of the destructive effect of nuclear weapons can be illustrated from a series of tests carried out several times in the Cold War era. And regarding nuclear weapons tests, the "Tsar Bomba" incident is the most well known, because this is the largest nuclear weapons test ever carried out.
Quoted from ctbto.org, on October 30, 1961, a nuclear bomb was detonated which was officially labeled the RDS-220 hydrogen bomb. The detonation took place over the skies of Novaya Zemlya Island in the Arctic Sea.
The magnitude of this nuclear bomb is indicated by the explosive power of 50 megatons, or about 3,800 times the simultaneous explosion of the Hirsohima atomic bomb. From the specifications, the Tsar Bomba weighs 27 tons and is 8 meters long.
Judging from the moment of the explosion, this test could not be separated from the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.
On September 1, 1961, the testing moratorium that had lasted for nearly three years was broken. In 16 months, the two countries conducted more nuclear tests than in the previous 16 years, causing a spike in global radiation levels and a further escalation of political tensions before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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| Tsar Bomba |
In reaction, Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev had ordered the development of a 100 megaton nuclear weapon in July 1961. Unlike ordinary thermonuclear weapons, the Tsar Bomba consisted of a third stage, whereas a thermonuclear warhead usually consisted of only two. By adding more stages, the explosive power of a thermonuclear bomb could theoretically be increased indefinitely. Soviet engineers had reduced the actual yield of 100 megatons by about half to limit the effects of the explosion.
The Tsar Bomba is dropped in the air to demonstrate its deliverability. Huge fall-retardation parachutes were attached to the bombs to increase the glider's chances of escape. And the aircraft used to release the Tsar Bomba was the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear turboprop strategic bomber. For the mission, the Tu-95 was specially coated in white reflective paint to protect it from the thermal radiation emitted by the explosion.
Despite this, the chances of survival of pilot Andrei Durnovtsev and his crew are estimated at only 50 percent. The reason is, the shock wave of the Tsar Bomba explosion caused the plane to immediately lose altitude of one kilometer, but fortunately the plane was able to land safely. From the specifications, the Tu-95 with a 4 x Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engine can accelerate to a maximum speed of 850-925 km per hour.
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Explosion light visible from a distance of 1,000 km |
Interesting fact, even though the Tsar Bomba was detonated 4 kilometers above the ground, there was a seismic shock wave equivalent to an earthquake over 5.0 on the Richter Scale measured worldwide. Mushroom clouds reach a height of 60 kilometers. Third-degree burns may occur hundreds of kilometers away. The ring of absolute destruction has a radius of 35 km.
Using the online application Nukemap by US nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein, the impact of the Tsar Bomba nuclear explosion can be illustrated the largest for any location in the world.
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