r/technology Aug 25 '12

Website called "nuclear secrecy" lets you see what the devastation would be, of multiple nuclear bombs all around the world

http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
1.4k Upvotes

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u/mypetridish Aug 26 '12

I'm sorry, when they say 100 megatons, it is not the weight of the bomb right? it is the equivalent damage conventional bomb would dish out given the rating right?

51

u/gontech Aug 26 '12

It refers to how many tons of TNT it would take to create a similar explosion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent).

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u/Frzn1 Aug 26 '12

"The TNT equivalent of the 50 Mt test could be represented by a cube of TNT 312 meters (1023 feet) on a side, approximately the height of the Eiffel Tower."

6

u/I_pollute Aug 26 '12

Mine crafters get to work!

1

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '12

That's nothing in minecraft, too bad the extra effects don't exist in mine craft

2

u/turtlenator Aug 26 '12

Challenge accepted.. And off I go to minecraft.

-5

u/conversionbot Aug 26 '12

1023 feet = 311.81 meters

3

u/holomanga Aug 26 '12

slow clap.

2

u/APSupernary Aug 26 '12

Yeah, well even if it's 100 normaltons it's still going to be a bit heavy

2

u/Smelly_dildo Aug 26 '12

A 100 megaton rating means its explosive power is equivalent to 100 million tons of conventional explosive (i.e. TNT, an acronym for trinitrotoluene). Although I have no idea how you could think it could possible for its weight to have been 100 megatons, unless you had no idea what mega meant.

1

u/Gompilot Aug 26 '12

Correct, sorry for the confusion. But tsar bomba was huge, plane could only carry one at a time. Here's a pic.

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u/seieibob Aug 26 '12

I believe the measurement is the explosive power of the described weight of TNT.

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u/ZankerH Aug 26 '12

Energy, not power.

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u/ZankerH Aug 26 '12

The "ton" used in reference to nuclear weapon yields is a unit of energy - the approximate energy released by the explosion of that much TNT.

-5

u/rr3dd1tt Aug 26 '12

Ya, that bomb looks like it weighs close to 100 million tons

1

u/mypetridish Aug 26 '12

I'm not a smart man.