Neutron Bombs - Enhanced Radiation Weapons

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  • Опубліковано 2 кві 2023
  • In this UA-cam video, we delve into the science behind the neutron bomb, a meticulously crafted nuclear weapon developed during the Cold War. Learn how this bomb's perfect balance between minimizing blast radius and maximizing neutron radiation makes it so deadly.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 894

  • @knurlgnar24
    @knurlgnar24 Рік тому +414

    The most interesting thing about the Tsar Bomba is that scientists intentionally reduced its yield before testing to about half its true capability fearing substantial collateral damage. Calculations closer to testing caused them to realize it was going to be far more powerful than initially estimated. They were right.

    • @CrazyDutchguys
      @CrazyDutchguys Рік тому +46

      I heard something along the lines that they lowered the yield because they were afraid it would set the atmosphere on fire.

    • @aikrichter5403
      @aikrichter5403 Рік тому

      so,in conclusion,they could build 100Mt bombs? if half of it would still scatter windows in London when dropped onto Berlin,than 6 100Mt Bombs spread over europa would be enough to turn the whole EU into a wildly overbacked Cake of scattered glas and rubble. imagine they had build a hundret...

    • @atomicskull6405
      @atomicskull6405 Рік тому +52

      They replaced the third fission stage with a lead dummy. As designed it was a fission -> fusion-> fission device with a neutron reflector that channeled the neutron output from the second stage into plain uranium metal which would fission from the external neutron source (not weapons grade enriched uranium it was just plain uranium metal). The third stage was basically equal to the first and second stages combined because the external neutrons would fission the uranium much more completely than a criticality based atomic bomb does.

    • @DrDeuteron
      @DrDeuteron Рік тому +33

      @@atomicskull6405 Correct: and 50Mt of fast fission U238 would be an unbelievable amount of fallout.

    • @wmcapriceforum
      @wmcapriceforum Рік тому +60

      They wanted the plane that dropped it to get away in time. Probably wouldn't have with a 100 Mt explosion.

  • @foxglow6798
    @foxglow6798 Рік тому +125

    You should do a video on the counterpart to these, high fuel efficiency hydrogen bombs with even more unimaginable blast radiuses but very little radiation.

    • @robb1324
      @robb1324 Рік тому +27

      This was exactly where my brain went when minimizing the explosion and maximizing radiation was described as "best of both worlds" - Imo that's the WORST of both worlds. Sad this is the direction we as a species went first.
      If you can make a H-bomb level of explosion with next to no radiation, you may even be able to argue that it's a conventional weapon, morally speaking. It would harm FAR LESS innocent civilians with FAR LESS long-term environmental destruction. 🤷🏻‍♂️

    • @dingo137
      @dingo137 Рік тому

      Really big H bombs pretty much are like that - if you're close enough to be hurt by the radiation, you're already dead from the heat or blast.

    • @JeffMcDuffie72MeridianGate
      @JeffMcDuffie72MeridianGate Рік тому +6

      I want a antimatter bomb.

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Рік тому +1

      What are you referring to?

    • @Shinzon23
      @Shinzon23 Рік тому

      @@Evan_Bell "pure fusion" devices, IE, they don't need the fission bomb (with its hard to make and easier to trace fissionable materials), through some process they just go to straight thermonuclear effects, thereby making any tom, dick, or islamic asshat with a high school lab able to make nukes that aren't detectable from the gamma and neutron emissions and could be made en mass.
      they still would leave rads, but it'd be stuff that decayed extremely quickly, weeks if not days if memory serves, hence their alternate name "Clean Nukes"

  • @stardog62
    @stardog62 Рік тому +175

    I remember hearing about neutron bombs in the seventies but I thought they were only a proposal. I didn't know any had been built

    • @estudiordl
      @estudiordl Рік тому +12

      Same, but in the 80s. And recently I start wondering what happened with this technology. Nice video 😊

    • @jayburn00
      @jayburn00 Рік тому +5

      There is also a claim that Israel has neutron bombs as part of its nuclear arsenal, or did at one point.

    • @theprogressivecynic2407
      @theprogressivecynic2407 Рік тому +3

      @@jayburn00 They almost certainly do, for use as an area-denial weapon against any potential invasion (as in 1948, 1967, or 1973). Basically, they could deploy neutron ERWs on their border without the risk of long-term fallout to completely annihilate an incoming force. The geography surrounding them makes it impossible to avoid such a blast.
      Also, there were rumors a while back that they might have integrated neutron ERWs into their Jericho missiles, making a MIRV. This would be FAR scarier than a normal MIRV, as neutron ERWs are smaller, and thus a MIRV could contain far more devices (basically, they have a higher lethality:weight ratio).

    • @jayburn00
      @jayburn00 Рік тому

      @@theprogressivecynic2407 I'm somewhat familiar with Israel's missile and rocket tech, and it's impressive to be honest. They actually handicap their space program to avoid having their rockets go over other countries, being the only country that exclusively launches their satellites (at least when launched from Israel) into ?retrograde? orbit, the opposite direction of all other countries (everyone else launches in the other direction usually because the Earth's spin gives a boost of momentum, while launching in the other direction you are actually acting against it). Despite that handicap, their rockets still manage to get satellites into orbit, and the Jericho is apparently derived from those rockets. Anyway, I think a lot of the info about what weapons they actually had or have came from Mordechai Vannuu, a former employee of the Dimona facility. Interesting side note, depleted uranium armor is actually radiation activated when hit with neutrons. At one point it was believed du armor would protect against radiation in a similar manner to lead (and was considered as an element in NBC protection in armored vehicles), but that proved partially incorrect, with du emitting a burst of possibly lethal gamma rays when hit with a burst of neutrons. Depleted uranium does protect against other radiation, including ironically gamma, but is a hazard when it comes to neutron radiation.

    • @davidmarquardt9034
      @davidmarquardt9034 Рік тому

      I remember they were so worried about being overrun by massive Soviet tank columns that it started all these crazy programs. First they toyed with the idea of "backpack" nukes, burying them and employing them as "nuclear landmines". The West Germans immediately rejected that plan, then the follow up plan the neutron bomb, we will "microwave" or "cook" them in their tanks, predictably this too went over like a lead balloon. Finely they came up with a reasonable and acceptable idea, close air support and chopper gunships, which gave us the A-10 and the Apache.

  • @MrMickthemonster
    @MrMickthemonster Рік тому +53

    I swear Simon has to be the hardest working person in internet history. My bedridden mother also loves watching your videos it keeps her mind off everything else so thank you Mr Simon for all your hard work it's really appreciated.

  • @wendywoo7031
    @wendywoo7031 Рік тому +105

    Well, as I decided in the 80s during the cold War, in case of nuclear armageddon, I'd rather be at ground zero than live in the aftermath. At 54 years old now and feeling like we're back in another cold war, my feelings haven't changed on where I'd prefer to be. I'm wondering when the old public service announcements will start up again, y'know, how you should paint windows white to reflect the flash, take doors off hinges to protect yourself from falling debris, build a makeshift bunker under the stairs, find a bucket to poop in for a couple weeks... all in the 4 minute warning time. I was an anxious child... I wonder what could have contributed to that...😂

    • @gabbyn978
      @gabbyn978 Рік тому +11

      Welcome to the club. I was studying in West Berlin in the 1980ies, so...

    • @Old_B52H_Gunner
      @Old_B52H_Gunner Рік тому +3

      And I was smack dab in the middle of the Cold War as part of my job.

    • @connorhill1951
      @connorhill1951 Рік тому

      The UK has created an "Emergency Alert" text system that sends unskippable alerts to every single phone in the country, that they'll test this month. Officially they claim it's for "extreme weather events", even though the UK doesn't have "extreme weather" - one hurricane a century, at most. Anyone with common sense can infer it's nothing to do with weather, it's a modern day 4 minute warning siren. We live in very precarious times that I'd foolishly hoped had passed 30 years ago.

    • @archlich4489
      @archlich4489 Рік тому +6

      For God's sake, don't watch "Threads"

    • @TheJonathanc82
      @TheJonathanc82 Рік тому +8

      I am right there with you. I remember having conversations with my parents when I got older about how we were going to be driving to ground zero, not away from it. Surviving the initial blast only to die a slow death from acute radiation sickness and/or cancer doesn’t sound all that appealing to me. I’d rather be vaporized than go through that, as terrible as it sounds.

  • @kennendo8922
    @kennendo8922 Рік тому +118

    I heard somewhere that the Tsar Bomba flight crew had an estimated 50/50 chance to survive 😳

    • @Singhpala
      @Singhpala Рік тому +23

      Yes you heard that right indeed

    • @florinmatusea
      @florinmatusea Рік тому +25

      There's a 50/50 chance that you heard that from Simon's video on that nuke.

    • @adissabovic
      @adissabovic Рік тому +16

      Yes, due to the fact that they reduced the yield from 100MT to 50 MT.

    • @BubbafromSapperton
      @BubbafromSapperton Рік тому

      Just being a Russian make is only 50% survivable... 😬

    • @Syncrotron9001
      @Syncrotron9001 Рік тому +2

      the northern hemisphere has a 0% chance to survive now that fertility rates are down 2/3 because of those tests

  • @untouchable360x
    @untouchable360x Рік тому +753

    Not a bomb. It's a "special military device."

    • @liltonyabc
      @liltonyabc Рік тому +52

      We call them strategic deterrents 😂

    • @PwncakeOW
      @PwncakeOW Рік тому +7

      Lmao.

    • @hsdsaunders
      @hsdsaunders Рік тому +49

      Lol Russia ain't ever living that down 🤣🤦‍♂️

    • @maxdanielj
      @maxdanielj Рік тому +9

      This is one of the best comments ever

    • @rosgill6
      @rosgill6 Рік тому +15

      Mass neutralization

  • @taraswertelecki3786
    @taraswertelecki3786 Рік тому +99

    The glaring problem with neutron bombs is they irradiate the blast zone with neutrons, and that creates extreme radioactivity. So collateral damage is less, but the area where the blast occurred is still highly radioactive.

    • @theschmedaparadox1018
      @theschmedaparadox1018 Рік тому

      Neutrons don't create radioactivity

    • @aegaeon117
      @aegaeon117 11 місяців тому +11

      Yeah but, I like the idea of those responsible dying a horrific, painful death in their bunkers.

    • @Rutherford_Inchworm_III
      @Rutherford_Inchworm_III 11 місяців тому +21

      @@aegaeon117 I also remember being 16 years old.

    • @RYRY1002
      @RYRY1002 10 місяців тому

      It's not a 'problem'. Neutron bombs' entire purpose is to irradiate the area where it lands. It's in the name.

    • @MeBallerman
      @MeBallerman 10 місяців тому +7

      Not for a long time. Radiation disappears rapidly.

  • @xenoneuronics6765
    @xenoneuronics6765 Рік тому +86

    It's scary to think that you could be near a fairly large explosion, but be seemingly unscathed, only to die later from the radiation that pulsed through your body completely unknown to you.

    • @durden91tyler
      @durden91tyler Рік тому +19

      I found a story about Hisashi Ouchi, a nuclear power plant technician who was exposed to the highest level of radiation of any human in history and suffered history’s worst radiation burns. He lost most of his skin and began crying blood before his agony finally ended. He was kept alive for 83 excruciating days against his will by doctors at the University of Tokyo Hospital

    • @AttiliusRex
      @AttiliusRex Рік тому +7

      That fairly large explosion is still a fission nuclear bomb. They are just weak in power compared to hydrogen bombs.
      So yes, mushroom cloud and all

    • @bozhijak
      @bozhijak Рік тому

      You would die very quickly as your tissues dissolve into mush. (Chernobyl on steroids).

    • @toasterkolin9951
      @toasterkolin9951 Рік тому +10

      @@durden91tyler It wasn't against his will. It was by his own wishes to try to survive and the doctors and family dedicated everything to keeping him alive. Hisashi also got along very well with the medical staff, and they constantly kept him and his family updated on his conditions. Heck, by the 81 day, the doctors finally came to the realization that his heart was only beating because of the medicine they were putting through his body, so they consoled the family as too the fact that Hisashi wouldn't be resuscitated the next time his heart stopped for his own good. Wendigoon goes into much more detail as too the whole process, and doesn't contain the stupid narratives that articles spin on what happened with Hisashi.

    • @Raghzor
      @Raghzor Рік тому +4

      That's entirely why I find radiation so scary yet so fascinating

  • @gangstercomputergod9362
    @gangstercomputergod9362 Рік тому +46

    Good video, appreciate you pointed out it's flaws without jumping into the fearmongering common around the neutron bomb. As a guy with a weird fascination for nuclear weapons and strategy, the whole "kills the population while leaving the city standing" myth is really annoying to me.

  • @tsbrownie
    @tsbrownie Рік тому +5

    Side Bar: jack welch of GE fame was called "neutron jack" for his propensity to fire massive numbers of employees, leaving the buildings empty.

  • @winstonsmith478
    @winstonsmith478 Рік тому +38

    The US neutron bomb was developed FOR the Safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile system's low altitude intercept Sprint missile to reduce damage at ground level. All other potential uses came after that.

  • @thewisefool4049
    @thewisefool4049 Рік тому +7

    "Y'know, the kind of radiation that turned Bruce Banner into the Hulk".
    The way this is referred to as a historical event cracked me up. Probably not the best way to describe the dangers of gamma radiation though.

  • @Metallica4Life92
    @Metallica4Life92 Рік тому +26

    You know it's going to be good when Simon opens a video with "it's the 1960s.."

  • @NoahSpurrier
    @NoahSpurrier Рік тому +21

    Plot MacGuffin for “Repo Man”.
    Otto : Lobotomy? Isn't that for loonies?
    Parnell : Not at all. Friend of mine had one. Designer of the neutron bomb. You ever hear of the neutron bomb? Destroys people - leaves buildings standing. Fits in a suitcase. It's so small, no one knows it's there until - BLAMMO. Eyes melt, skin explodes, everybody dead. So immoral, working on the thing can drive you mad. That's what happened to this friend of mine. So he had a lobotomy. Now he's well again.

    • @pfadiva
      @pfadiva Рік тому +3

      One of my favorite movies!

    • @kennendo8922
      @kennendo8922 Рік тому +4

      That movie is an underrated 80s gem!

  • @mercator79
    @mercator79 Рік тому +3

    Simon looking like a bond villain whilst talking about neutron bombs. Scary!

  • @libertyjones1451
    @libertyjones1451 Рік тому +9

    Humans: "We've created the ultimate killing machine!"
    Humans the next day: "How do we vastly improve on this already outdated mass murder device?"

  • @alrossitto
    @alrossitto Рік тому +1

    Thank you, Simon and team!

  • @jondrew55
    @jondrew55 Рік тому +8

    When General Electric's Jack Welch began laying off employees but keeping the factories he given the nickname "Neutron Jack".

  • @christopherconard2831
    @christopherconard2831 Рік тому +34

    8:20 Nuclear bombs never did rip that hole in the ozone.
    I guess the AC in my Chrysler and my sisters overuse of Aquanet got to it first.

    • @garrysmith1722
      @garrysmith1722 Рік тому +4

      The chemicals (CFC refrigerants) used in your Chrysler are no longer used and the ozone holes are shrinking. So it is possible to avert environmental disaster but this will impact on the profits of the Corporations who also own the Mass Media. Hence the derision aimed at the environmentalists.

    • @acrazedtanker1550
      @acrazedtanker1550 Рік тому +2

      He never said they did, he said the government feared it could.

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Рік тому

      Atmospheric nuclear testing depleted the ozone in the atmosphere by less than 0.14%.

    • @richardwebb9532
      @richardwebb9532 Рік тому

      Nah, turns out the "hole" is a natural phenomenon, similar to the "eye" in a storm......

  • @kamakaziozzie3038
    @kamakaziozzie3038 Рік тому

    I’ve been waiting for this video! awesome you finally made it

  • @jaybruce593
    @jaybruce593 Рік тому +16

    Nice research work Simon! I thought I knew a lot about cold war weapons systems, but I didn't know the neutron bomb had the potential to disarm incoming nuclear warheads on ICBM or strategic bombers.

    • @drbuckley1
      @drbuckley1 Рік тому +4

      The Canadians said "No" when the U.S. tried to place neutron bombs in the Far North, eh?

    • @marcelinarivera4841
      @marcelinarivera4841 Рік тому

      In the first place they should have forbidden the creation of this kind of weapon because it will destroy our planet earth 🌏
      ❤❤❤✌✌✌🙏🙏🙏

  • @pauloingram
    @pauloingram Рік тому +5

    RIP Olivia Neutron-Bomb.

  • @Yaivenov
    @Yaivenov Рік тому +88

    As it turns out, the neutron bomb was inferior to the x-ray bomb for missile defense purposes. The destructive radius of an x-ray producing bomb was significantly larger than the neutron bomb's inactivation radius (it messed up the isotopes of the incoming warhead rather than destroying it outright). An interesting design quirk is in order it to let out the x-rays they had to make the tamper out of an x-ray transparent material*, so rather than uranium it was made of gold. Yes, a bomb with a solid gold casing. I wonder how many kilograms of Au were used in each warhead?
    *ETA: I have been corrected on this; it isnt that the gold is transparent to the x-rays made by the bomb but rather that the gold itself produces x-rays after being energized by the bomb inside. Check replies for the explanation from this kind person.

    • @michaeldique
      @michaeldique Рік тому +6

      I had never heard of this device before, so thanks for your comment!

    • @aurorajones8481
      @aurorajones8481 Рік тому +3

      Indeed, thanks for illuminating us. ive not heard of this weapon. I call it ... the "gold bomb" 😂 ok ok it was developed and was quite effective for missile defense. Why have we not heard of it? And what would this bomb do to live tissue? 🤔

    • @Yaivenov
      @Yaivenov Рік тому +1

      @@aurorajones8481 I see what you did there. XD

    • @interstellarsurfer
      @interstellarsurfer Рік тому +7

      So that's how they embezzled all the gold out of Ft. Knox. 😉👍

    • @slipnsldnaway
      @slipnsldnaway Рік тому

      What the heck is a xray bomb can't Find anything on it on Google

  • @kaazflaaz1209
    @kaazflaaz1209 Рік тому +5

    If I remember correctly the US did detonate a bomb to test the thesis that it would harm the atmosphere and also the ozone layer I think they did it somewhere over Antarctica. They also tried to build a propulsion engine for rockets that would be smaller contained blasts of fission, yeah that part where they tried it inside some mountain in Nevada is never going to be safe to enter.

  • @jasonjuneau2948
    @jasonjuneau2948 Рік тому +3

    On the one hand, it's cool that scientists know how to do that. And on the other hand, it's pretty scary that scientists know how to do that.
    When I worked in the oilfield i had to take a radiation course because some of the trucks had a radioactive device called a denseometer which used cesium 137 if i remember correctly. It was used to tell the density of the slurry in kgs/m2. I remeber the 3 ways to limit exposure to radiation, time, distance and shielding. There might be 4 aspects to it but I don't remember. Pretty sure it's 3.

    • @DarkShroom
      @DarkShroom Рік тому

      ha they where probabally trying to distract you from the oils carcinogenic toxity just like they had WMD courses for soldiers.... many people who put out them iraq oilfields (first gulf war) were fucked
      i mean by distracting you from the real danger we have less liability right

  • @reesejabs788
    @reesejabs788 Рік тому

    Quite fascinating! Thanks!

  • @tlam8497
    @tlam8497 11 місяців тому

    Thank you for this excellent video.

  • @YnseSchaap
    @YnseSchaap Рік тому +14

    The really amazing thing is that the whole proces only takes milliseconds

  • @ryanmarshall8160
    @ryanmarshall8160 Рік тому

    Thank you for the knowledge. I always learn something new when i watch any of your content. You are amazing at breaking down complex information to s layman understanding. While i think my knowledge of the atom and radiation is great, but i always learn something new and exciting and that makes me happy!!! My 16 year old son loves all of your content as well, thanks for sharing the incredibly cool knowledge about the world around us!!

  • @oysteivi
    @oysteivi Рік тому +2

    In the words of Jello Biafra: Efficiency and progress is ours once more.

  • @davidhaupt575
    @davidhaupt575 Рік тому +1

    Love this channel

  • @melissablick779
    @melissablick779 Рік тому +3

    Cobalt, sodium and gold can also be used as casings for neutron activation. Na-24 only has a half life of 15h, so the radioactivity drops to negligible levels in a few days and won't produce long term contamination.

    • @MitzvosGolem1
      @MitzvosGolem1 Рік тому

      Water , Beryllium paraffin block neutrons .
      Xenon acts as a poison in fission .
      Shields were developed to protect against such.
      No more wars military industrial complex drooling over a new one.

  • @stefanschleps8758
    @stefanschleps8758 Рік тому

    I've been waiting for this one Simon. You're late, but thanks anyway!

  • @packersamurai
    @packersamurai Рік тому +7

    Take a look at Hisashi Ouchi's story to what happens with neutron radiation damage to a human.

    • @physetermacrocephalus2209
      @physetermacrocephalus2209 Рік тому +1

      Spoiler: The human body essentially begins to decompose while a person is still alive. It is said Hisashi produced an entire liter of diareah per day which was primarily composed of his own decaying intestines.

  • @Kiskaloo
    @Kiskaloo Рік тому +23

    The main "advantage" of the neutron bomb from the NATO side is it would be lethal to Warsaw Pact frontline forces in their tanks and APCs. NATO forces could be protected by being under as little as six feet of earthen defenses per reports I read at the time and it would not destroy major German cities west of the front-lines.

    • @christopherconard2831
      @christopherconard2831 Рік тому

      It was one of many plans to deal with the "Red Storm" theory of WWIII in which the Soviets sent mass waves of armor and infantry across Europe.
      In hindsight it can seem silly, but was considered a legitimate threat at the time.

    • @DarkShroom
      @DarkShroom Рік тому

      yep and they had them to... indeed the russians they made a great many discoveries

    • @tomhenry897
      @tomhenry897 Рік тому

      Russian tanks had a anti radiation layer inside their tanks
      Yes the city would be there
      The population dead
      After 2 weeks can safely enter without NBC suits

    • @jiggsborah7041
      @jiggsborah7041 Рік тому

      They got everything wrong. I read a transcript from a Soviet training program for officers. Their plan was to simply wipe out NATO cities and facilities in one strike. They had set aside around 40 nukes for Hamburg alone.

  • @richard_d_bird
    @richard_d_bird Рік тому +1

    it's nice and quick and clean and gets things done

  • @mellbenham6809
    @mellbenham6809 Рік тому +9

    You should do one on salted nuclear weapons, Britain actually tested one in Maralinga by surrounding a warhead with small cobalt pellets and it worked but those organising the test didn't tell the health physics who then monitored the testing area for residual radiation as they wanted clean data as they knew Health Physics surveyors wouldn't want to go anywhere near the place if they knew cobalt 60 pellets were scattered around ground zero.

    • @TheBuhrewnoShow
      @TheBuhrewnoShow Рік тому

      He did. ua-cam.com/video/ANIc4NKj6WQ/v-deo.html

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Рік тому +4

      No, that was not a test of a slated weapon. Cobalt pellets were simply used as radiochemical tracers as a method of yield estimation.

    • @mellbenham6809
      @mellbenham6809 Рік тому +5

      Thats a cover story it was a salted weapon designed to test the area denial concept , you do yield estimates using streak camera film and measure the the width of the initial fireball and the measurement of the fallout isotopes by prompt filter sampling by using rockets and sniffer aircraft, Co60 was only ever used in one bomb if it had been the standard method for yield calculations as you say it was it would have been repeatedly used but it wasn't and no other country employed Co60 either, and the HP team would have also known to look for it but they were kept in the dark, putting Co60 pellets in the casing would only indicate neutron flux at best also the scientist who was the chairman of the AWTSC Ernest Titterton withheld the Co60 information he only came out with the yield calculation story after word got out and it only came to light later when Health Physics accidentally stumbled across Co60 pellets while using an Alpha probe in the forward area as quoted in the book Beyond Belief by a HP chap called Doug Rickard, that claim is correct its possible to detect gamma and X Rays with an Alpha probe if the radiation levels are high enough seen it first hand, the radiation swamps the PM tube and gives you a false reading, Titterton initially claimed it was used to give the Health Physics teams a challenge later he said it was for bomb yield (see page chapter 7 Deception and ignorance page 102-103 in the Wakefield Press book Beyond Belief by Roger Cross and Avon Huddson). .That said sending people into ground zero without telling those working there shows you how little regard those higher up had for the health Physics surveyors and other working at GZ, I've worked with Co60 and it's seriously nasty stuff kicks off a very energetic Gamma ray just a small fleck of the is highly dangerous if unshielded.
      Penny and those running the tests kept a lot of information from the Australians the Co60 seeded weapon was one such test as were the minor trials, the UK only gained access to Maralinga on the promise it would be left in the state it was found seeding Co60 all over the desert if admitted would have caused uproar like the minor trials they thought they could get away with burning lumps of Plutonium 239 in the open air, that said the whole idea of burning Pu239 outside of any kind containment is horrific, I've also worked with both Pu239 and Pu238 as a glove box operator and just 3 Bq of Pu239 is enough to give you your ANI (Annual Limit of Intake) God only knows how many poor buggers were killed due to the minor trials, back in the mid 90's when I was in HP I put my name forward for the Brumbi 2 cleanup but Harwell's HP department didn't win the main contract so I never went looking back at it I'm glad I didn't, I'd also strongly advise anyone thinking of touring the Maralinga test site to keep well away from the minor trial sites as there's a lot of Pu239 Oxide still blowing around in the desert and a 3'rd cleanup is being mentioned I know one thing I wont be the one going.

    • @TheBuhrewnoShow
      @TheBuhrewnoShow Рік тому

      @@mellbenham6809 very fascinating. Thank you for the insight

    • @mellbenham6809
      @mellbenham6809 Рік тому +1

      No problem.

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn2223 Рік тому +27

    0:50 - Chapter 1 - A new nuke
    6:15 - Chapter 2 - A versatile weapon
    10:55 - Chapter 3 - No place for the neutron

  • @MADDLADO1
    @MADDLADO1 Рік тому +1

    Thanks for the great news

  • @gcoffey223
    @gcoffey223 Рік тому

    Glad I found you, new sub

  • @huwzebediahthomas9193
    @huwzebediahthomas9193 Рік тому +11

    I know that image clip -11:40 - it was used by an US paint manufacturer in a TV commercial in the 1950's - if you use it's white paint, your house would not go up in a puff of smoke during a nuclear strike 'nearby', as in in the next state.

    • @realSethMeyers
      @realSethMeyers Рік тому +6

      @@christopherconard2831 Those films were produced to provide the public with a false sense of security. Americans needed to feel as though there was something they could do.

  • @alfredlear4141
    @alfredlear4141 Рік тому +13

    Me,
    "Should I really be watching a video about an increasing (but very small) chance that I may die this way ..."
    Also me,
    "Yes please, fascinating 🤗"

  • @theoneanton
    @theoneanton Рік тому +1

    The gameplay mechanics of Missile Command now make a whole lot more sense, and I lived during that time!

  • @davidsault9698
    @davidsault9698 Місяць тому +1

    Beryllium is a neutron multiplier. Wrap it in beryllium and it would create a massive shower of neutrons.

  • @G-Mastah-Fash
    @G-Mastah-Fash Рік тому +2

    Efficiency and progress is ours once more
    Now that we have the neutron bomb
    It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done

  • @timothytikker1147
    @timothytikker1147 8 місяців тому +1

    In re the 50 megaton Tsar Bomba: at the time of the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, a news report described the explosion as being X-number of times the power of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb. Knowing the latter to have been 20 kilotons, I calculated the Mt St Helens eruption to have been... 50 megatons!

  • @BigHarryBalzac
    @BigHarryBalzac 3 місяці тому

    I think I was stationed in Germany when I first heard about neutron bombs. The plan was to use them against formations of Russian tanks. The armor would provide no protection at all from what I heard, but civilians in the area could survive by going into their basements and huddling against the wall that was facing the blast. The theory was that several feet, or yards of earth, depending on the angle, would offer them protection, but several inches of armor on a tank would do nothing.

  • @orwor3923
    @orwor3923 11 місяців тому

    I love the content that you make for us. Also what is the music/track for your transitions called? Do you have a list somewhere? (especially interested in the one at 0:47)

  • @luchacefox259
    @luchacefox259 Рік тому +1

    These were used at the Baghdad Airport.

  • @Koolaidheart11
    @Koolaidheart11 Рік тому +3

    Sometimes I wish conflicts were fought with swords still.

  • @ronsmith2526
    @ronsmith2526 Рік тому

    Ooh! Ooh! Do Project Pluto and the SLAM missile next!

  • @tommy6108
    @tommy6108 Рік тому +1

    I love the way this British is so casual&actually trying for a comedians touch on massive death from above!wonder what this guy's face would look like if it happens near him!?I bet the goofy smile would go away!

  • @kibunjojo4499
    @kibunjojo4499 Рік тому +2

    I don't know how many times I have to block any of this man's related channels

  • @FarmerDrew
    @FarmerDrew Рік тому +4

    I blame Neutron Bombs for me suffering from fantasies of driving a scavenged Ferrari Enzo around an abandoned LA

  • @babayagaslobbedaknobba
    @babayagaslobbedaknobba 10 місяців тому

    Whoa, cool!

  • @aboyne
    @aboyne Рік тому +23

    really creepy weapon if you think about it. imagine an undamaged ghost town. it's like a horror concept

    • @Zepplin76
      @Zepplin76 Рік тому +3

      There are a few known cases of a town missing all the people but items still there. It is a scary thought

    • @mikoto7693
      @mikoto7693 Рік тому

      @@Zepplin76 Like Pripyat In Chernobyl. Abandoned like a moment in time.

    • @DrDeuteron
      @DrDeuteron Рік тому

      It would be full of diarrhea, puke, hair, and bloated reddened hairless bodies.

  • @imadequate3376
    @imadequate3376 Рік тому +2

    "Efficiency and progress is ours once more
    Now that we have the neutron bomb
    It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done!

  • @harrisonmckenzie8357
    @harrisonmckenzie8357 11 місяців тому

    Efficiency and progress is ours once more.

  • @WestSideGorilla1980
    @WestSideGorilla1980 6 днів тому

    Simon...the Anthony Bourdain of youtube content.

  • @atomicskull6405
    @atomicskull6405 Рік тому +1

    The Tsar Bomba was designed to be at least 100 megatons but they got cold feet and replaced the uranium metal third stage with a lead dummy. As designed it was supposed to be a fission -> fusion -> fission bomb with the second fusion stage generating neutrons to cause fast fission in a third uranium metal stage (not even enriched uranium just plain old uranium metal would fission anyway due to the massive amount of neutrons from the second stage). The third stage was estimated to be at least equal to the output from the first and second stages due to much more complete fission of the uranium thanks to the outside neutron source from the second stage.
    It is also believed that it consisted of many smaller parallel stages (basically smaller sub bombs in parallel) and could be scaled up to much larger yields than 100 megatons..

  • @NorceCodine
    @NorceCodine 3 дні тому

    Neutron bombs are clearly the greatest things invented since wonder bread! How the heck could we live without one?!

  • @ussspirit4812
    @ussspirit4812 Рік тому +2

    Human beings are messed up... It's a wonder we've survived thus far

  • @plamenski5244
    @plamenski5244 Рік тому +3

    Humans, the pride of the universe

  • @John-ci8yk
    @John-ci8yk Рік тому +3

    Cobalt bombs is where I would put my money into. Thank you and thumbs up for the video Simon, have a nice day.

    • @captiannemo1587
      @captiannemo1587 Рік тому +4

      Those are just bat shit crazy.

    • @DarkShroom
      @DarkShroom Рік тому +1

      nah there are many worse things

    • @larryhoover789
      @larryhoover789 Рік тому +1

      Like the one from below the planet of the apes

    • @2fathomsdeeper
      @2fathomsdeeper Рік тому

      No Mr. Bond! Neutron bombs can make gold disappear in milliseconds never to return! Put your money in gold! And wait till I hit Ft. Knox!

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Рік тому

      Not very effective weapons. The radiative capture cross section of Co-59 is very low. At a neutron energy of 14.07 Mev, it's
      540 times smaller than the fission cross section of U-238.

  • @reflex6907
    @reflex6907 10 місяців тому

    There is something fascinating about learning things about man made devices that could end all of man
    Oppenheimer was a great movie and as someone invested in the topic it was well worth the wait

  • @jimstokes2942
    @jimstokes2942 Рік тому

    Your description of the physics is correct, but neutron warheads were originally used as the warhead for Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs). However, the ABM Treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to dismantle their ABM programs . Then under Presidents Carter and Reagan, it was decided to redeploy those same neutron warheads to be anti-personnel nuclear weapons. However, everything else you stated is correct.

  • @wintermute7378
    @wintermute7378 Рік тому

    8:03
    This is from the first two episodes of Battlestar Galactica

  • @Magdalene777
    @Magdalene777 Рік тому +2

    The other problem with the Tsar Bomba is deploying it. It's too heavy to put on a missile so couldn't be a stealth weapon.

  • @DerpEye
    @DerpEye Рік тому +1

    So, less destruction, but assured slow and painful death, nice.

  • @cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245

    Efficiency and progress is ours once a’more, now that we have the neutron bomb!

  • @Toadaboticus
    @Toadaboticus Місяць тому

    Crazy that stuff like this can just hit us from space.

  • @swedichboy1000
    @swedichboy1000 Рік тому

    A tad convinient considering recent events to make a video like this.

  • @AllDayEDC
    @AllDayEDC Рік тому

    Jeebus. Just when i think ive subscribed to all of simons channels. Heres another

  • @javiermoya2801
    @javiermoya2801 Рік тому

    I don't know why but I like how the opening background soundtrack for the intro is from the game Plague Inc

  • @notmyworld44
    @notmyworld44 7 місяців тому

    I have it on very good authority that the bomb does not go "off". It goes ON! My Russian friend Houston Texas says "Is same for alarm - it goes ON!"

  • @supermatt87
    @supermatt87 Рік тому

    BOMBA!

  • @jaymudd2817
    @jaymudd2817 Рік тому

    Ain't heard much about these weapons for years.

  • @1973HenkY
    @1973HenkY 10 місяців тому

    May I suggest you rewatch one of your earlier videos, taking notes on the articulation/affectation(?) you did back then? Please go back to that!

  • @thelastwooter
    @thelastwooter Рік тому +1

    Do a video on the mythical “Aurora” spy plane.

  • @grumpy-dad3701
    @grumpy-dad3701 Рік тому +1

    Just remember to save those bottle caps. And to upgrade lock picking skills.

  • @caiuscosades1791
    @caiuscosades1791 Рік тому

    What I find funny about this video is that Simon's got the Zakhaev look 😂

  • @AndresSebriant
    @AndresSebriant Рік тому +1

    When are we gonna get the megaprojects podcast?!

  • @stuartpeacock8257
    @stuartpeacock8257 Рік тому

    Sobering watching

  • @BigMobe
    @BigMobe Рік тому

    I like how the wondrous music plays why talking about using nukes to nuke other nukes.

  • @tks5210
    @tks5210 Рік тому +3

    Good to hear as information but in real use any nukes in an environment would be worse for the humanity

  • @recalcitrantprophet9573
    @recalcitrantprophet9573 Рік тому

    Ain't no party, like a "Roman salting the earth" party.

  • @heckell4181
    @heckell4181 Рік тому

    The torpedoes are amazing. Alegedly.

  • @andriustip
    @andriustip Рік тому

    Make video about Cobalt Bomb next

  • @Bapuji42
    @Bapuji42 10 місяців тому

    I'm surprised you didn't mention the Dead Kennedys song "Kill The Poor".

  • @finesse7943
    @finesse7943 Рік тому

    For fusion devices the function is more like the fusion fuel reacts releasing radiation into the U238 jacket causing that to fissile

  • @clearjet
    @clearjet 7 місяців тому

    The W70 certainly made it across the sea... to Germany. I maintained them for the Lance system.

  • @markgohl2660
    @markgohl2660 10 місяців тому

    Interestingly you mention boron as a neutron absorber for tanks. Boron Nitride is a hard ceramic and fibrous boron nitride in epoxy has been considered for tank armor....

  • @jamiemitchell4042
    @jamiemitchell4042 Рік тому

    Ah yes, the good stuff.

  • @iron0xide974
    @iron0xide974 Рік тому

    Now in the 1960s, they absolutely did upper atmosphere destinations. As a matter of fact, it did damage the ozone layer. Did you forget that in your assessment

  • @brodefineportraiture446
    @brodefineportraiture446 28 днів тому

    The US had 100's of neutron warheads all over Europe. I was Lance missile and we had 24 of them in Holland back in 1986

  • @zegermanscientist2667
    @zegermanscientist2667 9 днів тому

    Fun fact: the best shielding against neutrons is actually water.

  • @gregofthedump
    @gregofthedump Рік тому +3

    I recall, in the seventies, Olivia Newton-John being given a nickname.
    Olivia Neutron-Bomb, in case you were wondering. 😐

    • @DaveTexas
      @DaveTexas Рік тому +1

      Yes indeed. I was (and still am) a huge fan and I used to have to put up with my brother and all sorts of schoolmates calling her that to try to taunt me. That was where I learned that not reacting to taunts diffuses them of their power. Pun absolutely intended.

  • @venturefanatic9262
    @venturefanatic9262 Рік тому +2

    Don't forget the Atomic Cruise Missile spewing out Radiation as it drops Nukes while flying over the enemy's Country zig zagging to cover it all. Then you got the Cobalt Treated Bomb.

  • @markolumovic2750
    @markolumovic2750 Рік тому +1

    Tsar Bomba is a monster even in "small" version.I bet they built original version later "just in case".

    • @pegcity4eva
      @pegcity4eva 10 місяців тому

      Nah. No delivery system.