• UnderpantsWeevil
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    14 days ago

    It’s part of Project Plowshare from the 1950s

    Meteorologist Jack Reed took inspiration from the 1952 Ivy Mike nuclear test and drew up plans to disrupt hurricanes with nuclear bombs.[13] Reed, an early hurricane hunter,[14] had worked in the U.S. nuclear test program and studied the atmospheric effects of nuclear explosions.[13] He authored the paper “Some Speculations on the Effects of Nuclear Explosions on Hurricanes”, containing two proposals: Plan A and Plan B. Plan A envisioned using one or two 20-megaton nuclear bombs to destroy a hurricane’s symmetry, weakening it and redirecting it back towards the ocean. Plan B envisioned using a single 20-megaton nuclear bomb, or many smaller bombs, to blow the eye of the storm into the stratosphere, which would slow or halt the hurricane. He was amenable to both dropping the bomb from an airplane or launching it from a submarine. He argued that radiation would have minimal effects and did not address potential harm to marine life. He presented these proposals to the 1959 symposium on Project Plowshare and an American Meteorological Society conference,[13] and unsuccessfully sought its inclusion in the International Geophysical Year.

      • UnderpantsWeevil
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        13 days ago

        We didn’t prove it so much as we didn’t try it because the folks in charge assumed it was a bad idea.

        • BeMoreCareful
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          13 days ago

          I guess that “gave it a think” would be a bit better. Though I’m not positive how much then really knew about radiation.