EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -How big is 100 megaton explosion? So a 10-megaton bomb detonated at an optimal altitude might do medium damage to a distance of 9.4 miles (15 kilometers) from ground zero, but a 100-megaton bomb “only” does the same amount of damage to 20.3 miles (33 kilometers).

Detailed explanation-2: -It was decided that a full 100 Mt detonation would create a nuclear fallout that was unacceptable in terms of pollution from a single test, as well as a near-certainty that the release plane and crew would be destroyed before it could escape the blast radius.

Detailed explanation-3: -Assuming a detonation at optimum height, a 9 megaton blast would result in a fireball with an approximate 2.9 to 3.4 mi (4.7 to 5.5 km) diameter. The radiated heat would be sufficient to cause lethal burns to any unprotected person within a 20-mile (32 km) radius (1, 250 sq mi or 3, 200 km2).

Detailed explanation-4: -At 8:15 in the morning on August 6, the uranium-based atomic bomb “Little Boy” was used on Hiroshima, home of approximately 320, 000 people. The blast packed a destructive force equivalent to about 15 kilotons of TNT.