Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by 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...
1 comments
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.
link
dogfoods 2168 days ago
No, they did know for sure.
link