National Technology Day: 5 Things To Know About the Pokhran II Nuclear Tests

[Zarvan]

New Delhi: May 11 is observed as the National Technology Day every year to honour the history of India’s technological inventions and knowledge. One of the biggest reasons this day hold significance is that it was on this day that India successfully tested nuclear bombs in Pokhran (Rajasthan) on May 11, 1998, to exhibit its defence skills. It was the country's second nuclear test.

The day has been observed as the National Technology Day since then and major technological developments, particularly in furthering defence might, have been unveiled on this very day. The first indigenous aircraft "Hansa-3" was test flown from Bangalore. India performed a successful test firing of the Trishul missile on the same day and also executed three successful nuclear tests, carried out at Pokhran, in Rajasthan.

Here are the 5 things to know about Pokhran II:

1. In May 1998, at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range, a sequence of five nuclear bomb test explosions were conducted by India. This was the second Indian nuclear test. On May 1974, the first test was conducted code-named ‘Smiling Buddha’.
2. Pokhran-II had five successfully carried out explosions. The first among the five was a fusion bomb (a pure fusion weapon is a hypothetical hydrogen bomb design that does not need a fission "primary" explosive to ignite the fusion of deuterium and tritium, two heavy isotopes of hydrogen) and the remaining four were fission bombs (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).
3. These nuclear tests resulted in a huge political agreement against India by a number of major states, including Japan, the United States and more.
4. On May 11, 1998, 'Operation Shakti' (Pokhran-II) was initiated with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs. And two days later, on May 13, 1998, two additional fission devices were detonated. The Indian government, which was then led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also organized a press conference declaring India as a full-fledged nuclear state.
5. Many names are credited to these tests; formerly, they were called Operation Shakti-98 (Power-98), and the five nuclear bombs were designated Shakti-I, II, III, IV and V.

http://www.indiatvnews.com/business...now-about-the-pokhran-ii-nuclear-tests-328618

 

[باپ]

No clear video of Pokhran test was ever released, unlike Chaghi

 

[Nilgiri]

No clear video of Pokhran test was ever released, unlike Chaghi

Please watch around 0.20.

 

[باپ]

Please watch around 0.20.

Yes I seen this long ago.it's a recording of a projector screen and that too of a few seconds, even the journalists look disappointed

 

[Nilgiri]

Yes I seen this long ago.it's a recording of a projector screen and that too of a few seconds, even the journalists look disappointed

And its somehow low quality compared to the chagai video?

There is nothing dramatic to show when the test is conducted in an underground shaft.

 

[باپ]

And its somehow low quality compared to the chagai video?

There is nothing dramatic to show when the test is conducted in an underground shaft.

Ph no it's very dramatic if it actually works. Check 1950s American videos of similar tests. India clearly had something to hide or they had released an actual video,not just a few seconds recording of a projector screen.

 

[Nilgiri]

Ph no it's very dramatic if it actually works. Check 1950s American videos of similar tests. India clearly had something to hide or they had released an actual video,not just a few seconds recording of a projector screen.

So Pakistan was hiding something too then....since Chagai video looks like someone is demolishing a side of a mountain with some explosives and create a lot of dust. So how do we know that wasn't fake either?

Answer: Read up on the science of explosion vs seismic signatures and how they are verified by neutral 3rd parties across the world.

Or you can indulge in conspiracy theories and such from generic "videos".

 

[باپ]

So Pakistan was hiding something too then....since Chagai video looks like someone is demolishing a side of a mountain with some explosives and create a lot of dust. So how do we know that wasn't fake either?

Answer: Read up on the science of explosion vs seismic signatures and how they are verified by neutral 3rd parties across the world.

Or you can indulge in conspiracy theories and such from generic "videos".

All I .saying is that no actual video of Indian nuclear test was ever released which is odd in India's case as they like to shout it from roof tops.
Fyi a dynamite explosion and a demolition of mountain by shaking looks very different.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

So Pakistan was hiding something too then....since Chagai video looks like someone is demolishing a side of a mountain with some explosives and create a lot of dust. So how do we know that wasn't fake either?

Answer: Read up on the science of explosion vs seismic signatures and how they are verified by neutral 3rd parties across the world.

Or you can indulge in conspiracy theories and such from generic "videos".

Because the mountain turned into dust.. Because I've been to the test sight.. And because the nuke tests were witnessed by the world (and sanctions followed)... And because the test was conducted in 98.. Not sure if they had HD cams back than..

In Indias case it's speculated that the tests failed -- produced very low yields..

 

[dadeechi]

Because the mountain turned into dust.. Because I've been to the test sight.. And because the nuke tests were witnessed by the world (and sanctions followed)... And because the test was conducted in 98.. Not sure if they had HD cams back than..

In Indias case it's speculated that the tests failed -- produced very low yields..

Yes. Indian tests failed hence it has agreed to sign CTBT & FMCT while Pakistan's tests were successful and is the only country in the world opposing signing these agreements.

 

[باپ]

Also a press conference was held on the site of Pakistani tests, journalists were flown to the site, the tunnels were shown and the equipment and cables were also shown.
Nothing of this sort was done by India,

 

[Nilgiri]

Because the mountain turned into dust.. Because I've been to the test sight.. And because the nuke tests were witnessed by the world (and sanctions followed)... And because the test was conducted in 98.. Not sure if they had HD cams back than..

In Indias case it's speculated that the tests failed -- produced very low yields..

The definite proof is in the impulse curves of the seismology. All tests by both sides were picked up by stations in India and Pakistan and world over. All showed impulse loading that could only have been produced by a nuclear explosion.

As for the yields, I have read various papers on the subject....determining yield from seismology often does not taken into account the specific geology of the area and the local dampening effects....to the degree of being able to substitute direct local measurement of the blast wave. Therefore there will always be speculation by people that have access only to the former source. Thats the same reason there was outside based speculation regarding yields of the Pakistani tests too.

Also a press conference was held on the site of Pakistani tests, journalists were flown to the site, the tunnels were shown and the equipment and cables were also shown.
Nothing of this sort was done by India,

We weren't so desperate to prove anything in such fasion because a) since we had conducted a test back in 1974...which again was picked up by seismographs worldwide with the same signature impulse tell tale signs of a nuclear explosion... and b) such video proof is a moot point anyway since either the test has the seismic footprint (recorded by everyone around the world) or it doesn't...thats how the West/Russia/China recognise that there's conclusively another nuclear armed country.....just like what was done with North Korea in recent years too.

Showing the equipment, tunnels to a local set of journalists mean nothing if 3rd party data on the seismic fingerprint shows conventional RDX etc rather than nuclear. In both cases India and Pakistan clearly tested a bomb from that very signature evidence.

Here is a rough idea on what I am talking about:

http://www.nature.com/news/what-kind-of-bomb-did-north-korea-detonate-1.19132

 

[باپ]

• What about K.Santhanam statement in 2009? He himself was involved in the tests and said it was a fizzle.

 

[arp2041]

Ph no it's very dramatic if it actually works. Check 1950s American videos of similar tests. India clearly had something to hide or they had released an actual video,not just a few seconds recording of a projector screen.

ya we don't havve nukes..........attack us

 

[Nilgiri]

• What about K.Santhanam statement in 2009? He himself was involved in the tests and said it was a fizzle.

That was specifically with regards to the hydrogen fusion stage, not the entire bomb (no one disputes the fission core primary worked - especially since it was proven way back in 1974).

Besides he has been called out since his statement and there has been no response from him after it:

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/col...r-thermonuclear-test-refuted/article10457.ece

As to the why he made that statement (along with one other IAEC gentleman Iyengar who claimed that only 10% of the fusion stage detonated)...that's open only to speculation. It may have been an attempt by certain quarters to add further impetus and pressure on India to not sign the CTBT prematurely in their view. Both these fellows were not privy to the design of the bomb either (only BARC has that)...and the post test radiation measurements verified the BARC assertion that certain DRDO sensors were not calibrated properly.

Even if you don't want to believe India has hydrogen bombs, fission bombs provide enough of a credible deterrent (I mean haven't they done so for Pakistan thus far?)