Nuclear Fusion

A few videos to transition you to the ideas of the Thermonuclear era.  First up, let's settle a general misconception about the 'power' of nuclear bombs.

A refresher of the basics of Fission and Fusion.

Duck and Cover

Nuclear Effects Simulator from today



Ivy Mike, where we learned that H-Bombs would change our concept of living in a a nuclear world.

Castle Bravo, the biggest (by accident, rather than design) weapon detonated by the United States.

Tsar Bomba, the biggest weapon ever detonated.

The result of the advent of Thermonuclear weapons would be the transition from the idea of waging atomic war to one of "Mutually Assured Destruction"  The US and USSR would end up constructing massive nuclear arsenals with the intent of using deterrence as the primary means of preventing a nuclear war.

Next time we will deal with the idea of Nuclear Fusion as a means to provide vast amounts of useful energy rather than the threat of destruction.


If you want to see some cold war memorabilia check out atomic annihilation.