A Brief History
On October 30, 1961, the Soviet Union detonated the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in the North of Russia; at 50 megatons of yield, it is still the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise by humankind!
Digging Deeper
Roughly a year before the Cuban Missile Crisis threatened to plunge the world into a nuclear world war in which both sides possessed large arsenals of weapons of annihilation, the Soviets showed off their nuclear potential by testing the “Tsar Bomb”.
The bomb weighed 27,000 kilograms (60,000 lb) and was 8 metres (26 feet) long. It was designed to have a yield of 100 megatons, but was only tested at 50 to 58 megatons so as to prevent too great of a radioactive fallout. To put all of that into perspective, the bomb that did this to Nagasaki had a yield of 21 kilotons. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had an even smaller yield. If those relatively “primitive” atomic bombs still managed to devstate two cities and kill well over 100,000 people combined, imagine what a bomb several times their strength could accomplish! In fact the highest yield the United States ever even tested a bomb at was 15 megatons, i.e. just under a THIRD of the Tsar Bomba’s yield. Detonated on March 1, 1954, the device was the most powerful nuclear device detonated by the United States and its first lithium-deuteride-fueled thermonuclear weapon. This test, Castle Bravo, was the first in a series of high-yield thermonuclear weapon design tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll.
On Halloween Eve of all days, the Soviets demonstrated just how destructive mankind could be. Nothing humans have ever created had such destructive potential as the Tsar Bomb (remember the actual explosion was only at half of its designed yield) and yet, it was but one bomb in an era in which Cold War superpowers possessed many nuclear devices. Watch this video and imagine what if the Cold War ever turned hot…
Fortunately, it was the only device of this magnitude ever built (or so we have been told…) and as such, we need no longer worry about it actually being dropped on us any time soon and can instead just marvel in the fact that humans actually made something so powerful. Now, about those other thousands of smaller nuclear devices still possessed by at least America, Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and Russia and that could potentially actually be used in some future conflict, well, we shall see.
Question for students (and subscribers): Should nuclear weapons be banned? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
A good starting point for comparative videos of the Tsar Bomba explosion and where it ranks in a list of the top 10 nuclear explosions caught on tape, please visit our sister site. We also recommend one book in particular for more information on the subject in general:
Wheaton, James K. You and the Atomic Bomb: History of Nuclear Bombs. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="542 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=542">116 Comments
I doubt that nuclear weapons will be used in my lifetime. Of course they will be used over and over again as game changers when it comes to negotiations, etc. but I don’t think any nation will be stupid enough to launch one.
I think there will be no atomic bombing anymore, because it both destroys cities, and living things, while i.e. bio bomb or lightning pulse only kills living things, it’d be much more effective to do that
It scared me that man can make such a powerful weapon
The fact that we have such powerful weapons is scary. I don’t think it is ever a good time to use those.
I do not understand why they think it is a good idea to have somehing like that. It is just asking for trouble.
I agree. No one needs a bomb like this, we don’t even need all the smaller ones that are still in existence because if 1 nation decides to use theirs, all the other nations that have them will be likely to use their stockpile also.
It’s honestly kind of scary how powerful of weapons there are.
I am thankful that the Cold War did not become a nuclear war.
It’s crazy and kind of terrifying how weapons keep on getting more powerful throughout the centuries.
This is the first I’ve heard of this event. That’s crazy though. It kind of makes you stop and think about the future and what could happen.
Its crazy what weapons can do! We do not need something like that! Dangerous writing all over it
It is scary what kind of weapons are at our nations disposal
It’s eye opening yet startling that these destructive weapons were ever created.
I like the story I was unaware of the power that bomb had compared to the ones we dropped on Japan. Nuclear Devices are one thing that I am ashamed man ever invented. Who knows though without the Nuclear Bomb we may still have dictators trying to take over the world through warfare.
Let us hope and pray that we never see WWIII! — DAVID WARDLE
Incredible accomplishment to produce such powerful weapons
Defiantly and eye opener to see how many weapons we have at our leasure
I think this shows just how intelligent human beings can be yet also shows how stupid we are for almost destroying ourselves all the time. It’s sickening.
It’s amazing how just human beings can create this massive bomb
Tsar Bomba could destroy London, its outskirts, and portions of the countryside in one good hit. Scary stuff.
I’m guessing and hoping a bomb of this magnitude won’t be built again any time soon.
Humans are very good a exterminating other humans.
So the US has only tested up to 15 megatons, but who knows what they were actually capable of building. In all reality, if the USSR was able to create a 100 megaton nuclear bomb, there would be no shock if the US would have been able to duplicate it. Let us just realize how lucky we are that nuclear warheads were not launched during the Cold War, seeing as if they had been the earth would probably be a barren wasteland today.
I can only imagine what nuclear weapons are capable of these days with all of the advancements in technology since the cold war. Even though the cold war is over, I doubt that either country has stopped working on their nuclear weapons programs.
I can’t even imagine a bomb that is this destructive. I think it is scary that humans can even have this much power. If a war broke out where every country started using there nuclear weapons there wouldn’t be a world to fight for. Everything will go downhill once one country starts bombing with nuclear weapons.
It is no surprise how Americans were so panicked during the Cold War Era. I assume that people were on edge knowing that they must have to prepare for all worse case scenarios. What a horrible competition to have an arm’s race trying to place fear in the enemy’s daily lives.
If the United States could create a bomb like that back then, then I can only imagine what we’re capable of producing today. It is really a frightening thought to know that any one country could create something like that and drop it in the U.S. on any given day. Hopefully we won’t ever have a war that turns nuclear, as that could be extremely deadly.
Crazy a human can create something this powerful.
It’s astonishing how powerful this bomb was
I think it’s so crazy how something could be so advanced back then.
It’s crazy how quickly these things were developed and word about them quickly spread. Hopefully none of these are use again though!
Russia beat the US for sure in this category. But what I didn’t care for was that they dropped it in the Arctic Ocean! Ugh, sometimes humans are too good at being destructive.
The destruction and violent potential of bombs just astonishes me. To think that a practice detonation was done and successfully completed just boggles my mind!
That is one big bomb. Crazy what would happen if they dropped it on a country. This bomb would turn everything into glass. Just scary what man kind can build.
For that time, this thing was very advanced. If that thing is so destructive I wonder what we are capable of creating now!
I can’t imagine the USSR ever planning to use it. Just the thought of it is crazy.
It is crazy to think about the size of this bomb considering it was cut back from the size it ultimately could have been.
I hope that a nuclear bomb that size never goes off in my life time.
That bomb would have been so destructive. If it was dropped on a country it would cause serious damage. I hope nuclear bombs never get dropped.
I really hope, that we can just have world peace and no one will drop nuclear bombs on each other in the future.
I can’t imagine the magnitude of this bomb. It’s scary that man made something so powerful.
I think its terrifying that this bomb exist
It’s pretty scary that this bomb even exists. Thankfully the Soviet Union never used it against any sort of populated area.
The potential for massive destruction that exists today is hard to imagine.
and still the technology is advancing at a rapid rate including the strength in every country’s military and its weapons, a scary thought
This thing is down right frighting.
crazy how humans have created something so powerful. it is scary to know such bomb is created
This bomb has now affected so many people
i honestly wish this bomb was never created. now we know what can end the human race.
Lets make the biggest most powerful bomb in existence to show how powerful we are. There is no reason for but to show off. let us be honest after a while Soviet Union and the United States were just flexing so much during the Cold War.
What was the point of this???? Other than to make it known, US already knows that they have nuclear weapons so what was the point? Just to kill thousands of harmless animals in the ocean and probably ruin the atmosphere. Wow humans are reckless.
It’s hard to believe that this bomb was created. It makes me wonder what nuclear bombs could be like today.
I never realized how much the bomb weighed(100 megatons)! Let alone, how long it was (26 feet)!
Again, the effects of bombs like this are probably still lingering in the environment today. Nuclear chemicals can stick around in environments for eternities because the compounds cannot be broken down by natural processes.
Weird how whenever a country acquires nukes they make it global news, like oh no now were gonna nuke these guys.
I guess the Soviets believed in the theory bigger is better, building a bomb that weighed 60,000 pounds and measuring 26 feet long.
I am sure it was very scary times during the Cold War knowing Russia had such devastating bombs. The only country I worry about using one on another country now is North Korea.
The U.S. and Russia have always been rivals and competed heavily with one another. From space exploration to nuclear weapons, it isn’t surprising that Russia would have wanted to build the “best of the worst”, so to speak.
I cannot imagine the destruction this bomb would be able to do. I thought the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima were powerful and this one out does it by a long shot.
omg we studied over this in class that bomb was so big its like a big a%% firecracker lol, but this was bigger than the bomb the us drop on japan. jesus i would been so scared at this time of life.
I never thought of how some of the remains of these bombs could be lingering around. It is scary to think of how powerful these really are.
Along with what Lessie said, I never thought how some of the remains could still be lingering around.
Such a turning point in history. This explosion influenced so many treaties of no new weapon testing
The fact that truly scare me is that the Tsar bomb wasn’t even at full power when they tested it!
Scares*
The Tsar bomb could literally end the world and that’s terrifying.
The size of that bomb compared to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and what it could do is just absolutely unthinkable.
The size of that bomb is amazing and terrifying. I can not imagine the amount of damage it would have caused.
President Elect Trump has a chance to bring together a once mangled relationship between Russia and the United States. The magnitude of Tsar, not even at full power, shows potential of power of the Soviet Union can have.
I don’t remember ever reading about this. I cannot imagine the destruction this would cause!
The size of that bomb is absolutely insane and terrifying. The amount of destruction that could/would cause is probably mind boggling.
That is one big bomb.
I cannot imagine a bomb being 26 feet, that is absolutely absurd. I bet that was one loud explosion.
The Tzar bomb was a big bomb.
The Tsar bomb if used on land would be absolutely devastating. I can’t even imagine what this could do on land. This was definitely a huge bomb.
The Tsar Bomba sounds so terrify. People should use weapons to keep the world peaceful rather than use them for personal wild ambition. Hope we never use the Tsar Bomba.
The Tsar Bomb was so horrible, it is so huge.
The affects that this bomb would have if it were to go off on land would be devastating.
How can a bomb this powerful even exist…wow.
If this bomb were do be detonated on land, the effects would be devastatingly huge.
I have never realized how huge this bomb is. I could not imagine having this used to kill me.
This reminds me of the video of the Tsar Bomba going off in class and how the pilot that dropped the bomb barely made it out alive.
That’s crazy how powerful a bomb can be.
This is terrifying to think about. All of the lives lost in the Japan bombings was catastrophic, imagine how many would die because of this.
The nuclear race of the cold war must have been a horribly scary time.
You read all of these numbers about how big these bombs were, but I would love to see one in person and actually get a visual!
With all of the fall out it is unearthing to think that these bombs could actually be implemented.
The video of the top 10 nuclear explosions was pretty neat! Seeing one of these devices in person would be wild, especially after reading the size descriptions.
the way they explode is so pretty
Nuclear bombs are a frightening reality..
This was horrifying to me. I wish did not have the capability to destroy the world.
Demonstrating a bomb like that would make anyone second guess their motives or actions.
This is just another article that shows why nuclear bombs are unnecessary. These are weapons that can take so many innocent lives for no reason other than a temporary feeling of anger.
The world wonders what is happening to the polar ice capsules? Maybe it has something to do with the Atomic bomb unleashed over the region. That makes more sense than carbon pollution.
Could you imagine if this was detonated in civilization. We are talking serious mass causalities.
Thats a scary thought if they only used a portion of what they really had. Super powers of the world will never show their cards. Hopefully we never find out.
Never knew that Soviet Union had deployed a bomb that large. It is scary to think that we had so many close calls during the Cold War for an actual war to have started, thank god neither side decided to pull the trigger to go to war.
The highest yield the United States ever tested was a bomb that was 15 megatons.
They took a huge risk by detonating such a massive bomb. They are entitled to protect their nation and build their self defense but they were selfish in putting the world at risk.
Well you have to respect the biggest baddest bomb ever detonated. The Tsar is extremely interesting and I highly recommend that others take some time to do some additional redearch on the bomb, as I have.
I have never heard about the Tsar Bomb before reading this article! It is interesting to see that this bomb could have wreaked so much havoc if it had lead to a full on war.
I’ve never heard of the Tsar bomb. Hopefully, the nation’s who havery the small weapons never use them.
that is a new term me I never heard of the bomb but I am amazed at how big that bomb was.
It is hard to imagine a bomb that weighted 60,000 lbs. with a yield of 100 megatons. Still with how far technology has come today you have to imagine that we have something even more destructive than that in our possession today. One thing I can think of even more destructive than these bombs are bio weapons.
I have been told I had a uncle that transported one of the nuclear bombs to the air plain before it was dropped. If he only the amount of damage it would cause.
I can’t imagine a bomb doing so much damage.
I am still confused as to why they would put all that money and effort into something so huge and costly to basically brag that they made it.
Just think about the destruction and the number of people killed if that kind of bomb was dropped in a country.
The size of this bomb is unbelievable and incredibly scary, I just pray that there will never come a point where a bomb like this needs to be used.
As Kanye said, “no one man should have all that power.” It’s scary to even think about honestly.
We are flirting with disaster as we live and breathe today. The Russian’s are not happy with us. I sure do hope this hype we are in cools down soon!
Wow! Can you imagine the damage that bomb would do? Kind of scary to think about.
Why build something that could destroy the entire world?
Knowing that these countries have nuclear bombs and that they could be used in future attacks on anybody is actually kind of scary.
It’s scary that humans are capable of creating something so destructive.
Its truly sad that the materials are available to make a weapon so destructive. Knowing in the back of my mind if we do something to upset another country they could attack the U.S.