what is the maximum megaton can a nuclear bomb contain and what it can destroy?
918837
In theory there is no upper bound except those imposed by real-world engineering constraints.\n\nThe Russians popped an underground event in Siberia that was a bit over 50 megatons.  It *moved* the entire  Siberian techtonic plate something like a centimeter and they decided that was probably as big as they needed to test ☺\n\nSay you detonated something in the 10 megaton range at an altitude of about 5 miles.  Pretty much everything within about a 3 mile radius of 'ground zero' is going to be, literally, vaporized.  In fact, the top 30 or 40 feet of ground zero is going to be vaporized, leaving a sort of round 'dish' shaped depression a mile or so across in the ground.  Inside this radius, the 'dish' will be coated with a 'slag' formed as melted soil and rock cools.  Depending on the minerals in the area, some of these slags are quite colerful and would make excellent souvenirs.  (Just avoid the ones that glow in the dark ☺)  Everything out to about 10 miles or so will be knocked flat and/or incinerated (total destruction on the surface) by the heat and shock wave.  The structural damage begins to fall off after that, but significant damage to structures would still occur at ranges of 20 or more miles.  People directly exposed to the event would be killed (instantly) by the radiation at distances of up to about 10 miles.  After that, survival probabilities would increase logarithmically out to about 30 to 35 miles.  Life expectency (which would be zero out to ranges up to about 10 miles)  would go up along a logarithmic curve out to a range of about 100 miles or so, at which point the mean expected lifetime (post event) would be about the same as it was before the event.  One exception would be optical effects.  Anyone looking in the general direction of the event would probably be blinded out to a range of 30 to 40 miles.\n\n\nDoug
72587
There are several different ways the bomb damages surroundings, depending on the distance from ground zero:\n\n1. Nearest the bomb explosion, severe heat vaporizes everything.\n2. Nuclear radiation moves out from the epicenter.\n3. Pressure shock-waves also move out from the epicenter, knocking down structures.\n4. Fallout comes down from the skies, coating everything.
102659
a weapon which derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of either nuclear fission or the more powerful fusion. As a result, even a nuclear weapon with a relatively small yield is significantly more powerful than the largest conventional explosives, and a single weapon can be capable of destroying or seriously disabling an entire city.
712746
Absolute zero is the temperature where molecules have no energy to vibrate. Everything completely stops at this temperature. Just for the record it is impossible to reach this temperature because no cooling system is effecient enough to remove this energy.\n\nBack to your question,\n\nThere is no upper limit, but there is an upper limit by physical constraints. The highest known temperatures are in fusion reactions, more importantly endothermic fusion reactions.\n\nFusion is when two or more atoms are forced together to create a new larger molecule. When this happens it releases energy. This process works by adding extra hydrogen atoms. This can continue until you create Iron. Iron has the most stable nucleus.\n\nAfter this point the amount of energy released is less than the amount of energy it takes to create the new molecule.\n\nThats the background, the best place to find the high temperatures is inside a super nova. Temperatures exceed billions of degrees.\n\nIts alot of text, but it boils down to being in a supernova. There is no other place that can produce such high temperatures.\n\nI hope that answers your question.\n\nChris
1170603
okay. well, in a nuclear reactor, uranium or plutonium is bombarded with neutrons in order to force it to split and release huge amounts of energy. elements with 92 protons and up will nearly always absorb a neutron and split without hesitating.\n\nin a nuclear reactor, the uranium is highly enriched, which means it contains certain uranium isotopes that are less stable than others, therefore making it easier to split (and it IS weapon grade). it is kept at what's called the critical mass level. subcritcal mass wont sustain a chain reaction, and supercritical mass will cause a runaway chain reaction, like in an atomic bomb. the control rods in the reactor can be pushed in and out of the core, which contains the uranium (U) or plutonium (Pu). when the rods are all the way in, the reaction comes to a halt, when they are all the way out (they never are) the reaction reaches supercritical levels and escapes control. (this happened at chernobyl). there are other ways for a reactor to reach the supercritical level, the control rod material plays a part, the coolant, and of course those controlling the reaction. control rod material is very important, because if the material the rods are made of do not absorb enough neutrons, they will allow the reaction to continue (this happened at chernobyl, the material actually caused an increase in reaction speed and power). the coolant must have a very low void coefficient, (the void coefficient tells how much of the liquid is gas pockets at any given time. water has a high void coefficient) or else the gas pockets will allow extra heat to build up, therefore allowing the reaction to escape control, and possibly melt the core, as what happened at Three Mile Island. \n\nin short, a nuclear reactor cannot cause a thermonuclear explosion, because all current nuclear reactors are fission reactors, and thermonukes are fusion. however, the fission reactors in operation CAN cause an explosion (and it IS a nuclear explosion. nuclear particles and waste material are ejected from the reactor when it explodes. this can cause acute radiation poisoning in surrounding area), if they are not very carefully, precisely, and intelligently monitored.
159405
Conventional bombs are essentially a very violent chemical reaction, usually a very fast oxidation or a rapid decomposition of a very unstable compound.  In any case, a tremendous amount of heat is generated that causes a very fast expansion.  Aside from the heat generating a potential fireball, the rapid expansion creates shockwaves through the air and whatever other matter is in close proximity to the bomb.  It is this shockwave which does the most damage.\n\nAtomic/Nuclear weapons are a bit more complex, though the principles are essentially the same.  The chemical reaction is replaced by a nuclear chain reaction known as fission.  This produces a truly astronomical amount of heat, resulting in a mammoth shockwave.
762434
Atomic Bomb is actually a type of Nuclear Weapon.\n\nThere are two basic types of nuclear weapons. The first are weapons which produce their explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. These are known colloquially as atomic bombs, A-bombs, or fission bombs. In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of subcritical material into another, or by compressing a subcritical mass with chemical explosives, at which point neutrons are injected and the reaction begins. A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is ensuring that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range between the equivalent of less than a ton of TNT upwards to around 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT.\n\nThe second basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large amount of its energy through nuclear fusion reactions, and can be over a thousand times more powerful than fission bombs. These are known as hydrogen bombs, H-bombs, thermonuclear bombs, or fusion bombs. Only six countries— United States, Russia, United Kingdom, People's Republic of China, France, and possibly India—are known to possess hydrogen bombs. Hydrogen bombs work by utilizing the Teller-Ulam design, in which a fission bomb is detonated in a specially manufactured compartment adjacent to a fusion fuel. The gamma and X-rays of the fission explosion compress and heat a capsule of tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride starting a fusion reaction. Neutrons emitted by this fusion reaction can induce a final fission stage in a depleted uranium tamper surrounding the fusion fuel, increasing the yield considerably as well as the amount of nuclear fallout. Each of these components is known as a "stage", with the fission bomb as the "primary" and the fusion capsule as the "secondary". By chaining together numerous stages with increasing amounts of fusion fuel, thermonuclear weapons can be made to an almost arbitrary yield; the largest ever detonated (the Tsar Bomba of the USSR) released an energy equivalent to over 50 million tons (megatons) of TNT, though most modern weapons are nowhere near that large.\n\nThere are other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission weapon is a fission bomb which increases its explosive yield through a small amount of fusion reactions, but it is not a hydrogen bomb. Some weapons are designed for special purposes; a neutron bomb is a nuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of prompt radiation; these could theoretically be used to cause massive casualties while leaving infrastructure mostly intact. The detonation of a nuclear weapon is accompanied by a blast of neutron radiation. Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as cobalt or gold) creates a weapon known as a salted bomb. This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of radioactive contamination. Most variety in nuclear weapon design is in different yields of nuclear weapons for different types of purposes, and in manipulating design elements to attempt to make weapons extremely small.
443982
well it was a pretty big explosion, I do not know if I would call it massive, but I guess that depends on what you are comparing it to. Mike was an early test of the H-bomb.\nHere is a little history of the testing \nhttp://www.ratical.org/radiation/KillingOurOwn/KOO4.html\nand here is a pic of it\nhttp://www.zvis.com/nuclear/dimg.php3?ivymike1,ivymike\nhee hee I just burst out laughing when reading the article and discovered the device which exploded was called sausage!
1035178
If I'm not mistaken, we've tested a number of 20-megaton nukes before, and the fact that you're able to ask this question means that we've survived that first test. :-)  \n\nAs for how big of a nuke it would take to blow up Earth, a couple of issues you'll have to deal with first is what to do about all of the debris that will settle after the nuke goes off, because as it floats back down because of gravity, then gravity itself will hold down all of the matter upon Earth. As to what it would take to cause the most damage, I've gotten to thinking since the 2004 tsunami that if a well-placed nuke was right on major fault lines either in the ocean or possibly on land (like maybe on the New Madrid fault), the tectonic action resulting from the force of the nuclear blast would be much more destructive than the bomb itself, because the shifting of tectonic plates would then cause damage at a much greater radius from ground zero in the resulting earthquake than would just blast waves in an atmospheric explosion.\n\nMaybe that doesn't answer your question, but it's the best I can figure as I am neither a physicist nor a geologist. :-)
445580
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb.htm
1127312
It was a 63 megaton bomb dropped by the Soviets from a Bear bomber onto the island Novaya Zemlya in the 1960s. The shock wave from the explosion traveled around the entire planet three times.
1167525
The Hiroshima Bomb \nSize: length - 3 meters, diameter - 0.7 meters. \nWeight: 4 tons. \nNuclear material: Uranium 235. \nEnergy released: equivalent to 12.5 kilotons of TNT. \nCode name: "Little Boy". \nhttp://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/A-bomb/History/Damages.html\n\nLos Alamos produced two operational bombs: “Little Boy,” the uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and the “Fat Man” plutonium bomb used at Nagasaki.\nLittle Boy  (Hiroshima) Fat Man  (Nagasaki)   \nWeight 9,700 lbs. 10,800 lbs.   \nLength 10 ft.                10 ft. 8 in.   \nDiameter 28 in.                  60 in.   \nFuel enriched uranium enriched plutonium   \nDetonation gun type implosion  \nExplosive Force15,000 tons TNT21,000 tons TNT \nAlthough the explosive power of Fat Man was greater than that of Little Boy, the damage was less extensive because of the hilly terrain around Nagasaki.\nSources: The Manhattan Project Heritage \nPreservation Association; USAF Museum.\n\nFrom URL http://www.afa.org/new_root/enolagay/AB.asp
863040
Hydrogen Bombs are the most powerful type. They are powered by fusion instead of fission. Castle Bravo was the biggest bomb ever detonated by Western Powers. The test was 1st March 1954 at Bikini Atoll. It yielded 15 megatons
346881
Around 20 to 30 pounds, based upon my understanding of declassified nuclear weapons design.\n\nLet's use an implosion design, not a gun design, as implosion is smaller.\n\nSo, use about a pound or two of uranium, about 10 pounds of high explosive, about 10 pounds of shielding & guts, and there you are!\n\nA suitcase nuke (yield of about 50kt) would fit into a small suitcase. It has been documented that the Soviets kept one in their embassy in DC for detonitation in case of a nuclear WWIII.
442120
Whoa, man, why do you want to know? Do you know how suspicious you look after 9/11? \n\nthe critical mass for U-235 is 15 kilograms.
616386
There are many different measures for destructive ability.\n\nTypically this is measured in units of energy.  For bullets, they measure the kinetic energy of the bullet which is then given in Joules (a measure of energy).  For atomic bombs the common measure is kilo-tons which is a measure of energy as well that can be converted to Joules (just a whole lot of them).  A kilo-ton is about 4,200,000,000,000 Joules.  A .45 bullet has about 450 Joules.\n\nLasers also impart energy on their targets.  The measure is typically in megawatts.  A megawatt is 1,000,000 Joules per second that it is applied.\n\nThe number of Joules doesn't tell you quite enough though.  The reason is because a single Joule of energy well aimed, could kill a person, but if you go out running in the sun, you will receive thousands of Joules in a short period of time from the Sun (which is obviously not destroying you).\n\nThe amount of energy that it takes to heat a cup of coffee is considerably more than the amount of energy it takes to fire most bullets, yet you can safely drink the coffee and the energy contained (as heat) within it.
958392
Hydrogen bombs ARE nuclear bombs; they are a particular type of nuclear bomb and are powered by a fusion reaction.  By "nuclear bombs", I assume you meant fission (usually uranium-based) bombs, which are another type of nuclear bomb.\n\nBasically, fission bombs consist of unstable elements which constantly break down into lighter elements.  This breakdown releases heat and subatomic particles [radiation].  Being subjected to radiation also causes the breakdown rate to increase, so in large enough quantities, a chain reaction occurrs where millions of atoms split nearly instantaneously due to the high radiation from the neighbouring atoms disintegrating.  Large quantities of heat and radiation are released, causing a massive explosion and residual radiation which lasts for years.\n\nIf you meant to ask whether or not fusion bombs have replaced the less-powerful fission bombs, then the answer is a more complicated "yes-and-no"... yes, the fusion reaction is much more intense and releases much more energy than the fission reaction does.  Fusion describes the process whereby two atoms of a light element (hydrogen atoms, in this case) are bonded together to create a heavier element (helium, in the case of the hydrogen bomb).  However, these atoms do not spontaneously fuse - catalyzing the reaction requires an immense amount of energy.  Obviously the energy subsequently released is enormous - more than enough to fuel the fusion of more atoms - but to initially get the reaction started, a huge amount of energy is required.  The best way to do this, in the case of a hydrogen bomb, is a small fission bomb which generates the required energy for the fusion to begin.  Since a fission bomb is used to trigger the fusion bomb, it is still necessary to have engineers and scientists who study and build fission bombs, so it would be inaccurate to say that the fusion bomb has "replaced" the fission bomb.