A Bomb Max Energy Bomb is a nuclear weapon designed to produce more than 100 megatons of energy. The Soviets built a prototype of this weapon, but it was too large to fly in any Soviet aircraft and the radiation it produced would have blanketed northern Russia. So they had to downsize it and reduce its yield.
Energy
The most notable component in this class of powerhouses is the eponymous ye olde nuclear detonator. This gizmo is the brainchild of a few select individuals who, in turn, were inspired by the likes of Frank Geller, who was on a quest to find out just how much energy was required to build a nuclear bomb. A plethora of research studies, many based on old fashioned laboratory tests sparked the development of an experimental prototype, aptly dubbed the ‘Bomb Max’, or BMB for short. As the name suggests, it was not a particularly large or heavy critter, but that hasn’t stopped it from producing a whopping megaton of sonic booms and whacks.
Explosion
The Bomb Max Energy Bomb was the largest fusion-style fission weapon ever detonated, and one of the most powerful weapons ever tested. It produced a mushroom cloud 60-65 km in diameter and a fireball that was visible from nearly 1,000 kilometers away.
The explosion begins with an abrupt jump in air pressure caused by the rapid expansion of the expanding fireball. The explosion also creates a blast wave that moves outward at thousands of miles per hour, but slows down as it spreads.
This wave carries about half the explosive energy and is responsible for most of the physical destruction. It also causes significant amounts of radiation and extreme heat.
The resulting shock waves blow the casing, protective shielding, and control mechanisms out of the case. The casing breaks apart and the pit, a hollowed out sphere of 94Pu, either escapes the case or flies apart and scatters shards of precious plutonium far and wide.
