Most powerful US nuclear bomb dismantled

[True Earthling]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45031536/ns/us_news/#.TqgI4Cp5mK0

Put into service in 1962, when Cold War tensions peaked during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the B53 weighed 10,000 pounds and was the size of a minivan. According to the American Federation of Scientists, it was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing as many as 140,000 people and helping end World War II.

The B53's disassembly ends the era of big megaton bombs, he said. The bombs' size helped compensate for their lack of accuracy. Today's bombs are smaller but more precise, reducing the amount of collateral damage, Kristensen said.

With its destruction, the next largest bomb in operation will be the B83, said Hans Kristensen, a spokesman for the Federation of American Scientists. It's 1.2 megatons, while the B53 was 9 megatons.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Good riddance to evil toys. nt

[FarCenter]

2. There is no scaling limit with fusion bombs

In principle, you could assemble a multi gigaton fusion weapon in space.

When exploded, the radiant energy would ignite all flammable materials continent wide. This would, of course, cause a subsequent nuclear winter.