Ivy Mike Detonates: America Tests First Hydrogen Bomb
The United States detonated Ivy Mike at Enewetak Atoll on November 1, 1952, producing a 10.4-megaton explosion that vaporized the island of Elugelab entirely. The mushroom cloud rose to 135,000 feet and spread 100 miles. The device weighed 82 tons, filled a building, and used liquid deuterium cooled to minus 250 degrees Celsius, making it a laboratory experiment rather than a deliverable weapon. But it proved the thermonuclear principle worked. The Soviet Union detonated its own thermonuclear device nine months later. Within three years, both nations had hydrogen bombs small enough to fit on missiles. The arms race that followed produced arsenals capable of destroying civilization several times over. The fallout from Ivy Mike was detected in samples as far away as Australia and Northern Europe.
November 1, 1952
74 years ago
Key Figures & Places
nuclear weapons testing
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Ivy Mike
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thermonuclear weapon
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Eniwetok
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megaton
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Nuclear weapons testing
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Thermonuclear weapon
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Enewetak Atoll
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TNT equivalent
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Pacific Ocean
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Nuclear weapon design
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Fermium
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Einsteinium
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What Else Happened on November 1
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Fifteen-year-old Philip II ascended the French throne, inheriting a kingdom largely confined to the royal domain around Paris. By centralizing administrative po…
The Seljuq Turks seized the strategic port of Sinope, securing their first direct access to the Black Sea. This conquest transformed the Sultanate of Rum into a…
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