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by fit2rule 2169 days ago
The point is not whether it could have, or not. Its whether they knew it wouldn't.

And in fact, they didn't know it wouldn't ignite the atmosphere - there was a chance it might and they went ahead anyway. It was a calculated risk.
1 comments
dogfoods 2168 days ago
No, Bethe and others knew in the 40s it could not have. Enough nuclear physics was known then to know that the atmosphere cannot be ignited by a nuke.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/bethe-telle...

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fit2rule 2168 days ago
They didn't know for sure until they'd tested it in the real world. That's the point of the hubris.
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dogfoods 2168 days ago
No, they did know for sure.
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