/ Main Archive / USA /
Date: 17:00 UTC 06/07/1962 |
Type: Subsurface @-190m |
Yield: 104Kt
The test was conducted under the auspices of the Plowshare program, which was an attempt to develop non-military uses for nuclear explosives. The purpose of Sedan was to investigate the potential of "clean" thermonuclear devices for producing large craters cheaply (for canal or harbour construction for example). Sedan was detonated at what was estimated to be the optimal crater depth in alluvial soil. 12 million tons of soil and rock were lifted into the air, 8 million tons of it falling outside the crater. The final crater was 390m wide and 97m deep. The force of the detonation released seismic energy equivalent to an earthquake magnitude of 4.75 on the Richter Scale. The program was abandoned due to unworkable residual radiation levels.
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