Possible

Current Events » in reply to re: 550 tons TNT-equivalent?

Possible

Robert — 10/9/2006 9:07:15 PM (archived)

It's not that easy to find definitive information out there, but I did Google up some references to nuclear artillery shells with yields as low as 100 tons (TNT-equivalent), so clearly, if there's a lower limit, 550 tons is above it. Other reading of the history of Bomb development suggests that where we started, ~15 KT @ Hiroshima/Nagasaki, is the easiest place to begin, and that you have to work hard not only to make bigger weapons, but smaller fission weapons too.

I had another thought: Small fission explosions are how you initiate big fusion explosions. Could be that NK was testing the first-stage of a multistage nuclear device.

Or they could've simulated the whole thing with conventional explosives. I suspect that, if so, it might eventually be revealed through close analysis of the seismic signatures, looking for some sort of "short, sharp, shock" more characteristic of a nuclear detonation. I'll bet the Zone's Geology Squad can answer that one intelligently; all I can do is riff.

The whole thread (44 posts)

Possible North Korea nuclear test? - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 3:03:07 AM
- 550 tons TNT-equivalent? - Robert - 10/9/2006 4:57:03 PM
  - re: 550 tons TNT-equivalent? - ER - 10/9/2006 7:57:41 PM
    - Possible - Robert - 10/9/2006 9:07:15 PM
      - A short (millisecond) sudden spike... - We will regret these days- - 10/10/2006 5:16:05 AM
      - Trying to help on a serious subject - still a sad day.... - 10/10/2006 3:10:10 AM
        
        I am not fit to hold thy sandels! - Adam Bomber - 10/10/2006 3:00:53 PM
        
        Best post on the matter so far (n/t) - Kim Jong Yeti - 10/10/2006 4:58:51 AM
      - Micronuke: Davy Crockett - Alan G. Archer - 10/9/2006 9:19:42 PM
        
        That is cool (n/t) - Adam Bomber - 10/10/2006 1:49:05 PM
        
        there used to be something called a blivet(?) - alcaray - 10/10/2006 1:04:11 AM
        
        Falcon and Genie - Alan G. Archer - 10/10/2006 9:54:33 AM
  - Maybe they're not developing a city-buster, but a backpack device. (n/t) - ER - 10/9/2006 7:53:12 PM
    - Possible..That would leave a longer radioactive legacy. - Jacob Samorodin - 10/10/2006 12:49:32 AM
- What wonderful news! Another UN success story. On Deck: IRAN. (n/t) - Adam Bomber - 10/9/2006 2:26:16 PM
  - US emasculates UN, then expects it to be effective. (n/t) - Bowser - 10/9/2006 5:39:33 PM
    - Really? Tell us exactly how that was done. - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 6:47:53 PM
      - re: What if there were no UN t? - Raoul - 10/9/2006 8:29:41 PM
        
        Then there might be a revived "League of Nations" in its place. (n/t) - Jacob Samorodin - 10/10/2006 12:52:10 AM
        
        re: What if there were no UN t? - gbaikie - 10/9/2006 9:20:46 PM
      - Fantasy Board stuff. You HAVE to be kidding. Especially you. - Bowser - 10/9/2006 7:43:24 PM
        
        Usual non-answer. - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 7:48:07 PM
        
        Just plain lost it, TB. Talk about revising history. - Bowser - 10/9/2006 8:22:51 PM
    - Thanks Bowz....... - Lindy - 10/9/2006 5:41:32 PM
- NORTH KOREA Earthquake Data - Lindy - 10/9/2006 1:44:02 PM
- North Korea has sold missile technology to Iran, Pakistan & Egypt - SDF - 10/9/2006 8:37:13 AM
  - Kim Jong-Il isn't a leader - SDF - 10/9/2006 8:40:04 AM
- Get ready for a roller coaster ride, folks. - SDAI-Tech1 - 10/9/2006 5:26:59 AM
  - One reason we need the UN.. - Lindy - 10/9/2006 3:19:40 PM
- re: Possible North Korea nuclear test? - ....sad day - 10/9/2006 4:49:41 AM
  - re: Possible North Korea nuclear test? - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 5:10:33 AM
    - "550-tons TNT-equivalent?" - Robert - 10/9/2006 4:58:46 PM
      - Difficult question to answer. - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 5:03:06 PM
        
        The limits of headology - Robert - 10/9/2006 5:30:33 PM
        
        I agree that this isn't a panic situation. - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 7:42:45 PM
        
        re: Difficult question to answer. - azstrummer - 10/9/2006 5:29:03 PM
        
        Wrong. Israel was invaded (unsuccessfully) after she got nukes. (n/t) - ER - 10/9/2006 7:56:02 PM
        
        Probably should've included that word. - azstrummer - 10/9/2006 10:13:22 PM
        
        I don't know the answers to those questions. - ER - 10/10/2006 1:01:32 AM
        
        Help me out on that one. (n/t) - Bowser - 10/9/2006 9:46:01 PM
- BULLETIN: G. W. Bush has been President since 1-20-01. NOT W. J. Clinton. - Bowser - 10/9/2006 4:12:28 AM
- A "senior Bush administration official"? Who? - Bowser - 10/9/2006 4:06:19 AM
  - That was all the radio said at the time I posted. - Tom Brosz - 10/9/2006 5:09:28 AM
- the nuclear excrument just hit the political fan (n/t) - Chief Yetiologist - 10/9/2006 3:43:38 AM

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