4 ms·
People didn't know that for sure - there was actually a fear that thermonuclear bombs would ignite the atmosphere and turn us into a sun.
by funklute 7y ago
People didn't know that for sure - there was actually a fear that thermonuclear bombs would ignite the atmosphere and turn us into a sun.
- yesenadam 7y agoI remember reading a Feynman story where he was given the job of checking the calculations about that, and asking what if he made a mistake, was told not to worry, as no-one would ever find out. I googled for that but first found this article, which has a range of quotes about those fears from physicists, and some of the chemistry/physics of the actual fusion reactions people thought might happen. I hadn't read about that before - like the nitrogen in the atmosphere turning to magnesium! etc.. http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/chung1/ http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/chung1/