Analysis of the explosion king bombs on a new land. Testing a hydrogen bomb, she "Kuzkina Mother"

Panic covered not only the "rejecting West", but also the Soviet scientists who were terribly dealt with. "Tsar Bomb", she "Kuzkina Mother", she "Ivan", it is "product 602", still remains the most powerful explosive device from everyone that you have experienced to humanity.

To lose the nose to capitalists, went long seven years on research, design and development of terrible weapons. Creating an unprecedented accommodation 100 megaton superb (for comparison: the power of the largest American at that time hydrogen bombs I reached the "total" 15 Megaton, which was already thousands of times more powerful bombs discarded on Hiroshima and Nagasaki) was engaged in a group of scientists under the guidance of Igor Kurchatov.

Actually, to experience the superbomb could already in the late 1950s, but they were not in a hurry to felt obvious and imaginary opponents due to a short-term thaw, which covered the cold hearts of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev and the American President Dwight Eisenhower. In the early 1960s Purga cold War Ski S. new powers: Under Sverdlovsk, the reconnaissance aircraft U-2 was shot, it was restless in divided Berlin, the revolution in Cuba led to an acute confrontation with the United States.

In the last, the active phase of work on the superorary entered in the summer of 1961, after the Soviet leader learned about the possibility of creating a group already headed by Andrei Sakharov, a 100 megaton thermonuclear bomb. The leader could not pass by unprecedented prospects and gave the deposit - give, they say, the bomb to the XXII Congress of the CPSU, that is, by October.

Today, physicists, participants of those events, argue that they wanted to stop their work nuclear War. What motives they were really guided then, it is unknown, but Sakharov wrote a note Khrushchev, in which he spoke against the testing of the heavy duty bomb during the existing moratorium on the test nuclear weapons. The first secretary called all fears and doubts by "Slyuntiyism", and at the end of the summer could not stand and threatened the capitalist enemies with a 100 megaton bomb. Do not take the secret from it.

The Western world shuddered from alone alone Nikita Khrushchev. The wave of anti-Soviet movements rolled, in the US on television, they launched a series of rollers about the measures of protection during a nuclear attack, the newspapers Ponatrus headlines with charges in the rehearsal of the Third World War.

In the meantime, the creation of "Kuzkina Mother" went to his guy. Developed weapons in a closed city, at different times known as Kremlin, Arzamas-16 and Sarov. The secret settlement in which the nuclear physicists lived were closed from external world And it reminded that the communism itself, which so threatened to build throughout the planet. Here, even in the summer, the hot water was not turned off, the shops were broken from the cheesecake sausages, and each family had a spacious free accommodation almost in the paradise bunches. True, the Soviet paradise was strictly guarded by soldiers and barbed wire - neither came here nor to leave without permission it was impossible.

While physicists practiced their heads, how to make weapons destroying in the history of human history, theorists came up with scenarios of its use. And was meant "Ivan", of course, first of all for the destruction of the "Evil Empire" represented by the United States.

The question was how to deliver the "tsar-bomb" to the territory of the hated opponent. A submarine was considered as an option. The bomb was assumed to blow off the United States offshore at a depth of 1 km. The explosion power of 100 million tons of TNT was to generate the tsunami of a semi-kilometer height and a 10-kilometer width. After the calculations, however, it turned out that America would have saved the mainland shallow - the danger would be threatened only to facilities at a distance of no more than 5 km from the coast.

Even today it sounds fantastically, but physicists seriously calculated the possibility of bringing the bomb to the orbit of the Earth. You could send it to the United States directly from the space. They say theoretically the project was quite feasible, although it would be incredibly costly.

However, all this were questions of a distant and sullen future. In the meantime, it was necessary to collect the bomb itself. "The product 602" had a three-step design. Nuclear charge The first stage had a power to one and a half megatons and was designed to launch the thermonuclear reaction in the second, the power of which was reached 50 megaton. As many as the third stage was provided with the division of uranium-238 nuclei.

After calculating the consequences of the explosion of such charge and the area of \u200b\u200bsubsequent radioactive pollution, the uranium elements in the third stage decided to replace lead. Thus, the calculated capacity of the bomb decreased to 51.5 megatons.

Khrushchev explained this with his characteristic specific humor: "If we explode a bomb with a capacity of 100 million tons where it is necessary, she and we can beat the windows."

The results of scientists are impressive! The length of the weapon exceeded 8 meters, the diameter was 2, the weight is 26 tons. For transportation "Ivan" there was no suitable crane, so right in the workshop where the bomb was collected, had to hold a separate railway branch. From there the product and went to his last butter the journey - to the harsh Polar Olenegorsk.

Not far from the city, at the airbag, the "Tsar-Bomb" was made specially a modified Tu-95. The plane weapon was not placed, so it was necessary to cut part of the fuselage. To ride a "Kuzkin-mother" under the blessing, under it drew a pity. Fully hiding in the depths of the vessel, the bomb could not still be able to outwardly for two thirds.

A big danger threatened the crew. The likelihood that as a result of the tests it will remain completely unharmed, was only 1%. To increase the chances of the pilots for survival, the plane painted with white reflective paint, which was to prevent the Tu-95B fire (just such a name, the first and only, received an aircraft adapted for the transportation of "Ivana"). In the tail part of the bomb placed a parachute with an area of \u200b\u200bhalf of the football field. His mission was slowing down the fall of the shell to give the crew as much time as possible to exit the lesion zone.

On the morning of October 30, 1961, in the penultimate day of work of the XXII Congress of the CPSU, a plane with a terrible cargo flew from a deer airfield to the side test landfill "Dry nose" on the new earth. At 11:32, the bomb was dropped from a height of 10.5 km. The explosion occurred at an altitude of 4 km. In a matter of minutes, which were at the crew, the plane managed to fly to a distance of 45 km away.

This, of course, was not enough to not feel the anger "Tsar Bombs" at all. After a second, after the explosion above the ground, the man-made sun was bloomed - the flash could be seen in a simple binoculars even from Mars, and on Earth it was observed at a distance of 1000 km. After a few seconds, the diameter of the dust pillar of the nuclear mushroom rummaged to 10 km, and his top reached the mesospher, rushing up at 67 km.

Flash explosion

According to the pilots, first in the cockpit became unbearable hot. Then the plane overtook the first shock wave, spread at a speed of more than 1000 km / h. The vessel, as if hitting a huge bubbin, threw on Polkilometer. For an hour in the whole Arctic, radio communication disappeared. Fortunately, no one from the explosion suffered - the pilots survived.

Watching the first effects of the explosion, some Soviet physicists were afraid that an irreversible nuclear reaction began in the atmosphere - a fire glow was very long. The exact results of the tests, perhaps, no one could predict. Serious scientists expressed the most ridiculous concerns up to the point that the "product 602" is a split planet or melt ice in the Arctic Ocean.

Nothing happened. But the power of the explosion would have enough to erase Washington from the face and with a dozen of the surrounding cities, at the same time, New York, Richmond and Baltimore would suffer. Any megapolis could disappear, the center of which would be completely evaporated, and the outskirts would turn into a small, brushed stone in the fire. It is terrible to imagine what consequences could be if the power of the explosion was the initially planned 100 megaton ...

The zone of total damage by an explosion imposed on Paris

The rehearsal of the end of the world managed to fame. "Tsar-bomb" never adopted: In order to apply it in combat conditions, they did not come up with a suitable invulnerable carrier - you can't install such a bullfin, and the plane will be offered long to the goal.

After completion of the test, all involved gained by merit. Someone - the title of Hero of the USSR, the Military - promotion, scientists - recognition and generous premiums. Exactly a year later, the Caribbean crisis broke out, barely not encountered a fragile world in Zhero of the Regular World War. After another American president, Harvey Oswald will shoot, and in the fall of 1964 it will reach Nikita Khrushchev.

What about the people? The people who learned about some kind of "Tsar-Bomb" later Americans still went to work, copied the money and stood in line at Moskvich, got used to the casseroles from the superstrears, the cards for the bread and the other election of the food crisis. The Soviet Union pereted the world of nuclear club and asked America to sell with a dozen million tons of grain on the puncturer.

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On October 30, 1961, at 11 hours 32 minutes over the new land at an altitude of 4000 m, the most powerful hydrogen bomb was blown up in history. The "Tsar Bomb" became the main argument of the USSR in confronting the United States on the world stage.

Nikita promised Light Sergeevich "Kuzkina Mother" show and shoe on the department of the UN knocked. Well, promised - we must also do on October 30, 1961 at the Polygon New Earth was blown up the most powerful hydrogen bomb in the history of mankind. And for the first time, the date and expected capacity was announced in advance. Thermonuclear charge was delivered to the target on the Tu-95 carrier aircraft, piloted the crew as part of the commander of Andrei Durovtsev and the navigator of Ivan Tick. They were warned that their security was not guaranteed: they could protect against a dazzling outbreak, but the shock wave could hit the aircraft.

Head of the Polygon on the New Earth during Superbub Testing G.G. Kudryavtsev was mentioned that 60 megaton and even 100 megaton (fortunately, and not tested) superbb appeared in our country, "and their" appearance "explained quite peculiar to their" appearance ": "I think that the" secret "is simple here. The fact is that in those years our carrier missiles have not possess the necessary accuracy of entering the goal. You can compensate for these flaws with only one way - increasing the charge power "

The bomb was created for the defeat or area large objects, or well protected - such as underground bases of submarines, cave airfields, underground factory complexes, bunkers. The idea is that thanks to high power, the bomb will be able to hit such objects even with very large mishai.

However, the main purpose of the bombs underlying was the demonstration of the USSR ownership unlimited by the power of the weapon of mass lesion. At that time the most powerful thermonuclear bombTested in the United States was almost twice as weaker.

The initial version of the "Tsar Bomb" had a three-step design next species: Nuclear charge of the first stage with a calculated contribution to the explosion power of 1.5 megatons launched the thermonuclear reaction in the second stage (contribution to the power of the explosion - 50 megaton), and it, in turn, initiated a nuclear reaction in the third stage adding another 50 megaton power .

However, this option was rejected due to extremely high level Radioactive pollution and banal fear accidentally run the chain reaction of the World Ocean Deteria. The tested "Tsar Bomb" had a modified third stage, where the uranium components were replaced with lead equivalent. This reduced the estimated overall power of the explosion to 51.5 megaton.

The American B41 had a TROTIL equivalent of 25 megaton, and was in production since 1960.

But at the same time B41 was a serial bomb made by more than 500 copies, and weighed only 4850 kg. It could be suspended without fundamental alterations for any strategic bomber of the United States, adapted to the wearing of atomic weapons. Its efficiency was an absolute global record - 5.2 megatons per ton against 3.7 king bombs.

In fact, a 50 megaton bomb, tested on October 30, 1961, was never weapon. It was a single product, the design of which with a complete "load" nuclear flammable (and while maintaining the same dimensions!) Allowed the power even in 100 megatons. Therefore, the 50 megaton bomb test was simultaneous testing of the design of the product per 100 megaton. The explosion of such a terrifying power if it was carried out, instantly spawned a gigantic fireforwardwhich covered the territory close to the area, for example, the whole of the Vladimir region.

An unusual alteration was subjected to the factory-manufacturer of the Tu-95 strategic bomber, who had to deliver a bomb to the target. A completely non-standard bomb with a length of about 8 m and a diameter of about 2 m did not fit in the bombup of the aircraft. Therefore, part of the fuselage (noil) was cut and mounted a special lifting mechanism and a device for fastening a bomb. Nevertheless, she was so great that in flight more than half braided outwardly. The entire housing of the aircraft, even the blades of its screws, were covered with a special white paint that protects against light flash when the explosion. The same paint was covered by the housing of the accompanying laboratory aircraft.

The record explosion was one of the culminations of the era of the Cold War and one of its symbols. He took a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Overlapping it ever in the future even more powerful explosion It is unlikely that humanity will be required. Unlike the world famous, but never shooting Russian tsar-gun, cast in 1586 Andrei Chokhov and installed in the Moscow Kremlin, the unprecedented thermonuclear bomb shook the world. She can rightly be called a king bomb. Her explosion reflected the political temperament of Khrushchev and was a bold response to the call of the United Nations to the Soviet Union to refrain from conducting a similar experiment. Received by soon the Moscow Prohibition Treaty nuclear tests In three environments, he made superlibers impossible. The interest in them fell and in connection with the increase in the accuracy of the means of delivery of charges to the goal.

Tsar-bomb is the name of the Hydrogen bomb of the An602, the tests of which were carried out in the Soviet Union in 1961. This bomb was the most powerful one ever bleed. Its power was such that the flash from the explosion was visible for 1000 km, and the nuclear mushroom rose by almost 70 km.

The bomb tsar was a hydrogen bomb. She was created in the laboratory Kurchatov. The capacity of the bomb was such that it would be enough for 3,800 Hirosim.

Let's remember the history of its creation.

At the beginning of the "Atomic Age", the United States and the Soviet Union entered the race not only by the number of atomic bombs, but also by their power.

The USSR, who acquired atomic weapons later than a competitor, sought to equalize the position due to the creation of more advanced and more powerful devices.

The development of the thermonuclear device according to the code name "Ivan" was launched in the mid-1950s by a group of physicists under the leadership of Academician Kurchatov. The group held by this project was entered by Andrei Sakharov, Viktor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Trunov and Yuri Smirnov.

In the course research work Scientists also tried to add the limits of the maximum power of thermonuclear explosive device.

The theoretical possibility of obtaining energy by thermonuclear synthesis was known before the Second World War, but it was the war and the subsequent arms race set a question about the creation technical device For the practical creation of this reaction. It is known that in Germany in 1944, work was carried out to initiate thermonuclear synthesis by compression nuclear fuel Using the charges of an ordinary explosive - but they were not crowned with success, since it was not possible to obtain the necessary temperatures and pressure. The United States and the USSR conducted the development of thermonuclear weapons since the 40s, almost simultaneously experiencing the first thermonuclear devices at the beginning of the 50s. In 1952, an explosion of 10.4 megatons was an explosion of a 10.4 megaton (which 450 times the capacity of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki 450 times), and in 1953, a 400 kiloton device was tested in the USSR.

The design of the first thermonuclear devices were poorly fit for real combat use. For example, the device tested by the United States in 1952 was a ground construction with a 2-storey house and weighing over 80 tons. Liquid thermonuclear fuel stored in it with a huge refrigeration unit. Therefore, in the future, mass production of thermonuclear weapons was carried out using solid fuel - deuteride lithium-6. In 1954, the United States experienced a device based on the Bikini Atoll, and in 1955 a new Soviet termanuclear bomb was tested at the Semipalatinian landfill. In 1957, the testing of the hydrogen bomb was carried out in the UK.

Project surveys lasted for several years, and the final stage of the development of "Product 602" came to 1961 and took 112 days.

An602 bomb had a three-stage design: a nuclear charge of the first stage (calculated contribution to the explosion power - 1.5 megatons) launched the thermonuclear reaction in the second stage (contribution to the explosion power - 50 megaton), and it, in turn, initiated the so-called nuclear " Jackail Hyde's reaction (core division in uranium-238 blocks under the action of fast neutrons resulting from the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis) in the third stage (more than 50 megaton power), so that the total calculation of the AN602 was 101.5 megaton.

However, the initial option was rejected, because in this form it would cause extremely powerful radiation pollution (which, however, according to calculations, it would still be seriously inferior to that which was caused by much less powerful American devices).
As a result, it was decided not to use the "Jackail Hyda Reaction" in the third stage of the bomb and replace the uranium components on their lead equivalent. This reduced the calculated overall explosion power almost twice (up to 51.5 megaton).

Another restriction for developers was the possibilities of aircraft. The first version of the bombs weighing 40 tons was rejected by aircraft designers from CB Tupolev - the carrier aircraft could not deliver such a cargo to the target.

As a result, the parties reached a compromise - the nuclear hammer reduced the weight of the bomb halve, and aviation designers Preparing for her special modification of the Tu-95 bomber - Tu-95V.

It turned out that it would not be possible to put a charge in blessing under any circumstances, therefore, to convey the An602 to the Tu-95V target should have been on a special external suspension.

In fact, the carrier aircraft was ready in 1959, but nuclear physicists were given an indication not to force the work on the bomb - just at that moment there were signs of a reduction in voltage in international relations in the world.

In early 1961, however, the situation was again aggravated, and the project reanimated.

The final weight of the bomb together with the parachute system was 26.5 tons. The product turned out to be several names at once - " Big Ivan."," Tsar Bomb "and" Kuzkina Mother ". The latter was stuck to the bomb after the speech of the Soviet leader of Nikita Khrushchev in front of the Americans, in which he won them to show "Kuzkin Mother".

That the Soviet Union plans in soon Testing a heavy duty thermonuclear charge, in 1961 Khrushchev quite openly spoke to foreign diplomats. October 17, 1961 On the upcoming tests, the Soviet leader stated in the report at the XXII party congress.

The test site was defined by the Dry Nose Polygon on New Earth. Preparing for the explosion was completed in recent numbers October 1961.

Tu-95V carrier aircraft was based on the airfield in Vaenge. Here, in a special premises, final preparation for testing was made.

On the morning of October 30, 1961, the crew of the pilot Andrei Durovtsev received an order to fly to the landfill area and reset the bomb.

Takes off from the airfield in Vaenge, Tu-95V after two hours reached a calculated point. The bomb on the parachute system was dropped from a height of 10,500 meters, after which the pilots immediately drove the car from a dangerous area.

At 11:33 Moscow time at an altitude of 4 km above the goal was made an explosion.

The power of the explosion significantly exceeded the estimated (51.5 megaton) and amounted to from 57 to 58.6 megatons in TNT equivalent.

Operating principle:

The effect of the hydrogen bomb is based on the use of energy released in the reaction of thermonuclear fusion synthesis of lung nuclei. It is this reaction that flows in the depths of the stars, where under the action of ultra-high temperatures and the giant pressure of the hydrogen nucleus faces and merge into the hardening kernel of helium. During the reaction, part of the mass of hydrogen nuclei turns into a large number of Energy - thanks to this stars and highlight a huge amount of energy constantly. Scientists copied this reaction using hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium, which gave the name "Hydrogen Bomb". Initially, liquid hydrogen isotopes were used to produce charges, and subsequently, lithium-6 deuteride, solid substance, a compound of deuterium and lithium isotope began to be used.

Deuteride Lithium-6 is the main component of the hydrogen bomb, thermonuclear fuel. It is already stored deuterium, and lithium isotope serves as raw materials for education tritium. To begin the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis, it is required to create high temperatures and pressure, as well as allocate from lithium-6 tritium. These conditions are provided as follows.

The shell of the container for thermonuclear fuel is made from uranium-238 and plastic, next to the container placed the usual nuclear charge of a power of several kilotons - it is called a trigger, or the initiator charge of the hydrogen bomb. During the explosion of plutonium charge initiator under the action of powerful x-ray radiation The container shell turns into a plasma, compressing thousands of times, which creates the necessary high pressure and a huge temperature. At the same time, neutrons emitted by plutonium interact with Lithium-6, forming tritium. The deuterium and tritium nuclei interact under the action of ultra-high temperature and pressure, which leads to thermonuclear explosion.

If you make several layers of uranium-238 and deuteride lithium-6, then each of them will add its capacity to an explosion of a bomb - that is, such a "puff" allows you to increase the power of the explosion almost unlimited. Thanks to this, a hydrogen bomb can be made almost any power, and it will be much cheaper than the usual nuclear bomb of the same power.

Witnesses of the test say that they did not have anything like this in their lives to observe. The nuclear mushroom of the explosion rose to a height of 67 kilometers, the light radiation could potentially cause burns of the third degree at a distance of up to 100 kilometers.

Observers reported that in the epicenter of the explosion of the rocks accepted a surprisingly smooth form, and the Earth turned into a kind of Military Plant. Full destruction was achieved on the square equal to the territory of Paris.

The ionization of the atmosphere was the cause of radio interference even in hundreds of kilometers from the landfill for about 40 minutes. The lack of radio communications convinced scientists - tests passed as it should not be better. The shock wave that arose as a result of the explosion "Tsar Bomb", triggered three times earth. Sound waveThe explosion generated to the island of Dixon at a distance of about 800 kilometers.

Despite the strong cloudiness, the witnesses saw an explosion even at a distance of a thousand kilometers and could describe it.

Radioactive infection from the explosion turned out to be minimal, as the developers planned, more than 97% of the power of the explosion gave practically no radioactive contamination of the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis.

This allowed scientists to start studying the test results on an experienced field already two hours after the explosion.

The explosion "Tsar-bomb" really impressed the whole world. It turned out to be more powerful than powerful american bombs four times.

There was a theoretical opportunity to create even more powerful charges, however, it was decided to refuse such projects.

Oddly enough, the main skeptics were the military. From their point of view, the practical meaning did not have such a weapon. How do you order it to deliver to the "lair"? The rockets from the USSR were already, but to fly to America with such a cargo they were unable.

Strategic bombers were also unable to fly to the United States with such a "fust". In addition, they became an easy target for air defense.

The nuclear scientists turned out to be much larger enthusiasts. Placing plans from the coast of the United States of the USA several ultrabone capacity of 200-500 megaton, the explosion of which was supposed to cause a giant tsunami, which would wash away America in the literal sense of the word.

Academician Andrei Sakharov, future human rights activist and laureate Nobel Prize The world, put forward another plan. "The carrier can be a large torpedo, launched from a submarine. I fantasized that it is possible to develop for such a torpedo straight-flow water-vapor atomic jet engine. The purpose of the attack from the distance of several hundred kilometers should be the enemy ports. War on the sea is lost if the ports are destroyed, "sailors are assured in this. The housing of such a torpedo can be very strong, it will not be terrible mines and networks of barriers. Of course, the destruction of ports - as a superwater explosion of the "unfolded" torpedo from the water with a 100 megaton charge and an underwater explosion - inevitably conjugate with very large human victims, "the scientist wrote in his memoirs.

Sakharov told Vice Admiral Peter Fomin about his idea. Aweller sailor, who headed the "Atomic Department" at the Commanded of the Navy of the USSR, came to the horror of the intention of the scientist, calling the project "Flywood". According to Sakharov, he was ashamed and never returned to this idea.

Scientists and military for successful testing "Tsar Bomb" received generous awards, but the very idea of \u200b\u200bheavy duty thermonuclear charges began to go into the past.

Nuclear weapons constructors focused on things less spectacular, but much more efficient.

And the explosion "Tsar-bomb" and to this day remains the most powerful one that ever were produced by humanity.

Tsar bomb in numbers:

Weight: 27 tons
Length: 8 meters
Diameter: 2 meters
Power: 55 megaton in TNT equivalent
The height of the nuclear mushroom: 67 km
Mushroom base diameter: 40 km
Fire Bowl Diameter: 4.6 km
The distance on which the explosion caused skin burns: 100 km
Explosion Visibility distance: 1000 km
The amount of trotyl needed to be equal to the capacity with the king bomb: a giant trotile cube with a side of 312 meters (height of the Eiffel Tower).

On October 30, 1961, the Soviet Union made an explosion of the most powerful bomb in the world - the king bombs. This 58 megaton hydrogen bomb was blown up at a landfill located on a new land. After the explosion, Nikita Khrushchev loved to joke that it was originally intended to blow up a 100 megaton bomb, but the charge was reduced, "In order not to beat all the glasses in Moscow."

"Tsar Bomb" An602

Name

The name "Kuzkina Mother" appeared under the impression famous statement N. S. Khrushcheva "We still show America Kuzkina Mother!". The official bomb of the an602 did not have the name. The correspondence "product B" was also used in the correspondence for pH202, and the AN602 was also called (the GAU index - "Product 602"). Currently, all this is sometimes the cause of confusion, since An602 is mistakenly identified with RDS-37 or (which more often) with pH202 (however, the last identification is partly justified, since the an602 was a modification of pH202). Moreover, as a result, the AN602 rearly appeared "hybrid" designation of the RDS-202 (which neither it nor pH202 was never worn). The name "Tsar-Bomb" The product received as the most powerful and destructive weapons in history.

Development

The myth is spread that the "tsar bomb" was designed on the task of N. S. Khrushcheva and in record short time - Allegedly, all the development and production occupied 112 days. In fact, work on pH202 / An602 was conducted more than seven years - from the fall of 1954 to autumn 1961 (with a two-year break in 1959-1960). At the same time in 1954-1958 Work on a 100 megaton bomb Very-1011.

It is worth noting that the above information on the start of work is in a partial contradiction with the official history of the Institute (now this Russian Federal Nuclear Center is the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics / RFSA-VNIIEF). According to it, the order to create an appropriate research institute in the system of the Ministry of Middle Engineering of the USSR was signed only on April 5, 1955, and to work in the NII-1011 began several months later. But in any case - only the final stage of the development of the An602 (already in the KB-11 - now this is the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics / RFSU-VNIIEF) in the summer-in 1961 (and not the whole project as a whole !) Really took 112 days. Nevertheless, the an602 was not simply renamed pH202. A number of constructive changes were made to the bomb design - as a result of which, for example, its centering changed noticeably. An602 had a three-step design: a nuclear charge of the first stage (a calculated contribution to the power of the explosion - 1.5 megatons) launched the thermonuclear reaction in the second stage (contribution to the power of the explosion - 50 megaton), and it, in turn, initiated the nuclear "Jackail Reaction Heyda "(core division in uranium-238 blocks under the action of fast neutrons formed by the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis) in the third stage (more than 50 megaton power), so that the overall calculation of the AN602 was 101.5 megaton.

Place test on the map.

The initial version of the bomb was rejected due to an extremely high level of radioactive contamination, which she had to call - it was decided not to use the "Jackail Hyde reaction" in the third stage of the bomb and replace the uranium components on their lead equivalent. This reduced the calculated overall power of the explosion almost twice (up to 51.5 megaton).
The first erases on the "topic 242" began immediately after the negotiations of I. V. Kurchatov with A. N. Tupolev (took place in the fall of 1954), who appointed the head of his deputy on the system of weapons by A. V. Nadashkevich. A strength analysis showed that the suspension of such a large concentrated load will require serious changes in the power of the original aircraft, in the design of the bomb and in the device suspension and discharge. In the first half of 1955, the overall and weight drawing of the An602 was agreed, as well as the layout drawing of its placement. As expected, the mass of the bomb was 15% of the take-off mass of the carrier, but her dimensions Required the removal of fuselage fuel tanks. The new BD7-95-242 (BD-242) was developed for the AN602 suspension, was close in design to the BD-206, but significantly loader. He had three bomber castle Der5-6 with a lifting capacity of 9 tons each. BD-242 was attached directly to power longitudinal bims, finished bomb. Successfully solved the problem of disposal management of the bomb - electrostatomatics ensured only the synchronous opening of all three locks (the need for this was dictated by security conditions).

On March 17, 1956, a joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 357-228ss, according to which OKB-156 had to start converting Tu-95 to carrier nuclear bombs high power. These works were conducted in Lii Map (Zhukovsky) from May to September 1956. Then Tu-95V was accepted by the Customer and transferred for rear tests, which was conducted (including the discharge of the "Superbub" layout) under the direction of Colonel S. M. Kulikova until 1959 and passed without special comments. In October 1959, Kuzkina Mother delivered a Dnepropetrovsk crew to the polygon.

Test

The carrier "Superbub" was created, but his real tests were postponed for political reasons: Khrushchev was collected in the United States, and a pause came in the cold war. Tu-95V was overtaken at the airfield in Uzin, where he was used as a training aircraft and no longer listed as a combat. However, in 1961, with the beginning of a new round of the Cold War, the tests of "superbub" were relevant again. On Tu-95V, all connectors were urgently replaced in the discharge electro-automatic system and the bomb sash was removed - a real mass bomb (26.5 tons, including weight parachute system - 0.8 tons) and the dimensions were somewhat larger than the layout (in particular, now its vertical envelope exceeded the size of the bomb - height). The aircraft was also covered with special reflective paint white.

Flash of the explosion "Tsar Bomb"

On the upcoming tests of the 50-megaton bomb announced Krushchev in his report on October 17, 1961 at the XXII CPSU Congress.
The tests of the bomb took place on October 30, 1961. Prepared by Tu-95V real bomb On board, piloted by the crew in the composition: the commander of the ship A. E. Durovtsev, the navigator I. N. Klechik, the flight engineer V. Ya. Brui, flew from the airfield of the deer and took the course to a new land. The Tu-16A laboratory was also participating in the test.

Mushroom after explosion

2 hours after the departure, the bomb was dropped from a height of 10,500 meters on a parachute system according to a conditional purpose within a nuclear polygon "Dry nose" (73.85, 54.573 ° 51 's. Sh. 54 ° 30' century / 73.85 ° s. sh. 54.5 ° C. d. (G) (O)). The bomb undermined was carried out barometrically after 188 seconds after a discharge at an altitude of 4200 m above sea level (4000 m above the purpose) (however, there are other height of the explosion - in particular, the number 3700 m above the goal (3900 m above sea level) and 4500 m). The carrier aircraft managed to fly at a distance of 39 kilometers, and the laboratory plane is 53.5 kilometers. The power of the explosion significantly exceeded the estimated (51.5 megaton) and amounted to from 57 to 58.6 megatons in TNT equivalent. There is also information that according to the initial data, the energy of the an602 explosion was significantly overestimated and the values \u200b\u200bof up to 75 megatons were evaluated.

There is a video card of landing the carrier aircraft of this bomb after the test; The plane burned, when examined after the landing, it can be seen that some of the aluminum parts were melted and deformed.

Test results

The an602 explosion according to the classification was a low air explosion of super-large power. The results impressed him:

The fiery ball of the explosion reached a radius of about 4.6 kilometers. Theoretically, he could grow to the surface of the Earth, however, this impact shock wave pretended to this, which was overhanging and throwing a ball from the ground.

Radiation could potentially cause third-degree burns at a distance of up to 100 kilometers.

The ionization of the atmosphere caused interference of radio communications even in hundreds of kilometers from the landfill for about 40 minutes

A tangible seismic wave, resulting from an explosion, triggered the globe three times.

Witnesses felt a blow and were able to describe the explosion at a distance of a thousand kilometers from his center.

The bang nuclear mushroom rose to a height of 67 kilometers; The diameter of its bunk "Hats" reached (at the upper tier) 95 kilometers

The sound wave generated by an explosion, dickson's island at a distance of about 800 kilometers. However, about any destruction or damage to structures, even at a much closer (280 km), the sources are not reported to the landfill of the village of urban type of Amderma and the village of Belushye.

Consequences Test

The main goal that was made and was achieved by this test was the demonstration of the ownership of the Soviet Union unlimited for the power of weapons of mass lesion - the Trotyl equivalent of the most powerful thermonuclear bomb from among those tested by the time in the United States was almost four times less than that of the An602.

the diameter of total destruction, for clarity applied to the map of Paris

An extremely important scientific result was experimental verification of the principles of calculation and designing thermonuclear charges of a multistage type. It was experimentally proven that the maximum power of thermonuclear charge, in principle, is not limited to anything. So, in a tested instance of the bomb to raise the power of the explosion for another 50 megaton, it was enough to fulfill the third stage of the bomb (was the shell of the second stage) not from lead, but from uranium-238, as expected normally. Replacing the shell material and lowering the power of the explosion was due only to the desire to reduce the number of radioactive precipitation to an acceptable level, and not the desire to reduce the weight of the bomb, as sometimes believed. However, the weight of the an602 from this really decreased, but slightly - the uranium shell was supposed to weigh about 2,800 kg, the lead shell of the same volume - based on the lesser lead density - about 1,700 kg. The achieved facilitation of a little more than one ton is weakly noticeable at the total weight of the An602 at least 24 tons (even if you take the most modest estimate) and did not affect the situation with its transportation.

It is impossible to argue that "the explosion has become one of the cleanest in the history of atmospheric nuclear tests" - the first stage of the bomb was the uranium charge with a capacity of 1.5 megatons, which in itself provided a large number of radioactive precipitation. Nevertheless, it can be considered that for the nuclear explosive device of this power, the an602 was indeed rather clean - more than 97% of the explosion power gave practically no radioactive contamination the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis.
Also, the discussion on the paths of political use of the technology of creating heavy duty nuclear warheads served to the beginning of the ideological discrepancies of Khrushchev N. S. and Sakharov A. D., since Nikita Sergeevich did not accept the project Andrei Dmitrievich on the placement of several dozen heavy-duty nuclear warheads, with a capacity of 200 or even 500 Megaton, along the American marine borderswhat made it possible to sober neoconservative circles without retracting into a ruinage arms racing

Rumors and mystics related to An602

The test results of the An602 became the subject and a number of other rumors and mystifications. So, sometimes it was stated that the capacity of the bomb explosion reached 120 megaton. It was probably due to the "imposition" of information on the exceeding the real power of the explosion above the estimated by about 20% (in fact - by 14-17%) on the initial design capacity of the bomb (100 megaton, more precisely - 101.5 megatons). Oils in the fire of such rumors poured the newspaper "True", on the pages of which it was officially announced that "she<АН602> - yesterday atomic weapons. Now there are even more powerful charges. " Actually more powerful thermonuclear ammunition - for example, combat part For MBR UR-500 (Grau 8K82 index; The Proton's famous carrier rocket is its modification) with a capacity of 150 megatons, although indeed been developed, but remained on the drawing boards.

At various times, rumors were also circulated that the capacity of the bomb was reduced by 2 times compared with the planned, since scientists feared the occurrence of self-sustaining thermonuclear reaction in the atmosphere. Interestingly, similar concerns (only about the possibility of occurrence in the atmosphere of the self-sustaining reaction of nuclear division) have already been expressed earlier - in preparation for testing the first atomic bomb under the Manhattan project. Then these fears reached the fact that one of the overturned scientists not only removed from the tests, but also sent to the treatment of doctors.
Fantastics and physicists also expressed concerns (generated mainly fantastic those years - this topic often appeared in the books of Alexander Kazantsev, so in his book "Faety" it was argued that in this way the hypothetical planet Phaeton died, from which the asteroid belt remained) that the explosion can initiate thermonuclear reaction to sea watercontaining a certain amount of deuterium, and thus cause an explosion of oceans, which will split the planet into pieces.

Similar concerns, however, in a joking form, expressed the hero of the books of science science Yuri Tupitsyn, the Starship of Klima waiting:
"Returning to Earth, I always worry. Is she in place? Did the scientists who fucked by another promising experiment, in the cloud space dust Or plasma nebula? "

The 20th century was oversaturated with events: two world wars, the Cold War fit into it, the Caribbean crisis (who almost led to a new global clash), the fall of the Communist ideology and the rapid development of technologies. During this period, the development of the most diverse weapons was carried out, but the leading powers sought to develop a weapon of mass defeat.

Many projects turned, but the Soviet Union managed to create weapons of unprecedented power. We are talking about An602, wide masses known as "Tsar Bomb", created during the arms race. Developments were carried out for quite a long time, but the final tests were successful.

History of creation

The "Tsar Bomb" became a natural result of the arms race period between America and the USSR, the opposition of these two systems. USSR received atomic weapons Later a competitor and wanted to align military potential by advanced, more powerful devices.

The choice is logically for the development of thermonuclear weapons: hydrogen bombs were more powerful than ordinary nuclear shells.

Even before the Second World War, scientists agreed that with the help of thermonuclear synthesis, it is possible to extract energy. During the war, Germany, the United States and the USSR conducted the development of thermonuclear weapons, and the Tips and America are already the 50th. Began to carry out the first explosions.

Post-war time and the beginning of the Cold War made the creation of weapons of mass lesion priority leading powers.

Initially, there was no idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a "tsar bomb", but "Tsar Torpeda" (the project received an abbreviation T-15). It, due to the lack of the necessary aeronautic and missile carriers, should be launched from the submarine.

Her explosion was supposed to cause a devastating tsunami on the coast of states. After spending a closer study, the project was turned off, recognizing him doubtful from the position of real combat effectiveness.

Name

"Tsar Bomb" had several abbreviations:

• An 602 ("Product 602);
• RDS-202 and pH202 (both are erroneous).

Other names (came from the West) in everyday life:

• "Big Ivan";
• "Kuzkina Mother."

The name "Kuzkina Mother" takes the roots from the statement of Khrushchev: "We still show America Kuzkin Mother!".

Especially informally this weapon "Tsar-Bomb" became due to its unprecedented power compared to all actually tested by carriers.

Curious fact: "Kuzkina Mother" had the power comparable to the explosion of 3,800 Hiroshim, so in the theory "Tsar Bomb" really carried the enemies of the Apocalypse of the Soviet.

Development

The bomb was developed in the USSR in the period from 1954 to 1961. The order went personally from Khrushchev. The project participated in a group of nuclear physicists, the best minds of that time:

• HELL. Sugars;
• VB Adamsky;
• Yu.N. Babayev;
• S.G. Kocharyants;
• Yu.N. Smirnov;
• Yu.A. Trutnev et al.

He led the development of academician of the Academy of Sciences SSRR I.V. Kurchatov. The whole composition of scientists, in addition to creating a bomb, sought to identify the limits of the maximum power of thermonuclear weapons. An 602 was developed as a reduced version of the explosive device pH202. In comparison with the initial idea (the mass reached up to 40 tons), it really slowed down.

The delivery of a 40-ton bomb delivery was rejected by A.N. Tupolev due to insolvency and not applicability in practice. She could not raise any Soviet plane of those times.

At the last stages of development, the bomb has changed:

1. Changed the shell material and reduced the dimensions of the Mother Kuzma: it was a cylindrical body with a length of 8 m and a diameter of about 2 m, which had streamlined forms and tail stabilizers.
2. Reduced the power of the explosion, this slightly reduced the weight (the uranium shell began to weigh 2,800 kg, and the total mass of the bomb fell to 24 tons).
3. Its descent was carried out using a parachute system. She slowed down the fall of the ammunition, which allowed the bombarder to leave the epicenter of the explosion in a timely manner.

Test

The mass of the thermonuclear device was 15% of the take-off mass of the bombarder. So that it is freely located in the discharge for reset, they removed the fusely fuel tanks. For holding the shell in Bombotsek, a new, more load-based beam holder (BD-242), equipped with three bombing locks, was answered. Electroautomatics answered the bomb for reset, thanks to which all three locks opened at the same time.

The scheduled tests of weapons Khrushchev announced already at the XXII CPSU Congress in 1961, as well as at meetings with foreign diplomats. October 30, 1961, An602 delivered from the airfield of deer at the landfill " New Earth».

The flight of the bombarder took 2 hours, the projectile was dropped from a height of 10,500 m.

Undermined took place at 11:33 Moscow time after discharge from a height of 4,000 m. Over purpose. Bomb flight time amounted to 188 seconds. The aircraft serving the delivery of a bomb, during which time flew away from the reset zone by 39 km, and the laboratory aircraft (Tu-95a), accompanied by carrier, 53 km.

The shock wave caught up with a car at a distance of 115 km from the target: the vibration was felt significant, about 800 meters of height were lost, but it did not affect the next flight. Reflective paint in some places burned out, and parts of the aircraft were damaged (some even melted).

The total power of the explosion "King Bomb" (58.6 megaton) exceeded the planned (51.5 megaton).

After the operation summed up:

1. The fireball formed as a result of the explosion had a diameter of about 4.6 km. In theory, he could grow to the surface of the Earth, but thanks to the reflected shock wave, this did not happen.
2. Light radiation would lead to the burns of the 3rd degree to everyone who was 100 km from the target.
3. The resulting mushroom reached 67 km. Height, and its diameter at the top tier reached 95 km.
4. Wave atmospheric pressure After the explosion, he warmed the earth three times, moving with average speed In 303 m / s (9.9 degrees of the arc of the circle per hour).
5. People who were 1000 km. From the explosion, they felt it.
6. The sound wave reached a distance of approximately 800 km, but the destruction or damage in the nearby territories was not officially detected.
7. The ionization of the atmosphere led to the emergence of a telecommunication interference at a distance of several hundred kilometers from the explosion and lasted 40 minutes.
8. Radioactive contamination in the epicenter (2-3 km) from the explosion was about 1 billiongen per hour. 2 hours after surgery, pollution was practically not dangerous. According to the official version, the dead was not detected.
9. The funnel, formed after the explosion of "Kuzkina Mother", was not a huge for a bomb having a capacity of 58,000 kilotons. She exploded in the air, over the rocky soil. The place of the explosion "King of Bomb" on the map showed that in diameter it is about 200 m.
10. After reset, thanks to the reaction of thermonuclear synthesis (practically no leaving radioactive contamination), relative purity was present - more than 97%.

Consequences Test

Footprints from the undermining "Tsar Bomb" still preserved on the "New Earth". It was about the most powerful explosion device in the entire history of mankind. Soviet Union Demonstrated by the rest of the powers that he owns advanced weapons of mass lesion.

The benefit of the An 602 test learned and science as a whole. The experiment allowed to check the principles of calculation and constructing thermonuclear charges of a multistage type. An experienced way was proved that:

1. The power of thermonuclear charge, in essence, is not limited to anything (the theoretically, the Americans made a conclusion for another 3 years before the explosion of the bomb).
2. The cost of increasing the power of charge can be calculated. At the prices of 1950, one kilotonna of Trotilo equivalent accounted for 60 cents (for example, an explosion comparable to Hiroshima's bombing, cost 10 dollars).

Perspectives of practical use

An602 is not ready for use in battle. In the conditions of fire on the carrier aircraft, a bomb (in size comparable to a small whale) would not be able to deliver the goal. Rather, its creation and test was attempted to demonstrate technology.

Later, in 1962 on the "New Earth" (polygon in Arkhangelsk region) Tested new weapons, manufactured thermonuclear charge in the en602 housing, tests were carried out several times:

1. Its mass was 18 tons, and the power is 20 megaton.
2. Delivery was carried out with hard strategic bombers 3m and Tu-95.

Reset confirmed that thermonuclear aviation bombs Less mass and power is easier to produce and use in combat conditions. The new ammunition was still destructive to those who dropped on Hiroshima (20 kilotons) and Nagasaki (18 kiloton).

Using the experience of creating an602, the tips developed combat Blocks Even greater power, installed on superhane combat rockets:

1. Global: UR-500 (could be implemented under the name "Proton").
2. Orbital: H-1 (based on it later tried to create a carrier missile that would bring the Soviet expedition to the moon).

As a result, the Russian bomb did not receive development, but indirectly influenced the course of the arms race. Later, the creation of "Kuzkina Mother" fell into the concept of development of strategic nuclear power USSR - Nuclear Doctrine Malenkov-Khrushchev.

Device and specifications

The bomb was similar to the pH202 model, but had a number of constructive changes:

1. Other centering.
2. 2-speed explosion initiation system. The nuclear charge of the 1st stage (1.5 megatons from the total power of the explosion) launched the thermonuclear reaction in the 2nd stage (with lead components).

The detonation of the charge occurred as follows:

At first, the charge of the charge of the initiator of low power, closed inside the HV shell (in fact, a miniature atomic bomb with a capacity of 1.5 megaton). As a result of powerful neutron emissions and high temperatures Thermonuclear synthesis begins in the main charge.

Neutrons destroy the insert from deuterium lithium (deuterium and lithium isotope-6 isotope). As a result chain reaction Li-6 splits on tritium and helium. As a result, atomic focus contributes to the beginning of the thermonuclear synthesis in the dedicated charge.

Trithium and deuterium are mixed, thermonuclear reaction is launched: the temperature and pressure are rapidly increased inside the bomb. kinetic energy Nuclei, contributing to mutual penetration with the formation of new, heavier elements. The main products of the reaction are free helium and rapid neurons.

Fast neutrons are able to split atoms from the uranium shell, which also generate enormous energy (approx. 18 Mt). The process of dividing the uranium-238 cores is activated. All of the above contributes to the formation of an explosive wave and allocation huge number Heat, thanks to which the fireball grows.

Each uranium atom during decay gives 2 radioactive parts, as a result, up to 36 different chemical elements and about 200 radioactive isotopes. And for this, radioactive precipitates appear, which, after the explosion, the "tsar bomb" registered at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the test site.

The charge and decomposition scheme of elements are designed in such a way that all these processes proceed instantly.

The design allows you to increase the power of virtually no restrictions, and, compared with standard atomic bombs, saving finances and time.

At first, the 3-speed system was planned (on the idea, the second stage activated the division of the nuclei in blocks from the 3rd stage, which had a component from Urana-238), initiating a nuclear "Jackila Hyde's reaction", but it was removed due to the potentially high level of radioactive Pollution. This led to twice as smaller calculated explosion power (from 101.5 megatons to 51.5).

The final version from the initial difference was smaller than the level of radioactive contamination after the explosion. As a result, the bomb has lost more than half of the planned charge power, but this was justified by scientists. They were afraid that the Earth Cora could not withstand such a powerful impact. It is for this reason that it was not appeared on Earth and in the air.

It was necessary to prepare not only a bomb, but also the aircraft responsible for its delivery and reset. This was not under the usual bomber. The plane must have:

• Hardened suspension;
• Appropriate bomb design;
• Device for reset;
• Reflective paint coating.

These tasks were resolved after revising the dimensions of the bomb itself and, making it a huge power of nuclear bombs (at the end, this model was adopted by the Council and was called Tu-95V).

Rumors and mystics related to An 602

They rummed that the total power of the explosion was 120 megaton. Such projects took place (let's say combat version Global UR-500 missiles, the planned power of which is 150 megaton), but have not been implemented.

We had a rumor that the initial charge power was higher than 2 times than the total one.

Reduced it (except as described above) due to the concern of the appearance of a self-sustaining thermonuclear reaction in the atmosphere. It is curious that similar warnings previously proceeded from scientists who developed the first atomic bomb (Manhattan Project).

Last error - about the emergence of "geological" consequences of weapons. It was believed that undermining the initial version of "Ivan-Bomb" could be pierced earth Corre Before the mantle, if exploded on Earth, and not in the air. This is incorrect - the diameter of the funnel after the ground undermining the bombs, let's say, in one megatonna is about 400 m, and its depth is up to 60 m.

Calculations showed that the explosion "Tsar-bomb" on the surface will lead to the appearance of a funnel with a diameter of 1.5 km and a depth of 200m. Fireball, which appeared after the explosion "King of Bomb", the styling would be the city to which she fell, and in its place there would be a big crater. The shock wave would destroy the suburb, and all the survivors would receive burns of the 3rd and 4th degree. The mantle, she may not break through the earthquake, and all over the world, would be guaranteed.

conclusions

"Tsar-bomb" really pushed grand project And the symbol of the insane era, when the great powers sought to overtake each other in creating weapons of mass lesion. The demonstration of the forces of the new weapon of mass lesion was carried out.

For comparison, the United States, before that, those considered a leader in nuclear potential, the maximum powerful thermonuclear bomb, consisting of the power (in Troatil equivalent) 4 times less than that of the An 602.

"Tsar-bomb" was reset from the carrier, while the Americans blew up their projectile in the hangar.

For a number of technical and military nuances, they switched to the development of less spectacular, but more efficient weapons. It is inappropriate to produce 50 and 100 megaton bombs: these are single products suitable exclusively for political pressure.

Kuzkina Mother helped the development of negotiations on the ban of weapon tests of mass lesions in 3 environments. As a result, the United States, USSR and the United Kingdom signed an agreement in 1963. President of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Chief Scientific Center of Councils of Time) Mstislav Keldysh said that the Soviet science seems to see the further development and strengthening of the world.

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