Every nuclear explosion since 1945

[Napoléon]

This is a time lapse of every single nuclear explosion since 1945.

It takes a while to get into it, but I personally found it absolutely fascinating, and at the same time rather worrying.

I bet for most people they will be shocked at the actual quantity of explosions there have been throughout the years. Certainly I didn't realise how many there had been.

[Welsh cake]

A sad and disgusting picture mankind has painted on its own world. That's not even counting all of the fallout crap from nuclear accidents.

What was the point of any of this?

Why the hell we do still arrogantly fool ourselves into thinking we can control nuclear power and play with its waste as if it were putty?

Oh wait, I'm part of the same violent stupid species that still worships desert gods and hunts whales aren't I?

[Moros Synackaon]

(1st June 2012 21:50)Welsh cake Wrote:  Why the hell we do still arrogantly fool ourselves into thinking we can control nuclear power and play with its waste as if it were putty?

Bullshit. We can control nuclear power and even make it "safe".

The thorium reactors that use molten salts are exceptionally safe. Unfortunately, ask yourself, who sells reactors.

You'll find it is GE and they still hawk Gen 1 and Gen 2 PWR's, which are so uneconomical that if you compared the cost of operation and production with the cost of installation and clean up, they NEVER fucking pay for themselves. They're also ridiculously unsafe compared to what we can do now.

However, big money has another way of talking.

[Chuck]

(1st June 2012 21:50)Welsh cake Wrote:  A sad and disgusting picture mankind has painted on its own world. That's not even counting all of the fallout crap from nuclear accidents.

What was the point of any of this?

Why the hell we do still arrogantly fool ourselves into thinking we can control nuclear power and play with its waste as if it were putty?

Oh wait, I'm part of the same violent stupid species that still worships desert gods and hunts whales aren't I?

Is there a point to avoiding extinction? If there is, it would probably have to be achieved through mastering and using nuclear energy on a much broader scale than hitherto safe to claim in any public policy.

In any case, the fallout from nuclear accidents is a small price to pay to avoid the fallout from fossil fuel consumption nuclear energy replaced.

[Mosrhun]

My country wins. USA! USA!

[Welsh cake]

(1st June 2012 23:33)Chuck Wrote:  Is there a point to avoiding extinction?

Self preservation? But that has relatively nothing to do with my dumbfoundedness at our sheer stupidity.

Quote:If there is, it would probably have to be achieved through mastering and using nuclear energy on a much broader scale than hitherto safe to claim in any public policy.

Accidents happen. Fact of life. Problem is, nuclear accidents have far-reaching and global consequences that screw up our environment for thousands and thousands of years to come.

No matter how "safe" you make, what the hell are you supposed to do with mankind's legacy? Aka all the damn Plutonium we've made?

Quote:In any case, the fallout from nuclear accidents is a small price to pay to avoid the fallout from fossil fuel consumption nuclear energy replaced.

I hope you're joking. I really do.

(2nd June 2012 00:04)Mosrhun Wrote:  My country wins. USA! USA!

Yes, you've done a remarkable job at nuking yourselves.

I'm disgusted my country even left off one of those damn things, let alone dozens of them.

[padraic]

Coincidentally ,there was a doco last night called "World's Biggest Bomb". In part,it dealt with Soviet HIGH ALTITUDE Soviet nuclear testing in 1961. The radioactive clouds drifted for HUNDREDS of miles and effected many thousands.


It's a National Geographic film so should be available elsewhere on line if the link below doesn't work.


http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/224...ggest-Bomb

[Mosrhun]

It was a joke, welsh.

[Norfolk And Chance]

America sure likes blowing shit up.

1,000 nuclear tests?

You can imagine after test #4 or something, them saying "yep, it explodes", and somebody else saying "let's juuuuust try one more, you know, just to make sure"

[Moros Synackaon]

(2nd June 2012 02:03)Norfolk And Chance Wrote:  America sure likes blowing shit up.

1,000 nuclear tests?

You can imagine after test #4 or something, them saying "yep, it explodes", and somebody else saying "let's juuuuust try one more, you know, just to make sure"

Ok, I understand the concerns about fall out, but the above rationale is just silly.

You don't invest in a weapons technology that you test a HANDFUL of times and say "yep it explodes". Shit like that happens to blow up in your face when you do that. Not to mention all the additional developments, like migrating from more of a dirty bomb that converts the tiniest fraction of matter to energy to incredibly powerful but "clean" (compared to a dirty bomb) hydrogen bombs.

I am more curious as to the changes in yield, initial mass to detonate, etc,. It would tell a lot more about the early understanding of nuclear physics and the relative rate of scientific advancements thereafter.