this video is sponsored by hohn
the tsar bomba is widely regarded as the
most powerful nuclear weapon ever
created and detonated
developed by the soviet union in the
midst of the nuclear arms race with the
united states the hydrogen aerial bomb
was dropped in 1961 from a tu-95v
aircraft above the dry nose cape of the
severini island in russia
the mission was supposed to be a secret
but a nearby american aircraft picked up
on the 50 megaton blast
the tsar bomba would be the pinnacle of
a series of high-yield thermonuclear
weapons built by the us and the soviet
union during the era even leading to an
increase in global radiation levels that
called for new nuclear regulations
we want to thank hone health for
sponsoring dark ducks
men's bodies change and become less
efficient over time as a result of age
stress or other environmental factors
and after 30 it's common for men's
hormone levels to decrease by one to two
percent per year with millions of men
experiencing low hormone levels hohn is
here to help hohn is the premier men's
health clinic that treats men's hormone
imbalances and low testosterone by
providing access to at home lab
assessments consultations with real
physicians and fda approved methods of
treatment all from the comfort of your
home
its treatments are backed by science and
home only offers products and treatments
that are prescribed by a physician who
consults with you via telehealth helping
you optimize your natural hormone levels
to feel like your best self although
we're not medical experts home health is
and i'll be with you every step of the
way order hones easy to use at home
assessment test today and take control
of your health and future to save 25 on
your home assessment test and get free
shipping click the link in the
description below or go to
homehealth.com
ducks
[Music]
rising tensions
[Music]
when the united states detonated the
first atomic bombs in 1945
they immediately established their
nuclear superiority
but only four years later the soviet
union tested their first atomic bomb
intensifying what would become an
exhausting nuclear arms race
the soviets relied on significant
espionage results whether from sources
inside the manhattan project or by
recruiting several german scientists
but their achievements were startling
nonetheless and the entire world took
notice
before the first hydrogen bomb the
soviets had tested no less than 85
atomic devices
president harry s truman eventually
called for an acceleration of the next
stage of nuclear weaponry the hydrogen
bomb
this device would be more lethal than
the atomic bomb by further developing
the concept of nuclear fusion
in 1952 the us detonated the first
hydrogen bomb in the pacific
and only a year later the soviets
responded with their own version
by 1955 the soviet rds-37 two-stage
hydrogen bomb was launched becoming the
first weapon to reach megaton range
the nuclear arms race escalated to the
point that in 1958 the first attempt at
a ban treaty was discussed and the two
superpowers suspended nuclear testing
for a brief period
however the informal moratorium would be
broken nearly three years later by the
soviets
[Music]
development
premier nikki khrushchev ordered the
production of a hundred megaton bomb in
july of 1961.
the soviet engineers had barely 14 weeks
to build it before the first test was
performed
while standard thermonuclear weapons
composed two stages this version would
add a third one to increase its
explosive power
physicist andrei sakharov was part of a
team of scientists who vouched for the
reduction of the original plans by half
arguing that the weapon would be
excessively potent and could harm the
soviet union
consequently the device was reduced to
50 megatons still the most powerful bomb
ever created
the bomb's official name was product 602
and it was designed to use radiation
implosion with a two-part multi-stage
structure fueled by dry or solid lithium
sex deuteride
[Music]
this would significantly increase the
hydrogen concentration and thus the
chances of fusion
the device was 26 feet long by a radius
of 6 feet 11 inches and weighed 60 000
pounds
product 602 initially consisted of a
first stage with a nuclear charge
followed by a thermonuclear reaction and
a fast fission process producing 1.5
megatons
the next stages projected to 50 megatons
each were reduced using lead tempers
instead of uranium-238 fusion ones which
scattered the neutrons and therefore
limited the resulting explosion and
fallout
in addition the fast fission process was
eliminated and 97 of the total yield
would be produced by the thermonuclear
fission rendering it one of the cleanest
nuclear weapons ever built in terms of
fallout to yield contrast
[Music]
ready to launch
the test was programmed for october 30th
1961.
the hydrogen charge was planned to
explode at a high altitude above the
ground
a fall retardation parachute device was
implemented in the aircraft's tail to
allow the crew to flee unscathed but
their chances of survival were
calculated at 50 percent
the massive weapon was transported in a
special train wagon
it was then loaded onto a trailer and
moved to the airfield at the kola
peninsula
further testing of the automatic
equipment and technical control was
carried out in the designated building
a millionth of a second could make a
huge difference when the charge was
triggered so the system had to be
perfectly accurate
the bomb would be airdropped to
demonstrate deliverability
a tu-95 long-range heavy bomber was
chosen for the task and painted with a
special white coat to protect it from
thermal radiation
measuring instruments were also
installed to track heat and shock pulse
a flying lab would accompany the carrier
aircraft fully equipped with
telemetering instruments shockwave
pressure recorders oscilloscopes
magnetic tape recorders
calorimeters and movie cameras
the designated area was state testing
site number six of the soviet union's
ministry of defense at nevaya zamlia
island in the arctic sea
the location provided safe natural
conditions for an experiment of this
magnitude
the headquarters labs and support
services were located at an underground
management post in belushia not
[Music]
from the available
the shockwave effect was not a priority
so no structures or military equipment
were placed at the site
the underground facilities would record
the behavior of the nuclear explosion
including its neutron multiplying factor
and would employ time interval meters
for the automatic charge devices
all the equipment would be automatically
controlled via radio signals from the d8
site an underground automation service
site that housed a program controlled
machine with installed commands and
determined sequences
hours before the detonation the
personnel was evacuated and the maritime
support location was thoroughly revised
the air defense service also checked the
meteorological conditions with
particular attention to the direction of
the wind
after a final general inspection the
bomb was suspended under the aircraft
fuselage using a special device crafted
for a smooth and even lift
the pieces were all set and the crew was
given a final briefing
then the carrier aircraft and the flying
lab took off
[Music]
release
the aircraft flew parallel at an
altitude of 10 500 meters
continuous two-way communication was
maintained at all times and when they
were approaching the site flight
controlling communications were
transferred to the command post
the bomber was now on combat course and
its target was visible
the bomb release control was switched to
automatic mode and the signal would come
from the program controlled machine at
the d8 site
as the program controlled machine
received the release signal the crew put
on their protective glasses
at last the bomb was released
the device's parachute deployed as
planned and the bomb approached its
detonation point at four kilometers high
the explosion then happened in a bright
flash
the aircraft were 45 kilometers away and
instantly lost one kilometer of altitude
due to the shock wave
still they regained control
[Music]
the intense glow was visible from as far
as 1 000 kilometers and a dust column
rose from the ground covering almost 10
kilometers in diameter
a fire dome was also visible from the
aircraft 250 kilometers away
the fire slowly increased in volume to
about 20 kilometers before morphing into
an imposing mushroom cloud
[Music]
aftermath
[Music]
a few hours after the detonation a
reconnaissance helicopter flew to the
site and checked for radioactivity
before the test teams approached the
area in ships
dozens of kilometers were affected and
the entrances to the underground
instrumentation bases were scorched
even though the bomb was set off at four
kilometers above the ground a seismic
shockwave equivalent to a 5.0 earthquake
was detected worldwide and it circled
the globes three times
the mission was intended to be a secret
but it was detected by an american
kc-135a reconnaissance aircraft known as
speedlite alpha which got so close that
its anti-radiation paint scorched
yielded 50 megatons or about 1 570 times
the combined energy of the hiroshima and
nagasaki bombs
its immense proportions and power
rendered it impractical for military use
and it was never deployed
moreover it was impossible to launch via
ballistic missiles and remained a
one-time display of force
during the following 16 months the
united states and the soviet union
conducted numerous nuclear tests a spike
in global radiation levels followed as
well as the escalation of political
fractions that led to the cuban missile
crisis
moscow and washington eventually
proposed a de-escalation and in 1963 a
comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty
was signed
this agreement limited nuclear testing
in the atmosphere space and under the
sea only allowing for underground tests
from then on
thanks for watching our video
if you enjoyed it please subscribe to
our dark documentary channels and give
us a like
and don't forget to let us know about
specific subjects you'd like to see
featured in our videos
you