29 February 2004

Anniversary of "Bravo" H-Bomb Test on Bikini

March 1st is also the 50th anniversary of the H-bomb "Bravo blast" on Bikini in the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958. The Bravo test was a horrendous mistake.
By missing an important fusion reaction, the Los Alamos scientists had grossly underestimated the size of the explosion. They thought it would yield the equivalent of 5 million tons of TNT, but, in fact, 'Bravo' yielded 15 megatons -- making it more than a thousand times bigger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Bikini and Rongelap (100 miles to its east) are still uninhabitable.

No comments: