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Over the years, there have been numerous nuclear weapons tests since the first nuclear device was detonated. Although many of these tests and their associated tales are often seen as mundane due to the sheer scale of explosions—either underground or in the atmosphere—there are several captivating and obscure events that have remained hidden in the history of nuclear testing.
10. The Unexpected Nuclear Sinkhole
In 1984, the Midas Myth nuclear test took place 361 meters (1,184 ft) beneath the Nevada Desert. A number of equipment trailers were set up above the detonation site to monitor and gather data from the test. Immediately following the explosion, with no radiation detected above the site, technicians began to dismantle the cables leading down into the borehole where the nuclear device had been lowered.
However, three hours and 13 minutes after the test, the area directly above the underground chamber that had been created by the nuclear explosion suddenly collapsed, forming a crater that spanned more than 100 meters (330 ft) across and reached a depth of 5 meters (16 ft) at its deepest point. Caught off guard, 15 personnel working near the trailers were injured, with one of them later succumbing to their injuries. The collapse also destroyed valuable and expensive monitoring equipment. Unprepared for such a crisis, the response from the teams on the ground was disorganized and overwhelmed.
9. Drifting Through Mushroom Clouds
Operation Crossroads, conducted in 1946, consisted of a series of nuclear tests aimed at studying the impact of nuclear weapons on naval vessels and analyzing the mushroom clouds created by nuclear explosions. In those early days, the US military was already aware of the risks associated with radioactivity, so they refrained from sending pilots directly into the mushroom clouds. Instead, they used remote-controlled drone aircraft for the task.
The Navy deployed remote-controlled versions of their F6F fighter aircraft, while the Army chose the B-17 Flying Fortress. These modified B-17s were capable of taking off and landing autonomously, without the need for an onboard pilot—an impressive technological advancement for that time. The drones were controlled by pilots flying nearby aircraft and entered the mushroom clouds formed by the nuclear explosions just minutes after the blasts.
8. Nuclear Dust Storms Over Xinjiang
Between the 1960s and 1980s, the Chinese government carried out aboveground nuclear weapons tests in the deserts of Xinjiang. These detonations released vast amounts of radioactive particulates into the atmosphere, which then settled over nearby towns and villages in the form of dust storm-like clouds. The local population, unaware of the dangers posed by radiation, actually welcomed the nuclear tests, believing that their province was being selected to showcase China's technological progress.
During this period, radiation levels were so high that they surpassed those on the roof of the Chernobyl reactor after the infamous disaster. Experts estimate that more than 100,000 people would have died as a result of exposure to the radiation. Cancer rates in the region are more than 30% higher than the national average in China.
7. The Fogged Kodak Film That Gave Away Trinity
Camera film is highly sensitive to radiation, which is why Kodak had to source cardboard that was free from radioactive contamination. Since recycled paper and cardboard contained by-products from the radium industry, Kodak arranged for a special supply of cardboard from a paper mill in Indiana.
This solution worked until August 1945, when Kodak employees began noticing that the film was fogging. After investigating the issue, one of Kodak’s scientists concluded that a nuclear explosion on US soil must have occurred. At the time, the Trinity Test was still classified, making this discovery a significant one. The scientist wisely kept his findings to himself until 1949, and Kodak subsequently installed air filters at their film manufacturing plants to block out radiation.
6. Nuclear Beer
In 1957, the US government initiated a study titled “The Effect of Nuclear Explosions on Commercially Packaged Beverages” to determine whether various drinks would be safe to consume following a nuclear war. Beer, soda, and carbonated water in cans and bottles were placed at various distances from ground zero. These beverages were buried, placed on wooden boxes, or simply left on the ground. The closest can was located just 300 meters (1,000 ft) from the explosion.
After the detonation of the 30-kiloton device, most bottles endured the blast, although a few were crushed by debris or shattered upon hitting the ground. The cans and bottles nearest the explosion showed slight radiation, but were deemed safe for emergency consumption. The beers closest to the detonation had their flavor mildly altered due to radiation, though the change was minimal.
5. Operation Argus
In 1958, the United States carried out Operation Argus off the coast of South Africa, marking the only covert aboveground nuclear test ever conducted by the country. This operation was designed to test the theories of physicist Nicholas Christofilos, who believed that charged particles from nuclear explosions in space could form artificial radiation belts around Earth.
A fleet of nine ships, known as Task Force 88, was organized for the mission. From the USS Norton Sound, three rockets carrying small nuclear warheads were launched into space, reaching altitudes of 160 kilometers (100 miles), 293 kilometers (182 miles), and 750 kilometers (466 miles) above the Earth's surface.
Artificial radiation belts were indeed detected, although they quickly faded away. Nevertheless, the experiment validated the concept, paving the way for further nuclear testing, including the infamous Starfish Prime test.
4. The Atomic Tank
In August 1953, an Australian Centurion tank was positioned about 450 meters (1,500 ft) from the center of a nuclear explosion. Unlike previous tests with outdated military hardware, the Centurion was a modern, frontline tank at the time. Emu Field, the test site, was so remote that transporting the tank there posed significant logistical challenges. Prior to the test, the tank’s engine was started, and various preparations were made to simulate the tank's operational state in battle. No one anticipated it would survive the 9-kiloton explosion.
The explosion did not destroy the tank. While it damaged all external equipment, tore open the hatches, and blasted the front, the tank itself rolled backward by 1.5 meters (5 ft) and kept running until the fuel ran out. Although a crew would have been killed, the tank itself remained combat-capable.
Several days later, a crew managed to drive the tank back to a military base for decontamination. The tank was refurbished and eventually returned to service, later fighting in the Vietnam War, where it survived an RPG hit with only minimal damage.
3. The Uranium Hydride Bomb Tests
Proposed by Robert Oppenheimer in 1939, the uranium hydride bomb represented a potentially groundbreaking nuclear weapon concept, utilizing deuterium and fissionable uranium to initiate a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction with a reduced critical mass of uranium. In the early 1950s, Edward Teller, the inventor of the hydrogen bomb, championed the idea, envisioning it as a means to make nuclear weapons more compact and efficient. The uranium hydride bomb became the first project at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
By March 1953, just six months after the establishment of Livermore, the first uranium hydride bomb was ready for testing. Suspended on a tower 90 meters (300 ft) above the ground, the bomb was expected to yield between 1.5 and 3 kilotons. However, the result was only 0.2 kilotons, which was not enough to even destroy the fragile tower (as seen in the picture). This failure led to embarrassment for the scientists involved and earned mockery from the nearby Los Alamos team.
The next test proved more successful, demolishing the 30-meter (100 ft) tower it was placed on. Although Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recovered from the previous setback, these tests ultimately demonstrated that the uranium hydride bomb was not a viable weapon.
2. The Top Secret Narration Of Charlton Heston
Many nuclear tests were filmed for scientific research and turned into classified videos. On one occasion, a scientist expressed dissatisfaction with the narration in one such video, prompting the head of the film and video division at Los Alamos to jokingly suggest the actor Charlton Heston could narrate them. When the scientist enthusiastically agreed, the head of the division took the bold step of actually calling Heston to offer him the role of narrating top-secret films produced by Los Alamos, including footage of nuclear tests.
To everyone’s astonishment, Heston agreed to narrate the films, essentially for no payment, and was granted a Q-clearance, the highest level of security clearance available to civilians. One significant benefit of having Heston narrate these technical and often tedious films was that his involvement generated greater interest and attention from viewers, making the films far more engaging.
1. The Last Nuke Of Semipalatinsk
From 1961 to 1989, the Soviet Union conducted a series of nuclear tests in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, the underground nuclear detonations at this site were not effectively contained, leading to the release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere. The Semipalatinsk area, along with the site itself, became heavily contaminated over the years, presenting an ongoing problem for both the United States and Russia, as both nations have struggled to properly clean and restore the region.
Although the final nuclear explosion at Semipalatinsk occurred in 1989, a small, 0.3-kiloton bomb was placed at the site in 1991 by the Soviet Union. This device, which was designed to test the resilience of military equipment to radiation, was buried 125 meters (410 feet) underground. Following Kazakhstan's independence, the bomb was left behind. Four years later, a joint Russian-Kazakh team destroyed the device with explosives, effectively marking the end of this Cold War relic.
