U.S. ATOM TESTS
Explosion By Balloons (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 11 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April 30. The United States Atomic Energy Commission announced today that at least two of the bigger explosions in the forthcoming weapons tests will be detonated from captive balloons high over the Nevada desert. The explosions would yield violence greater than that of 20,000 tons of T.N.T., the commission said. The bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan, in August, 1945, was equivalent to 15,000 tons of T.N.T The Nevada tests will start or May 15. Reporters and about civil defence officials will be permitted to watch nine of the shots.
Of the nine, six will be under 20,000 tons of T.N.T. in energy yield, and three will be above. All of the smaller weapons and one of the larger will be exploded from steel towers. The two balloon shots announced today will be staged, weather and other conditions permitting, on June 27 and July 25. Weather delays in past test programmes have run as long as several weeks.
The balloons will be several hundred to 2000 feet high. The idea is to reduce radioactive fallout in the vicinity of the test proving ground. Such local fallout is intensified if the hot atomic fireball touches the ground and sucks up large quantities, of dust
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28266, 2 May 1957, Page 11
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215U.S. ATOM TESTS Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28266, 2 May 1957, Page 11
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