Russia releases video footage of world’s largest hydrogen bomb blast

The video showed that the plane captured the explosion from a distance of a few hundred kilometers. Image: IE

A project which once was classified secret has now been made public as the Russian nuclear energy agency, Rosatom, released a 40-minute-long video that shows the world’s largest hydrogen bomb (also known as Tsar Bomba or Tsar’s bomb) blast. Declassifying the detonation of a hydrogen bomb that took place October 30, 1961, the explosion was believed to have been at least 3,333 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped in Japan’s Hiroshima in 1945. The video released shows how the bomb was tested first over Novaya Zemlya near the Arctic Ocean. According to a report by The Indian Express, the hydrogen bomb was equivalent to 50 million tons of TNT.

Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation released the video and focused on all details regarding the Tsar bomb—its making, assembly, and execution. It is to note that the bomb was sent to the testing site via a Tu-95 bomber. While releasing from the plane the countdown began, the Tsar bomb was attached to a parachute. Upon release, it reached the detonation point at an altitude of 4,000 m. As it exploded, a bright flash along with a huge mushroom cloud became visible. The video showed that the plane captured the explosion from a distance of a few hundred kilometers. The dust column that was produced by the explosion had a diameter of 10 km.

The Indian Express’s report highlighted that the bomb was produced due to a long nuclear race between the Soviet Union and the United States. At that time, both countries were set on building the most powerful bomb anyone had ever seen. While the US succeeded in making the atomic bomb which was used in 1945, the Soviet Union developed the most destructive hydrogen bomb. The hydrogen bomb was also known by many names. The Soviet Union also considered it as Project 27000, RDS-220, Product Code 202, and Kuzinka Mat (Kuzka’s Mother).