# Nuclear bomb in the ground **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545 "2014-11-25T00:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/1 "2014-11-25T00:19:43Z")
What would happen if someone dropped a nuclear bomb into something like the [Kola](http://www.universetoday.com/81980/deepest-hole-in-the-world/) superdeep hole and detonated it? Would the explosion be strong enough to cause earthquakes? The things an insomiac thinks about at 2:00 in the morning! ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/2 "2014-11-25T00:59:48Z")
You could certainly detect the detonation using seismic waves, like you would an earthquake. That’s one tool currently used to enforce nuclear test ban treaties. It’s not likely to actually cause an earthquake, though. You might want to start with Wikipedia’s entry on actual [underground nuclear testing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_nuclear_testing) for some general info. Regarding earthquakes in particular, it says: > [@](#): > > Although there were early concerns about earthquakes arising as a result of underground tests, there is no evidence that this has occurred.[25] However, fault movements and ground fractures have been reported, and explosions often precede a series of aftershocks, thought to be a result of cavity collapse and chimney formation. In a few cases, seismic energy released by fault movements has exceeded that of the explosion itself.[25] ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/3 "2014-11-25T02:04:35Z")
[Put a metal cap on there and you can blast it into _Solar_ orbit.](http://http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread4434/pg) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/4 "2014-11-25T03:06:18Z")
The smallest extant nuclear warhead is too big to fit in the Kola borehole - it’s only nine inches across. The US W54 warhead would just about have fit but there are none left in US stockpiles (it’s one of those goofy 1950s weapons designed to be fired by soldiers from a sort of rocket launcher arrangement, before everyone realized man-portable nukes would kill _everybody_.) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/5 "2014-11-25T03:14:26Z")
How powerful? 1 kiloton? 30 megatons? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/6 "2014-11-25T04:13:52Z")
I saw a documentary on this topic called _Broken Arrow_. The detonation caused a large undulating earthquake behind John Travolta. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/7 "2014-11-25T04:48:45Z")
No nuclear bomb could \*cause \*an earthquake. The energy involved in even a modest earthquake is \*thousands \*of times that generated by even the largest nukes… ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/8 "2014-11-25T05:13:40Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > No nuclear bomb could \*cause \*an earthquake. The energy involved in even a modest earthquake is \*thousands \*of times that generated by even the largest nukes… Sure, but an explosion could trigger an earthquake that was nearly ready to occur on it’s own… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/9 "2014-11-25T15:37:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Sure, but an explosion could trigger an earthquake that was nearly ready to occur on it’s own… Like that other documentary,\* A View to a Kill.\* ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/10 "2014-12-01T21:36:57Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > [Put a metal cap on there and you can blast it into _Solar_ orbit.](http://http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread4434/pg) Linkee no workee… ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/11 "2014-12-01T23:29:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The smallest extant nuclear warhead is too big to fit in the Kola borehole - it’s only nine inches across. The US W54 warhead would just about have fit but there are none left in US stockpiles (it’s one of those goofy 1950s weapons designed to be fired by soldiers from a sort of rocket launcher arrangement, before everyone realized man-portable nukes would kill _everybody_.) If it’s 9 inches in diameter, both 8" (203mm) US nuclear projectiles (W33 and the W79 warheads) would have fit along with the 155mm nuclear projectile (W-48 warhead). Stockpiles no longer exist as you said but I’d guess the manufacturing specs are still around. The W33 was a gun type round while the W79 and W48s were implosion. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/12 "2014-12-02T01:57:32Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Linkee no workee… [Try this one.](http://savvyparanoia.com/the-fastest-man-made-object-ever-a-nuclear-powered-manhole-cover-true/) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/13 "2014-12-02T13:58:28Z")
That metal cap blasted to escape velocity is a great story, but I don’t think its true. I think the cap was simply vaporized… ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/14 "2014-12-02T15:06:33Z")
The cap was certainly moving at greater than escape speed, but it probably didn’t escape. Air resistance probably slowed and destroyed it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/15 "2014-12-02T15:28:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The US W54 warhead would just about have fit but there are none left in US stockpiles (it’s one of those goofy 1950s weapons designed to be fired by soldiers from a sort of rocket launcher arrangement, before everyone realized man-portable nukes would kill _everybody_.) The Davy Crockett launchers had ranges of 1.5-2.5 miles, with a lethal radius of about 1/4 mile. (it was a 20 TON warhead after all). Of course, it was possible to fire it at its minimum range, which was short enough to cook the gun crew, but at more realistic ranges, they’d have been fine. Hardly kill _everybody_ type stuff; the bigger question was what they’d actually be used for- the blast effects weren’t widespread enough to really affect advancing Soviet armor, and the radiation effects (by far the most lethal effect of a bomb that size) were still pretty ineffective against tanks (steel armor is pretty good against radiation) that weren’t almost underneath it when it went off. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/16 "2014-12-02T17:09:59Z")
The OP’s question was basically the whole plot of Armageddon. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/17 "2014-12-02T17:55:39Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The Davy Crockett launchers had ranges of 1.5-2.5 miles, with a lethal radius of about 1/4 mile. (it was a 20 TON warhead after all). Of course, it was possible to fire it at its minimum range, which was short enough to cook the gun crew, but at more realistic ranges, they’d have been fine. > > Hardly kill _everybody_ type stuff; the bigger question was what they’d actually be used for- the blast effects weren’t widespread enough to really affect advancing Soviet armor, and the radiation effects (by far the most lethal effect of a bomb that size) were still pretty ineffective against tanks (steel armor is pretty good against radiation) that weren’t almost underneath it when it went off. This was before cruise missiles, so… dams, bridges, vehicle depots, bunkers… ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/18 "2014-12-02T20:08:05Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The OP’s question was basically the whole plot of Armageddon. Also the original Superman. It’s sort of like the nuclear bomb in a hurricane question. Nuclear bombs are powerful, but their energy pales in comparison by several orders of magnitude to that of a storm or the energy required to move tectonic plates. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nuclear-bomb-in-the-ground/705545/19 "2014-12-06T05:28:26Z")
Well, nuclear bombs do shake the ground quite a bit. My Mom worked in a group at a national lab that used seismographs to monitor the U.S.S.R for nuclear tests. Iirc we had a discussion about this when I was a kid and the general consensus was that if a big enough bomb was placed in the correct spot in a fault line it could trigger the fault. However, the placement mattered a lot. In other words, possible but highly unlikely. Slee Whose parents did some odd yet cool things.