Canopus (nuclear test)
Encyclopedia
Canopus was the code name for France's
first two-stage thermonuclear test, conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa
atoll
. The test made France the fifth country to test a thermonuclear device after the United States
, the Soviet Union
, the United Kingdom
and China
.
In 1966, France was able to use fusion
fuel to boost
plutonium
implosion devices with the Rigel shot. Roger Dautry, a nuclear physicist
, was selected by the CEA
to lead the development effort to construct a two-stage weapon. France did not have the ability to produce the materials needed for a two-stage thermonuclear device at the time, so 151 tons of heavy water
was purchased from Norway
and an additional 168 tons from the United States
. This heavy water went into nuclear reactors in 1967 to produce tritium
needed for the device .
The announcement by France in the late 1960s to test a hydrogen bomb provoked the People's Republic of China
to conduct a full scale hydrogen bomb test of its own on June 17, 1967.
France was to test the new device as part of a 5 shot series conducted at the nuclear testing
grounds in French Polynesia
. The device weighed three tons and used a lithium deuteride secondary stage
with a highly enriched uranium
jacket primary.
Fangataufa was selected as the location of the shot due to its isolation in respect to the main base on Mururoa. The device was suspended from a large hydrogen
filled balloon
. It was detonated at 18:30:00.5 GMT with a 2.6 megaton
yield at an altitude of 1800 feet. As a result of the successful detonation, France became the 5th thermonuclear nation.
The 1998 film Godzilla
uses this particular test as the basis for the monster Zilla
, a green iguana
mutated by the fallout from the blast while still in its egg. (However, the footage in the movie is actually from the Baker Test
in 1946.)
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
first two-stage thermonuclear test, conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa
Fangataufa
Fangataufa is a small, low, narrow, coral atoll in the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Along with its neighboring atoll, Moruroa, it has been the site of approximately 200 nuclear bomb tests....
atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
. The test made France the fifth country to test a thermonuclear device after the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
In 1966, France was able to use fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
fuel to boost
Boosted fission weapon
A boosted fission weapon usually refers to a type of nuclear bomb that uses a small amount of fusion fuel to increase the rate, and thus yield, of a fission reaction. The neutrons released by the fusion reactions add to the neutrons released in the fission, as well as inducing the fission reactions...
plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
implosion devices with the Rigel shot. Roger Dautry, a nuclear physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, was selected by the CEA
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...
to lead the development effort to construct a two-stage weapon. France did not have the ability to produce the materials needed for a two-stage thermonuclear device at the time, so 151 tons of heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
was purchased from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and an additional 168 tons from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This heavy water went into nuclear reactors in 1967 to produce tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
needed for the device .
The announcement by France in the late 1960s to test a hydrogen bomb provoked the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
to conduct a full scale hydrogen bomb test of its own on June 17, 1967.
France was to test the new device as part of a 5 shot series conducted at the nuclear testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
grounds in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
. The device weighed three tons and used a lithium deuteride secondary stage
Teller-Ulam design
The Teller–Ulam design is the nuclear weapon design concept used in most of the world's nuclear weapons. It is colloquially referred to as "the secret of the hydrogen bomb" because it employs hydrogen fusion, though in most applications the bulk of its destructive energy comes from uranium fission,...
with a highly enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
jacket primary.
Fangataufa was selected as the location of the shot due to its isolation in respect to the main base on Mururoa. The device was suspended from a large hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
filled balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
. It was detonated at 18:30:00.5 GMT with a 2.6 megaton
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
yield at an altitude of 1800 feet. As a result of the successful detonation, France became the 5th thermonuclear nation.
The 1998 film Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
uses this particular test as the basis for the monster Zilla
Zilla
, also known as the American Godzilla, is a movie monster that first appeared as the title character in the 1998 Roland Emmerich film Godzilla. The design by Patrick Tatopoulos is that of a hunched bent-over marine iguana...
, a green iguana
Green Iguana
The Green Iguana or Common Iguana is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America...
mutated by the fallout from the blast while still in its egg. (However, the footage in the movie is actually from the Baker Test
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
in 1946.)
See also
- Gerboise BleueGerboise BleueGerboise Bleue was the name of the first French nuclear test. It was an atomic bomb detonated in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert on 13 February 1960, during the Algerian War...
(French atmospheric A-bomb) - Agathe (atomic test)Agathe (atomic test)Agathe was the name of the first French nuclear underground test. It was an atomic bomb detonated in the Hoggar mount of the then French Sahara desert on November 21, 1961, during the Algerian War ....
(French underground A-bomb) - Force de frappeForce de frappeThe Force de Frappe is the designation of what used to be a triad of air-, sea- and land-based nuclear weapons intended for dissuasion, and consequential deterrence...
- Nuclear weapons and France
- List of states with nuclear weapons