Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
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Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
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Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#2Hicks said the metal of the screwdriver contacted the positive side of the fuse and also the fuse’s grounded metal holder, causing a short circuit that sent electricity flowing to unintended places.
Is there some company out there making non-conductive screwdrivers designed for electrical work? I can understand that maybe the materials science to make strong plastic screwdrivers didn't exist in the 1950s, but surely they exist today, right?
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#3oh, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash
"The two 3–4-megaton MK. 39 nuclear bombs separated from the gyrating aircraft as it broke up between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m)."
For reference, Little Boy's (Hiroshima) yield was 15 kilotons.
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#4There was a frightening number of close calls over the course of decades on the american side alone. One can just assume what must have happened on the sites of other nuclear powers that just doesn't get reported.
You can find a timeline of these almost accidents here: https://futureoflife.org/background/nuclear-close-calls-a-ti...
It's certainly time to reduce the number of warheads from a nuclear-winter-guaranteeing one to an at least nuclear-deterrence-still-works-but-an-accident-is-terrible-but-no-longer-civilization-ending one.
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#5Hicks said the metal of the screwdriver contacted the positive side of the fuse and also the fuse’s grounded metal holder, causing a short circuit that sent electricity flowing to unintended places. Is there some company out there making non-conductive screwdrivers designed for electrical work? I can understand that maybe the materials science to make strong plastic screwdrivers didn't exist in the 1950s, but surely…
Oh yeah they exist. There are ceramic ones and I have also seen plastic ones.
I've seen other fun specialized types of screwdrivers in my career:
Screwdrivers with conductive plastic in the handle, to deal with ESD requirements in the spacecraft industry. Alternatively, take a normal plastic screwdriver handle and wrap it in copper tape.
Beryllium screwdrivers (non-ferrous) for use around MRI machine bores thanks to the insane magnetic fields. You also have to wear ceramic hard-toed shoes.
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#6I swear I read about this in Schlosser's "Command and Control" a couple of years ago.. maybe not.
https://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-Damascus-Accident-Ill...
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#7oh, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash "The two 3–4-megaton MK. 39 nuclear bombs separated from the gyrating aircraft as it broke up between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m)." For reference, Little Boy's (Hiroshima) yield was 15 kilo tons.
Using the nukemap, with a target of Faro:
http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=4000&lat=35.5111142&l...
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#8This is why nuclear non-proliferation is important. Its difficult enough for a super power to safely store and control its WMD. Each new nuclear state magnifies the risks, and all the more so because they lack the after action experience that a half century of mishaps delivers.
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#9Hicks said the metal of the screwdriver contacted the positive side of the fuse and also the fuse’s grounded metal holder, causing a short circuit that sent electricity flowing to unintended places. Is there some company out there making non-conductive screwdrivers designed for electrical work? I can understand that maybe the materials science to make strong plastic screwdrivers didn't exist in the 1950s, but surely…
Oh yeah they exist. There are ceramic ones and I have also seen plastic ones. I've seen other fun specialized types of screwdrivers in my career: Screwdrivers with conductive plastic in the handle, to deal with ESD requirements in the spacecraft industry. Alternatively, take a normal plastic screwdriver handle and wrap it in copper tape. Beryllium screwdrivers (non-ferrous) for use around MRI machine bores thanks to…
Wait, isn’t Beryllium toxic? I was under the impression that you don’t want to be around it.
Re: Fifty-three year old nuclear missile accident revealed
#10There's a LOT of cold war history up there in the central plains. The Strategic Air Command museum just outside of Omaha Nebraska has really incredible displays and a surprisingly large aircraft collection (to me at least). Including an SR-71. Highly recommended for anyone interested in that kind of thing.