Castle Bravo Day (the day fusion turned deadly)

Reflections on fusion history, current events, and predictions for the 'fusion powered future.
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Erik smith
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Castle Bravo Day (the day fusion turned deadly)

Post by Erik smith »

Today marks the 60 anniversary in that the largest ever-United States Thermonuclear bomb ever detonated. It was originally a 10-megaton bomb but due to the false calculations of scientists, it was 15 Megatons. Castle Bravo unlike its cousin Ivy Mike used solid fuel and was proven to be aircraft deliverable (but the first US aircraft deliverable Thermonuclear bomb was Cherokee detonated in the 1950s). Like many other Hydrogen bombs, this device used lithium6 Deuteride. The mini fat man style atomic bomb at the top implodes and spews out a large flux of neutrons. The very high kinetic energy neutrons get absorbed into the lithium 6 fission to leave Helium4 and Hydrogen3. Due to the immense heat, the Tritium and Deuterium fuse to release helium and a very high kinetic energy neutron thus resulting in a chain reaction. However, what scientists did not know was that the lithium Deuteride mixture they were inserting into the bomb was not Li6 but Li7 so when the neutron hits the lithium 7 an extra tritium will be produced thus resulting in a larger fusion reaction. The bomb exploded and headed up into the stratosphere. Nearby US, naval vessels looked in AWE as the large fireball grew only to realize seconds later that it might be the cause of their death. The crew was ordered down below for almost a week to avoid getting a fatal dose of radiation and in a nearby US bunker was men were told to analyze the shock wave of the blast in case of a tidal wave. However, a tidal wave was not the problem radiation was. The crew escaped and was picked up by a helicopter. However, the casualties were not the US navy they were on a Japanese ship called “Lucky Dragon”. Bravo was such an intense bomb it kicked up enough fallout, enough to poison and kill the radio operator on the ship and poison the nearby island were the people of the Atoll islands were sent to be safe from all the atomic testing the only problem is that they were not protected. While people on the nearby island were, being tested and treated for radiation poisoning the US was explaining on why one of their citizens died from the intense fallout from the bomb. Japan was the only country that had been the victim of nuclear warfare and for one of their citizens come back sick from an atomic testing created a huge outcry. Even after bravo created a huge fireball, mushroom cloud, and fallout, no one else died. Castle bravo remained the largest nuclear explosion ever created until Russia detonated TSAR bomb in 1961. Bravo sent out a clear message “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”. And even though it happened 60 years ago it still has an impact on the way we think of nuclear testing.
Frank Sanns
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Re: Castle Bravo Day (the day fusion turned deadly)

Post by Frank Sanns »

And many were concerned early on with what could go wrong. One of them was the contemplation of accidentally igniting the atmosphere. Still chuckle over that one. It is also amazing to me that the Tsar bomb was actually detonated. That is such a huge energy release that the pressure wave circled the earth multiple times.
Achiever's madness; when enough is still not enough. ---FS
We have to stop looking at the world through our physical eyes. The universe is NOT what we see. It is the quantum world that is real. The rest is just an electron illusion. ---FS
Erik smith
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Re: Castle Bravo Day (the day fusion turned deadly)

Post by Erik smith »

Edward teller thought by exploding or imploding a fission bomb could ignite the earths atmosphere by a nitrogen fusion reaction. The Tsar bomba (or bomb) was so massive that the pilots who were flying the plane and arming the bomb were told they might not escape and be killed by the bombs blast and fireball. So we should not screw around with nuclear weapons.
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Richard Hull
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Re: Castle Bravo Day (the day fusion turned deadly)

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Nuclear weapons remain part of our ready to use arsenal and NIF (National Ignition Facility) was created with 75% of it mission as part of the strategic stockpile stewardship program. (making smaller and better nuclear devices that are more easily contained and delivered with higher energy output per unit volume and weight of the device to be used on an enemy.) 25% was for fusion energy research.

The 25% directed at future fusion power generation has proved only marginally useful. (a full and epic fail was clearly announced at first, but later retracted to a possible, sorta', kinda' win with siginificant future implications. They realized an epic fail would mean no jobs for that contingent of physicists.

The 75% going to the nuclear weaponeers is secret developmental work and we will never know what those boys have cooked up or how well the future nuclear weapon devices will function. I am waiting for a super low yield nuclear hand grenade with intensely lethal muon burst. Ya' never know what's in the stew they brew.

Fusion's number one current use is and will most likely remain, the effective and efficient destruction of large population centers. It's number two use is in turn on-turn off neutron generators. Most of the money being spent on fusion currently is for paychecks of personnel ostensibly looking to make fusion energy useful in making electricity.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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