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Not really. A 10kt yield at altitude wouldn't leave much radioactivity above background at ground level. Also, this is the Russian military we're talking about

by madaxe 14y ago

Not really. A 10kt yield at altitude wouldn't leave much radioactivity above background at ground level. Also, this is the Russian military we're talking about. I don't think they'll fess up to detonating a nuke, no matter how small, in a populated area. We're talking about the same guys who absolutely definitely positively did not use nukes to build shipping canals. Oh, and I am a Physicist. MSc from an Ivy-League equivalent in the UK, although these days I'm a web gimp instead.

pm90 14y ago
We're talking about the same guys who absolutely definitely positively did not use nukes to build shipping canals Ok, I'm genuinely not sure whether you're being sarcastic. So _did_ the Russians use nukes to build shipping canals?
- madaxe 14y ago
  They experimented with it, publicly declared it a success, but said they weren't going to do it, and proceeded to use the tech on the far side of the country. Pechora-Kama I think was the original project. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but the locals I've met (Kazakhstan) insist that they did.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    Didn't the US experiment with it as well? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plowshare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plowshare It wouldn't surprise me if the Russians were looking at the same thing, but it should leave some fairly telling clues behind. At the very least you can see plowshare craters littering Nevada on google maps (in a nice grid pattern in some areas, just search for "Sedan crater" and zoom out a little), I would expect similar to be somewhere in Russia if they were doing the same. Edit: This is the Russian version of plowshare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nati... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagan_(nuclear_test) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagan_(nuclear_test)
    - deleted 14y ago
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lutorm 14y ago
A 10kt yield at altitude wouldn't leave a crater, either... Unless it was used to blow up a large chunk of rock which then proceeded to fall to the ground. In that case, you'd get a crater, but you'd also get the radioactive material.

by madaxe 14y ago

pm90 14y ago

We're talking about the same guys who absolutely definitely positively did not use nukes to build shipping canals Ok, I'm genuinely not sure whether you're being sarcastic. So _did_ the Russians use nukes to build shipping canals?

madaxe 14y ago
They experimented with it, publicly declared it a success, but said they weren't going to do it, and proceeded to use the tech on the far side of the country. Pechora-Kama I think was the original project. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but the locals I've met (Kazakhstan) insist that they did.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Didn't the US experiment with it as well? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plowshare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plowshare It wouldn't surprise me if the Russians were looking at the same thing, but it should leave some fairly telling clues behind. At the very least you can see plowshare craters littering Nevada on google maps (in a nice grid pattern in some areas, just search for "Sedan crater" and zoom out a little), I would expect similar to be somewhere in Russia if they were doing the same. Edit: This is the Russian version of plowshare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_National_Economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Explosions_for_the_Nati... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagan_(nuclear_test) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagan_(nuclear_test)
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]

lutorm 14y ago

A 10kt yield at altitude wouldn't leave a crater, either... Unless it was used to blow up a large chunk of rock which then proceeded to fall to the ground. In that case, you'd get a crater, but you'd also get the radioactive material.