U.S. Conducts Test To Detect Underground Nuclear Explosive Tests

 

FOX News: US conducts nuclear test in Nevada hours after Russian move to revoke global test ban  

The test came hours after Russian lawmakers said they plan to revoke the ratification of a global nuclear test ban treaty 

The U.S. conducted a high-explosive experiment at a nuclear test site in Nevada hours after Russia revoked a ban on atomic-weapons testing, which Moscow said would put it on par with the United States. 

Wednesday's test used chemicals and radioisotopes to "validate new predictive explosion models" that can help detect atomic blasts in other countries, Bloomberg reported, citing the Department of Energy. 

"These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals," Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a statement. "They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.  

Read more .... 

Update #1: US Nuclear Test Raises Concerns of New Arms Race With Russia -- Bloomberg 

Update #2: US sends stark warning to Putin with nuclear test hours after threat to revoke global ban -- Express  

WNU Editor: Talk about sending a signal to the Kremlin. This U.S. test comes just hours after the Russian parliament voted to take the first step in walking away from the nuclear test ban treaty .... Russian parliament moves to rescind ratification of global nuclear test ban (AP).  

Update #3: Of course they are closely watching .... Russia is closely monitoring US nuclear test in Nevada, Putin’s spokesperson says (FOX News). More here .... Russia verifying information on underground blast in Nevada — senior diplomat (TASS).  

Update #4: The Kremlin has said that it will not test a nuclear weapon first .... Nuclear tests may resume under certain circumstances — Russian envoy in Vienna (TASS). But this US test is raising the prospects that Russia will do the same .... US May Have Given Russia Green Light to Test Nuclear Weapons (Newsweek).

Is Russia Ready To Resume Nuclear Testing?

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his state-of-the-nation address to the Russian Federal Assembly on February 21, 2023. (Photo: Maxim Blinov, RIA Novosti via Kremlin.ru) 

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Russia suspends New START and is ready to resume nuclear testing 

On Tuesday, in his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow would suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty, but not withdraw from it. Putin added that Russia stands ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the United States does. 

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is the only bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, which possess the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals and more than 90 percent of its nuclear warheads. 

Since 2010, New START has limited the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 delivery vehicles each. In addition, the treaty allows each party to conduct 18 on-site inspections every year. New START is set to expire in February 2026—three years from now.  

Read more ....  

Update: Putin orders army to prepare for nuclear tests, saying US is creating new weapons (Ukrainska Pravda)  

WNU Editor: I currently see no evidence that Russia is about to conduct nuclear tests. But the message from Russian President Putin was blunt yesterday. If the Kremlin believes the US is about to test nuclear weapons, Russia will respond.

Study Says French Nuclear Tests Infected 'Almost Entire Polynesian Population'

France's nuclear test on Mururoa Atoll, French Polynesia, in 1971. AFP PHOTO 

BBC: French nuclear tests contaminated 110,000 in Pacific, says study 

France concealed the true impact of its nuclear tests in the Pacific from the 1960s to the 1990s, a study has said. 

Researchers used declassified French military documents, calculations and testimonies to reconstruct the impact of a number of the tests. 

They estimated that around 110,000 people in French Polynesia were affected by the radioactive fallout. 

The number represented "almost the entire" population at the time, the researchers found. 

Read more .... 

 More News On A study That Says French Nuclear Tests Infected 'Almost Entire Polynesian Population' From the 1960s To The 1990s 

French nuclear tests infected 'almost entire Polynesian population': report -- AFP 

France has underestimated impact of nuclear tests in French Polynesia, research finds -- The Guardian 

France underestimated impact of nuclear tests in French Polynesia, study finds -- Euronews

France 'concealed devastation' of nuclear tests in French Polynesia -- RFI 

Paris Underestimated French Polynesia Nuclear Testing Fallout, Report Says -- Sputnik

Rosatom Releases Previously Classified Documentary Video Of The 'Tsar Bomba' Nuclear Test. The Most Powerful Nuclear Bomb Blast Ever

The Barents Observer: Rosatom releases previously classified documentary video of Tsar Bomba nuke test

Photos and short video clips have previously been available, but this unseen 40 minutes declassified footage of the Soviet Union’s monster nuclear bomb give a whole new insight into what happened on Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961.

The documentary film was released and posted on August 20 on the YouTube channel of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation in connection with the celebration of 75 years of nuclear industry.

The film, edited in classic Soviet-style propaganda, shows all preparation procedures. First the transportation of the giant bomb by rail to the Olenya airbase near Olenegorsk on the Kola Peninsula. The Tu-95 aircraft take-off and flight across the Barents Sea to the detonation site near the Matochkin Strait at Novaya Zemlya. Then the release of the bomb attached to a parachute to slow the fall so the plane could get in safer distance from the blast. Videos from several directions and distances show the apocalypse looking detonation and following mushroom cloud.

The bomb, officially named RDS-220 and later nick-named Tsar Bomba, was the largest nuclear weapon ever constructed.

With a yield of 50 megatons (50 million tons), equal to around 3,800 Hiroshima bombs, the weapon was set off over Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961.

Read more ....

Update #1: Russia Releases “Tsar Bomba” Test Footage Of The Most Powerful Nuclear Bomb Blast Ever (Warzone/The Drive)
Update #2: Russia Just Declassified Footage of the Largest Nuke Ever Tested (VICE)

WNU Editor: It is a shame that most of my readers do not understand Russian. This documentary provides an excellent presentation on how this bomb was developed, assembled, and tested.

U.S. Senate Committee Approves $10M To Prepare For Nuclear Test 'If Necessary'

© CC BY 2.0 / International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

The Hill: Senate panel approves $10M to prepare for nuclear test 'if necessary'

The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced an amendment aimed at reducing the amount of time it would take to carry out a nuclear test.

The amendment, offered by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), would make at least $10 million available to “carry out projects related to reducing the time required to execute a nuclear test if necessary,” according to a copy of the measure obtained by The Hill on Monday.

The amendment was approved in a party-line, 14-13 vote during the committee’s closed-door markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last week, a congressional aide said.

Read more ....

Update: US Senate Committee Reportedly Approves Funding for Nuclear Test 'If Necessary' (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: I doubt that the U.S. will be conducting a nuclear test anytime soon. But this amendment is catching everyone's attention.

U.S. Nuclear Testing Could Resume In 'Months' If Approved

Entrance to the Nevada National Security Site where it's believed future nuclear tests would be conducted.

Defense Daily: DoE Could be Ready to Go With Minimal Nuke Test in Nevada in ‘Months,’ Pentagon Official Says

It would take only a matter of months for the Department of Energy to perform an underground nuclear-explosive test with minimal diagnostics, a Pentagon official said Tuesday.

Previous heads of the agency’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have talked “about a very quick test with limited diagnostics, though certainly diagnostics, within months,” said Drew Walter, who is performing the duties of deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters. “A fuller test, fully diagnostic, and lots of data, all the bells and whistles, so to speak, might be measured in years. But ultimately, if the President directed because of a technical issue or a geopolitical issue, a system to go test, I think it would happen relatively rapidly.”

Walter also said that he believes the NNSA has a borehole at the Nevada National Security Site that would be suitable for such a rapid test.

Read more ....

Update: Live Nuclear Testing Could Resume In 'Months' At Nevada Site If Approved (Zero Hedge)

WNU Editor: I doubt such a test will be approved. Definitely not in an election year.

Washington Post Says White House Discussed Conducting Its First Nuclear Test In Decades

© Los Alamos National Laboratory/Los Alamos National Laboratory The last full-scale underground test of a nuclear weapon was conducted at the Nevada Test Site in September 1992.

Washington Post: Trump administration discussed conducting first U.S. nuclear test in decades

The Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations.

The matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies last Friday, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and China are conducting low-yield nuclear tests — an assertion that has not been substantiated by publicly available evidence and that both countries have denied.

Read more ....

Update: Trump admin has looked at conducting first US nuclear test since '90s citing threat from Russia, China: report (The Hill)

WNU Editor: Rumours and reports that both Russia and China have been conducting very low level nuclear tests have been making the rounds for the past few months (we are talking tests at a fraction of a kiloton). So is the U.S. about to actual conduct their own low level tests? I am not surprised that it was discussed, but I doubt that such a test or tests have been green-lighted.

The U.S. Is The Only Country That Has Conducted A Live Nuclear Missile Test

Foxtrot Alpha: The Only Full Scale Test of a Nuclear Missile Was 57 Years Ago

More than half a century ago this week, the United States conducted its only farm-to-table nuclear missile test. The test, code-named “Frigate Bird,” involved the launch of a Polaris missile from a submarine carrying a live nuclear warhead. The missile traveled a thousand miles before streaking down on an uninhabited island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, exploding with the force of 37 Hiroshima bombs.

The United States conducted a staggering 1,030 nuclear weapon tests between 1945 and 1992, the year it ceased testing. The Frigate Bird test, which took place on May 6th, 1962 was the only case in the entire history of the US nuclear arsenal in which a nuclear missile actually delivered its horrifically lethal payload.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Sending a missile with a live nuclear warhead to see if it works. What were they thinking then?

The Legacy Of Past Nuclear Tests

The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on 25 July 1946. Wikipedia

The Independent: Radioactive remnants of nuclear bomb tests found at deepest point in world's oceans

Marine organisms increase spread of carbon and use it to build molecules within their cells.

Radioactive carbon released into the atmosphere from nuclear bomb tests has reached the deepest parts of the ocean, a study has revealed.

Researchers found the first evidence of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in muscle tissues of crustaceans that inhabit Earth’s ocean trenches, including the Mariana Trench, home to the deepest spot in the ocean.

Organisms at the ocean surface have incorporated “bomb carbon” into the molecules that make up their bodies since the late 1950s, the discovered.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The half life for Carbon 14 is 5,730 years.

A Time Lapse Film Of 53 Years Of Nuclear Testing In 14 Minutes

Open Culture: 3 Years of Nuclear Testing in 14 Minutes: A Time Lapse Film by Japanese Artist Isao Hashimoto

It’s strange what can make an impact. Sometimes a message needs to be loud and over-the-top to come across, like punk rock or the films of Oliver Stone. In other cases, cool and quiet works much better.

Take the new time lapse map created by Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto. It is beautiful in a simple way and eerie as it documents the 2,053 nuclear explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I posted this before. It is always good to be reminded that between 1945 to 1998 there were 2,053 nuclear explosions on planet earth.

Newly-Restored Footage Of 1953 Nuclear Tests In Nevada Show The Power Of An Atomic Bomb In High Definition

Daily Mail: Incredible newly-restored footage of 1953 nuclear tests in Nevada shows the terrifying power of an atomic bomb in high definition

* YouTuber atomcentral uploaded the video featuring restored HD footage from the Federal Civil Defense Administration's 1953 Nevada bomb tests on Tuesday
* The series of clips show the effects of nuclear blasts on random objects
* The heat from the explosions strips the paint off two old sedans and a school bus before the shock wave from the blasts blows all the automobiles away
* Another clip shows a tent bursting into flames before being obliterated

Incredible footage shows the astonishing impact of a nuclear bomb blast up close and in high definition.

Newly-restored video clips from nuclear tests conducted in Nevada more than 60 years ago shows how the terrifying power of a 15-kiloton Grable bomb blast can strip the paint off cars.

YouTuber atomcentral shared footage from the Federal Civil Defense Administration's Upshot-Knothole nuclear test series.

The experimental atomic explosions were carried out at the U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada test site in southeastern Nye County from March 17 to June 4 in 1953.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I have only met three people who witnessed what an above ground nuclear test looks like, and all three of them said the same thing to me. The flash, the huge fireball that formed, and even though they were miles away from the detonation, feeling the heat on their face and exposed skin.

Report: Radioactive Fallout In Australia Reveals A Nuclear Test Event Occurred Between South Africa And Antarctica In 1979

An analysis of air currents has traced a spike in radioactive materials found among the thyroid glands of Australian sheep in 1979 to a suspicous blast between Africa and Antarctica just weeks earlier. Picture: Google EarthSource:News Corp Australia

Daily Mail: Did a secret Israeli nuclear test send radioactive fallout across Australia? A new study by an Aussie expert says YES

* Study reveals secret Israeli nuclear test sent radioactive fallout across Australia
* In September 1979, a nuclear explosion was picked by the US 'Vela' satellite
* Speculation of where the 'flash' came from centres on Israel nuclear test

A new study has revealed a secret Israeli nuclear test is likely to have sent radioactive fallout across Australia.

In September 1979, a nuclear explosion was picked by the US 'Vela' satellite from between South Africa and Antarctica near the Marion and Prince Edward islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean, Perth Now reported.

After the 'flash' there was a lot of speculation about what the source was, with allegations that it came from Israel's nuclear testing.

However, a recent paper published by the Australian Defence Force Academy's Christopher Wright and retired Swedish Defence Research Agency investigator Lars-Erik De Geer has revealed the effect the nuclear explosion had on Australia.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The report can be read here .... The 22 September 1979 Vela Incident: The Detected Double-Flash (Taylor Francis Online).

More News On Reports That A Nuclear Test Event Occurred Between South Africa And Antarctica In 1979

Nuclear fallout detected in Australian sheep in 1979 has been attributed to a covert nuclear test -- News.com.au
Radioactive sheep said to prove Israel conducted illegal nuclear test -- YNet News
Radioactive sheep shed light on secret nuclear weapons test -- New York Post/FOX News
Mystery Revealed? Israel Possibly Tested Nuclear Weapons in Indian Ocean -- Sputnik

Will U.S. Nuclear Weapons Work As Promised?

Robert R. Monroe, Investors.com: In Alarming New Study, Nuclear Lab Scientists Question U.S. Weapons' Performance

A just-released and about-to-be-published scientific report, authored by two respected Los Alamos nuclear experts, raises serious questions about the reliability and performance of U.S. nuclear weapons!

This is important. In today's nuclear weapons era, America's existence depends on our nuclear weapons stockpile. The instant readiness of these weapons for launch by our deployed submarines, bombers, and intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the absolute, unquestioned ability of the weapons themselves to perform meticulously to their certified military characteristics, are our nation's only guarantee of survival.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: In the 1980s I had a chance to talk to the husband of one of my mother's friends who was involved in preparing sites for underground nuclear explosions. I still remember what he said to me when he described a test that exceeded what was expected, resulting in a collapse of the mine and fears of a radioactive leak. He told me bluntly at that time that while the science and engineering behind a nuclear weapon is well known, the yield is sometimes a surprise. It sometimes is a dud, and sometimes it produces a yield beyond what was expected. I think this is what concerns these nuclear scientists.

These Are The First People Who Will Know If North Korea Conducts A Nuclear Test

The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska (Military.com)

DoD Buzz: The Surprising First People to Know About North Korea’s Bomb Tests

PALMER, Alaska — When North Korea hits “go” on one of its top-secret underground weapons tests, the first person outside that country to know about it isn’t someone monitoring a global web of sensors at the U.S. Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC).

Instead, it’s one of the scientists on shift watching and waiting for a tsunami to appear on monitors in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s innocuous-looking National Tsunami Warning Center, which is nestled next to family homes in this picturesque small town.

This center serves a vital safety role. The ability of these scientists to quickly analyze earthquake data could be the difference between life and death for residents in high-risk tsunami areas.

The center’s high-tech tracking equipment, which can analyze seismic data from around the world within minutes, means the scientists also see other earthshaking events sooner than anyone else, officials here said.

Events such as North Korea’s nuclear bomb tests.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Here is some interesting data on the site where North Korea conducts its nuclear tests .... 4th small quake detected since North Korea’s nuclear test (AP). More here .... Latest North Korea earthquake a sign of instability at nuclear test site: Experts (CNBC/Reuters).

U.S. Releases Secret Footage Of Atom Bomb Tests

ABC News Online: US releases secret footage of atom bomb tests

After collecting dust in high-security vaults for more than 65 years, hundreds of reels of film showing Cold War nuclear bomb tests have been declassified by the United States.

From 1945 to 1962, the United States detonated more than 210 nuclear bombs, with multiple cameras capturing each explosion at around 2,400 frames per second.

For decades, about 10,000 of these films have been locked away, sitting idle, scattered across the US in high-security vaults. Until now.

A team from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has worked for the last five years on finding, declassifying and preserving the films' content before it was lost forever.

Greg Spriggs, a weapon physicist at LLNL and head of the project said when they got their hands on the film they could smell it wasting away.

Read more ....

Every Nuclear Bomb Explosion In History (Video)

Time-lapse Of The 2,058 Nuclear Detonations From 1945 To 1998

Popular Mechanics: A Haunting Timelapse of the 2,058 Nuclear Detonations from 1945 to 1998

A beautiful and terrifying timeline.

It's a grim anniversary today. Seventy years ago today, the Enola Gay dropped the uranium atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima, killing at least 90,000 people immediately, poisoning hundreds of thousands more with radiation, and forever altering the essential nature of warfare.

WNU Editor: I posted this video before, but considering that this is the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, it is fitting that it is posted again.

Update: Here is a good link .... Visualizing The Frightening Power of Nuclear Bombs (Visual News). Hat Tip to Ropestuff for this link.

A Look At What U.S. Nuclear Tests Have Done To The Marshall Islands

Robert Alvarez, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: The Marshall Islands and the NPT

Tony DeBrum, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) provided a dose of reality to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference recently by asking: “How many in this room have personally witnessed nuclear weapon detonations?”

On March 1, 1954, a 9-year-old DeBrum was fishing with his grandfather near the Likiep atoll, one of the islands in the Marshalls group. As his grandfather cast his net, there was a sudden intense flash that lit up the pre-dawn sky, followed by a terrifying shock wave. “Everything turned red—the ocean, the fish, the sky, and my grandfather’s net. And we were 200 miles away from ground zero. A memory that can never be erased.”

WNU Editor: The legacy of U.S. nuclear tests is going to last a long time .... especially in places like The Marshall islands. Sadly .... Soviet nuclear tests and their aftermath are even worse .... The Tragic Story of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (io9).

Interactive Map Reveals Craters Blasted Into The Nevada Desert During Decades Of Nuclear Weapons Tests

Nuclear fallout: The Nevada test site is pockmarked with craters that show where explosions took place

America's Nuclear Moonscape: Interactive Map Reveals Craters Blasted Into The Nevada Desert During Decades Of Nuclear Weapons Tests -- Daily Mail

It looks like the surface of the Moon but this pock-marked landscape is actually the result of decades of nuclear weapons testing in the Nevada desert.

As the Second World War ended and the Cold War began, the U.S. military detonated hundreds of devices in its desert test site, with the last explosions taking place in 1992.

When testing first began in the 1950s, few residents living near the site were concerned by the rumble of explosions or mushroom-shaped clouds on the horizon. But fears about radiation poisoning, and peace protests in later decades, put pressure on the military to end the tests.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: On the one hand this is super cool to look at .... and on the other hand one cannot help but recoil with horror at all the environmental damage that has been done.

The link to America's Nuclear Moonscape map site is here.

Which Countries Have Conducted the Most Nuclear Tests?

Which Countries Have Conducted the Most Nuclear Tests? -- Real Clear Science

Science is the quintessential double-edged sword. Humanity has wielded it to radically improve and extend life, but also to end life. Nowhere is the latter better exemplified than with nuclear weapons.

Originally welded into reality by the legendary scientists of the Manhattan Project, nuclear fission weapons make use of enriched uranium or plutonium to fuel a nuclear chain reaction. Atomic nuclei fly apart, and because of energy-mass equivalence (E = mc2), an enormous amount of energy is released on the order of tens of thousands of tons of TNT.

Read more ....