megaton
Quick Summary
A megaton is a unit of explosive force equivalent to one million tons of TNT. It is commonly used to measure the destructive power of thermonuclear weapons, with one megaton equaling the force of 1,000 kilotons (where a kiloton is 1,000 tons of TNT). The explosive power of hydrogen bombs is frequently expressed in megatons, with some having yields exceeding 50 megatons. The term "megatonnage" refers to the destructive capability of nuclear weapons, measured in megatons.123
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nuclear weapon yields
- In nuclear weapon
…words kiloton (1,000 tons) and megaton (1,000,000 tons) to describe their blast energy in equivalent weights of the conventional chemical explosive TNT. For example, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, containing only about 64 kg (140 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, released energy equaling about 15 kilotons…
Read More - In thermonuclear bomb
…contrast, is frequently expressed in megatons, each unit of which equals the explosive force of 1,000,000 tons of TNT. Hydrogen bombs of more than 50 megatons have been detonated, but the explosive power of the weapons mounted on strategic missiles usually ranges from 100 kilotons to 1.5 megatons. Thermonuclear bombs…
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