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The Most Powerful Bomb Ever Constructed

damninteresting.com — On October 30, 1961, the most powerful weapon ever constructed by mankind was exploded over the island of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Sea. The device was code-named "Ivan," and it was a multi-stage hydrogen bomb which was built in only fifteen weeks by engineers in the USSR, using off-the-shelf nuclear weapon components.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 17, 2007

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  • junkalam, on 10/12/2007, -9/+159I saw bomb and had to copy and paste this from bash.org:

    1) I should bomb something
    1) ...and it's off the cuff remarks like that that are the reason I don't log chats
    1) Just in case the FBI ever needs anything on me
    2) I'm sure they can just get it from someone who DOES log chats.
    *** FBI has joined #gamecubecafe
    We saw it anyway.
    *** FBI has quit IRC (Quit: )
  • OneManArmy, on 10/12/2007, -11/+132Come on now man, why did you have to say it?!!!!! Why? Why?

    *shoots self in the head*
  • rcran, on 10/12/2007, -8/+121"off-the-shelf nuclear weapon components"
  • gmarks, on 10/12/2007, -6/+45In Soviet Russia, you build bomb. No joke, you build the bombs
  • kludwick, on 10/12/2007, -9/+45In Soviet Russia, comment buries you!
  • bobdole369, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36Marty! I am sure in 1985 you can get plutonium in any corner drugstore, but in 1955, it's a little hard to come by.
  • benitojuarez, on 10/12/2007, -7/+42Off the shelf nuclear components.... HAH. What did they go to Home depot or something?
  • SamKellett, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34Just to put the size into perspective:

    http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10126ee2475703c2b690ef5hm0.gif
    Tzar Bomba is Ivan.
  • scottmoss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+30Direct link to the video
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2046393742348211186


  • somewhatchewy, on 10/12/2007, -15/+41It hasn't been said yet so...

    "Somebody set us up the bomb."

    Dugg down in 3...2...1...
  • SickFinga, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20The bomb was called Tsar Bomb. New Earth (Novaya Zemlya) is where they tested it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novaya_Zemlya


    btw here are other toys from the Tsar series.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Kolokol
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Cannon
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzar_tank
  • 1freelectron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15You can purchase Uranium here
    http://www.unitednuclear.com/uranium.htm
  • livet0ski, on 08/17/2009, -10/+25"using off-the-shelf nuclear weapon components" where'd they get them? home depot
  • drjekelmrhyde, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15Tsar Bomba size scale
    http://www.extraterrestres.net/images/ejulien03/ejulien03_clip_image009.jpg
  • liquidjamm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Test site was named The New Earth not the bomb.
  • KataLieb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Humans are stupid ***** with overinflated egos. Im surprised we as a human race are even alive anymore. I mean...Thats just STUPID. Goddamn stupid. "Hey lets blow up our home planet! Great idea!"
    Sometimes im ashamed of being human.
  • jeremy66158, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12"using off-the-shelf nuclear weapon components."

    I know some people are looking for that "shelf" but they can't seem to find it
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13In Soviet Russia, communusts mispell YOU!!!1
  • Habemus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12>"If that thing was built in 1961 with a possible yield of 100MT, what is the highest yield possible with todays technology?

    With multi-staged weapons of the Teller-Ulam design, there is no upper limit.
  • HeyBob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11That picture scares me - it really does.
  • peazley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11100km third degree burns, heres a map with Walmart density of 60 miles (100km=66mi)
    http://www.zook.info/Wal-Mart/Figure2-3-60milebuffer.jpg
    Total destruction, 20 mile density:
    http://www.zook.info/Wal-Mart/Figure2-3-20milebuffer.jpg
  • zbeast, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11It was calculated that it could have achieved a explosion of 100 mt but it was actually detonated at 50% of it max rated capacity.
    1) It was said that the fallout from the weapon would be devastating
    2) the fight crew who dropped the bomb would not be make minimum save distance before the weapon detonated.
  • jeremy66158, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8That link is owned by the FBI and when you click on it a special agent's office has a warrant printed out and a Bush judge stands by to sign it 24 hours a day. They will be at your door with a battering ram in less time than it takes for medics to come if you have a 911 call in for cardiac arrest!
  • Aliasing, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I normally think linking to daily columns is just silly; just bookmark the site and visit it everyday? However Damn Interesting is one of the best, well-researched, hardest working sites on the net, and it deserves all the exposure Digg can send its way; while your there enjoying their hundreds of articles make a small donation, or buy their excellent book!

    Sorry to sound like an infomercial, but this is one of the gems of the web.
  • TexMurphy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8"The whole point of the doomsday machine is lost . . . if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world, ay?!"

    Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one .45 caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days concentrated emergency raisons; one drug issue containing: antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair a nylon stockings. Shoot, a fellah could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.
  • CheapDigWannbe, on 10/12/2007, -9/+17LOL The name translates as "New Earth." Only Russians would name the biggest bomb like that. U.S. would've went with something like "Democracy to you"
  • Katana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7If that thing was built in 1961 with a possible yield of 100MT, what is the highest yield possible with todays technology?
  • opiv421, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8GET TO THE CHOPPA
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8you could almost say that it's damn interesting...
  • MephistoX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Only a terrorist would know where to buy materials to supply iran's nuclear weapon facilities!
  • DeskFlyer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9I'm fairly confident that a movie starring Ben Affleck could top this.
  • FizixMan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Awesome! I was looking for this image to post, I had it saved at home. Absolutely massive.

    Nowadays huge nukes like these have been put aside in favour of smaller tactical nuclear weapons. But certainly makes you realize how easy it would be to destroy ourselves.
  • bloaty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6No.... It doesn't blend!
  • Falldog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6The link's not working for me, but here's the Wikipedia article for anyone interested, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba
  • benitojuarez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You win.
  • gmarks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Jamie want big boom.
  • DeskFlyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Wal-Mart rules. Where else can you buy guns and milk at the same location?
  • Gregac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6That depends on how much you like Walmart.
  • ddxChrist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That's an incredibly disheartening picture. To think... Wow.
  • lordmetroid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The tzar bomba. One nice cracker: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzar_bomba
  • punkrockxtian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You don't speak for everybody jackass!
  • spingk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5That's not weapons grade uranium though.
  • FizixMan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/gmap/hydesim.html

    Have fun. I wonder how accurate this is... Max is 99,999 kilotonnes. Tsar/Ivan bomb was rated to discharge 100 megatonnes (100,000 kT right?)
  • DeskFlyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Word. Too bad the Castle Bravo test was a major ***** up (regarding civilian safety). It was still pretty amazing. I'm sure no one imagined that'd we could take out a few islands in less than a few seconds with a single weapon. Anyone ever watch 'Trinity and Beyond'? Truly mind blowing.
  • Mitijea, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I agree with everything you said about DI, but I disagree with your first statement. I do not think a stories/submissions merit should be based on who wrote it, how many others were written by the same person/site, or other meta-biases. I feel each should be based solely on the content presented therein. To say that "Well, it is a really good article, but this site already had many other articles making the front page" does not only a disservice to those here on digg who might have benefited from the article, but also promotes the degeneration of the quality of submissions. It should be quality that is judged, not the quantity of different sources presented. Let each story stand on its on, and not be weighed down by extraneous meta-baggage.

    In a somewhat related way, it reminds me of my roommate in college that upon finding out a band he really liked had been played on commercial radio, decided he would never listen to them again, as they were now not "any good". He judged them by the meta-data, that they had become popular, and not by the music itself. This never made any sense to me.
  • gwolf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think the point of "off the shelf" reference was that they didn't have to make anything new or do a 5 year study to pull this off. They used parts for other bomb designs they already had in their inventory.

    Now that's really scary.

    Think of the bright side, the dinosaurs are extinct because they didn't have a a space program and a bomb like this.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3In Soviet Russia, you build the bomb. No, really; they literally force you to build them.
  • guitarh3ro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4GET THAT BLENDER AWAY FROM THE BOMB! GET AWAY! GET AWAY! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoooooo...
  • superal1394, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What amount of radiation would a nuclear weapon of this size give off?
  • nogami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3He was probably talking more about MIRV-type ICBMs as opposed to single large weapons.
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