This Is How A Nuclear Bomb Works

Aug 10, 2023

This Is How A Nuclear Bomb Works

Tune in to find out how a nuclear bomb works 💣
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Content

1.04 -> since their first devastating use back

3.52 -> in 1945

5.359 -> nuclear weapons have been a huge source

7.44 -> of anxiety and fear across the globe for

10.48 -> almost a century now we've lived in the

12.32 -> knowledge that our world leaders could

14.24 -> plunge us into nuclear war with

16.16 -> destruction on a scale never before seen

18.72 -> in history but how likely really is this

21.359 -> scenario

22.56 -> what was the biggest nuclear weapon ever

24.8 -> dropped and how does a nuke even work

27.359 -> anyway slip your hazmat suit on and

29.76 -> brace yourself for impact because you're

31.76 -> about to get hit with a fat knowledge

33.6 -> bomb

40.079 -> let's start with a little history and

42 -> ask the question

43.44 -> why were nuclear bombs ever developed in

45.84 -> the first place in 1938 just a year

48.96 -> before the world was plunged into war

51.52 -> german scientist otto han was working in

54.559 -> a lab in berlin when he discovered

56.879 -> something incredible

58.48 -> nuclear energy by splitting the nucleus

61.12 -> of an atom the smallest unit of matter

63.52 -> in the known universe

65.28 -> han realized a monumental amount of

67.92 -> energy was released after word got out

70.799 -> about his findings u.s president

73.2 -> franklin d roosevelt was worried that

75.52 -> the germans would use this newfound

77.52 -> energy to develop a super weapon

80.4 -> so he asked us scientists to develop one

83.6 -> first

84.64 -> when america joined world war ii in

86.56 -> december 1941

88.72 -> these efforts were doubled and roosevelt

91.28 -> established the manhattan project

93.92 -> based in manhattan new york the project

96.32 -> was a joint effort by the military and

98.479 -> several hundred scientists

100.4 -> to weaponize nuclear energy

102.96 -> just four years after its formation its

105.92 -> goal was met

107.439 -> on the 16th of july 1945 the u.s

111.28 -> conducted the first ever test of a

113.36 -> nuclear bomb code named the trinity test

117.36 -> the bomb containing one kiloton of

119.84 -> destructive power

121.439 -> that's the same as one thousand tons of

123.92 -> conventional explosives was dropped from

126.479 -> a plane over socorro new mexico

129.36 -> the resulting explosion stunned the u.s

132 -> military and left the bomb site so

134.56 -> irradiated that even today the area

137.36 -> contains more than 10 times the normal

140 -> level of background radiation

142.64 -> in other words it was a resounding

144.879 -> success

146.239 -> less than a month later the us would put

148.319 -> this terrifying new technology to

150.72 -> horrific use

152.64 -> with the war almost over but japan

155.04 -> refusing to surrender

157.12 -> newly instated president harry s truman

160.08 -> ordered the atomic bombing of the city

162.239 -> of hiroshima

163.599 -> when the bomb named little boy was

165.84 -> dropped

166.8 -> everything changed

168.72 -> the plane chosen for the mission a b-29

171.76 -> super fortress bomber called the enola

173.84 -> gay

174.72 -> reached hiroshima at 9 14 a.m local time

178.64 -> on the 6th of august 1945.

181.76 -> the bombardier thomas farabe dropped the

184.64 -> near ten thousand pound bomb

187.36 -> then the pilot paul tibbetts

189.68 -> sharply turned and flew away from the

192.159 -> city as fast as he could 43 seconds

195.2 -> later little boy exploded with the force

197.599 -> of more than 16

199.519 -> 500 tons of tnt

202.319 -> the nuclear explosion instantly

204.319 -> vaporized anyone at its center

206.959 -> scorched the ground around it to

208.48 -> temperatures hotter than 7000 degrees

211.04 -> fahrenheit and sent a shockwave that

213.599 -> smashed through buildings and

215.519 -> obliterated land for miles around

218.799 -> it was hell on earth

220.799 -> a daunting mushroom cloud soared in the

223.2 -> air 20 000 feet above the city blocking

226.4 -> out sunlight to those below

228.48 -> but still the japanese emperor hirohito

231.519 -> refused to back down

233.84 -> surprised but unperturbed

236.64 -> truman ordered the dropping of a second

239.12 -> bomb this time over the city of nagasaki

243.439 -> this bomb named fat man was even bigger

246.72 -> and more powerful than its predecessor

249.519 -> just three days after the bombing of

251.36 -> hiroshima

252.64 -> fat man fell from a u.s plane and

254.72 -> exploded over nagasaki obliterating over

257.84 -> two and a half square miles of the city

260.799 -> a second mushroom cloud was thrust high

263.28 -> into the air and radioactive rain burned

266.56 -> down on anyone unfortunate enough to

269.12 -> have survived the initial blast yeah you

271.759 -> might have been better off being

273.28 -> vaporized than being a little further

275.6 -> out when the bomb went off

277.759 -> those not in the immediate blast

279.68 -> suffered all kinds of nasty maladies

282.479 -> like burns internal injuries and

284.8 -> blindness

286.16 -> and many succumbed to them

288.479 -> emperor hirohito seeing such destruction

291.919 -> finally announced the country's

293.68 -> surrender

295.04 -> at the cost of over 200 000 innocent

298.4 -> lives the allies had won the war perhaps

301.36 -> unsurprisingly the newly formed united

303.68 -> nations made one of their first acts to

306.16 -> call for the elimination of atomic

308.32 -> weapons and even less unsurprisingly

311.6 -> this was completely ignored in the years

314.32 -> following the war the us continued

316.56 -> testing atomic bombs in the soviet union

319.6 -> under communist rule and firmly against

321.759 -> the american way of life accelerated

324.16 -> their own nuclear program in 1949 the

327.759 -> soviet union became the second nation to

330.4 -> successfully detonate a nuclear bomb

333.12 -> the cold war had officially begun two

336.08 -> nations with wildly conflicting belief

338.639 -> systems both harboring the most powerful

341.44 -> weapons mankind had ever seen

344.08 -> what could possibly go wrong you know

346.639 -> where you can't go wrong though hitting

348.24 -> those like and subscribe buttons down

349.919 -> below so you get amazing recommendations

352.72 -> and content like this delivered to your

354.639 -> home page almost every single day anyway

357.84 -> back to blowing stuff up

360.8 -> in 1952 three years after the soviet

363.759 -> union's first successful nuclear test

366.8 -> and with cold war tensions rising ever

369.199 -> higher the us took nuclear weaponry to a

372.24 -> whole new level by detonating the first

375.12 -> ever hydrogen bomb can you guess how

377.6 -> much more powerful this hydrogen bomb

379.84 -> was than the og atom bombs

382.479 -> 10 times

383.68 -> 100 times

385.36 -> nope it was 1 000 times more powerful

388.479 -> than the bomb dropped on hiroshima or

391.039 -> when obliterating an entire city just

393.68 -> isn't enough when the bomb exploded over

396.4 -> a remote pacific island it did so with

399.199 -> the monumental force of 10.4 megatons of

403.199 -> tnt

404.479 -> that's over 10 million tons of the stuff

407.44 -> the colossal blast made a fireball at

409.599 -> least four miles wide that by expert

412.96 -> estimates shown brighter than a thousand

415.759 -> suns

416.88 -> and the heat was felt by observers

419.199 -> standing as far as 30 miles away but the

422.4 -> soviets were hot on the us's tail and if

425.12 -> you thought what you just saw was big

427.36 -> strap yourselves in because you've seen

429.759 -> nothing yet

431.68 -> let's put things into perspective for a

433.44 -> moment the bomb dropped on hiroshima was

436.08 -> 15 kilotons the first hydrogen bomb was

439.759 -> 10 megatons

441.759 -> but nine years later in 1961

445.12 -> the soviets tested a hydrogen bomb that

447.36 -> was an unbelievable 57 megatons that's 3

452.479 -> 800 times the power of the bomb that

455.039 -> destroyed hiroshima the absolute

457.039 -> behemoth of a weapon was called the tsar

459.44 -> bomba and measured in at 26 feet long as

462.88 -> well as weighing 27 metric tons about

466.24 -> six times the weight of little boy and

468.8 -> over twice the length the monstrous

471.12 -> super weapon was so big that it didn't

473.44 -> even fit inside a plane and had to be

476 -> carried underneath instead

478.56 -> you've got a feel for the poor pilot he

480.879 -> and his crew were only given a 50 50

483.36 -> chance of surviving the test

485.68 -> on october 30th 1961 the plane carrying

489.44 -> the bomb took off and flew towards the

491.919 -> test site an island in the arctic ocean

495.039 -> named novia zemlia

497.599 -> once over the island the crew released

500.08 -> the payload and got the hell out of

502.08 -> there as fast as they could to give them

504.24 -> more time the enormous explosive had

506.4 -> been fitted with a parachute to slow its

508.56 -> descent even so when it detonated the

511.599 -> blast was so powerful that its shock

514.32 -> wave slammed into the plane sending it

516.64 -> plummeting over 3000 feet

529.76 -> luckily the pilot recovered control but

532.399 -> the explosion annihilated everything

534.8 -> within 22 miles and created a massive

538.24 -> mushroom cloud over 37 miles high

541.68 -> the bombers crew still hurtling away as

544.24 -> fast as they could

545.68 -> watched as the beautiful terrifying

548.48 -> plume

549.44 -> pierced the sky where they'd been mere

551.92 -> moments before

554.56 -> in reality the test was nothing more

556.64 -> than soviet premier nikita karushkev

559.68 -> flexing his military muscle to show the

562.16 -> us who was boss but the bomb itself

565.279 -> while undoubtedly impressive was

567.6 -> impractical and wasn't as effective as

569.839 -> dropping several smaller bombs so no

572.64 -> attempt by either side was ever made to

574.959 -> make one bigger

576.48 -> even today the tsar bomba remains the

578.8 -> biggest nuclear weapon ever created and

581.6 -> used though i came pretty close to

585.12 -> topping it after last night's curry

587.839 -> despite no single bomb ever matching the

590.399 -> tsar bomba's power between 1945 and 1980

594.959 -> a combined total of 510 megatons of

598.72 -> explosives were detonated around the

600.959 -> world in nuclear tests that's 170 times

604.88 -> more blast power than was used in the

607.12 -> whole of world war ii

609.44 -> and though easily the two biggest

611.519 -> culprits it wasn't just the us and

614.16 -> soviet union that were responsible for

616.079 -> the barrage of blasts by 1980 the uk

620.16 -> france and china had all waded into the

623.04 -> fray with their own tests albeit on a

626 -> far smaller scale

627.92 -> with five nations all blowing the living

630.24 -> daylights out of any barren patch of

632 -> land they could find

633.6 -> you might expect there to be some

635.36 -> environmental consequences right

638.8 -> well we can't be sure just how much

641.12 -> radioactive material has been flung up

643.6 -> into the atmosphere from the decades of

645.68 -> testing but we know it's a lot like

649.36 -> a lot a lot

651.279 -> and what goes up must come down

654.16 -> throughout the cold war one of the

655.68 -> soviet's favorite nuclear test sites was

658.48 -> a patch of land in semipalatins

661.12 -> kazakhstan called the polygon

664.24 -> even today this area is one of the most

666.64 -> radioactive places in the whole world

669.44 -> it's been hit with about 450 nuclear

672.839 -> explosions and with every single one

675.519 -> masses of radioactive dust and dirt were

678.56 -> thrown into the air and carried across

680.88 -> the neighboring communities as toxic

683.04 -> fallout

684.16 -> a test in 1956 resulted in over 600

687.68 -> residents of the city of us kamenagorsk

690.56 -> being rushed to hospital with radiation

692.959 -> sickness and they were 250 miles away

697.519 -> now trust me you don't want to get

700.399 -> radiation sickness if you're ever

702.48 -> subjected to a strong dose of radiation

705.279 -> the symptoms can be severe and quick to

708.079 -> set in

709.279 -> the invisible rays penetrate your body

712 -> so they don't just damage your skin but

714.72 -> also your insides

716.8 -> the cells that make your hair die off

719.36 -> causing you to lose it your

721.12 -> disease-fighting white blood cells die

723.36 -> too crippling your immune system

725.92 -> even your very dna is attacked causing

729.279 -> it to break and mutate

731.36 -> you'll feel sick weak and disoriented

734.32 -> even if you survive the initial dose of

736.48 -> radiation years later you're more likely

739.6 -> to develop life-threatening illnesses

741.92 -> like leukemia or cancer

744.48 -> that's exactly what happened with the

746.639 -> many residents of us kamenigoursk

749.6 -> but the tests didn't just affect one

751.92 -> generation of people because dna

754.48 -> mutations are often passed on pregnant

757.04 -> women at the time were more likely to

758.72 -> give birth to children with learning

760.639 -> difficulties or physical impairments

763.44 -> overall the tests in semi-politics colon

766.639 -> are estimated to have affected over 350

769.92 -> 000 people across three generations

773.92 -> jeez

775.279 -> but what actually is it that makes these

778.48 -> monstrous weapons so preposterously

781.279 -> powerful

782.399 -> how did we go from conventional bombs to

785.04 -> colossal weapons of mass destruction in

787.68 -> the space of just a few years

789.839 -> to find out we need to return to our

791.839 -> german scientist otto han back in 1938

796.16 -> you see he didn't just discover nuclear

798.639 -> energy he discovered something called

801.279 -> nuclear fission and it's the entire

804.32 -> reason that we're now capable of our own

806.56 -> armageddon

808.399 -> okay so here's the sitch everything in

811.12 -> the universe is made of atoms you me the

814.959 -> chair you're sat on even your grands

817.44 -> false teeth

818.959 -> they're so small you can't even see them

821.36 -> with a microscope but they're everywhere

824.8 -> inside every atom is a nucleus

827.199 -> containing a load of protons which are

829.68 -> positively charged and neutrons which

832.639 -> have no charge

834.32 -> these are bound together tightly to the

836.72 -> nucleus which takes a great deal of

839.36 -> energy to keep together because

841.92 -> naturally things that have the same

844 -> charge repel one another

846.56 -> think about magnets if you try to push

848.959 -> two magnets together positive to

850.88 -> positive there's resistance

853.519 -> if you let go of those magnets they'd

855.839 -> spring backwards releasing kinetic

858.399 -> energy as they did so it's the same

860.8 -> principle here the protons are held

863.36 -> together by a powerful force but if that

866.48 -> force is broken

868.24 -> all the energy being contained by it is

871.279 -> released

872.48 -> this process is called nuclear fission

875.6 -> and it's the principle behind both the

877.6 -> hiroshima and nagasaki atom bombs

880.639 -> to instigate fission a neutron is fired

883.76 -> at the nucleus of an atom when it hits

886.32 -> the nucleus it smashes it apart forming

889.6 -> two smaller nuclei and releasing energy

893.199 -> in the form of heat

894.959 -> at the same time some neutrons are flung

897.68 -> from the nuclei entirely and go on to

900.399 -> hit other atoms splitting their nuclei

903.839 -> and creating a chain reaction

906.399 -> in this way a massive amount of heat

908.8 -> energy is produced that increases

911.36 -> exponentially in just a fraction of a

913.839 -> second

914.72 -> and it's all reliant on reactions in the

917.199 -> nucleus

918.48 -> nucleus nuclear get it

921.6 -> it's the basic process that powers all

924.16 -> nuclear weapons and most nuclear power

927.04 -> plants use it to generate electricity

929.279 -> too however

931.12 -> just to throw a spanner in the works

933.279 -> there is another way of creating nuclear

936 -> energy called nuclear fusion

939.04 -> this is much more powerful than fission

941.839 -> and is used to power hydrogen bombs

944.72 -> here instead of splitting atoms apart

947.6 -> they're fused together fusion only works

950.8 -> with small atoms like hydrogen the

953.199 -> nucleus of which contains just one

955.6 -> proton

956.959 -> naturally two hydrogen atoms repel one

959.519 -> another because they're both positively

961.839 -> charged

962.88 -> but if the force repelling them is

965.12 -> overcome and they're impelled to fuse

968.16 -> with one another creating a bigger atom

970.959 -> and releasing a huge amount of energy in

973.12 -> the process

974.56 -> so how do you overcome the powerful

977.04 -> force repelling the atoms and fuse them

979.839 -> together

980.959 -> well you need to compress them into as

983.6 -> small a space as you can so they're more

986.639 -> likely to collide and blast them with an

989.44 -> absolute butt ton of heat

992 -> this way they're not only closer to one

994.24 -> another but the heat makes them move

996.8 -> faster and when i say a butt ton of heat

999.92 -> i mean at least 180 million degrees

1003.04 -> fahrenheit

1004.24 -> oh spicy

1006.399 -> for comparison that's almost seven times

1008.72 -> hotter than the sun which also runs off

1011.839 -> nuclear fusion

1013.36 -> because of the immense gravitational

1015.44 -> pressures at the sun's core

1017.519 -> about 200 billion times greater than the

1020 -> atmospheric pressure here on earth

1022.399 -> atoms are crushed so close together that

1025.76 -> it doesn't need to be so hot for fusion

1028.319 -> to occur

1029.6 -> on earth however we need to make up for

1032 -> the lack of pressure by ramping up the

1034.319 -> heat

1035.28 -> and you know what generates a lot of

1037.039 -> heat yeah nuclear fission

1040.64 -> therefore hydrogen bombs otherwise known

1043.52 -> as thermonuclear weapons

1046.079 -> explode using the heat from a fission

1048.48 -> reaction to kickstart a more powerful

1051.6 -> fusion reaction

1053.36 -> in other words when a hydrogen bomb goes

1055.36 -> off it burns seven times hotter than the

1058.88 -> sun

1060.88 -> okay if you're with me so far give

1062.96 -> yourself a pat on the back

1064.96 -> now we know the basic reaction powering

1067.36 -> the bombs but how do the bombs

1069.52 -> themselves actually work

1072.16 -> let's start with the fuel inside them

1074.4 -> which is either uranium-235

1077.6 -> or

1078.84 -> plutonium-239

1080.4 -> these are both radioactive metals

1082.64 -> meaning their atoms have unstable nuclei

1086.72 -> an unstable nucleus has too many

1089.039 -> neutrons or protons inside it and will

1092.16 -> eject them to try and become stable this

1095.12 -> is called radioactive decay and it

1098 -> produces energy in the form of radiation

1100.88 -> atoms with unstable nuclei are also

1103.76 -> easier to split with nuclear fission

1106.64 -> hence why they're used in nuclear

1108.48 -> weapons

1109.76 -> now little boy's design was very simple

1112.48 -> the bomb had two separate pieces of

1114.559 -> uranium 235 inside it the plug and the

1118.4 -> target

1119.36 -> upon detonation several thousand pounds

1122.48 -> of conventional explosive was set off

1125.039 -> inside the shell which fired the plug

1127.84 -> down a barrel and onto the target

1130.4 -> the two pieces of uranium smashed

1132.48 -> together compressing the atoms close

1134.559 -> enough to instigate a fission reaction

1137.679 -> which grew in power exponentially until

1140.24 -> it exploded out from the bomb's shell in

1143.2 -> a fearsome fireball

1145.12 -> all nuclear weapons produce this

1147.12 -> fireball and it expands so fast that in

1150.72 -> a one megaton hydrogen bomb which is far

1153.919 -> more powerful than little boy was

1156.24 -> it can reach 440 feet across in less

1159.919 -> than a millisecond

1161.84 -> you see little boy was actually pretty

1164 -> inefficient which is why nobody ever

1166.24 -> made any bigger more powerful versions

1168.88 -> of the weapon

1170.16 -> fat man the bomb dropped on nagasaki had

1173.039 -> a very different design

1174.88 -> instead of

1175.96 -> uranium-235 fat man was powered by

1178.559 -> plutonium-239

1180.96 -> however the plutonium-239 used had trace

1184.72 -> amounts of

1185.96 -> plutonium-240 in it

1188 -> this is a different kind of plutonium

1190.08 -> called an isotope plutonium-240 has a

1193.6 -> higher fission rate than

1195.799 -> plutonium-239 which means if the same

1198.96 -> gun type design as little boy was used

1201.84 -> it would have begun fission before the

1203.679 -> two masses of plutonium had been brought

1205.6 -> together

1206.799 -> this would have made it so inefficient

1209.2 -> it wouldn't have been worth using so

1211.28 -> another design was thought up

1213.44 -> for fat man one plutonium sphere was

1216.24 -> held in the center of the bomb

1218.48 -> around this a layer of uranium was

1221.039 -> placed this layer of uranium held the

1223.76 -> plutonium in place and helped reflect

1226.559 -> neutrons back to the core improving the

1229.36 -> efficiency of the fission reaction

1232 -> blocks of conventional explosives were

1234.32 -> then precisely placed around this to

1237.12 -> produce a symmetrical implosion when

1239.76 -> activated which would compress the

1242.24 -> plutonium sphere

1244.159 -> once compressed a device inside the

1246.48 -> plutonium was crushed and injected

1249.2 -> neutrons into the radioactive metal

1251.76 -> kickstarting the fission reaction and

1253.679 -> setting off the nuke but there's one

1255.76 -> more thing that needed to be considered

1257.679 -> for both bombs how the detonation would

1260.48 -> be triggered in the first place

1262.559 -> impact with the ground would have done

1264.32 -> the trick but the ground would also have

1266.559 -> absorbed a lot of the explosion and

1269.039 -> limited its radius

1270.64 -> instead for maximum destructive

1272.88 -> potential the bombs had to be detonated

1275.6 -> in the air

1276.96 -> to do this both were equipped with

1278.799 -> specialized circuitry that could detect

1281.28 -> their height from the ground and

1283.039 -> detonate at just the right moment

1285.6 -> as well as affecting more area an aerial

1288.08 -> explosion sends out a shock wave that

1290.4 -> smashes into the ground rebounds and

1293.2 -> then combines with the initial blast to

1295.679 -> form an even bigger shock wave

1298.48 -> so the crews of the planes dropping the

1300.4 -> bombs

1301.52 -> really had to skedaddle fast well in the

1304.799 -> modern world we don't have to drop these

1306.96 -> deadly destroyers from planes anymore we

1309.84 -> can fire them straight into the air on

1312.24 -> automated missiles

1314 -> ballistic missiles are about 20 times

1316.24 -> faster than traditional bombers

1318.4 -> and can carry hydrogen-powered nuclear

1320.72 -> warheads far deadlier than the atom

1323.28 -> bombs dropped on japan

1325.36 -> luckily we've also got some pretty nifty

1328.48 -> anti-missile defense systems so which

1331.28 -> countries have nukes today any guesses

1333.76 -> who has the most

1335.12 -> because of how secretive the world's

1336.96 -> governments are about their nuclear

1338.72 -> stockpiles we can't be 100 sure on the

1342.48 -> exact figures but as of 2021 estimates

1346.88 -> russia has the most nukes with a world

1349.28 -> ending 6255.

1353.2 -> hot on their heels in second place we

1355.2 -> have the usa with a considerable

1359.039 -> and 5550.

1360.4 -> the other seven nuclear-capable nations

1363.28 -> have a lot less with north korea owning

1366.159 -> the least somewhere between forty and

1368.88 -> fifty

1369.919 -> and though forty nukes doesn't sound

1372.32 -> like much compared to over 6 000 that's

1375.6 -> still enough firepower to completely

1377.84 -> wipe new york city off the map

1380.32 -> and then some

1381.76 -> which makes me wonder and what would it

1383.84 -> be like if the unthinkable happened and

1386.4 -> the world really did descend into

1389.12 -> full-blown nuclear warfare

1391.679 -> as a global community we're currently

1393.76 -> sat on over 13 000 nuclear warheads

1397.919 -> however this number is a little

1399.52 -> misleading due to disarmament efforts

1402.48 -> only three thousand to four thousand are

1405.36 -> actually active and the rest are

1407.6 -> decommissioned this is relatively low

1410.799 -> compared with 1986 when the total number

1414 -> of active warheads hit a whopping world

1416.64 -> high of seventy thousand three hundred

1420.559 -> of course four thousand nuclear missiles

1423.039 -> could still do a pretty hefty amount of

1425.36 -> damage

1426.32 -> if even a tenth of them found their

1428.559 -> target the loss of human life would be

1431.039 -> catastrophic

1432.48 -> and not just from the explosions and

1434.88 -> radiation from huge firestorms too

1438.96 -> yeah as if nuclear weapons weren't bad

1441.279 -> enough at hiroshima all the individual

1444.4 -> fires caused by the explosion

1446.48 -> amalgamated into one

1448.559 -> terrible tempest of flames

1450.96 -> hot air rose and created burning

1453.44 -> hurricane strength wind that turned

1456.159 -> inward towards the fire and fanned it

1459.279 -> this made it rage even harder destroying

1462.4 -> everything in its path for almost four

1464.88 -> and a half square miles before

1466.96 -> eventually dying out

1469.279 -> one apocalyptic theory called nuclear

1472.08 -> winter claims that if enough bombs went

1474.72 -> off

1475.52 -> thousands of these furious firestorms

1478.159 -> would burn their way across the globe

1480.559 -> kicking up hundreds of millions of tons

1483.039 -> of smoke and ash as they did so this

1486 -> would form a thick belt of particles

1488.559 -> encircling the northern atmosphere

1490.88 -> plunging our world into darkness

1493.919 -> lack of sunlight would cause dramatic

1495.84 -> falls in temperatures and destroy much

1498.24 -> of earth's vegetation and animal life

1501.12 -> with crops failing animals dying and

1504 -> cities and infrastructure destroyed

1506.48 -> surviving humans would be left in a cold

1509.12 -> irradiated wasteland and the dark clouds

1512.159 -> could remain for a whole decade

1515.12 -> in other words

1516.4 -> it wouldn't be very fun

1519.279 -> hold on though before you go and spend

1521.6 -> your life savings on a fallout shelter

1523.76 -> and a thousand tins of beans

1526.32 -> you should know that we're probably not

1528.4 -> heading toward armageddon many times

1530.4 -> soon

1531.279 -> mankind has possessed the power to

1533.12 -> destroy itself since the end of world

1535.039 -> war ii despite this no nuclear weapon

1538.159 -> has ever been used outside of a test

1540.48 -> since 1945

1542.799 -> why

1543.679 -> well nuclear warfare doesn't benefit

1546.24 -> anyone if one country launches a nuclear

1549.44 -> attack on another the defending country

1551.919 -> is likely to launch a counter-nuclear

1553.919 -> attack in response and both parties

1556.32 -> would be sent to their doom

1558.559 -> we call this mutually assured

1560.799 -> destruction and it's not ideal this

1564.48 -> worked pretty well during the cold war

1566.72 -> but today it's a bit more complex with

1569.919 -> countries around the world developing

1571.76 -> blisteringly fast hypersonic missiles

1574.799 -> conventional defense systems just won't

1576.799 -> cut it anymore

1578.32 -> not only do hypersonic missiles fly

1580.48 -> faster than a mile a second they're also

1583.76 -> more maneuverable than their ballistic

1585.84 -> counterparts making them supremely tough

1588.72 -> to defend against

1590.24 -> even so mutually assured destruction

1592.799 -> still applies the u.s russia and china

1596.159 -> are all developing the technology

1598.24 -> alongside a number of other countries

1600.64 -> because of this ironically an attack is

1603.679 -> far less likely than if just one country

1606.72 -> had the power

1608.159 -> okay i know that's not the most

1610.159 -> comforting thing to hear but hey weapons

1612.72 -> of mass destruction aren't very

1614.96 -> comforting

1616.08 -> i guess that's why you never see any

1617.84 -> cuddly nuke toys in kids stores

1620.72 -> anyway the modern world is much more

1622.72 -> focused on using nuclear energy for

1625.12 -> constructive uses than the destructive

1629.12 -> in fact about 10 percent of the world's

1631.6 -> electricity is now nuclear and that's a

1634.159 -> good thing it doesn't pollute the

1635.679 -> atmosphere and it's about 10 million

1638 -> times more efficient than burning fossil

1640.399 -> fuels

1641.36 -> nuclear research has also helped doctors

1643.76 -> in the fight against cancer allowing

1645.84 -> them to predict the amount of radiation

1648 -> needed to kill tumors without damaging

1650.64 -> healthy cells

1652 -> we even use radiation to kill harmful

1654.24 -> bacteria on our food so it's not all

1657.76 -> doom and gloom and thanks to nuclear

1659.84 -> technology we're actually taking some

1661.919 -> steps towards creating a better world

1664.799 -> let's just hope we don't blow that world

1666.64 -> into smithereens before we get there

1668.88 -> right

1670.799 -> so what do you think of all this would

1673.44 -> we be better off if we'd never

1675.44 -> discovered nuclear energy or has the

1678 -> threat of nuclear weaponry actually

1680.32 -> prevented another global scale conflict

1683.679 -> let me know down in the comments below

1685.52 -> and thanks for watching

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRtTB27Wdek