A nuclear test explosion is an experiment involving the detonation of a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) generally include nuclear, biological, chemical and, increasingly, radiological weapons. ... Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) generally include nuclear, biological, chemical and, increasingly, radiological weapons. ... Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. ... Dressing the wounded during a gas attack by Austin O. Spare, 1918. ... Jump to: navigation, search The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... A radiological weapon (or radiological dispersion device, RDD) is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive contamination, either to kill, or to deny the use of an area (a modern version of salting the earth) and consists of a device (such as a nuclear or conventional explosive) which spreads... Jump to: navigation, search The Peoples Republic of China is said to have an arsenal of 400 nuclear weapons stockpiled as of 1999. ... The Republic of China on Taiwan denies having chemical or nuclear weapons. ... Jump to: navigation, search There are currently five states considered to be nuclear weapons states, an internationally recognized status conferred by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). ... World map with nuclear weapons development status represented by color. ... Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. ... Nuclear terrorism can be used to describe any of the following terrorist assaults: Use of nuclear weapons against a civilian target Use of a radiological weapon or dirty bomb against a civilian target An attack against a nuclear power plant Some believe that no such act has ever taken place. ... Nuclear war, or atomic war, is war in which nuclear weapons are used. ... A nuclear fireball lights up the night in a United States nuclear test. ... The first nuclear weapons, though large, cumbersome and inefficient, provided the basic design building blocks of all future weapons. ... A 23 kiloton tower shot called BADGER, fired on April 18, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site, as part of the Operation Upshot-Knothole nuclear test. ... The term dirty bomb is most often used to refer to a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), a radiological weapon which combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. ... Radiological warfare is any form of warfare involving deliberate radiation poisoning, without relying on nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. ... Jump to: navigation, search The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ...

Motivations for testing generally are broken into the categories:

• "weapons related" (verifying that a weapon works, or examining exactly how it works)
• "weapons effects" (how weapons behave under various conditions, and how structures behave when subjected to weapons).

Often, though, testing has also been a demonstration of the possessing nation's military and scientific strength.

Nuclear weapons tests are generally classified as being either "atmospheric" (in or above the atmosphere), "underground," or "underwater." Of these, underground testing contained in deep shafts poses the least health risk in terms of fallout. Atmospheric testing which comes in contact with the ground or other materials poses the highest risk. Nuclear weapons have been tested by dropping them from planes (an "airdrop"), from the tops of towers, hoisted from balloons, on barges at sea, attached to the bottom of ships, and even shot into outer space by rockets (for the latter see below). Jump to: navigation, search Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Earths atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion and is named from the fact that it falls out of the atmosphere in to which it is spread during the explosion. ...

The first atomic test was detonated by the United States at the Trinity site on July 16, 1945, with a yield approximately equivalent to 20 kilotons. The first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", was tested at Eniwetok island in the Bikini atoll on November 1, 1952, also by the United States. The largest nuclear weapon ever tested was the Tsar Bomba of the Soviet Union at Novaya Zemlya, with an estimated yield of around 50 megatons. An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ... Jump to: navigation, search July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... Enewetak (or Eniwetok) is an atoll in the Marshall Islands of the central Pacific Ocean. ... Bikini Atoll - NASA NLT Landsat 7 (Visible Color) Satellite Image Bikini Atoll (also known as Pikinni Atoll) is an uninhabited 6. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Tsar Bomba casing on display at Arzamas-16 Tsar Bomba (Russian: Царь-бомба, meaning literally Emperor Bomb), developed by the Soviet Union, is the largest nuclear explosive ever to be detonated, and is also the highest power device ever used by humans. ... Novaya Zemlyas position on the map The archipelago of Novaya Zemlya (Russian: Но́вая Земля́, New Land; formerly known as Nova Zembla) consists of two major islands in the Arctic Ocean in the north of Russia, separated by the narrow Matochkin Strait, and a number of smaller ones. ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ...

In 1963, all nuclear and many non-nuclear states signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, pledging to refrain from testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater, or in outer space. The treaty permitted underground tests. France continued atmospheric testing until 1974, while China continued up until 1980. The last underground test by the United States was in 1992, the Soviet Union in 1990, the United Kingdom in 1991, and both France and China have continued testing up until 1996. After adopting the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, all of these states have pledged to discontinue all nuclear testing. Non-signatories India and Pakistan both last tested nuclear weapons in 1998. Jump to: navigation, search 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT), or Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (NTBT), although the former also refers to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), is a treaty... Jump to: navigation, search 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1992 was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Opened for signature September 10, 1996[1] at New York Entered into force Not yet in force Conditions for entry into force The treaty will enter into force 180 days after it is ratified by all of the following 44 (Annex 2) countries: Algeria, Argentina, Australia... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

There have been around 2,000 nuclear test explosions:

• U.S.: 1,030 tests (involving 1,125 devices)
• Soviet Union: 715 tests
• France: 210 tests
• Britain: 45 tests (21 in Australian territory, including 9 in mainland South Australia at Maralinga and Emu Field, many others in the U.S.)
• China: 45 tests (23 atmospheric and 22 underground, all conducted at Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base, in Malan, Xinjiang)
• India: 6 tests.
• Pakistan: 6 tests.

Additionally, there may have been at least three alleged/disputed/unacknowledged nuclear explosions (see below). Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government CIA World Factbook Entry for United States House. ... Jump to: navigation, search Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... Lop Nur (ear-shaped) from space, September 1992 Lop Nur (Lake Lop; alternately Lop Nor, Lo-pu po or Taitema Lake) is a group of small, now seasonal salt lakes and marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China... Malan can mean: Malan (Xinjiang) Adolph Malan, famed World War II RAF fighter pilot who led No. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: æ–°ç–†; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: ), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

From the first nuclear test in 1945 until the latest tests by Pakistan in 1998, there was never a period of more than 22 months with no nuclear testing. Therefore, the period from June of 1998 to the present has been, by far, the longest period since 1945 with no acknowledged nuclear tests. Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Preparing for the first nuclear test at the Trinity site in 1945.

Peter Kuran's documentary film Trinity and Beyond (1996) incorporates a good deal of footage from US, Soviet, and Chinese tests. Setting up the gadget at the Trinity site, 1945. ... Setting up the gadget at the Trinity site, 1945. ... An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ...

Milestone nuclear explosions

The following list is of "milestone" nuclear explosions — either the first nuclear test of a given weapon type for a country, or tests which were otherwise notable (such as the largest test ever). The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are included in this list though they were clearly more than "tests". All test yields (explosive power) are given in their energy equivalents in kilotons of TNT (see megaton). Jump to: navigation, search Urakami Tenshudo (Catholic Church in Nagasaki) destroyed by the atomic bomb, the bell of the church having toppled off. ... Jump to: navigation, search Trinitrotoluene (TNT, or Trotyl) is a pale yellow crystalline aromatic hydrocarbon compound that melts at 354 K (178 Â°F, 81 °C). ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ...

Date	Name	Yield (kt)	Country	Significance
Jul 16 1945	Trinity	19	USA	First fission weapon test
Aug 6 1945	Little Boy	13	USA	Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan
Aug 9 1945	Fat Man	20	USA	Bombing of Nagasaki, Japan
Aug 29 1949	Joe 1	22	USSR	First fission weapon test
Oct 3 1952	Hurricane	25	UK	First fission weapon test
Nov 1 1952	Ivy Mike	10,000	USA	First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test (not deployable)
Aug 12 1953	Joe 4	400	USSR	First fusion weapon test (not "staged", but deployable)
Mar 1 1954	Castle Bravo	15,000	USA	First deployable "staged" thermonuclear weapon; fallout accident
Nov 22 1955	RDS-37	1600	USSR	First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test (deployable)
Nov 8 1957	Grapple X	1800	UK	First (successful) "staged" thermonuclear weapon test
Feb 13 1960	Gerboise Blue	60	France	First fission weapon test
Oct 31 1961	Tsar Bomba	50,000	USSR	Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested
Oct 16 1964	596	22	China	First fission weapon test
Jun 17 1967	Test No. 6	3300	China	First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test
Aug 24 1968	Canopus	2600	France	First "staged" thermonuclear test
May 18 1974	Smiling Buddha	8	India	First fission "peaceful nuclear explosive" test
May 11 1998	Shakti I	30	India	First potential fusion/boosted weapon test
May 13 1998	Shakti II	12	India	First fission "weapon" test
May 28 1998	Chagai-I	9	Pakistan	First fission weapon test

"Deployable" refers to whether or not the device tested could be hypothetically used in actual combat (in contrast with a proof-of-concept device). "Staging" refers to whether or not it was a "true" hydrogen bomb of the so-called Teller-Ulam configuration or simply a form of a boosted fission weapon. For a more complete list of nuclear test series, see List of nuclear tests. Jump to: navigation, search July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Little Boy bomb casing Little Boy was the codename given to the nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on Monday, August 6, 1945. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Jump to: navigation, search Urakami Tenshudo (Catholic Church in Nagasaki) destroyed by the atomic bomb, the bell of the church having toppled off. ... Main keep of Hiroshima Castle The city of Hiroshima (広島市; -shi) is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest of Japans islands. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search A post-war Fat Man model. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Jump to: navigation, search Urakami Tenshudo (Catholic Church in Nagasaki) destroyed by the atomic bomb, the bell of the church having toppled off. ... Megane-bashi, the Eyeglasses Bridge Nagasaki (長崎市; -shi) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture located at the south-western coast of Kyushu, Japan. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... External links http://gawain. ... Download high resolution version (1600x800, 6 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Soviet Union Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Enterprise Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle Endeavour Space exploration Shuttle Buran Modern pentathlon Football World Cup 1958 Football World Cup 1962... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in Leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic bomb. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The mushroom cloud from the Mike shot. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The first (not true) Soviet Hydrogen (Super) Test, dubbed Joe 4 Joe 4 was an American nickname for the first Soviet test of a hydrogen bomb and was on August 12, 1953. ... Download high resolution version (1600x800, 6 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Soviet Union Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Enterprise Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle Endeavour Space exploration Shuttle Buran Modern pentathlon Football World Cup 1958 Football World Cup 1962... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Castle Bravo was the code name given to the first U.S. test of a so-called dry fuel thermonuclear device, detonated on March 1, 1954 by the United States, as the first test of Operation Castle (a longer series of tests of various devices). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion and is named from the fact that it falls out of the atmosphere in to which it is spread during the explosion. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... RDS-37 was a Soviet name for their first nuclear test of a true hydrogen bomb. ... Download high resolution version (1600x800, 6 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Soviet Union Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Enterprise Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle Endeavour Space exploration Shuttle Buran Modern pentathlon Football World Cup 1958 Football World Cup 1962... Jump to: navigation, search November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Operation Grapple: Grapple X Valiant XD824 being bombed-up behind canvas screens Operation Grapple was a United Kingdom tri-service exercise leading to the detonation of the first British hydrogen bomb on May 15, 1957. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... France is said to have an arsenal of 350 nuclear weapons stockpiled as of 2002 [1]. The weapons are part of the national Force de frappe. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Tsar Bomba casing on display at Arzamas-16 Tsar Bomba (Russian: Царь-бомба, meaning literally Emperor Bomb), developed by the Soviet Union, is the largest nuclear explosive ever to be detonated, and is also the highest power device ever used by humans. ... Download high resolution version (1600x800, 6 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Soviet Union Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Enterprise Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle Endeavour Space exploration Shuttle Buran Modern pentathlon Football World Cup 1958 Football World Cup 1962... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Peoples Republic of China is said to have an arsenal of 400 nuclear weapons stockpiled as of 1999. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Peoples Republic of China is said to have an arsenal of 400 nuclear weapons stockpiled as of 1999. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... France is said to have an arsenal of 350 nuclear weapons stockpiled as of 2002 [1]. The weapons are part of the national Force de frappe. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Jump to: navigation, search May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The Smiling Buddha was the first test fission explosion by India on May 18, 1974. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Jump to: navigation, search May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Operation Shakti refers to the second round of nuclear tests conducted by India on May 11 and May 13, 1998. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... Jump to: navigation, search May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Operation Shakti refers to the second round of nuclear tests conducted by India on May 11 and May 13, 1998. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_India. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Missle Ranges It is not exactly known when Pakistan began developing nuclear weapons but it is believed to have started in the 1970s and apparently conducted its first test on 28 May 1998 when it detonated 5 separate devices in a remote mountain desert area in its Balochistan province. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Pakistan. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... The basics of the Teller-Ulam configuration: a fission bomb suspended above fusion fuel. ... Boosted fission weapons are a type of nuclear bomb that uses a small amount of fusion fuel to increase the rate, and thus yield, of a fission reaction. ... The following is a list of nuclear test series designations, organized first by country and then by date. ...

Worldwide nuclear testing totals, 1945-1998. ...

Alleged tests

There have been a number of significant alleged/disputed/unacknowledged accounts of countries testing nuclear explosives. Their status is either not certain or entirely disputed by most mainstream experts.

Japan

There is a disputed report about the Japanese atomic program being able to test a nuclear weapon in Korea on August 12, 1945, a few days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, and three days before the Japanese surrender on August 15, but this is seen as being highly unlikely by mainstream historians. See Japanese atomic program for more information. Yoshio Nishina The Japanese atomic program was a program by the Empire of Japan to develop a genshi bakudan, an atomic bomb during World War II. The program started around the same time as the U.S. Manhattan Project. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Urakami Tenshudo (Catholic Church in Nagasaki) destroyed by the atomic bomb, the bell of the church having toppled off. ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... Yoshio Nishina The Japanese atomic program was a program by the Empire of Japan to develop a genshi bakudan, an atomic bomb during World War II. The program started around the same time as the U.S. Manhattan Project. ...

Israel/South Africa

In what is known as the Vela Incident, Israel and/or South Africa may have detonated a nuclear device on September 22, 1979 in the Indian Ocean, according to satellite data. Knowledge of whether there was actually a test, much less who would have been responsible for it, is not fully known. See Vela Incident for more information. Orthographic projection centered on the Prince Edward Islands, the location of the Vela incident The Vela Incident sometimes known as the South Atlantic Flash was a September 22, 1979 event that was perhaps a nuclear weapon test. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search This page refers to the year 1979. ... Orthographic projection centered on the Prince Edward Islands, the location of the Vela incident The Vela Incident sometimes known as the South Atlantic Flash was a September 22, 1979 event that was perhaps a nuclear weapon test. ...

North Korea

On September 9, 2004 it was reported by South Korean media that there had been a large explosion at the Chinese/North Korean border. This explosion left a crater visible by satellite and precipitated a large (2 mile diameter) mushroom cloud. The United States and South Korea quickly downplayed this, explaining it away as a forest fire which had nothing to do with the DPRK's nuclear weapons program. See Ryanggang explosion for more information. September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... On September 9, 2004, there was an event suspected to be a large explosion in North Koreas second northernmost province of Ryanggang. ...

Germany

A book published in German in 2005 (Hitlers Bombe) has alleged that there is evidence that Nazi Germany performed some sort of test of a "nuclear device" (the description of which is more like a dirty bomb or a hybrid fusion device) in March 1945, though the evidence for this has not yet been fully evaluated. Jump to: navigation, search 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hilters Bombe (Hitlers Bomb) is a nonfiction book by the German historian Rainer Karlsch published in March 2005 which claims to have evidence concerning the development and testing of a possible nuclear weapon by Nazi Germany in 1945. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The term dirty bomb is most often used to refer to a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD), a radiological weapon which combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. ... Fusion typically refers to the merging of two or more entities into a single one: In physics, nuclear fusion is the combination of two atomic nuclei into a single nucleus. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Nuclear tests with the nuclear warhead launched by a rocket

The Frigate Bird explosion seen through the periscope of USS Carbonero (SS-337)

Missiles and nuclear warheads have usually been tested separately. The only US live test of an operational missile was the following: Download high resolution version (1024x1200, 126 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1024x1200, 126 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... USS Carbonero (SS-337), a Gato-class submarine, was the Nth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the carbonero, a salt-water fish found in the West Indies. ...

• Frigate Bird - on May 6, 1962, a UGM-27 Polaris A-1 missile with a live 600 kt W47 warhead was launched from the USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608); it flew 1900 km, re-entered the atmosphere, and detonated at an altitude of 3.4 km over the South Pacific. The test was part of Operation Dominic I. Planned as a method to dispel doubts about whether the USA's nuclear missiles would actually function in practice, it had less effect than was hoped, as the stockpile warhead was substantially modified prior to testing, and the missile tested was a relatively low-flying SLBM and not a high-flying ICBM.

Other live tests with the nuclear explosive delivered by rocket by the USA include: May 6 is the 125126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Polaris A-1 on launch pad in Cape Canaveral Polaris A-3 on launch pad in Cape Canaveral The Polaris missile was a submarine-launched, nuclear-tipped ballistic missile (SLBM) built during the Cold War by the United States Navy. ... USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608), lead ship of her class, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Ethan Allen. ... Pacific Ocean detonation Operation Dominic I and II was a series of 105 nuclear test explosions conducted in 1962 and 1963 by the United States. ... Submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBMs are ballistic missiles delivering nuclear weapons that are launched from submarines. ... A Minuteman III missile soars after a test launch. ...

• Operation Argus - three tests
• On August 1, 1958, Redstone rocket #CC50 launched nuclear test Teak that detonated at an altitude of 77.8-km. On August 12, 1958, Redstone #CC51 launched nuclear test Orange to a detonation altitude of 43 km. Both were part of Operation Hardtack and had a yield of 3.75 Mt
• On July 9, 1962, Thor missile 195 launched a Mk4 reentry vehicle containing a W49 thermonuclear warhead to an altitude of 248 miles (400 km). The warhead detonated with a yield of 1.45 Mt. This was the Starfish Prime event of nuclear test operation Dominic-Fishbowl
• In the same series in 1962: Checkmate, Bluegill, Kingfish, and Tightrope

The Soviet Union tested a number of nuclear explosives on rockets as part of their development of a localised anti-ballistic missile system in the 1960s. Operation Argus was secretly conducted during August and September of 1958, in the South Atlantic (see: South Atlantic Anomaly), by the US Atomic Energy Commission, in conjunction with the Explorer IV mission. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... First launched in 1953, the American Redstone rocket was a direct descendant of the German V-2. ... Hardtack Oak mushroom cloud Hardtack Sorocco mushroom cloud An RB-57 Canberra observes Juniper. ... Jump to: navigation, search July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Thor-Ablestar Thor was the United Statess first operational ballistic missile. ... Starfish Prime was an outer space nuclear test conducted by the United States of America on July 9, 1962, a joint-effort of the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). ... Pacific Ocean detonation Operation Dominic I and II was a series of 105 nuclear test explosions conducted in 1962 and 1963 by the United States. ... An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles: the strategic ballistic missiles used to deliver nuclear weapons or their elements in flight trajectory. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

Nuclear tests

• Category:Nuclear test sites
• History of nuclear weapons
• Nuclear weapons design
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
• North Korea nuclear weapons program
• List of nuclear accidents (including nuclear weapons accidents)
• Sedan - a test in 1962 which caused diplomatic friction in 2005

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... A nuclear fireball lights up the night in a United States nuclear test. ... Nuclear weapon designs are often divided into two classes, based on the dominant source of the nuclear weapons energy. ... Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Opened for signature September 10, 1996[1] at New York Entered into force Not yet in force Conditions for entry into force The treaty will enter into force 180 days after it is ratified by all of the following 44 (Annex 2) countries: Algeria, Argentina, Australia... North Korea has been attempting to obtain nuclear weapons since the late 1970s. ... Pathways from airborne radioactive contamination to man This article covers notable accidents involving nuclear material. ... Storax Sedan explosion The Sedan crater. ...

External links

• Atomic Veterans History Project (United States)
• Australian government database of nuclear explosions and tests
• Oklahoma Geological Survey Nuclear Explosion Catalog lists 2,199 explosions by date, country, location, yield etc.
• Table of Known Nuclear Tests Worldwide, from NRDC
• Gallery of U.S. nuclear tests (with detailed descriptions of each test series)
• Gallery and short descriptions of UK nuclear tests
• United States high-altitude test experiences - A Review Emphasizing the Impact on the Environment
• Radiation Exposure Compensation Act