The hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb has become the cornerstone of the arms race between the USA and the USSR. Two superpowers argued for several years about who would become the first owner of a new type of destructive weapon.
Fusion weapon project
At the beginning of the Cold War, the test of the hydrogen bomb was the most important argument in the struggle against the United States for the leadership of the USSR. Moscow wanted to achieve nuclear parity with Washington and invested enormous amounts in the arms race. However, work to create a hydrogen bomb did not begin thanks to generous funding, but because of reports of conspiracy agents in America. In 1945, the Kremlin learned that the United States was preparing to create new weapons. It was a superbomb, the project of which was called Super.
The source of valuable information was Klaus Fuchs - an employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory of the United States. He conveyed to the Soviet Union specific information regarding the secret American developments of the superbomb. By 1950, the Super project was thrown into the basket, as it became clear to Western scientists that such a scheme for a new weapon could not be implemented. The head of this program was Edward Teller.
In 1946, Klaus Fuchs and John von Neumann developed the ideas for the Super project and patented their own system. The principle of radioactive implosion was fundamentally new in it. In the USSR, this scheme began to be considered a little later - in 1948. In general, it can be said that at the start-up stage, the Soviet nuclear project was completely based on American information obtained by intelligence. But, continuing research already on the basis of these materials, Soviet scientists were noticeably ahead of their Western counterparts, it allowed the USSR to get first the first, and then the most powerful thermonuclear bomb.
The first Soviet studies
On December 17, 1945, at a meeting of a special committee created by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, nuclear physicists Yakov Zeldovich, Isaac Pomeranchuk and Julius Hartion made a presentation entitled “Using Nuclear Energy of Light Elements”. This paper examined the possibility of using a deuterium bomb. This speech marked the beginning of the Soviet nuclear program.
In 1946, theoretical studies of hoists were carried out at the Institute of Chemical Physics. The first results of this work were discussed at a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council in the First Main Directorate. Two years later, Lavrenty Beria instructed Kurchatov and Khariton to analyze materials on the von Neumann system, which were delivered to the Soviet Union thanks to conspiratorial agents in the west. The data from these documents gave an additional impetus to the research, thanks to which the RDS-6 project was born.
Evie Mike and Castle Bravo
On November 1, 1952, Americans tested the world's first thermonuclear explosive device. It was not a bomb yet, but already its most important component. The blast occurred on Enivotek Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. Edward Teller and Stanislav Ulam (each of them is actually the creator of the hydrogen bomb) shortly before that developed a two-stage design, which the Americans tested. The device could not be used as a weapon, since thermonuclear fusion was carried out using deuterium. In addition, it was distinguished by its enormous weight and dimensions. Such a projectile simply could not be dropped from an airplane.
The test of the first hydrogen bomb was carried out by Soviet scientists. After the USA learned about the successful use of the RDS-6s, it became clear that it was necessary to reduce the backlog from the Russians in the arms race as soon as possible. The American test passed March 1, 1954. The Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was chosen as a proving ground. The Pacific archipelagos were not chosen by chance. There was almost no population here (and the few people who lived on the nearby islands were evicted on the eve of the experiment).
The most devastating explosion of the hydrogen bomb of the Americans became known as the “Castle Bravo”. The charge power was 2.5 times higher than expected. The explosion led to radiation contamination of a large area (many islands and the Pacific Ocean), which led to a scandal and a revision of the nuclear program.
Development of RDS-6s
The project of the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb was called RDS-6s. The plan was written by an outstanding physicist Andrei Sakharov. In 1950, the USSR Council of Ministers decided to concentrate on creating new weapons in KB-11. According to this decision, a group of scientists led by Igor Tamm went to the closed Arzamas-16.
Especially for this grandiose project, the Semipalatinsk training ground was prepared. Before the hydrogen bomb test began, numerous measuring, filming and recording devices were installed there. In addition, on behalf of scientists there appeared almost two thousand indicators. The area affected by the hydrogen bomb test included 190 structures.
The Semipalatinsk experiment was unique not only because of a new type of weapon. Unique intakes intended for chemical and radioactive samples were used. Only a powerful shock wave could open them. Recording and filming devices were installed in specially prepared fortified structures on the surface and in underground bunkers.
Alarm clock
Back in 1946, Edward Teller, who worked in the United States, developed a prototype RDS-6s. It is called Alarm Clock. Initially, the design of this device was proposed as an alternative to Super. In April 1947, a series of experiments began at the Los Alamos laboratory to study the nature of thermonuclear principles.
Scientists expected the highest energy release from Alarm Clock. In the fall, Teller decided to use lithium deuteride as a fuel for the device. Researchers have not yet used this substance, but expected that it will increase the efficiency of thermonuclear reactions. Interestingly, Teller already noted in his memos the dependence of the nuclear program on the further development of computers. This technique was needed by scientists for more accurate and complex calculations.
Alarm Clock and RDS-6c had a lot in common, but they differed in many. The American version was not as practical as the Soviet one because of its size. He inherited the large sizes from the Super project. In the end, the Americans had to abandon this development. Recent research took place in 1954, after which it became clear that the project was unprofitable.
The explosion of the first thermonuclear bomb
The first hydrogen bomb test in human history took place on August 12, 1953. In the morning, a bright flash appeared on the horizon, which blinded even through safety glasses. The RDS-6s explosion was 20 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. The experiment was considered successful. Scientists have been able to achieve an important technological breakthrough. For the first time, lithium hydride was used as fuel. Within a radius of 4 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, the wave destroyed all buildings.
Subsequent tests of the hydrogen bomb in the USSR were based on the experience obtained using RDS-6c. This destructive weapon was not only the most powerful. An important advantage of the bomb was its compactness. The shell was placed in a Tu-16 bomber. Success allowed Soviet scientists to get ahead of the Americans. In the USA at that time there was a thermonuclear device the size of a house. It was non-transportable.
When in Moscow they said that the hydrogen bomb of the USSR was ready, Washington disputed this information. The main argument of the Americans was the fact that the thermonuclear bomb should be made according to the Teller-Ulam scheme. It was based on the principle of radiation implosion. This project will be implemented in the USSR two years later, in 1955.
The physicist Andrei Sakharov made the greatest contribution to the creation of RDS-6c. The hydrogen bomb was his brainchild - it was he who proposed the revolutionary technical solutions that allowed to successfully complete the tests at the Semipalatinsk test site. Young Sakharov immediately became an academician in the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, a Hero of Socialist Labor and a laureate of the Stalin Prize. Other scientists also received prizes and medals: Yuli Khariton, Kirill Shchelkin, Yakov Zeldovich, Nikolai Dukhov, etc. In 1953, a hydrogen bomb test showed that Soviet science could overcome what until recently seemed to be fiction and science fiction. Therefore, immediately after the successful explosion of RDS-6s, the development of even more powerful shells began.
RDS-37
On November 20, 1955, the next tests of the hydrogen bomb in the USSR took place. This time it was two-stage and corresponded to the Teller-Ulam scheme. The RDS-37 bomb was about to be dropped from an airplane. However, when he took off, it became clear that the tests would have to be carried out in case of an emergency. Contrary to weather forecasts, the weather has noticeably deteriorated, which is why the landfill is covered with dense cloud cover.
For the first time, specialists were forced to land an aircraft with a thermonuclear bomb on board. For some time there was a discussion at the Central Command Post about what to do next. The proposal was to drop a bomb in the mountains nearby, but this option was rejected as too risky. Meanwhile, the plane continued to circle next to the landfill, producing fuel.
The decisive word was given to Zeldovich and Sakharov. A hydrogen bomb that did not explode at the test site would lead to disaster. Scientists understood the full degree of risk and their own responsibility, and yet gave written confirmation that the landing of the aircraft would be safe. Finally, the commander of the Tu-16 crew, Fedor Golovashko, received a command to land. Landing was very smooth. The pilots showed all their skills and did not panic in a critical situation. The maneuver was perfect. At the Central Command Post we breathed a sigh of relief.
The creator of the hydrogen bomb, Sakharov, and his team suffered trials. The second attempt was scheduled for November 22. On this day, everything went without emergency situations. The bomb was dropped from a height of 12 kilometers. While the projectile fell, the aircraft managed to retreat to a safe distance from the epicenter of the explosion. A few minutes later, the nuclear mushroom reached a height of 14 kilometers, and its diameter - 30 kilometers.
The explosion was not without tragic incidents. Glass shattered from a shock wave at a distance of 200 kilometers, which injured several people. Also died a girl who lived in a neighboring village, on which the ceiling collapsed. Another victim was a soldier in a special waiting area. The soldier fell asleep in the dugout, and he died of suffocation before the comrades could pull him out.
The development of the "Tsar bomb"
In 1954, the country's best nuclear physicists, led by Igor Kurchatov, began developing the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in human history. Andrey Sakharov, Victor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Smirnov, Yuri Trutnev, etc. also took part in this project. Due to its power and size, the bomb became known as the Tsar Bomb. Project participants later recalled that this phrase appeared after Khrushchev’s famous statement about “Kuzkin’s mother” at the UN. Officially, the project was called AN602.
Over the seven years of development, the bomb survived several reincarnations. Initially, scientists planned to use components from uranium and the Jekyll-Hyde reaction, but later this idea had to be abandoned because of the danger of radioactive contamination.
Test on the New Earth
For some time, the Tsar Bomb project was frozen, as Khrushchev was going to the United States, and there was a short pause in the Cold War. In 1961, the conflict between the countries flared up again and in Moscow they again remembered thermonuclear weapons. Khrushchev announced the upcoming tests in October 1961 during the XXII Congress of the CPSU.
On the 30th, a Tu-95V with a bomb on board flew from Oleni and headed for Novaya Zemlya. The plane reached the target for two hours. Another Soviet hydrogen bomb was dropped at an altitude of 10.5 thousand meters above the Sukhoi Nos nuclear test site. The shell exploded in the air. A fireball appeared, which reached a diameter of three kilometers and almost touched the earth. According to scientists, the seismic wave from the explosion three times crossed the planet. The blow was felt over a thousand kilometers, and all living things at a distance of one hundred kilometers could receive third-degree burns (this did not happen, since this area was uninhabited).
At that time, the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the United States in power was inferior to the "Tsar bomb" four times. The Soviet leadership was quite the result of the experiment. In Moscow, they got what they wanted so much from another hydrogen bomb. The test showed that the USSR has weapons much more powerful than the United States. In the future, the destructive record of the “Tsar bomb” was never broken. The most powerful hydrogen bomb explosion has become a major milestone in the history of science and the Cold War.
Thermonuclear weapons of other countries
The British development of the hydrogen bomb began in 1954. The project manager was William Penney, who had previously been a member of the Manhattan project in the United States. The British possessed crumbs of information about the structure of thermonuclear weapons. The American allies did not share this information. Washington cited the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. The only exception for the British was permission to observe the trials. In addition, they used planes to collect samples from the explosions of American shells.
At first in London they decided to limit themselves to creating a very powerful atomic bomb. Thus began the tests of the Orange Herald. During them, the most powerful of the non-thermonuclear bombs in human history was dropped. Its disadvantage was excessive cost. On November 8, 1957, a hydrogen bomb was tested. The history of the creation of the British two-stage device is an example of successful progress in conditions of lagging behind two superpowers arguing among themselves.
In China, a hydrogen bomb appeared in 1967, in France - in 1968. Thus, there are five states in the club of countries that own thermonuclear weapons. Controversial remains the information about the hydrogen bomb in North Korea. The head of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, said that his scientists were able to develop such a shell. During the tests, seismologists from different countries recorded seismic activity caused by a nuclear explosion. But there is still no specific information about the hydrogen bomb in the DPRK.