
Time lapse of all nuclear exlosions from 1945 - 1998 - Bhel
http://memolition.com/2013/10/16/time-lapse-map-of-every-nuclear-explosion-ever-on-earth/
======
beloch
Estimated world nuclear stockpile: 5000 megatons total yield [1]

Estimated total yield of tests up to 1980: 510 megatons (418 atmospheric) [2]

It's hard to find good numbers on the total yield of all nuclear tests to
date, but the ballpark figure is 10% of current stockpiles. This is actually
somewhat comforting. We've all heard scary stories saying that we have enough
nuclear weapons to destroy the world dozens of times over, but the truth is
we've detonated 10% of the total current stockpile in the course of weapon
testing with barely any noticeable impact. Yes, it will indeed suck much worse
if nuclear bombs ever target populated areas, but the planet will likely
recover and live on.

[1] [http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-
weapons/...](http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-
weapons/basics/nuclear-stockpiles.htm)

[2][http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-
weapons/...](http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-
weapons/basics/nuclear-stockpiles.htm)

~~~
32bitkid
serious question: does nuclear radiation scale linearly with explosive yield?

That question aside, the destructive power of a explosive does not scale
linearly with yield [1]

> This relation arises from the fact that the destructive power of a bomb does
> not vary linearly with the yield. The volume the weapon's energy spreads
> into varies as the cube of the distance, but the destroyed area varies at
> the square of the distance.

The destructive effects of one big 5000-megaton bomb is very different than
10,000 half-megaton bombs. Or even worse, 40,000 125-kiloton bombs.

[1]
[http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects1.shtml](http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects1.shtml)

~~~
Ntrails
We also, historically, tend to test in ways that limit damage. We doubtless
have enough weapons to eliminate 95% + of the global population if that were
the intent.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Actually, only underground tests truly limit damage. There are three
destructive effects from a bomb. The explosion itself, the fission products
from the bomb, and the radioisotopes bred from high neutron flux impacting
surrounding materials.

Tests are conducted away from civilization, which lowers the impact of all
forms of damage. However, the above ground tests were conducted generally on
the surface with only a few exceptions, which would have increased the amount
of radioactive fallout due to neutron activation. In contrast, actual use of a
nuclear weapon would be in air bursts which would generate very little
activated fallout.

Also, the total number and yield of nuclear weapons now in all arsenals would
probably not be sufficient to kill even 50% of the world's population. Much of
the world lives in high density areas, but much does not. The total area that
the world's population lives on is extremely large and only a small percentage
of it could be destroyed through nuclear weapons. Though the industrial and
economic collapse would lead to massive starvation which would cause even more
delayed deaths, but it's difficult to estimate such things.

------
intslack
Blogspam, original video here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjAqR1zICA0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjAqR1zICA0)

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DanBC
It doesn't have the Aum Shinrikyo Australia event. So it's good that they're
not including speculation.

[http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/21/science/seismic-mystery-
in...](http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/21/science/seismic-mystery-in-australia-
quake-meteor-or-nuclear-blast.html)

> LATE on the evening of May 28, 1993, something shattered the calm of the
> Australian outback and radiated shock waves outward across hundreds of miles
> of scrub and desert. Around the same time, truck drivers crossing the region
> and gold prospectors camping nearby saw the dark sky illuminated by bright
> flashes, and they and other people heard the distant rumble of loud
> explosions.

[...]

> The evidence was ominous. Investigators discovered that the cult, Aum
> Shinrikyo, had tried to buy Russian nuclear warheads and had set up an
> advanced laboratory on a 500,000-acre ranch in Australia near the puzzling
> upheaval. At the ranch, investigators found that the sect had been mining
> uranium, a main material for making atomic bombs.

~~~
coob
That was far more likely to be a meteorite impact:
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2285/did-the-aum-
sh...](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2285/did-the-aum-shinrikyo-
cult-detonate-an-atom-bomb-in-australia)

------
sbierwagen
Note: due to the ratification of the Partial Test Ban treaty in 1963, every
test after that year has been conducted underground. (With the notable
exception of China, which isn't a signatory, and has detonated a couple
nuclear weapons in the atmosphere post-1963.)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_Test_Ban_Treaty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_Test_Ban_Treaty)

EDIT: China.

~~~
abirkill
The vast majority, but not all, I don't think?

Wikipedia states that the most recent atmospheric test detonation was carried
out by China in 1980, although the reference link appears to be broken:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests#...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests#China)

~~~
sbierwagen
This was news to me, but apparently China is not a signatory of the PNTBT.

------
lloeki
Eerie feeling: what a weird war, "won" by detonation bombs over one's _own_
territories.

------
znowi
It's revealing to me that the US is far ahead of the Soviets in nuclear
explosions. Somehow, given all the "evil Ruskies" outcry, I thought it to be
the opposite.

------
bionerd
For anyone who hadn't read it yet, there is a relevant very short story by
Isaac Asimov called Hell-Fire: [http://www.tep-
online.info/short/hell.htm](http://www.tep-online.info/short/hell.htm)

 _“That these bombs are man’s death sentence. We don’t seem to be able to
learn that.”_

These must have been incredibly scary times. The first time in our modern
history that we came close to our own extinction.

------
qwerta
How about Israel and South African Republic?

~~~
Ologn
I guess the Vela Incident didn't make the cut...

------
EGreg
Looks like the cold war ended around 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet
Union and no more tests

------
VikingCoder
What did the US learn from the 1032nd nuke, that the previous 1031 didn't
teach us?

~~~
KMag
Refined models of the dynamics of a nuclear explosion, and better analysis of
the reliability of warheads as they age in stockpiles

------
robodale
They should overlay UFO sightings during this timeframe.

------
Raphmedia
Could this be related to all those cancers popping up?

~~~
KMag
Citation needed.

Improved diagnostics and improvements in fighting other diseases will lead to
higher (diagnosed) cancer rates.

If you live long enough, you will get cancer. Every time a cell copies its
DNA, you roll the dice to see if it becomes cancerous. You can do things to
bias the dice toward or away from cancer, but it's still always a roll of the
dice. As the number of dice rolls approaches infinity, the probability of them
coming up snake eyes at least once approaches certainty.

~~~
Raphmedia
I understand your point, and I understand that cancer can and will pop up in
safe environments.

However, that much radioactivity cannot be good. I understand that those were
mostly detonated in safe environnements and in safe ways, but that is a lot of
detonations right there. I'm not sure I can trust that _all_ of those
denotations released nothing bad in the atmosphere.

I would be curious to overlay a map of cancer rates over a map of detonations,
taking wind into account.

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chris_wot
Typo in title...

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polaris9000
Fascinating read about this topic: [http://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-
Damascus-Accident-Illu...](http://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-Damascus-
Accident-
Illusion/dp/1594202273/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&keywords=nuclear%20explosions&linkCode=ur2&qid=1384507624&sr=8-2&tag=produc05-20)

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion
of Safety

------
ye
It's very sad to see a spam blog submission like this on HN. Create a page
with a short description of a 3 year old video, embed the video, welcome to
the front page.

Please flag this crap.

