Alpcake t1_izpn9kp wrote on December 10, 2022 at 10:14 PM

During the cold war how did countries test nuclear bombs safely? (Or at least as safe as possible)

Bashstash01 t1_izqcycs wrote on December 11, 2022 at 1:39 AM

They were dropped in places with not many people, such as deserts and small atolls in the middle of the Pacific.

Bretty_boy t1_izqrfpu wrote on December 11, 2022 at 3:43 AM

Why did they need to use atolls? Why wouldn’t they just put the bomb on a boat and detonate it where there is no land at all

drmonkeysee t1_izr3iqd wrote on December 11, 2022 at 5:28 AM

They did do this every once in a while but you could only get limited data from such a test. Look up online some of the thermonuclear test sites; they were large buildings wired up with bulky sensors and support structures. Can’t fit that on a boat.

RiceAlicorn t1_j00091w wrote on December 13, 2022 at 2:16 AM

Also, the land itself was often a point of interest for the nukes. Evidently, if nukes were to be practically used, they would certainly be used against land areas. They tested nukes on different types of terrain (desert, hard rock, etc.) to see terrain interactions, or built fake buildings/towns to test bomb effects on residential areas.

MeatballDom t1_izpxaft wrote on December 10, 2022 at 11:31 PM

They would drop them in isolated areas. Here's a map of all the sites. https://www.atomicarchive.com/almanac/test-sites/testing-map.html

Lots of them were in deserts, tundras, and a lot in isolated places in the middle of the ocean.

They also would conduct them underground to limit any radioactive fallout.

ehunke t1_j02cosj wrote on December 13, 2022 at 4:13 PM

Our long history of respect and dignity twords indigenous lands...