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Fizzle (nuclear explosion)
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<h2 id="fusion-boosting">Fusion boosting</h2> <p>If a <a href="/facts/Deuterium/Bv4wfCkw">deuterium</a>-<a href="/facts/Tritium/HWSa6EHy">tritium</a> mixture is placed at the center of the device to be compressed and heated by the fission explosion, a fission yield of 250 tons is sufficient to cause <a href="/facts/Deuterium%E2%80%93tritium_fusion/SDEJ3Nw0">D–T fusion</a> releasing high-energy <a href="/facts/Fusion_neutron/oRCM1geb">fusion neutrons</a> which will then fission much of the remaining fission fuel. This is known as a <a href="/facts/Boosted_fission_weapon/U11GQ2mf">boosted fission weapon</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> If a fission device designed for boosting is tested without the boost gas, a yield in the sub-kiloton range may indicate a successful test that the device's implosion and primary fission stages are working as designed, though this does not test the boosting process itself. </p> <h2 id="nuclear-fission-tests-considered-to-be-fizzles">Nuclear fission tests considered to be fizzles</h2> <a href="/facts/Operation_Buster%E2%80%93Jangle/jPMd7zmJ">Buster Able</a> Considered to be the first known failure of any nuclear device.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Operation_Upshot%E2%80%93Knothole/RksKPjV9">Upshot–Knothole Ruth</a> Testing a <a href="/facts/Uranium_hydride_bomb/IG0ealbI">uranium hydride bomb</a>. The test failed to "declassify the site" (erase evidence) as it left the bottom third of the 300-foot (91 m) shot tower still standing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Operation_Upshot%E2%80%93Knothole/RksKPjV9">Upshot–Knothole Ray</a> Similar test conducted the following month. Allegedly a shorter 100-foot (30 m) tower was chosen, to ensure that the tower would be completely destroyed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Gerboise_Verte/nYnAo7G8">Gerboise Verte</a> The nuclear test should have had a power of between 6 and 18 kt, but produced less than one kiloton. <a href="/facts/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test/eartLjgg">North Korean nuclear test in 2006</a> Russia claimed to have measured 5–15 kt yield, whereas the United States, France, and South Korea measured less than 1 kt yield.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> This North Korean debut test was weaker than all other countries' initial tests by a factor of 20,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> and the smallest initial test in history.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> <h2 id="nuclear-fusion-tests-that-fizzled">Nuclear fusion tests that fizzled</h2> <a href="/facts/Castle_Koon/zkqbGlHd">Castle Koon</a> A thermonuclear device whose <a href="/facts/Thermonuclear_weapon/T9zFe3H0">fusion secondary</a> did not successfully ignite, with only low-level fusion burning taking place. Short Granite Dropped by the United Kingdom over <a href="/facts/Malden_Island/S23CKqU8">Malden Island</a> in the Pacific on May 15, 1957, during <a href="/facts/Operation_Grapple/LoDVTsXp">Operation Grapple 1</a>, this bomb had an expected yield of over 1 megaton, but only exploded with a force of a quarter of the anticipated yield.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> The test was still considered successful, as thermonuclear ignition occurred and contributed substantially to the bomb's yield. Another bomb dropped during Grapple 1, Purple Granite, was hoped to give an improved yield over Short Granite, but the yield was even lower. <h2 id="terrorist-concerns">Terrorist concerns</h2> <p>One month after the <a href="/facts/September_11,_2001_attacks/PfWQcQNx">September 11, 2001 attacks</a>, a <a href="/facts/CIA/U7urmQYL">CIA</a> informant known as "Dragonfire" reported that <a href="/facts/Al-Qaeda/CIQSk3D7">al-Qaeda</a> had smuggled a low-yield nuclear weapon into <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York City</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Although the report was found to be false, concerns were expressed that even a "fizzle bomb" capable of yielding a fraction of the known 10-kiloton weapons could cause "horrific" consequences. A detonation in New York City would mean thousands of civilian casualties.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="in-popular-culture">In popular culture</h2> <p>The nuclear weapon which detonates in <a href="/facts/Tom_Clancy/tGdyML3z">Tom Clancy</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/The_Sum_of_all_Fears/fwx2e38R">The Sum of all Fears</a></i> results in a fizzle, caused by <a href="/facts/Tritium/HWSa6EHy">tritium</a> poisoning, which causes the secondary core to fail to ignite. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_nuclear_tests/4jclhjH5">List of nuclear tests</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Lists_of_nuclear_disasters_and_radioactive_incidents/N8oN5dYT">Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Uranium_hydride_bomb/IG0ealbI">Uranium hydride bomb</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Dirty_bomb/vS6UGMaV">Dirty bomb</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080916105831/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20061009/ai_n16769161">Not a bomb or a dud but a fizzle</a> Ian Hoffman, Oakland Tribune, October 9, 2006.</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080412023138/http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/nuclear_weapons.html">Nuclear Weapons, howthingswork.virginia.edu</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Staff Writer. "NBC Weapons: North Korean Fizzle Bomb." Strategy Page. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htchem/articles/20070330.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htchem/articles/20070330.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Earl Lane. "Nuclear Experts Assess the Threat of a "Backyard Bomb”." American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/1219bomb.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/1219bomb.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Meirion Jones." A short history of fizzles." BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="/wiki/Meirion_Jones" target="_blank">/wiki/Meirion_Jones</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Theodore E. Liolios." The Effects of Nuclear Terrorism: Fizzles." (PDF) European Program on Science and International Security. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0212002" target="_blank">https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0212002</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Are Suitcase Bombs Possible? Carey Sublette, Nuclear Weapon Archive <a href="http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/DoSuitcaseNukesExist.html" target="_blank">http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/DoSuitcaseNukesExist.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Carey Sublette. "Operation Buster-Jangle 1951." Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Busterj.html" target="_blank">http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Busterj.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Carey Sublette. "Operation Upshot-Knothole 1953 - Nevada Proving Ground." Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Upshotk.html" target="_blank">http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Upshotk.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Carey Sublette. "Operation Upshot-Knothole 1953 - Nevada Proving Ground." Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Upshotk.html" target="_blank">http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Upshotk.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Penny Spiller." N Korea test - failure or fake?." BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6040494.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6040494.stm</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Todd Crowell." A deadly kind of fizzle." Asia Times Online. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061018004211/http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HJ14Dg01.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20061018004211/http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HJ14Dg01.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Staff Writer. "Special report -The fizzle heard around the world." Nature.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7112/full/443610a.html" target="_blank">http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7112/full/443610a.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Meirion Jones." A short history of fizzles." BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="/wiki/Meirion_Jones" target="_blank">/wiki/Meirion_Jones</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Nicholas D. Kristof. "An American Hiroshima." The New York Times. Published August 11, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/11/opinion/11kris.html?ex=1249963200&en=81fb0a21e469c56a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/11/opinion/11kris.html?ex=1249963200&en=81fb0a21e469c56a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Earl Lane. "Nuclear Experts Assess the Threat of a "Backyard Bomb”." American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/1219bomb.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/1219bomb.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Michael A. Levi" How Likely is a Nuclear Terrorist Attack on the United States? Archived 2008-05-02 at the Wayback Machine." Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. <a href="http://www.cfr.org/publication/13097/how_likely_is_a_nuclear_terrorist_attack_on_the_united_states.html" target="_blank">http://www.cfr.org/publication/13097/how_likely_is_a_nuclear_terrorist_attack_on_the_united_states.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>