What is the white cloud around an explosion?

A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke and usually condensed water vapor resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently energetic detonation or deflagration will produce the same effect.

What were the causes of the Castle Bravo?

The cause of the higher yield was an error made by designers of the device at Los Alamos National Laboratory. They considered only the lithium-6 isotope in the lithium-deuteride secondary to be reactive; the lithium-7 isotope, accounting for 60\% of the lithium content, was assumed to be inert.

How many people died due to Castle Bravo?

In 1954, the United States detonated a dry-fuel hydrogen bomb, codenamed Castle Bravo, at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The effects were still catastrophic, with the exact death toll unknown but estimated at about 75,000.

Is Castle Bravo still radioactive?

On March 1, 1954, the United States conducted its largest thermonuclear weapon test in Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands; the detonation was code-named “Castle Bravo.” Radioactive deposits in the ocean sediment at the bomb crater are widespread and high levels of contamination remain today.

What is the biggest nuke the US has?

B83
The last B53 was disassembled on 25 October 2011, a year ahead of schedule. With its retirement, the largest bomb currently in service in the U.S. nuclear arsenal is the B83, with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons. The B53 was replaced in the bunker-busting role by the B61 Mod 11.

What was the size of the Castle Bravo mushroom cloud?

Seconds after detonation, a mushroom cloud four and a half miles wide formed. It ultimately reached a height of 130,000 feet. The explosion left a crater on the ocean floor with a diameter of 6,500 feet and a depth of 250 feet. Castle Bravo was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than the “Little Boy” atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima.

What was the height of the Castle Bravo bomb?

It ultimately reached a height of 130,000 feet. The explosion left a crater on the ocean floor with a diameter of 6,500 feet and a depth of 250 feet. Castle Bravo was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than the “Little Boy” atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima.

How did fallout spread from the Castle Bravo explosion?

Wind shear and ocean currents spread fallout from the Castle Bravo explosion. Traces of radioactive material were later found in Japan, India, and Australia, as well as in parts of Europe and the United States.

How did the mistakes of the Castle Bravo test affect Operation Castle?

The mistakes of the Castle Bravo test did not end thermonuclear testing by the United States or other countries. Operation Castle continued with a further series of nuclear tests on the Marshall Islands after the Castle Bravo test. Overall, between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean.