How safe are nuclear weapons?

Considering the number of nuclear weapons that have been created since 1945, it is something of a miracle that up to now there hasn't been a major nuclear explosion involving them, so how safe are nuclear weapons?
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Presented by Paul Shillito
Written and Researched by Paul Shillito
Images and Footage:
USAF, Sandia National Labs, DOD, US Army, Kelly Michals
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As well as sections created by Paul Shillito
Safe & Secure 2 by Paul Shillito ~ • Safe & Secure 2
Safe & Secure 4 by Paul Shillito ~ • Safe & Secure 4
Safe & Secure 5 by Paul Shillito ~ • Safe & Secure 5

[@raykehr1832]

Can you imagine being a guy that says yeah I lost a nuke one time.

[@duchinsmickle]

it would be easier to make your own nuke than to steal one

[@raykehr1832]

Duchinsmickle oh yahh. That’s why everyone has one right.

[@duchinsmickle]

Ray Kehr I’m not saying making a nuclear bomb is easy. I’m saying stealing a nuke is very fucking hard, you have have to invade a military base and shit

[@pepsidoggo1598]

@@duchinsmickle how do you know? personal experience?

[@jasonjamrs7413]

Not the first time it's happened before hopefully we learnt by our mistakes

[@erickrcisneros]

Imagine telling your supervisor/superiors sir “I’ve lost the nuke”. That would not be so nice

[@pleasedontwatchthese9593]

Some guys stopped by and wanted to see it. They wanted to take it with them but they promised me they where going to be back in 10 mins.

[@dyingearth]

Or as the president's rep in the movie Broken Arrows said: I don't know what's worse, loosing a nuke or that it happened enough that you have a term for it.

[@erickrcisneros]

BigFire That’s pretty good.. It’s terrible that their is a term for it.

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

@@dyingearth losing

[@speedy01247]

Imagine telling your coworkers that the nuke you are currently removing from a plane is armed. Like I really want to know the guys thoughts, when he checked the nuke and found it armed.

[@nightruler666]

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start *nukes explode*

[@backsideofblue3163]

Vampirerockstar circle circle triangle square

[@permadifauza5251]

😆 vampire. maybe nuke blast on your wife kitchen if she angry, because you maried again two three four twenty ooh vamp king

[@colincampbell767]

That's the theory. No current US nuclear weapon has ever been tested under operational conditions and even when we did test them, the warhead required modifications in order to detonate in a test environment. There's the possibility that some models of nuclear warheads have an undetected design flaw and will not work under operational conditions.

[@raykehr1832]

Select start for 2 nukes

[@sunbeam5744]

is that the cheat code from the amazing world of gumball

[@TheRantingCabbie]

Overwrite the software with Windows Vista. It will never stop asking permission to detonate. Problem solved.

[@MrWombatty]

Overwrite with Apple/Mac software & without any warning it will decide to detonate itself without anyone asking it to!

[@theteddychannel8529]

@moo literally offended over a macOS joke.

[@jeschinstad]

@@theteddychannel8529: As a Linux guy, I have no stake in either Windows or Mac, but I also didn't get the joke. As a non-Windows user, I obviously agree with @moo that MacOS is far more sane than Windows.

[@theteddychannel8529]

@@jeschinstad "I have no stake in either windows or Mac" "obviously macos is superior" bro you wrote a 2 sentence comment and managed to contradict yourself. But hey whatever, please elaborate on the "far more sane" part

[@jeschinstad]

@@theteddychannel8529: I didn't contradict myself. I have no stake in either OS and Mac OS is not nearly as bad as Windows, which doesn't mean Mac OS is good. If I thought Mac OS was a good OS, I would use it. And I don't. But I'm not going to go into a deep debate on OS design on KZbin.

[@1axmann]

Dude I love your channel... this is how documentaries should be made. Top 10s are overdone.

[@sk4lman]

They overstayed their welcome 72 hours after being invented.

[@positronundervolt4799]

I just finished my 'Curious Droid's TOP 10 T-SHIRTS YOU MUST SEE TOO BELIEVE!' video.

[@CookingWithCows]

Top 10 most annoying youtube tropes.

[@dosmastrify]

Way way way overdone!

[@jameskagogoh3275]

I agree..... He is the best

[@pchiare]

Only Paul can deliver lines that imho kinda foreshadow the fiery end of mankind in such calm and soothing tones! Love the videos!

[@Michael-qy1jz]

Nukes flow from Minot AFB to Barksdale AFB by so called accident. Lol. The Kennybunkport warning. Cheney and the Boyz we gunna start nuking something but they were stopped. Any fight crew left alive?? Nope! Lol

[@davejones5640]

@Carlos Saraiva With billions and billions of dead. I can hear it now. Lol

[@mrmorelove846]

Totally agree with that! Like he’s a radio news caster in the 40s

[@webpa]

@@Michael-qy1jz Hilarious bullshit!

[@gotindrachenhart]

Damn, can you imagine being one of the ordinance boys removing those bombs only to find out later they'd been armed the whole time, yikes!

[@paavobergmann4920]

" I will never forget the moment, when my sergeant came up out of the pit and said : 'Sir, we´ve located the firing device', and I said 'great', and he said: 'not great. It´s on "armed" '. - Gainsboro incident, declassified files.

[@michaeltroster9059]

The chaps at Chernobyl we’re quite certain they were doing things in a safe manner.

[@adder3597]

@@michaeltroster9059 no, some of the operators were sure of the opposite. It's an apples and oranges argument to compare weapons safety to energy safety.

[@mirum8726]

don't forget that window can auto save, and will put in a place where nobody can find it

[@woongah]

When staining one's trousers is a perfectly reasonable response.

[@MehediHasan-wf6zp]

The man with the best floral shirt collection and British accent!!

[@badpharma461]

I would estimate average British guy. One weirdness per person is normal. Ask him about his dice collection, THAT is odd.

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

HAHAHA!!! Exactly!!! What nuclear devices?!

[@spearian]

A perfect example of how to give a presentation. Clear, concise information given at the perfect pace. A big thank you. Your videos are a pleasure to watch.

[@billant2]

Gen-X style. ;)

[@thomasrowe2192]

y'know, scientists say that the maximum speed is that of light. they ain't seen my fingers when I get a curious droid notification.

[@jasonplant5432]

I kill the music,set down the wrench,all and pay attention to the right person for the job.

[@UncleWermus]

Best shirts/facts combination on KZbin

[@johnkepa2240]

😂😂😂

[@SirBlue]

Well said and also the same for me

[@Audfile]

Y'all

[@Shaggyshadric]

“The problems of safety and security have been pretty much overcome.” Murphy’s Law: “Hold my beer” Dr. Ian Malcom: “Life.. Ahh.. Finds a way.”

[@flagmichael]

Nothing will ever overcome error when human thought is involved.

[@drunkensailor5771]

@@flagmichael *tries to pick up Rock, destroys earth*

[@KiwiExpressCream]

Watching again after nearly two years and this is still a superb video. The research that must've gone in to it and the accuracy of the information is first rate and extremely impressive. Awesome stuff!

[@HaffyD.B.]

Theres something creepily interesting about all things nuclear.

[@bmay8818]

That's a good way to put it! I have a macabre fascination with these things. I know they are evil and world-ending but they're interesting too.

[@HaffyD.B.]

@@bmay8818 I think thats often the way. Humans like that sort of thing, for example we make films about the end of the world to entertain ourselves.

[@majorchungus]

Without nukes I think WWIII would have already happened with Russia.

[@Hawkinsian]

"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" - Julius Robert Oppenheimer (Great quote but then again...... bloody daunting)

[@dextrovix3057]

Agreed, I'm fascinated by nuclear weapons, and despise them in equal measure. I wish they didn't exist, but even without them humanity is pretty good at finding and using alternatives...

[@patrickwalsh2884]

There are many safety devices in today's nuclear weapons. The W-53 that was involved in the Titan II explosion had ten separate safety devices that kept it from a nuclear yield. I was shown classified photos of the weapon after the DOE took it apart to see what safety devices functioned to keep it from a nuclear detonation. Most of the U.S.'s nuclear weapons have been sent off to retirement or the inactive stockpile. The U.S. Army has no nukes and the Navy and Air Force are down to six types of warheads/gravity bombs. The W-80 is used by both the AF and Navy. The W-88 is a navy weapon. The AF has B-61 in several Mods., B-83 which is due for retirement, the W-62 due for retirement if not already gone and is being replace by W87 for the MMIII. In twenty three years of working on nuclear weapons in the Air Force I never encountered a Broken Arrow event. Had plenty of Dull Swords though. I worked on and with the W-25, W-62, W-69, W-84, W-87, B-43, B-57, B-61 and the B-83. Also had extensive time using PAL equipment for coding and re-coding weapons. Had lots of different security clearances too.

[@oscarbanana6159]

Do you have any insight into the safety systems and standards of Russian nuclear weapons? I'm primarily thinking of a theft or incompetence of handling incident. I suppose the greatest threat these days is that a stolen weapon is simply dismantled to create a dirty conventional bomb.

[@mikeb.5039]

Bent Spear report still used?

[@JohnSmith-qv6hp]

India and Pakistan now can they meet the gold standard

[@KB4QAA]

@@oscarbanana6159 The US shared safety systems information with the Soviets in the 1970's.

[@Tracomaster]

do you ever get used working with those big eggs? I would always feel uneasy. \

[@Rafferty1968]

"Do not shoot at the nuclear weapons!"

[@mazzalnx]

Shut up Nastasha, what about these guards? They're more than happy to shoot at me...

[@MatthewMaughan]

Sir, They’re shootings at OUR byllets with byllets!

[@TheSovietWombat]

Never thought id come across a video titled "how safe are nukes"

[@tanngrisnir69]

😆

[@flagmichael]

Not at all - see kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKjUi2h3h5eka9k

[@NomenNescio99]

Broken arrow was also the radio call used during the Vietnam War when US troops were surrounded by the VC and cutoff from other troops. Usually meant that a shit load of napalm was dropped from the sky shortly thereafter.

[@NomenNescio99]

Reference: en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Broken_Arrow For the napalm part, go watch the movie "We were soldiers", the plot is essentially a broken arrow scenario.

[@PHeMoX]

That's because Broken Arrow has nothing to do with a nuclear missile being lost, compromised or stolen. Broken arrow means a line of defence that is supposed to move forward was breached. Indeed such a situation could be troops getting cut off or surrounded, disabling the general push forward into a territory. So yes, Broken Arrow as a military term for a 'lost nuke' is actually bullshit. No such term exists.

[@NomenNescio99]

@@PHeMoX Hey, just listened to "oddesey of relativity" on your channel - I really liked it.

[@vitaminwaterdaisuki]

YES! I have been waiting for your new video! It's always amazing! Great work!!

[@PeugeotRocket]

I'm always excited when he uploads. His videos never fail to be interesting. Even if the title might not sound compelling to me, once I watch, I'm always entertained and learn something.

[@vasiovasio]

Really great video man! Your videos are bold, interesting and well presented - you a smart, but yet modest presenter - Respect to you!

[@hmcamposce]

Radoslav Ivanov i completely agree with you!

[@lifeforce3451]

He must rename the channel as "the serial killer nerd"

[@infeedel7706]

CD, you make such great vignettes. Seems each time I plan an early night but watch youtube, it ends up on your channel and another day deprived of sleep! LoL, goodonya. This was one of my favourites, thankyou.

[@WarpedPerception]

One of my Favorite episodes to date as my Great Uncle was a Nuclear Physicist. Thanks for taking me back!!

[@flagmichael]

Before I retired I worked with a man who has an uncle who runs a laser company in Livermore, California. My buddy told me his uncle is seriously tired of the frequent visits from a handful of federal departments asking "what's new?"

[@NeutronSplitter]

Never knew about the automatic firing disabling security feature or that the coordinates weren't preloaded. Very informative, thank you.

[@billant2]

So "they" say, could be quite the opposite as misdirection, ya know.

[@joshrandalldisavows6697]

Such a great channel. Thank you Curious Droid!

[@adrianoaxel1196]

I really appreciate the leval of details... can imagine the research work in preparing the videos. Great job!

[@Kanti12311]

“Never get stolen” but got mistakenly transported

[@terryboyer1342]

Just yer typical "lost luggage".

[@edwardmunye]

lol, how does one just transport a nuclear warhead by "accident"??

[@terryboyer1342]

@@edwardmunye A few years back a B-52 flew from Minot AFB ND to Barksdale AFB LA. It was supposed to be carrying 6 training missiles but actually had 6 "live" ones by mistake. The mistake was not discovered until days later. So they sat there for days unknown and unguarded. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_United_States_Air_Force_nuclear_weapons_incident

[@speedy01247]

Bent Arrow. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_nuclear_incident_terminology interesting fact a Nucflash is an incident involving the detonation or possible detonation of a nuclear weapon that could cause a war.

[@colincampbell767]

@@terryboyer1342 Actually they were guarded. They just were not guarded by people with PRP clearances. Anybody who tried to steal those missiles or their warheads would have been shot, and shot again, and shot again. Guarding "assets determined by competent authority to be vital to national security" (been over 30 years and I still can recite that from memory) is a job that combines extreme boredom with extreme stress. It's a zero-defect environment where perfection is the minimum standard and even trivial errors get a ferocious response. As a result the guard force would wish they'd get attacked so they can take their frustrations out on somebody. In addition they instill in you a rather fanatical and bloody minded attitude to the security of your 'items.' In the early 1980's there was a Special Forces unit who would practice penetrating facilities such as munitions dumps and airfields undetected and then plaster everything in site with stickers with their unit's logo on them and then sneak out. Until some moron decided to try this at the nuke site. The guard force opened up on them with a machinegun without warning. The guard who pulled the trigger got an Army Commendation Medal for it. (On the outer fence for the site were signs warning that intruders would be shot without warning.)

[@MushookieMan]

Now the weakest link is probably the software sending commands to the nukes. I hope they don't use Apple maps.

[@DerHeimatlose1]

Oh no you don't have to be afraid They don't use Apple software They use an extremely save and reliable security program... ...based on Windows 98SE

[@Abdega]

It’s okay, Apple said not to use Apple maps in nuclear devices, and I’m sure the military read the terms and services, I mean who wouldn’t? :^)

[@colincampbell767]

Actually we discovered a huge problem in the fact that our entire NRAS (Nuclear Release Authentication System) several years ago when we discovered that a lot of the 1980's era components were no longer functional due to the fact that there were no replacement parts made anymore. Since the early 1990's nuclear weapons had been starved for budget money and a lot of the components for the command and control system were unreliable and obsolete.

[@robertgutheridge9672]

The weakest link is that the software was probably written in a foreign country by a programmer who left a hidden back door to get to the program. Or when it was copied there are a couple of single bit errors in the code that will come back to haunt us later

[@Blox117]

​@@DerHeimatlose1 ̶ ̶L̶O̶L̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶u̶b̶b̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶m̶a̶d̶e̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶G̶o̶o̶g̶-̶-̶ *This comment has been removed by Google Safety Bot due to rule violations.

[@fridaycaliforniaa236]

Imagine, you're trying to launch a nuke and you have a Windows 10 update... 😂

[@SolidCoreBlack]

no internet no update problem

[@vueport99]

What if it's Windows 3.1 and the license expired?

[@NB-fc4rl]

The quality of the content and production on this channel is amazing. Love it!

[@cleanerben9636]

Too safe. Praise Atom! May he divide us all! May the glow bless you my children!

[@Tiisiphone]

Yea brother! Division is at hand!

[@machy8515]

Carlos Saraiva fallout f*ck yeah

[@leuk2389]

I gave those fanatics division alright

[@cleanerben9636]

@@leuk2389 Thank you child!

[@Mandrag0ras]

Did,,, did Paul heart a Fallout reference comment?! I'm impressed.

[@TumpaTalapatra]

Broken arrow reminded me of the 1996 John Travolta movie.

[@NanoBurger]

Which had the best quote about losing a nuclear weapon ever: - Giles Prentice: A Broken what? - Secretary of Defense Baird: Broken Arrow. It's a Class 4 Strategic Theatre Emergency. It's what we call it when we lose a nuclear weapon. - Giles Prentice: I don't know what's scarier, losing nuclear weapons, or that it happens so often there's actually a term for it.”

[@Anonymous-ce6zg]

“Please don’t shoot the nukes”!

[@PHeMoX]

@@NanoBurger Actually, Broken Arrow is not an official code name for losing a nuke.

[@SilverSpoon_]

one of these movies in which I always hoped the «villain» wins.

[@SilverSpoon_]

@@PHeMoX yeah it's an empty quiver, gotta hate it when it happens. Some people really have no respect, like, stealing weapons that are paid by the taxpayer to ensure the country's defence. I feel sorry for the persons who were in charge of its transport or surveillance.

[@fatb0tLP]

Fantastic video as always! Super informative and entertaining. You are a breath of fresh air on KZbin!

[@paul8683]

Your videos are so well done. I put this on to listen to while I did some other work and ended up stopping what I was doing to watch till the end.

[@hotmojoe2483]

Imagine the faces of the Air Force airmen unloading the B-47 and realising the bombs were armed. YIKES!

[@colincampbell767]

According to the Wikipedia article - when airmen reported that they had live warheads to their supervisor - he was skeptical.

[@Marinealver]

Kind of like anything with a major potential incident. First disbelief (are you sure) then quick panic (OMG they are) fallowed by a quick report (we have a situation here) then an overreaction (everyone lose their minds as every scrap of evidence is being collected and no one is allowed to talk to each other until interviewed and debriefed) then eventually nothing (well that was a whole lot of nothing).

[@hotmojoe2483]

Colin Campbell I mean I would be too, obviously I’d go to protocol but I’d be a little offput

[@hotmojoe2483]

Maldus Alver It’s a military operation, only overreaction is a couple people screaming oh shit, they somehow stay quite tame in crazy situations.

[@PHeMoX]

@@hotmojoe2483 Sorry, but that's not how people react. You shouldn't be too surprised to hear military people curse and such too in such situations. They are people like you and me, regardless of training. Also, let's not pretend they would panic in such ways as to make things more dangerous than they are.

[@PlayTheMind]

“Safe” and “Weapons” in the same sentence makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[@Darkstar_8473]

Please don't be that person - he just made a video describing in full detail how safe they are.

[@yellow01umrella]

@@Darkstar_8473 War doesn't solve problems since war itself is a problem.

[@ratreptile]

Problems can be solutions to other problems though....War can be a solution to how to stop bad people from doing shitty things for example. If a country is engaged in the extermination of a people, war is justified, if a country infringes on human rights, war is justified and so on. There are justifications for war but it should always be the last resort.

[@yellow01umrella]

@@ratreptile Nope. You should those countries deal with their own shit. The only exception is if you get surprise attacked by another country.

[@DanielMores]

@@ratreptile Assuming everyone agrees that war is sometimes necessary ... where do nukes come in? It's like a hammer when you need tweezers.

[@Omidion]

Damn i was amazed how detailed this was and how easy to understand. The amount of effort and research in making this clip alone...good job and thank you for educating us.

[@zippersocks]

Great topic! Your vids are always filled with more info than expected. Sometime have to rewind a bit (which is good)

[@jasonplant5432]

Thank you!!! Thank you!! Thank you!! I'm so appreciative for you and your family of educators who can put it on the web. I'm so curious about everything. And I'm always coming away from your sacrifice with much more productive information that I need to conclude so many thought processes. CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH.!!

[@gumunduringigumundsson9344]

Excellent vid dude. Could be much longer. You should make a a 2 part 1 hour each specials where you reiterate past subjects in a beutifully conjealed, holistic and interconnected manner. On the matter of how I learned to stop worrying and start loving the bomb. Exactly because of these amazing safety features on the devices that made a total angry war a thing of the past. Thanks superpowers.

[@hsn129]

now thats a channel that i would recommend to watch good documentaries great work sir !!! i love this channel

[@JohnnyB43]

Wow, really professional & interesting documentary / video. Thanks JB

[@doodskie999]

You and mark felton are my heroes. Wish my school would show your videos instead of those old outdated videos

[@seavixen125]

Don't forget the history guy, these guys are the holy trinity of you tubers imo.

[@CybranM]

You always pick such interesting topics, love your videos man :D

[@rfw700]

Very informative and a well narrated explanation. Your style should be a benchmark for many other KZbin channels or even mainstream TV channels.

[@davey3765]

This was a really informative video. My mom's ex worked at Lawrence Livermore labs - he could't tell me what he did or my brother (his son) but what we did get to hear they were aggressively working on trying to figure out fusion energy clear back in the early 80's. Me and my brother just wanted to know about the nukes. Great video.

[@dennishunt1590]

Fair Dinkum this video was so interesting, I love your very informative work. You must be very, very knowledgeable and have to do a lot of research. Great work mate.

[@H2R5GSXR]

Having been a Special Weapons Technician, I would say you did a great job on this video. Thank You

[@reimusklinsman5876]

Incredible video. It has a wide range of information, presented without any fluffy, and it is said in a way that easily makes sense.

[@RayTech70]

Awesome and safely informative as usual... you are a godsend Curious Droid!

[@jaymanz72584]

VERY informative!... Thanks & keep up the GREAT work!... Keep the knowledge coming sir!...👊😎✊

[@stevangucu522]

Well, James May wanted to ignite Satan missile with cigarette lighter so I say there is more work to be done in that area.

[@Rick-md3ne]

Great video. You do an awesome job with your research. Very interesting and informative.

[@ceck.8843]

Awesome video as usual Mr. Shillito, I always look forward to your videos.

[@concept5631]

The scariest thing is that we don't know how many Broken Arrow incidents the Soviet Union had.

[@nem447]

You could make a video on broken arrows, that would be interesting. _Chur_

[@fuckingwebsite1]

dude. im not sure how long you been youtubing but I love your work, I remember you from tv, pre internet

[@michaeltyniec7010]

Your videos are so thorough and informative. Hats off to you sir.

[@koala_molotov]

This made my morning!! I was just watching all of your videos over and over again now here you are with the creme de La Creme!!

[@francisgeorge7639]

have to agree with that. I think this is the best so far.

[@erickrcisneros]

I love when I get the notification that a Curious Droid video is out!

[@boufie9997]

Paul - Your videos are high-quality and well researched. This one I particularly enjoyed. Wild but tasteful shirts to boot...

[@Tribecasoothsayer]

All Curious Droid videos are very informative and well presented.

[@Animalcrazyfacts]

Love your channel.Greetings from South Africa!!

[@WayneKitching]

Ditto. I'm in Midrand.

[@GreenStarTech]

Still the only country to disarm nuclear weapons.

[@panostriantaphillou766]

They are safe. We are not!

[@suggestedone9]

Too true, too true

[@unicornhorn1380]

Any Nuclear Bomb is EVIL and 100% stupid to build or threaten the use of. Pure Evil.

[@john.t645]

@@unicornhorn1380 You're fucking stupid. The mere threat of MAD works to this day.

[@randomuser5443]

Unicorn Horn Pure evil keeps us safe. Fear of hell isnt bad

[@bezahltersystemtroll5055]

😔

[@ismyalak1419]

High quality content, I love your channel.

[@patrickmertz2426]

Incredibly informative video, many thanks Paul.

[@erictaylor5462]

The real risk is an accidental deployment. I read a book that contained several "100 year" stretches looking at the risk is small body impact on Earth. They looked at the 20th Century and one of the runs included an impact in the ocean that strikes and destroys a US Air Craft Carrier battle group. Because the strike (which was an air burst like Chelyabinsk but with a bigger impacting body and lower down so the fireball reaches the surface. This impact looked like a nuclear attack and it sparked a US/USSR exchange. Though limited, the damage is devastating leaving large sections of both countries uninhabitable.

[@jeschinstad]

Yes, the Battle of Los Angeles is an interesting example of that sort of thing, and in the Fake News era, that type of danger is increasing dramatically.

[@specialized41]

This month is the 50 anniversary of the first step in the moon. Good moment for a video about Apollo mission. Theme: 1)Computer of Apollo 11 2)Austronauts Watches 3) Lunar vehicle. 4)Apollo 11 engine proportion 5)Apollo Modules . Just some ideas, thanks!!!

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Great ideas!

[@antoniomaglione4101]

Thank you. Very nice summation of the security of nuclear devices. I greatly appreciate the speed of delivery pace you use; with the exception of another couple of presenters, the majority of scientific videos are delivered at an excessively speedy pace, which makes me pause and rewind - and at the end I don't watch them anymore. I can't understand why they do that, but again, you achieve the optimal speed every time...

[@beanerflowers09]

Very professional I love these! Please produce more

[@bourbonn.pearls3151]

The most intriguing "Broken Arrow" to me is the Tybee Island Bomb. It was NEVER recovered. to this very day.

[@ErnestJay88]

Rather than "incidental explosion" i had more concern of "incidental launch" due to miss understanding or false alarm error.

[@placeholdername3206]

Not how it works. The personnel in the silos cannot launch anything on their own. Their systems could malfunction and tell them to launch. They still need the launch codes to even unlock the missiles.

[@mattgosling2657]

@@placeholdername3206 is that definitely how they work then? Absolutely impossible for say a computer malfunction or any sort of genius hacking like I've heard about, and there has to be more than one human involved in the steps to them being launched? That's good to know, how about errors in other countries warning systems that could cause another country to retaliate by mistake? could that ever happen? If you know, I'm interested mate. Also do you know if the airforce has any nukes that could be dropped or launched from planes? or is that method completely outdated nowadays? it sounds like subs are most effective from what I've read.

[@placeholdername3206]

@@mattgosling2657 I'm by no means an expert, my information is just freely available from videoed tours of American silos. The President is supposed to be the only one that has final authority and control over wether or not a nuclear strike is done. Russia admitted to have used "dead hand" systems during the cold war. Surprise us with a direct hit and you will still get nuked back to the stoneage. Do they still have those systems in place? No idea, that was during the USSR era. The thought is pretty scary.

[@mattgosling2657]

@@placeholdername3206 Yeah two countries using these type of weapons on each other would be scary, hopefully won't see it in our lifetimes. Anyway thanks for answering mate.

[@notmenotme614]

@@placeholdername3206 do you know much about electrics? What you are suggesting is a physical switch magically going from open to closed. I’ve never came across a switch that can do this by itself.

[@OmahcronOmni]

Your super knowledgeable its really amazing learning things from you.

[@jamesdean8951]

Another fantastic video - many thanks

[@maytronix7201]

I keep waiting for him to pull out a passport and say.... "Diplomatic Immunity"!!!

[@sharonishere]

This channel still not reaching 1M+ subs is a crime against humanity.

[@harryballs6652]

Probabaly cause the guy looks like that infamous Russian serial killer, Andrei Chikatilo.

[@graycloud057]

Absolutely fantastic presentations!

[@tomcat548]

Very informative doco. I learned a few new things that help put my mind at ease.

[@philliberatore4265]

All safety systems sound like they will work, until they don't. Love your channel.

[@PHeMoX]

@FoxIslanderSteve Actually, all of the weapons found elsewhere are likely a result of espionage, reverse engineering, regular arms trade and other nations their own research and development putting them on a similar track towards the same type of solutions. It's extremely naive to assume Pakistani nuclear missiles somehow 'barely work'. In fact, did you even see the North Korean launches? They may not be able to cover extreme distances yet, however they sure as heck 'work'.

[@aemrt5745]

"1 2 3 4? That's my luggage code!"

[@specialized41]

Thanks! I Love your videos. Good info always.

[@joeryan114]

Excellent and fascinating! Thank you.

[@hereLiesThisTroper]

When not serving in the small council, Lord Varys likes to make videos about rockets and space.

[@VijayKumar-dn4pz]

Mr. Varys, a wise man like you should have ruled the 7 kingdoms.

[@johnb9825]

I just wanted to drop a line to say how much I like your channel. It's well-informed and well presented... I enjoy it very much and I have subscribed with notifications.. I'd like to also add that you look like -and sound like a bond villain. :)

[@daraghcassidy6707]

Man, I love this channel so much.

[@osuna3525]

It would be hilarious if there was a nuclear war and all the triggering devices in all the delivery systems were just duds on both sides... "Well... this is awkward"

[@n111254789]

What doesn't exist?

[@n111254789]

@Hell N Degenerates Go to the trinity site in New Mexico and check out the Trinitite all over the ground. How did that get there? What about all the footage and Hiroshima?

[@bryanpassifiume1185]

Hell N Degenerates lol okay

[@paavobergmann4920]

@Hell N Degenerates that was a calibration test. they performed calibration shots of 100t, 500t, and 1000t of TNT, at various times, to get some measure what a 0.5kt yield would be, and then go from there. Look up "Operation teapot". Not everything you fear is faked to make you feared. Some shit is actually very real. Like, nukes, for example.

[@paavobergmann4920]

"so....that just happened..."

[@therenumerator9198]

And these are the American mistakes and close calls. Makes you wonder about the assorted close calls and mistakes made by Russia, France, Great Britain China and the others in 'The Club.'

[@kenibnanak5554]

France and Great Britain use US supplied warheads. They think they have autonomous control and if it keeps them happy, let them continue dreaming.

[@therenumerator9198]

@@kenibnanak5554 The conversation is about losing the warheads and mistakes in the handling there of. What are you talking about?

[@Tiberiansam]

@@kenibnanak5554 Wrong! They have their owns and made their own nuclear tests.

[@boomerrob9223]

These are the mistakes we know about. Tip of the iceberg springs to mind.

[@jordanreeseyre]

@@kenibnanak5554 common mistake. The warheads used by the RN are selected from a common pool of weapons which are serviced by both UK & US technicians rather than simply being supplied. There is no reason to assume the UK would have any less control over a US built W88 than a US built F35.

[@JosephRajewskiWIII]

This is the best channel. Curios Droid Mate!!

[@mariusbecker467]

What a high quality content!! Thank you very much!!!

[@TheRealWinsletFan]

The book "Command and Control" put the willies up me some years ago, and I don't feel any safer now...

[@Page5framing]

TheRealWinsletFan that’s a good book!

[@jayrigger7508]

I agree .. that book scared me

[@SunriseLAW]

"War Games" should provide assurance. Both US and Russia realized long ago that mistakes, false readings, and evil humans could precipitate the end of civilization. So both sides installed undocumented controls that physically prevent the nukes from launching or functioning... even after authentication and 'turning keys'.

[@Michael-qy1jz]

Yep.. Nukes flow from Minot AFB to Barksdale AFB by so called accident. Lol. The Kennybunkport warning. Cheney and the Boyz we gunna start nuking something but they were stopped. Any fight crew left alive?? Nope! Lol

[@colincampbell767]

Be careful about mass-market books. They have a bad habit of making things more dramatic than they really were.

[@webbit1518]

How safe? Well, it matters which end of the bomb you're on...

[@squarerootof2]

Umm, behind safer, maybe? Or slightly to the left?

[@mechfly8960]

very good and interesting sessions mr Droid

[@bitchplease1114]

Brilliant vid, thank you, Paul!

[@ravenlord4]

Finally, something that "jet fuel can melt" :p

[@PHeMoX]

He's actually incorrect about the maximum burning temperature of jet fuel. It depends on the type of jet fuel, but it can exceed maximum temperatures of 2200 degrees celcius under special conditions, with more regular open fire temperatures of around a ~1030 degrees celcius max (not 980 degrees celcius). He's also wrong in how (parts of the!!!) bombs melted, but that's a different discussion. Keep in mind a plane that crashes the way it did would basically cause an explosion. Ironically such an explosion did not have enough force to cause a nuclear detonation, once more stressing how you would only ever get a nuclear explosion under the right conditions anyway. Again, an unarmed nuke that drops into the ground would not detonate a nuclear explosion.

[@joevignolor4u949]

@@PHeMoX This is why burning jet fuel inside a jet engine is never allowed to come into direct contact with any metal parts. If it ever did the parts would melt almost instantly. Inside the combustion chambers the flames are suspended in the center of the chamber by a layer of cooling air flowing along the chamber walls. Then even more cooling air is mixed into the hot gas to cool it before it enters the turbine. And afterburners have perforated inner liners that allow in cooling air to keep the flame away from the outer walls of the jet pipe.

[@VeritechGirl]

Nuke Management Tool. Now in the App Store!

[@frguitar777]

Great content. Keep going 👊🏻

[@williamlingenfelter4989]

Great job Paul. I know about the Tybee island bomb...it would be interesting to learn about the other five lost nukes. Please keep the great videos coming. P.S. - I’m heading to Patreon now!

[@krishnam1]

As safe as humanely possible. The ultimate deterrent that has kept the world safe. Thank God for human ingenuity (and innate goodness).

[@robertgutheridge9672]

But if it is made by man no matter how safe we think it is. It will fail at some point by some unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately that is a simple case of probably. It's good that we have tried to make them safe but 1 will someday go off unintended

[@MindLaboratory]

And, as we saw here, a whole lot of luck

[@eliaspuolakka290]

Safe for the operator - unsafe for the target you can aply that to most weapons anyway.

[@SephirothRyu]

Mercenary Maxim 55. It's only too many weapons if they're pointing in the wrong direction. Also: Maxim 62. Anything labeled "This end toward enemy" is dangerous at both ends.

[@aldocolamartino2991]

Very clear explaination, thanks for this video

[@maddogmike5178]

That was a great documentary. Very entertaining.