Bomb tower
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/RUTH_test_tower_1953-03-31.jpg/170px-RUTH_test_tower_1953-03-31.jpg)
Partially destroyed bomb tower of the failed Ruth test during Operation Upshot-Knothole
A bomb tower is a mostly guyed construction with a height of 30 to 210 meters to accommodate an atom bomb for an above-ground nuclear weapon test . The bomb tower has the task of holding the atomic bomb in a precisely defined position for the purpose of investigating its destructive effects (which depend on the detonation height and distance for a given explosive force ) and for aligning measuring devices such as high-speed cameras. The bomb tower usually completely evaporates when the atom bomb explodes due to the enormous heat of the bomb (up to 20 million Kelvin ).
Web links
- nuclearweaponarchive.org: Operation Crossroads - The US atomic bomb tests (detailed description)
- nuclearweaponarchive.org: Operation Plumbbob
- nuclearweaponarchive.org: photo