How the US Tests Nukes (Without Blowing Them Up)

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Video written by Amy Muller
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[@dan8cat]

At least the sensors only died when it got interesting... they got to experience half as interesting

[@EpicGhostShadow]

Ha

[@battlesheep2552]

ICWUDT

[@gokudoge7588]

@@EpicGhostShadowHAI*

[@orsaz924]

​@@battlesheep2552 InterContinental What U Doing Today?

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@battlesheep2552O, I2CWYDT

[@SuprSBG]

3:32 Fun Fact: During covid, a bunch of nerds got together with their computers using a program to network them together and created a network with a total processing power that was around that same computer's power. What was it used for you ask? Finding the tallest possible cactus in minecraft.

[@nsd364]

I love mankind

[@Trump.is.a.nazzii]

So the sum of the whole was less than the parts added together? What happened

[@raiiny7890]

@@Trump.is.a.nazziiHe was referring to the fact that the cobbled together network had approximately the same processing power as the supercomputer ‘Trinity’ mentioned in the video at the timestamp he cited.

[@alyx6427]

wouldn’t it just be 3

[@youeatpoo1]

Wasn't something similar done to find the seed and location of the Minecraft menu screen?

[@metrazol]

Worked with a woman whose job was literally, "unscrew panel, look at indicator, mark it down on clipboard, put panel back, move on to the next." In her years in the Air Force the little indicator only came up wrong once and that's when she found out they will, in fact, lock you in the bunker while they get EVERYBODY to come look at the bomb. It was fine.

[@ronjon7942]

That job sounds very appealing to me right now.

[@ferretyluv]

What was her title? That still sounds like a cool job.

[@twistedyogert]

Why? Edit: I'm guessing that this was to ensure that nobody had tampered with the bomb or did anything to accidently break it. I know military tech is supposed to be rugged, but anything can get broken if you mess with it.

[@ATM648]

I think HAI stockpiling a million videos will just force RLL to stockpile a million videos, creating an informative videos arms race with the end goal of mutually assured education

[@JonReevesLA]

And then SciShow will come in and blow them both away.

[@herpderpinson6117]

Calling RLL “educational” is real bold

[@LeafBoye]

​@@herpderpinson6117and why is that?

[@herpderpinson6117]

@@LeafBoye because RLL (and even more so Kurzgesagt) are incredibly poorly researched, misinformation-spreading brain rot clickbait for room temperature IQs

[@randomsomeguy156]

Watch a video for the full 50 mins and let us know why it is educational

[@karenhaller9988]

"What were you all doing in the wardrobe?" *Peter desperately tries to shove a missile three times his size in a closet* "You wouldn't believe us if we told you..."

[@michaelcurley7002]

Lol

[@General12th]

Hi Sam! Big thanks to Amy for going into the bunkers and testing out each one of the US's 5000 nuclear weapons personally. That's dedication! That deserves a raise!

[@yuenin5318]

i looked outside my window

[@Aidosity]

I could hear the rain

[@parkerfey4897]

Rip

[@castleanthrax1833]

I looked IN your window. 👀

[@thorgot911]

I windowed your look

[@Pale_Kingg]

[explosion]

[@christopherverhoef9112]

"It's a BOMB! You can only use it ONCE!"

[@OmniGundam777]

Lower decks is surprisingly good.

[@amehak1922]

We tried the boomer, but when we tried again, it didn't work no more.

[@klfjoat]

Found the person with wit, grace, and intelligence in the comments! 😂

[@Thornbloom]

Anyone else think of Jeff Dunham all of a sudden?

[@theorixlux]

"Theory is just making some guesses" Listen here you little ship, I'ma theorize an anti-matter IAH at your exact location... Then! we'll see who has the capacity to procure a guess

[@pvic6959]

"just a theory" matpat is in shambles

[@Pain9682]

If that happens we'd need Sam from Wendover to replace him

[@josephfield6969]

@@Pain9682real life lore can be Amy

[@JohnCena-fd5yw]

an anti-matter International Airport of Houston?

[@levionukafor3260]

​@@JohnCena-fd5ywit stands for Interesting As Half mate 🙄

[@Firelynxproductions]

Best before November 1959? Dammit, Bob. There were plenty of brand new bombs, but you had to go for that retro 50s charm!

[@billfairless6256]

That's the reason B52 bombers are still flying . You need a delivery device that works.

[@LFTRnow]

Simpsons did it!

[@ryankohnenkamp8946]

Time traveler: Hey, I just arrived from 100 years in the future! Me: Oh, good! So no all-out nuclear war then? Time traveler: Oh, no, there was. Just that all the nukes didn't work after so long, so nothing happened and we all just went home...

[@stylesrj]

I'm reminded of a comic where a superhero tricks everyone into firing their nukes at a hostile alien. Only to reveal there was no alien threat, it was all a ploy to get rid of all the nukes. So the leaders are like "Hey so that means there's no nuclear deterrent anywhere..." Newspaper headline: "Everyone declares war on everyone!"

[@MyHandleIsGood]

I can hear it raining, so I'd assume it is raining.

[@le9038]

You fool, I was playing my rain white noise youtube playlist as I slept!

[@TuftyTaltan]

I can hear a nuclear explosion so I'd assume I'm getting nuked.

[@piuthemagicman]

​@@TuftyTaltansorry fr had to test your hearing bro

[@Karl_Mannerheimer]

The fact that Egypt hasn’t ratified it makes me question if they are building nukes.

[@dougerrohmer]

Neither did Mauritius. I think they are up to something.

[@RusNad]

It's to do with Israel having nuclear weapons in violation of the non proliferation treaty. That's why they won't ratify any additional arms restrictions

[@BanterEdits]

Well yeah they're getting their first reactors from Russia soon

[@ramble21]

@@dougerrohmerMauritius global superpower by 2026 💪💪💪🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺

[@vulpes7079]

Meh they already have capabilities​@@BanterEdits

[@bobthegoat7090]

Oppenheimer - "Theory will take you only so far."

[@RhoninFire]

And this is the result when you need theory to go really really far

[@edwardblair4096]

Seems to me that having a staff to write a million HAI scripts would not keep Real Life Lore at bay, but rather give them more targets for scripts they could steal.

[@buttersquids]

Wait, is that something they've done?

[@TheBlackBuddha17]

​@@buttersquidsyes

[@SenorBigDong69]

Those bums

[@williamrheiner698]

@@buttersquidsRRL and HAI are owned by the same people, Sam’s the narra for both

[@crimsonangel4573]

@@williamrheiner698 Sam is the narrator for Wendover Productions, Joseph is the narrator for Real Life Lore.

[@luca_lauso]

The background music absolutely slaps

[@ivn3138]

The Radiohead reference was unexpected

[@saturnv2419]

For those wondering why we no longer do atmospherical detonation test..... Because it is bad for all humans. Atmospherical test released radiation particles into the air which get carried around the globe, and released gamma radiation which ionized air, which also get carried around the globe. The most famous of which Carbon-14, yes that Carbon-14 we use to date stuff from millions years ago, had increased significantly in concentration since the nuclear age started in 1945, but luckily now dropping back to pre-1945 level. Excessive nuclear test in atmosphere will increase Earth's background radiation and eventually lower human life expectancy due to genetic defaults caused by ionizing particles, so hopefully we will never had to detonate one ever.

[@p1mason]

Don't worry Sam, real life lore will always be store-brand-wendover to me.

[@SraTacoMal]

I completely forgot the last U.S. nuke was detonated the day before I was born. You're welcome.

[@EpicGhostShadow]

Damn

[@LineOfThy]

doxxed :3

[@ATM648]

Welcome back US Nuke!

[@Santrix125]

i was born on 7th August too

[@texasforever7887]

@@Santrix125 You mean Sept 24th?

[@andrewjgrimm]

4:37 Really bloody hot Celsius.

[@flickcentergaming680]

It is my personal belief that when temperatures get that high, the difference between Fahrenheit and Celsius doesn't matter anymore.

[@wmeuse2375]

I think sam haa forgotten something we could just be nuking Narnia and just claiming they are running tests.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

The Narnia thing is a misdirect. I saw the documentary about where the US military is actually testing big weapons, including a nuclear weapon enhanced with naquada. The test treaty does not cover tests executed on other planets! Muahahaha!!!!

[@GrinXpedia]

​@@MonkeyJedi99 GOOOLD?

[@joaquingomezullrich878]

​@@MonkeyJedi99 but the outer space treaty does, gotta repesct the comon heritage of mankind

[@yoongishadow2201]

As a Canadian I really appreciate the conversions to Celsius. I feel so seen!

[@Snarlacc]

Man, BEEF is truly one of the best acronyms ever!

[@etherigni]

This is pretty much how all nuclear engineering is done now a days. While physical testing is important for the data, it takes SOOOO fucking long to get good results and it's way to expensive. Thus, we've built mathematical and computational simulations to test what ever we want, which is pretty handy. The actual experiments are mainly to get better data for the models, such as more accurate cross section information, or to verify the model's results. When you hear about the field, you probably imagine people in hazmat suits working on massive detectors with large barrels of radioactive sources, but in reality it's 90% just computer models and statistics. To be fair, that's most engineering fields in reality, but at least they get to actually build something more than once a decade!

[@arooobine]

Theory isn't making guesses. It's generating the math used in simulations, and confidently ruling out certain things while allowing for others. It's the foundation for the entire nuclear franchise. Scientific theory is the foundation.

[@mario_lemoose]

7:33: That's cavatappi! Yes, it is the *best* pasta shape. 😋😋😋

[@EebstertheGreat]

We Americans know about cavatappi because we sometimes use it for macaroni and cheese. (Elbow macaroni is more common, though.)

[@Wemfsh]

Rigatoni

[@TheStickCollector]

The hope is that they don't need to be used. Although for dismantling this is important

[@r_b_gamerz]

I would love to test a nuke without blowing it up.

[@stevepittman3770]

Neat. Yeah, I've known about nuclear simulation since I had a friend many years ago who worked as a programmer for Sandia National Labs writing the networking code for ASCI Red, the then state-of-the-art supercomputing cluster for nuclear simulation.

[@NaezzYTs]

6:40 REAL LIFE LORE

[@WilamWyl]

So nice of him to come all the way for that little featuring.

[@gracie_the_goose]

Can confirm, it is sunny, not rainy.

[@jeffbenton6183]

Same.

[@Malte_Www]

I love the upbeat music, feels so fitting

[@Alan_Hans__]

An American FINALLY got the imperial to metric conversion right 5:19 .

[@davimurph]

Please don't nuke Narnia. Narnia was inspired by the landscape of County Down, Northern Ireland as seen from CS Lewis's childhood home and school in East Belfast. I also live in that part of East Belfast and, if you decide to nuke Narnia, things might get a little hot around here.

[@SamLyndonShow]

I feel personally attacked by your incredibly accurate comment that I haven't been outside the last few hours

[@ronjon7942]

Only hours?

[@SmootherThanSilk]

Only days?

[@jonwallace6204]

I’m glad we test so much. It’s like a killer asteroid deflection system. We pray we never ever need to use it, but if we do need to, it absolutely has to work perfectly.

[@augiegirl1]

The following scene is from the NCIS: Los Angeles episode “Rude Awakenings” (4x06) Owen Granger: So the answer is yes, the bombs are viable. Eric Beale: Short answer? Owen Granger: Yeah, short answer. Eric Beale: Depends on what your definition of "viable" is. Owen Granger: Boom. That's my definition. Will they go boom? Eric Beale: Boom? Yes yes, they will.

[@hirosoli]

Jokes on you; I just walked the dog so I know for a fact it is (checks out the window) NOT raining!

[@claytonhollowell4488]

Funny that you ask if I was just outside. Because, literally 10 seconds before this video, I was just outside.

[@COPKALA]

BTW also blowing a nuke is not cheap (if you need to properly use the data gathered during the blast)... Also "clean up after a blast is not cheap".

[@joshuakang8286]

That escalated quickly.

[@loganlopez1617]

They also keep the underground nuclear testing site ready at all times in case the President ever wants to test a nuclear weapon. They have huge doors that close within femtoseconds along with fiber optic telemetry to try to prevent as much spread and capture the most amount of data. Everything around nukes is so impressive.

[@Jul-66]

Los Alamos and Sandia are both located in the US state of New Mexico.

[@JuliTheFurry]

Correct! I haven't been outside in hours because I just woke up.

[@absiddique139]

It's doesn't rain in Dessert for hundreds of years.

[@AlanTheBeast100]

I've been told that later underground tests included a stripped down VAX-785 to pump data out as fast as possible before it was consumed.j

[@EvilAng3la]

Nuclear deterrence is one of the fucking scariest things out there. Because for it to happen, we need people in charge that are both sane enough NOT to ever use nuclear weapons, while also giving the impression that they actually WILL use nuclear weapons.

[@iitzfizz]

Very interesting, Scott Manley has a very interesting video on this topic too! And it includes a look at the old systems that were inside the bombs they tested that had to work at an insane speed to gather the data before they were vaporised (all those reactions occur in millionths of a second) and this was in the 50's!

[@sgtsalmon]

Fun fact: Amarillo TX is so close to Pan-Tex that there's no nuclear fallout treatment in the hospitals (its so close to what would be ground zero)

[@jordanleighton6893]

0:12 Man I just woke up and HAI is attacking me for it lmaooo

[@theotimeyt]

It’s raining. Love Britain

[@runemanqwe]

Tbf, it has rained indoors for me multiple times. I don't even have to look outside

[@jaredkennedy6576]

Joke's on you, I just got back from the dog park, sat down, and resumed my mindless consumption of media.

[@rentacop577]

What if I'm outside watching this in the rain?

[@olgalisinska4837]

I agree, that those temps the difference between C and F is pointless

[@sethmaki1333]

I've actually been thinking about this recently, because Pu-239 decays relatively quickly. I suspect there's actually a good chance that much of the world's arsenal could probably fizzle. Oh, and nice job of throwing a small amount of shade at RLL. Shit had me crackin up.

[@jgr7487]

Sam: "you would either trust in tech or get drenched in the rain." Me: "what about looking outside the window?"

[@mcv2178]

Windows are tech : )

[@stevenlynch3456]

Oiled paper > Windows /j

[@b33thr33kay]

3:31 Hey! I worked on Piz Daint, number 37 in the list! 😂

[@whatismyname2070]

anyone who has blown up a bunch of tnt in minecraft knows how hard it is to run an explosion.

[@ASHl33164]

We’re actually in the middle of a huge storm at the moment, tornado sirens and all, so the only thing I had to do was stop and listen for a couple seconds. The rain is very loud on the roof. Score one for not having to go outside

[@kwowka]

I checked the weather 2 days ago and it said 0% likelihood for the next 2 weeks. Also the rainy season doesn’t start until April.

[@pdote]

Two weeks without rain sounds like a nightmare

[@kwowka]

@@pdote Mediterranean climate go brrr

[@heimskr2881]

"I assume you havent been outside for several hours" Hey man I just woke up

[@TheeBuddylee]

That Creep reference was great *Chefs kiss

[@TheClownfight]

Another masterpiece, Sam. Especially the idea of outsourcing your talent team. Just watch out for those weasels at at Wendover. I see them circle your studio. Or is that just you?

[@kingskod]

too keep real life lore at bay was funny af

[@gamingmoth4542]

What if countries allow nuclear testing but are given a limit to how often they are allowed to do it and where they can do it. Like, America is only allowed to Nuke New Mexico and Nevada and Russia is only allowed to Nuke Siberia. They are only allowed to perform 1 nuclear test every 4 years. If anyone is killed during these nuclear tests (even by accident) they have to wait 10 years before being allowed to test nukes again.

[@cosmicmoth6031]

Hope you dont mind but I figured Id throw my two cents in. I mean no harm in this, just want to help educate. Even 1 nuclear bomb is absolutely terrible for the environment and people, even if they aren't near the testing site. The bomb itself causes massive physical damage and releases toxins into the air, including radioactive particles that can spread by wind and/or contaminate water and ground not only in surrounding areas, but those far from the testing site. Even a small amount of radiation exposure can lead to problems itd also be very difficult to confirm if someone was killed by the bomb unless only direct deaths were counted. Cancers and other problems caused by radiation can take years to show up, and they look identical to cancers not caused by radiation. The clan of one-breasted women by Terry Williams is an excellent short story about her real-life experience with nuclear weapons testing. I encourage everyone to read it.

[@likebot.]

What's this MADness @6:38 between y'all and Real Life Lore?

[@ricequackers]

Honestly, all of the research and equipment that goes into this is far cooler than the nukes themselves.

[@profdc9501]

There's generally more at stake with nuclear weapons than if I get rained on. However, deterrence is all about the appearance of being able to retaliate, and so we should put on a good show of it.

[@ro.7427]

I think it's crazy that we can have TV dinners delivered to our door.

[@kevincronk7981]

Haha I'm outside as sam is saying he assumes I haven't been outside in hours. Sure I'm watching yourube, but I am still outside

[@christopherleubner6633]

Fun fact about older nuclear weapons, they fired 192 trigger points on the explosive, it's no coincidence the laser focused the same number on the target.

[@YHK_YT]

0:04 im in a car and it’s raining

[@Deleted_Cat]

Im not in a car and its not raining

[@YHK_YT]

@@Deleted_Cat I’m also no longer in a car and it’s not raining for me either anymore

[@jessienewton7591]

@@Deleted_Catsame

[@nirui.o]

I just get back home 59 minutes ago, and it's raining outside proven by my wet pants.

[@ronjon7942]

I just checked, it’s not raining. You fibber.

[@rezzy8590]

All I have learned is that I must hunt down a new pasta shape. I'd say learning mission accomplished.

[@ronjon7942]

Oh cool - this IS the guy from Wendover! Ok, well, I subscribed a while ago but will now be a regular listener. Oh wow, we tested 1,054 nuclear bombs? Ok, I was off a bit - I didn’t even think we tested a hundred. Can only shudder to think how many the Soviets and Chinese set off, especially the Soviets.

[@annikathewitch3950]

I'm in the attic... I can hear when it's raining without even getting up to look out the window lol.

[@TheCube_Vibe]

This is just like how I like to blow up tnt in an obsidian block in Minecraft

[@alexmoskowitz811]

It’s a good thing they never lose critical data! Like how to make fogbank. That would be ridiculous

[@profdc9501]

Don't worry, it'll only cost $100 million or so to figure it out again. Or at least we think we know what fogbank was.

[@phelan8385]

They probably made a better version it and kept it classified

[@stephaniebatchelor6082]

I grew up in Livermore and my brother would say if you climb the fences around the lab they’d shoot you on sight. Probably not the but I still don’t walk on that side of the sidewalk.

[@ronjon7942]

I remember a Star Trek episode where some alien must have gone back in time and was talking about testing nukes. He’s flabbergasted and says “You irradiated your own PLANET?” I mean, like that’s shocking. Who doesn’t?

[@augiegirl1]

That's the Deep Space 9 episode “Little Green Men” (4x6). Quark and Rom take Nog to Earth and Starfleet Academy, but a malfunction with the ship takes the crew back in time, to Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

[@I2dios8]

I was walking out of my workplace when I started this video, and it was raining. I blame you.

[@edschott9275]

This question is been brought up by people in the know and their doubts are rather strong

[@anewbimproves5622]

I have not been outside in a few hours, but the continued presence of my migraine tells me it's probably still raining.

[@WarGazzette]

I’m outside right now, and I can confirm it is not raining

[@DZWR-lp2cn]

I am shooting a archery tournament outside while watching this

[@SoldierOfLoveMJ]

Ah, finally something to watch while at midnight.

[@LTNye]

What's funny about the opening is that I walked to the gym to watch this on the treadmill 😂 And it just rained.

[@theendofthestart8179]

they posted it in the statistically most rainy time of year, it was intended

[@bahamutbbob]

...I saw the eclipse today, and spent a couple hours around a fire pit after. I was outside plenty today!

[@RJRJ]

Hours? He really underestimates us.

[@countcampula]

We perfected the nuke, you mathematically cannot get a better yield. The only question is how big do you want the bomb? Which, strategically speaking, isn't very big usually.

[@jaycie5021]

Ironically I'm still damp from coming in like 10 minutes ago. yes it is raining.

[@arooobine]

I can hear the rain on my roof, so, yes.

[@katiesstudycorner1109]

I had to go outside after that dig 😂

[@TheTransporter007]

ORNL has a couple of nice boxes dedicated to doing atomic decay simulation. Titan being one of them.

[@ronjon7942]

I tried really hard to work on Summit, but I so bombed the interview. Ha, funny…’bombed’ the interview!

[@PatrickKuykendall]

Missed opportunity for the Chronukles of Narnia

[@clem2874]

Real life lore keeping someone awake at night... 😂😂

[@larrylaffer3246]

Hey Bob are those 30 Nukes we're supposed to launch at 7:00 fresh? Hmm sorry Frank they went bad a decade ago. Crud. Ok go have the interns QUICKLY go get us another 30, while you and I go toss these duds at BEEEF.

[@amehak1922]

The launch computers are the main reason why 5 inch floppy discs are still being manufactured and the government is the only customer.