Russia unveils image of its terrifying Satan 2 missile: Super-nuke could destroy an area the [tr]

UK Daily Mail ^ | October 25, 2016 | Libby Plummer and Chris Summers

[Ancesthntr]

“No, there are published papers from Sandia and Lawrence/Livermore that even if every single SS-18 Satan had the Mod 3 warhead (25MT) all launched and detonated at EMP altitude, it still wouldn’t cover all of CONUS or have long lasting effects. I forget the yield, but for ONE nuclear warhead to cause catastrophic EMP damage over all of CONUS would be in the gigaton range or high hundred megaton. Every nuclear weapon (less SADM/tactical nukes) the Russians have is approx. 1,056GT.”

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Not so.

First, thermonuclear (fusion) weapons are far from the ideal way to create EMP - fission (plain old atomic bombs, not hydrogen bombs) are better, even though the yield is lower. Second, the fission bombs can be tuned to produce far more of the particular EMP effects that are desired. You don’t need that much in the way of explosive force (1,056GT) to cripple a continent-sized nation like the US.

[Billthedrill]

If it used uranium instead of lead in various components the same bomb could have had a 100 MT yield.

Yep. And it would have toasted the plane, too. As it is, they had large brass ones even to drop the "little" version.

These aren't practical weapons at that point. As someone pointed out up-thread, you get a lot more bang for the buck (sorry) from 40 1-MT weapons than you do from one 40-MT weapon. Which is why the arms race sort of stopped there.

[Banjoguy]

Thank you...no chance of my ever becoming president, hence my freedom to engage in absurd diatribes. I think my ignorance is showing.

[Oztrich Boy]

[Morpheus2009]

She just said the most idiotic message I have ever heard in a debate, and the most treasonous as well. To think some think that she should be POTUS while talking such things...