How did Robert McNamara's 100 megaton bomb stay hidden from the public eye?

In summary, the documentary Fog Of War discusses the life lessons learned by Robert McNamara, including the design and detonation of a 100 megaton bomb during the Kennedy administration. McNamara states that the bomb was ultimately halved to 50 megatons by the Soviets due to concerns about fallout and seismic and sonic signatures. The bomb was still powerful enough to cause shock waves that could be detected halfway around the world. McNamara also mentions the downsizing of the bomb as a result of scientific input and the use of sensitive instruments to detect atomic tests. Overall, the bomb was referred to as the USSR's 50 megaton 'Tsar bomba'.
  • #1
Posy McPostface
In Fog Of War, a superb documentary about the life lessons learned by Robert McNamara is mentioned the design development and detonation of a 100 megaton bomb. I have no reason to doubt what McNamara said was untrue or a lie, what's the point of that anyway?

Anyone have any ideas how such a powerful bomb could be held in secret or covertly detonated? I don't mean to imply a conspiracy; but, how could you hide the fallout, seismic and sonic signatures from such a gigantic blast? Otherwise, we'd refer to this bomb as the largest explosion and not the USSR's 50 megaton 'Tsar bomba'.

Transcript from the documentary:
http://www.errolmorris.com/film/fow_transcript.html

Quote:
During the Kennedy administration, they designed a 100 megaton bomb. It was tested in the atmosphere. I remember this. Cold War? Hell, it was a hot war!
 
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  • #2
New From my understanding, the design was for a 100 megaton bomb, but they halved it because they were chickens (not really, I guess). I think it ended up as a 58 megaton explosion.
 
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  • #3
Ok, did some more research. By 'they' McNamara was referring to the Soviets, which downsized the Tsar bomb from 100 Mt to 50 Mt.

Sorry, clarified this on my own.
 
  • #4
DiracPool said:
From my understanding, the design was for a 100 megaton bomb, but they halved it because they were chickens (not really, I guess). I think it ended up as a 58 megaton explosion.

Yes, nobody in their right mind would detonate a 100 Mt bomb at least with the technology available at the time. Thanks to the scientists that pointed the issue with the fallout from such a bomb and convinced the Soviet leaders to downsize Tsar to around 50 Mt.
 
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  • #5
DiracPool said:
From my understanding, the design was for a 100 megaton bomb, but they halved it because they were chickenshits (not really, I guess). I think it ended up as a 58 megaton explosion.
May I ask where your picture is from? I have a philia for Greek or Roman statures.
 
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Ahh, so it is Coeus. A great Titan indeed. What was Prometheus relation to Coeus?
 
  • #7
Posy McPostface said:
Ok, did some more research. By 'they' McNamara was referring to the Soviets, which downsized the Tsar bomb from 100 Mt to 50 Mt.

Boring anecdote

That bomb was an Earth shaker.
Dad worked at the Miami Weather Bureau office then. When he came home from work that day he took sister and me out to see the barometric pressure recorder. Back then they were analog strip charts, paper and ink. Sure enough there were two blips on it that he said were the shock waves reaching Miami , one from each side of the great circle route connecting Miami and northern Russia.

Sure there are sensitive instruments these days that detect such explosions, but to upset a meteorological aneroid barometer halfway around the world - that was really something for 1961..
 
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  • #8
jim hardy said:
Boring anecdote

That bomb was an Earth shaker.
Dad worked at the Miami Weather Bureau office then. When he came home from work that day he took sister and me out to see the barometric pressure recorder. Back then they were analog strip charts, paper and ink. Sure enough there were two blips on it that he said were the shock waves reaching Miami , one from each side of the great circle route connecting Miami and northern Russia.

Sure there are sensitive instruments these days that detect such explosions, but to upset a meteorological aneroid barometer halfway around the world - that was really something for 1961..

Not a boring day at work was had, all thanks to the Russians and their 50 megaton bomb.
 
  • #9
jim hardy said:
Boring anecdote

That bomb was an Earth shaker.
Dad worked at the Miami Weather Bureau office then. When he came home from work that day he took sister and me out to see the barometric pressure recorder. Back then they were analog strip charts, paper and ink. Sure enough there were two blips on it that he said were the shock waves reaching Miami , one from each side of the great circle route connecting Miami and northern Russia.

Sure there are sensitive instruments these days that detect such explosions, but to upset a meteorological aneroid barometer halfway around the world - that was really something for 1961..
Why would a shock wave take the Great Circle Route?

We did have listening devices waiting for the sound of Russian atomic tests in the air by 1949. They were hoisted by balloon trains. One of them crashed near Roswell, New Mexico.
 
  • #10
Noisy Rhysling said:
Why would a shock wave take the Great Circle Route?

What other route could it take? That's the shortest distance between two points on a sphere.
 
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  • #11
jim hardy said:
What other route could it take? That's the shortest distance between two points on a sphere.
Sorry, that got linked to the Nagumo Kido Butai by means too esoteric to get into.
 

1. What is McNamara's 100 megaton bomb?

McNamara's 100 megaton bomb was a theoretical nuclear weapon proposed by US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara during the Cold War. It was intended to be 100 times more powerful than the most powerful nuclear bomb ever detonated, the Soviet Union's Tsar Bomba.

2. Was McNamara's 100 megaton bomb ever built or used?

No, McNamara's 100 megaton bomb was never built or used. It was only a theoretical concept proposed by McNamara as a deterrent against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

3. How powerful would McNamara's 100 megaton bomb have been?

If it had been built and detonated, McNamara's 100 megaton bomb would have had an explosive yield of 100 megatons, or 100 million tons of TNT. This is significantly more powerful than any nuclear weapon ever detonated.

4. Why did McNamara propose such a powerful bomb?

McNamara proposed McNamara's 100 megaton bomb as a way to deter the Soviet Union from attacking the United States. He believed that the threat of such a powerful weapon would make them think twice before engaging in a nuclear conflict.

5. What were the potential consequences of detonating McNamara's 100 megaton bomb?

The detonation of McNamara's 100 megaton bomb would have had catastrophic consequences, including widespread destruction, radioactive fallout, and long-term environmental damage. It would also have had a devastating impact on human life, causing countless deaths and injuries.

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