Neutron Bombs - Enhanced Radiation Weapons

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  • čas přidán 2. 04. 2023
  • In this CZcams 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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Komentáře • 895

  • @untouchable360x
    @untouchable360x Před rokem +754

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

    • @liltonyabc
      @liltonyabc Před rokem +52

      We call them strategic deterrents 😂

    • @PwncakeOW
      @PwncakeOW Před rokem +7

      Lmao.

    • @hsdsaunders
      @hsdsaunders Před rokem +49

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

    • @maxdanielj
      @maxdanielj Před rokem +9

      This is one of the best comments ever

    • @rosgill6
      @rosgill6 Před rokem +15

      Mass neutralization

  • @knurlgnar24
    @knurlgnar24 Před rokem +417

    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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      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 Před rokem +53

      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 Před rokem +34

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

    • @wmcapriceforum
      @wmcapriceforum Před rokem +60

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

  • @foxglow6798
    @foxglow6798 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      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 Před rokem +6

      I want a antimatter bomb.

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Před rokem +1

      What are you referring to?

    • @Shinzon23
      @Shinzon23 Před rokem

      @@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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +12

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

    • @jayburn00
      @jayburn00 Před rokem +5

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

    • @theprogressivecynic2407
      @theprogressivecynic2407 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      @@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 Před rokem

      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.

  • @wendywoo7031
    @wendywoo7031 Před rokem +106

    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 Před rokem +11

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

    • @Old_B52H_Gunner
      @Old_B52H_Gunner Před rokem +3

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

    • @connorhill1951
      @connorhill1951 Před rokem

      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 Před rokem +6

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

    • @TheJonathanc82
      @TheJonathanc82 Před rokem +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.

  • @MrMickthemonster
    @MrMickthemonster Před rokem +54

    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.

  • @gangstercomputergod9362
    @gangstercomputergod9362 Před rokem +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.

  • @kennendo8922
    @kennendo8922 Před rokem +118

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

    • @Singhpala
      @Singhpala Před rokem +23

      Yes you heard that right indeed

    • @florinmatusea
      @florinmatusea Před rokem +25

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

    • @adissabovic
      @adissabovic Před rokem +16

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

    • @BubbafromSapperton
      @BubbafromSapperton Před rokem

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

    • @Syncrotron9001
      @Syncrotron9001 Před rokem +2

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

  • @taraswertelecki3786
    @taraswertelecki3786 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      Neutrons don't create radioactivity

    • @aegaeon117
      @aegaeon117 Před 11 měsíci +11

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

    • @Rutherford_Inchworm_III
      @Rutherford_Inchworm_III Před 11 měsíci +21

      @@aegaeon117 I also remember being 16 years old.

    • @RYRY1002
      @RYRY1002 Před 10 měsíci

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

    • @MeBallerman
      @MeBallerman Před 10 měsíci +7

      Not for a long time. Radiation disappears rapidly.

  • @xenoneuronics6765
    @xenoneuronics6765 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

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

    • @toasterkolin9951
      @toasterkolin9951 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +4

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

  • @thewisefool4049
    @thewisefool4049 Před rokem +8

    "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.

  • @tsbrownie
    @tsbrownie Před rokem +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.

  • @libertyjones1451
    @libertyjones1451 Před rokem +10

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

  • @winstonsmith478
    @winstonsmith478 Před rokem +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.

  • @Metallica4Life92
    @Metallica4Life92 Před rokem +26

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

  • @NoahSpurrier
    @NoahSpurrier Před rokem +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 Před rokem +3

      One of my favorite movies!

    • @kennendo8922
      @kennendo8922 Před rokem +4

      That movie is an underrated 80s gem!

  • @Yaivenov
    @Yaivenov Před rokem +89

    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 Před rokem +6

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

    • @aurorajones8481
      @aurorajones8481 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +1

      @@aurorajones8481 I see what you did there. XD

    • @interstellarsurfer
      @interstellarsurfer Před rokem +7

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

    • @slipnsldnaway
      @slipnsldnaway Před rokem

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

  • @mercator79
    @mercator79 Před rokem +3

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

  • @alrossitto
    @alrossitto Před rokem +1

    Thank you, Simon and team!

  • @christopherconard2831
    @christopherconard2831 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +2

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

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Před rokem

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

    • @richardwebb9532
      @richardwebb9532 Před rokem

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

  • @jondrew55
    @jondrew55 Před rokem +8

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

  • @oysteivi
    @oysteivi Před rokem +2

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

  • @kaazflaaz1209
    @kaazflaaz1209 Před rokem +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.

  • @pauloingram
    @pauloingram Před rokem +5

    RIP Olivia Neutron-Bomb.

  • @Kiskaloo
    @Kiskaloo Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      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 Před rokem

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

    • @tomhenry897
      @tomhenry897 Před rokem

      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 Před rokem

      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.

  • @jaybruce593
    @jaybruce593 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +4

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

    • @marcelinarivera4841
      @marcelinarivera4841 Před rokem

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

  • @kamakaziozzie3038
    @kamakaziozzie3038 Před rokem

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

  • @jasonjuneau2948
    @jasonjuneau2948 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      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

  • @YnseSchaap
    @YnseSchaap Před rokem +14

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

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn2223 Před rokem +28

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

  • @melissablick779
    @melissablick779 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      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.

  • @reesejabs788
    @reesejabs788 Před rokem

    Quite fascinating! Thanks!

  • @davidhaupt575
    @davidhaupt575 Před rokem +1

    Love this channel

  • @mellbenham6809
    @mellbenham6809 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      He did. czcams.com/video/ANIc4NKj6WQ/video.html

    • @Evan_Bell
      @Evan_Bell Před rokem +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 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

      @@mellbenham6809 very fascinating. Thank you for the insight

    • @mellbenham6809
      @mellbenham6809 Před rokem +1

      No problem.

  • @ryanmarshall8160
    @ryanmarshall8160 Před rokem

    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!!

  • @alfredlear4141
    @alfredlear4141 Před rokem +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 🤗"

  • @tlam8497
    @tlam8497 Před 11 měsíci

    Thank you for this excellent video.

  • @packersamurai
    @packersamurai Před rokem +7

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

    • @physetermacrocephalus2209
      @physetermacrocephalus2209 Před rokem +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.

  • @stefanschleps8758
    @stefanschleps8758 Před rokem

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

  • @FarmerDrew
    @FarmerDrew Před rokem +4

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

  • @theoneanton
    @theoneanton Před rokem +1

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

  • @MADDLADO1
    @MADDLADO1 Před rokem +1

    Thanks for the great news

  • @kibunjojo4499
    @kibunjojo4499 Před rokem +2

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

  • @Koolaidheart11
    @Koolaidheart11 Před rokem +3

    Sometimes I wish conflicts were fought with swords still.

  • @orwor3923
    @orwor3923 Před 11 měsíci

    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)

  • @timothytikker1147
    @timothytikker1147 Před 8 měsíci +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!

  • @richard_d_bird
    @richard_d_bird Před rokem +1

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

  • @davidsault9698
    @davidsault9698 Před měsícem +1

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

  • @gcoffey223
    @gcoffey223 Před rokem

    Glad I found you, new sub

  • @aboyne
    @aboyne Před rokem +23

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

    • @Zepplin76
      @Zepplin76 Před rokem +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 Před rokem

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

    • @DrDeuteron
      @DrDeuteron Před rokem

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

  • @huwzebediahthomas9193
    @huwzebediahthomas9193 Před rokem +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 Před rokem +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.

  • @G-Mastah-Fash
    @G-Mastah-Fash Před rokem +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

  • @jimstokes2942
    @jimstokes2942 Před rokem

    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.

  • @ussspirit4812
    @ussspirit4812 Před rokem +2

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

  • @BigHarryBalzac
    @BigHarryBalzac Před 3 měsíci

    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.

  • @tommy6108
    @tommy6108 Před rokem +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!

  • @atomicskull6405
    @atomicskull6405 Před rokem +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..

  • @plamenski5244
    @plamenski5244 Před rokem +3

    Humans, the pride of the universe

  • @imadequate3376
    @imadequate3376 Před rokem +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!

  • @recalcitrantprophet9573

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

  • @John-ci8yk
    @John-ci8yk Před rokem +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 Před rokem +4

      Those are just bat shit crazy.

    • @DarkShroom
      @DarkShroom Před rokem +1

      nah there are many worse things

    • @larryhoover789
      @larryhoover789 Před rokem +1

      Like the one from below the planet of the apes

    • @2fathomsdeeper
      @2fathomsdeeper Před rokem

      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 Před rokem

      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.

  • @DerpEye
    @DerpEye Před rokem +1

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

  • @Magdalene777
    @Magdalene777 Před rokem +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.

  • @grumpy-dad3701
    @grumpy-dad3701 Před rokem +1

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

  • @ronsmith2526
    @ronsmith2526 Před rokem

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

  • @reflex6907
    @reflex6907 Před 10 měsíci

    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

  • @WestSideGorilla1980
    @WestSideGorilla1980 Před 10 dny

    Simon...the Anthony Bourdain of youtube content.

  • @NorceCodine
    @NorceCodine Před 6 dny

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

  • @DR-zj4od
    @DR-zj4od Před rokem +1

    EMP - The NO fuss NO mess weapon. Detonate, wait 1 year for the locals to starve and kill each other, move in and take over with NO radioactive fallout or nuclear winter. EMP - the wonder weapon that no victim knows who even sent it.

    • @Brookssteff
      @Brookssteff Před měsícem

      Besides the nuclear blast detonated to create it.🤦🏿‍♂️

  • @harrisonmckenzie8357
    @harrisonmckenzie8357 Před 11 měsíci

    Efficiency and progress is ours once more.

  • @luchacefox259
    @luchacefox259 Před rokem +1

    These were used at the Baghdad Airport.

  • @markgohl2660
    @markgohl2660 Před 10 měsíci

    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....

  • @1973HenkY
    @1973HenkY Před 10 měsíci

    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!

  • @javiermoya2801
    @javiermoya2801 Před rokem

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

  • @caiuscosades1791
    @caiuscosades1791 Před rokem

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

  • @notmyworld44
    @notmyworld44 Před 7 měsíci

    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!"

  • @andrews.5212
    @andrews.5212 Před rokem +2

    I still find soo ironic how the soviet union's more powerful weapon was called "Tzar". Poor Romanov xD

  • @gregofthedump
    @gregofthedump Před rokem +3

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

    • @DaveTexas
      @DaveTexas Před rokem +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.

  • @babayagaslobbedaknobba
    @babayagaslobbedaknobba Před 10 měsíci

    Whoa, cool!

  • @cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245

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

  • @swedichboy1000
    @swedichboy1000 Před rokem

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

  • @Toadaboticus
    @Toadaboticus Před měsícem

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

  • @Akmundra1
    @Akmundra1 Před rokem +1

    Damn “free” sovereign citizen neutrons. I bet they say they’re not exploding but traveling.

  • @Jay-ln1co
    @Jay-ln1co Před rokem +1

    Monkey sees bright flash.
    Neutron activation.
    *[Geiger counter noises]*

  • @thelastwooter
    @thelastwooter Před rokem +1

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

  • @AndresSebriant
    @AndresSebriant Před rokem +1

    When are we gonna get the megaprojects podcast?!

  • @AllDayEDC
    @AllDayEDC Před rokem

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

  • @finesse7943
    @finesse7943 Před rokem

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

  • @jaymudd2817
    @jaymudd2817 Před rokem

    Ain't heard much about these weapons for years.

  • @wintermute7378
    @wintermute7378 Před rokem

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

  • @tks5210
    @tks5210 Před rokem +3

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

  • @BigMobe
    @BigMobe Před rokem

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

  • @venturefanatic9262
    @venturefanatic9262 Před rokem +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.

  • @austinpowers8550
    @austinpowers8550 Před rokem

    The longer your beard gets the more you start looking like a warlock in a suit lol.

  • @Bapuji42
    @Bapuji42 Před 10 měsíci

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

  • @heckell4181
    @heckell4181 Před rokem

    The torpedoes are amazing. Alegedly.

  • @mattstakeontheancients7594

    Neutron bomb-when you want a nuke that acts like a scalpel instead of a hammer. It’s like the Diet Coke of nuclear weapons.

    • @thomasmacdiarmid8251
      @thomasmacdiarmid8251 Před rokem

      That's a problem, that these and tactical nukes can seem very appropriately usable. In a number of simulated war games, it was found that far too often the battlefield generals would resort to tactical nukes when the situation got bad, even when by all analyses and standing rules of engagement, it was wrong to do so. Bad enough that the use would often cause 'friendly fire' losses and excess civilian casualties, but nuclear engagements tend to escalate to larger scales very quickly. Unfortunately, the tactical nukes are not subject to the command and control of the strategic nukes, and even though the current regimes of both Russia and the USA (and China for that matter) are disastrously evil and inept, the more you disperse control of a weapon system like nukes, the more likely you are to have them used by someone. Even the nuclear saber-rattling of Putin regarding Ukraine has been very destabilizing.

    • @rfichokeofdestiny
      @rfichokeofdestiny Před rokem

      @@thomasmacdiarmid8251 From the general’s perspective, why not? Your job is to stop those armored columns. And that’s your only job. If the civilian leadership didn’t want war, they shouldn’t have rolled out the tanks.
      The problem is that the civilian leadership is very concerned with how they look in the short term; and belligerence makes them look very good to voters. That’s especially helpful when your political opponents are mocking you for one of the failures of government, which are plentiful and constant. It also comes in handy when some nosy outsider has discovered you “in bed with a dead girl or a live boy” or some other such scandal.

    • @DrDeuteron
      @DrDeuteron Před rokem

      They both have a metallic taste

  • @jamiemitchell4042
    @jamiemitchell4042 Před rokem

    Ah yes, the good stuff.

  • @DavidSmith-gr4wx
    @DavidSmith-gr4wx Před rokem

    We needn't have worried, as Fast X shows, a 20 kiloton neutron device detonating in the middle of Rome is pretty harmless as long as you knock it into a river first.

  • @user-wi3yx3gy2o
    @user-wi3yx3gy2o Před rokem

    I think that you solve this by limiting by agreement the total energy yield of all weapons, because the effect of limiting total warheads was that these sorts of low yield weapons were scrapped in favor of 1-megaton generally low altitude burst weapons, generally designed to be used redundantly, with ICBMs used to take out communications and command and control centers and missile silos, air defense bases, sub bases and and bobber bases, and bombers and SLBMs used to strike conventional military targets or even direct and indirect war critical industry and population centers. You could have instead had many more smaller nuclear air defense misses being used to try to interdict bombers and missiles, instead of focusing on a smaller number of big bombs fired redundantly at ground targets, where the fallout is much worse.