In 1952, the United States made history by detonating the first hydrogen bomb in a series of nuclear tests called Operation Ivy. The bomb, nicknamed “Mike,” was a symbol of exceptional engineering achievement and used thermonuclear reactions to create powerful explosive force instead of just nuclear reactions.
The test marked a significant advancement in nuclear technology, as it was the first full-scale test with a groundbreaking design by American-Hungarian physicist Edward Teller and Polish mathematician Stanislaw Ulam. The explosion created a fireball 5 km in diameter and a mushroom cloud that rose to a height of 41 km. Witnesses from many ships at sea described the explosion as accompanied by blinding light and immediate heat waves felt at a distance of 48 – 56 km.
During the test, Elugelab Island in Enewetak Atoll disappeared instantly after a hydrogen bomb released an explosive force of up to 10.4 megatons. The bomb caused Elugelab to evaporate instantly, leaving behind a massive crater with a diameter of 1.9 km and a depth of 50 m. A tsunami up to 6 meters high wiped out vegetation on surrounding islands, leading to Gordon Dean, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, summarizing the test results to President Dwight D. Eisenhower with the words “Elugelab Island has disappeared.”
The Ivy Mike experiment also led to the discovery of two new elements, einsteinium and fermium. Scientists collected debris from the air after the explosion and found traces of these elements, which were named in honor of Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. Nuclear testing on Enewetak Island ended in 1958, and decontamination efforts were carried out in 1977 and 2000. Scientists predict that the island will be suitable for human habitation by 2026 – 2027.
The Ivy Mike experiment was truly remarkable as it showed how far we had come in nuclear technology at that time. It also highlighted