Project Sundial
Sundial was the codename of one of two massive bombs planned for testing by the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch as part of a classified[1][2] American weapons project in the early 1950s.[3][4] Announced by Edward Teller at a meeting of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, it was intended to have a yield of 10 gigatons of TNT, while its counterpart, Gnomon, was intended to have a yield of 1 gigaton.[5]
If built and detonated, Sundial would have created a fireball up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) in diameter, instantly igniting everything within 400 kilometers (250 miles) and causing a magnitude 9 earthquake. The explosion would have led to an apocalyptic nuclear winter, drastically lowering global temperatures and contaminating water sources, resulting in mass fatalities.
Background
The world underwent rapid changes in the wake of World War II, including significant advancements in technology and warfare. The death toll from World War II reached some 60 million,[6][7][8] and the introduction of nuclear weapons created a new level of fear and uncertainty. After the United States developed and deployed its first atomic bombs, the Soviet Union detonated its first bomb in 1949, leading to a nuclear arms race during which the number of nuclear weapons escalated from nine in 1946 to 20,000 by 1960.
Design and development
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The design of Sundial involved a hydrogen bomb that required a regular atomic bomb to initiate the fusion process. Hydrogen bombs were theorized to be capable of erasing entire islands and were first tested in 1952.
References
- ↑ "2013 FOIA Log" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-10-06. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Case No. FIC-15-0005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2016-10-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Simha, Rakesh Krishnan (2016-01-05). "Nuclear overkill: The quest for the 10 gigaton bomb". Russia Beyond. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-08. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Wellerstein, Alex (2021-10-29). "The untold story of the world's biggest nuclear bomb". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-08. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Wellerstein, Alex (12 September 2012). "In Search of a Bigger Boom".
- ↑ O'Brien, Joseph V. "World War II: Combatants and Casualties (1937–1945)". Obee's History Page. John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2013. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ White, Matthew. "Source List and Detailed Death Tolls for the Twentieth Century Hemoclysm". Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century. Matthew White's Homepage. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2007. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "World War II Fatalities". secondworldwar.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2007. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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