Thermonuclear Bomb
It was the height of the Cold War, and US scientists and engineers were working tirelessly to develop the world’s first thermonuclear fusion bomb. The project, dubbed Operation Ivy, was set to trigger the most powerful explosion in human history by unleashing 10.4 megatons of energy, 450 times the power dropped on top of Nagasaki. The US was desperate to beat the Soviets and attain this world-shattering technology, making all necessary preparations for it to be an iconic and unprecedented event. Then, on November 1, 1952, a burst of scorching light and destruction like the world had never seen ruptured the sky and covered the horizon in an ominous orange haze. The cameras on Elugelab Island in the Enewetak atoll of the Marshall Islands recorded the humbling blast as a colossal white mushroom cloud could be seen for miles. As the Americans showed their military and technological supremacy to the world, they also unveiled groundbreaking scientific discoveries; knowledge that they would secretly keep for themselves…
Credit Dark Footage
