The atomic age gave birth to a pair of unlikely twins: onet being nuclear reactor technology that supplies us low-carbon energy and life-saving radioisotopes, and the other being atomic weaponry that can wipe out a city in seconds.
By the time of signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, the U.S. has conducted 1,054 nuclear bomb tests, and 219 of them involved explosion taken place in the atmosphere.
In the past five years, a team of weapon, film, and software experts has devoted enormous efforts to recover, restore and reanalyze the films that captured 210 of the atmospheric tests. Much to their surprise, the re-measurement based on the fireball and shockwave in these films suggested that the strength of many bombs were underestimated between 20 and 30%.
For many weapon scientists, the importance of this project is to improve and re-evaluate their understanding of the bombs. They believe that the key to ensuring the bombs aren’t going to be used for real is to make sure the U.S. stockpile continues to be an effective deterrent.
Source: Seeker via Youtube