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Hundreds of nuclear blast videos show explosions in the ocean and Nevada desert

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Re: Hundreds of nuclear blast videos show explosions in the ocean and Nevada desert

#2
Any with audio? To this day I'm only aware of one video where you actually hear the detonation, albeit with whatever equipment they could grab out of the dumpster behind the nearest Radioshack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKwkTYeukE4

Re: Hundreds of nuclear blast videos show explosions in the ocean and Nevada desert

#6

Any with audio? To this day I'm only aware of one video where you actually hear the detonation, albeit with whatever equipment they could grab out of the dumpster behind the nearest Radioshack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKwkTYeukE4

I think, in most cases, the sound is omitted, since it's often the least interesting aspect of the event, and being a little underwhelming, almost detracts from the visuals.

They aren't like loud, irregular rolling thunderclaps, with interesting sweet spots and curious deviations or oddities. They don't rumble and crackle or anything. One bang, a trail off of distant reverberation, and not much else. You have to figure audio equipment doesn't do the explosions much justice during playback either, in terms of volume and possibly seismic effects.

It's just a single report, detached and delayed by the speed of sound, and the mandatory distance from the blast itself. The accuracy of this depiction is valuable, because it informs the viewer of what it would be like to witness a test first-hand, but as entertaining media that demonstrates the noises that relate to the visuals, the timing delay leaves an impatient gap between cause and effect.

To provide improved legibility, the videos would probably want to synchronize the auditory report of the bang with the imagery of the explosion, and push the sound backwards by a number of seconds to remove the delay between sight and sound, due to distance.

Re: Hundreds of nuclear blast videos show explosions in the ocean and Nevada desert

#7
post #4

I’m sure lots of folks have already seen this, but the aftermath is still visible from the air. https://goo.gl/maps/bHEEVZKKK1B2

I spent a summer (intern) working at the Nevada Test Site and visited the Sedan crater when I was there (my supervisor gave me the 'nickel tour' as he called it).

He said that one of the goals of the Sedan test was to test the feasibility of using nuclear weapons to create a replacement for the Panama canal across the lower part of Mexico "in a hurry." I don't know what their conclusion was but I remain skeptical that such a plan had any merit.

I read that in the early 2000's NASA went back over this test as part of an effort to evaluate what the impact of a nuclear weapon would be as an asteroid defense. And caveat the issue of turning one asteroid into a dozen, they concluded that significant delta-V could be added to an asteroid in this way.

Re: Hundreds of nuclear blast videos show explosions in the ocean and Nevada desert

#8
Not all of the blasts were supposed to be big. This one yielded about 80 times less energy than the bomb that exploded over Hiroshima.

https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/possibleinborndogwoodclubgall

That may be the most provocative of them all today.

What would be the response to a nuclear power using one of these in combat? Escalation? Retaliation in kind? The damage to the surrounding environment could be small, especially if used to target submarines and ships.

Escalation to the level of H-bombs would mean WWIII. No response demonstrates "weakness." Tit-for-tat seems the most likely outcome, with gradual escalation along the way.

It's far from clear how long that gradual escalation phase could last, but it could be a long time indeed. The first use of low-yield nuclear weapons in combat lays the groundwork for their use in the next conflict.

Re: Hundreds of nuclear blast videos show explosions in the ocean and Nevada desert

#9

Any with audio? To this day I'm only aware of one video where you actually hear the detonation, albeit with whatever equipment they could grab out of the dumpster behind the nearest Radioshack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKwkTYeukE4

I think, in most cases, the sound is omitted, since it's often the least interesting aspect of the event, and being a little underwhelming, almost detracts from the visuals. They aren't like loud, irregular rolling thunderclaps, with interesting sweet spots and curious deviations or oddities. They don't rumble and crackle or anything. One bang, a trail off of distant reverberation, and not much else. You have to figu…

The truth is that the only way to really appreciate the sound of a nuclear detonation is to be blown away by it. Literally. When you see tanks being flipped over, and bridges being collapsed, that’s the “sound” in the form of a mach stem trashing it. If you’re close enough to really appreciate it, you’re already dead.
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