![]() ![]() A majority of the island's family heads agreed to leave the island, and most of the residents were moved to the Rongerik Atoll and later to Kili Island. ![]() Īuthorities had promised the Bikini Atoll's residents that they would be able to return home after the nuclear tests. The scientists and military authorities were shocked by the size of the explosion, and many of the instruments that they had put in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the weapon were destroyed. This was about 1,000 times more powerful than either of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Scientists miscalculated: the 15 Mt of TNT nuclear explosion far exceeded the expected yield of 4–8 Mt of TNT (6 predicted). It was detonated at dawn on March 1, 1954. The first detonation was Castle Bravo, which tested a new design utilizing a dry-fuel thermonuclear bomb. The second series of tests in 1954 was codenamed Operation Castle. Seaborg, the longest-serving chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, called the second test "the world's first nuclear disaster." A third test, Charlie, was cancelled due to concerns over the lingering radiation from Baker's detonation. It produced a large Wilson cloud and contaminated all of the target ships. The second, Baker, was suspended under a barge. The first bomb, named Able, was dropped from an aircraft and detonated 520 ft (160 m) above the target fleet. ![]() The first series of tests over Bikini Atoll in July 1946 was codenamed Operation Crossroads. ![]() The United States and its allies were engaged in a Cold War nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union to build more advanced bombs from 1947 until 1991. The test weapons produced a combined yield of 42.2 Mt of TNT in explosive power. Tests occurred at 7 test sites on the reef itself, on the sea, in the air, and underwater. Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll consisted of the detonation of 24 nuclear weapons by the United States between 19 on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |