What was the largest explosion ever detonated by mankind?

2016-01-06T13:01:59-05:00

The Tsar Bomba, detonated by the USSR in 1961.

Fat Boy Leader's latest tantrum (which I am nearly sure is going to be found to NOT, in fact, be a thermonuclear detonation -- they've already said that seismically, it nearly matches their past detonations) got me to thinking about thermonuclear bombs, and I came across this and found it interesting. The hovering fireball (it's own shockwave stopped it from hitting the ground) is pretty cool. I encourage you to look at the pics on the page. From the wiki page:

The original, November 1961 AEC estimate of the yield was 55–60 Mt, but since 1992 all Russian sources have stated its yield as 50 Mt. Khrushchev warned in a filmed speech to the Supreme Soviet of the existence of a 100 Mt bomb. (Technically the design was capable of this yield.) Although simplistic fireball calculations predicted the fireball would hit the ground, the bomb's own shock wave reflected back and prevented this.[12] The fireball reached nearly as high as the altitude of the release plane and was visible at almost 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) away from where it ascended. The mushroom cloud was about 64 kilometres (40 mi) high (over seven times the height of Mount Everest), which meant that the cloud was above the stratosphere and well inside the mesosphere when it peaked. The cap of the mushroom cloud had a peak width of 95 kilometres (59 mi) and its base was 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide.

All buildings in the village of Severny (both wooden and brick), located 55 kilometres (34 mi) from ground zero within the Sukhoy Nos test range, were destroyed. In districts hundreds of kilometers from ground zero wooden houses were destroyed, stone ones lost their roofs, windows and doors; and radio communications were interrupted for almost one hour. One participant in the test saw a bright flash through dark goggles and felt the effects of a thermal pulse even at a distance of 270 kilometres (170 mi). The heat from the explosion could have caused third-degree burns 100 km (62 mi) away from ground zero. A shock wave was observed in the air at Dikson settlement 700 kilometres (430 mi) away; windowpanes were partially broken to distances of 900 kilometres (560 mi).[13] Atmospheric focusing caused blast damage at even greater distances, breaking windows in Norway and Finland. The seismic shock[verification needed] created by the detonation was measurable even on its third passage around the Earth.[14] Its seismic body wave magnitude was about 5 to 5.25.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba

Tsar Bomba - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tsar Bomba (Russian: Царь-бомба; "Tsar-bomb") is the nickname for the AN602 hydrogen bomb, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Its test on October 30, 1961, remains the most powerful man-made explosion in human history. It was also referred to as Kuz'kina Mat' (Russian: Кузькина мать, Kuzma's mother),[2] referring to Nikita Khrushchev's promise to show the United States a "Kuz'kina Mat'" at the 1960 United Nations General...

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2016 1:05 PM

2016-01-06T13:05:38-05:00

You just described the anger of my ex-wife.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2016 4:11 PM

2016-01-06T16:11:31-05:00

There comes a point where even the most megalomaniacal man says "that is big enough".
That detonation was the event that triggered the ban on surface tests of nuclear weapons.

Response by PO2 Steven Erickson made Jan 6 at 2016 5:44 PM

2016-01-06T17:44:34-05:00

And... What was the largest US nuclear detonation?

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/02/27-castle-bravo-largest-us-nuclear-explosion-rowberry

I've had the distinct pleasure of diving on this site. I MAY or MAY NOT HAVE a test-tube full of coral rubble from the center of the CB crater. (And IF I had such a thing, it would NOT be emitting radioactivity at this point in time.)

Castle Bravo: The Largest U.S. Nuclear Explosion

March 1 marks the 60th anniversary of Castle Bravo, the largest thermonuclear device ever detonated by the United States. Ariana Rowberry writes that although the test advanced thermonuclear weapons design, miscalculations about the yield resulted in the largest U.S. nuclear contamination accident.

Response by 1LT William Clardy made Jan 6 at 2016 7:25 PM

2016-01-06T19:25:16-05:00

Just to provide a point of comparison, the eruption of Krakatoa in the 19th century was only about 4 times more powerful than the Tsar Bomba, SN Greg Wright.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jan 6 at 2016 11:07 PM

2016-01-06T23:07:35-05:00

That would be the one and it was above ground, Glad I wasn't in Siberia when that Bastard went off, Bloody Hell!