# A-bomb "igniting the atmosphere"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-igniting-the-atmosphere/468133>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 16, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-igniting-the-atmosphere/468133 "2008-10-16T01:30:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-igniting-the-atmosphere/468133/1 "2008-10-16T01:30:54Z")

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It’s said that when the Trinity device was first tested, a semi-serious bet was made between the physicists involved on whether it would ignite the Earth’s atmosphere. On what basis was this thought an even remote possibility? Were they talking about a _chemical_ ignition, even though it takes a net input of energy for nitrogen and oxygen to unite? Or were they talking about a hypothetical _nuclear_ reaction involving nitrogen or oxygen?

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**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-igniting-the-atmosphere/468133/2 "2008-10-16T01:41:58Z")

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And more importantly, how dumb are physicists anyway? How do you collect your winnings if the atmosphere _does_ ignite and kill everyone? 😃

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-igniting-the-atmosphere/468133/3 "2008-10-16T01:53:09Z")

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I think they were going for a ‘scare the straights’ reaction, to get as much of a rise as possible out of all the non-physicists on base. It’s still working 63 years later.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bomb-igniting-the-atmosphere/468133/4 "2008-10-16T04:05:24Z")

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The possibility they were looking at was a nuclear reaction. It was a legitimate question to ask, but it was also a very easy question to answer: The calculations were quite clear that it wouldn’t happen. And, being physicists, they trusted the calculations.