The Cobalt Bomb Concept from Dr. Strangelove is Back

Dr. Strangelove was a 1964 movie that captivated the world's attention on the possibility and yet, absurdity of global nuclear war. A dark satire directed by Stanley Kubrick, the drama unfolds as a rogue Air Force General launches a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union because the believed that the fluoridation of U.S. drinking water was a communist plot. 

As the U.S. leadership scrambles to recall the bombers, the Soviet Union reveals that they have created a doomsday device which will automatically trigger the destruction of the world in the event of an attack. That device was the cobalt bomb, also known as a salted bomb. Thanks to the war in Ukraine and other global tensions, the cobalt bomb has reentered the modern lexicon. Let's talk about what makes this weapon truly a doomsday machine, as Strangelove is back in modern discourse.

Definition of a Cobalt Bomb: See Also Salted Bomb

Whereas the concept of this weapon was born out of reality, it was most notably made famous by Dr. Strangelove. There are those who would then believe that a weapon of this magnitude is pure science fiction. Nothing could be further from the truth. The technology exists to make such weapons today and unbeknownst to the world could be resting in some countries nuclear arsenal today. The cobalt bomb represents one of the most terrifying nuclear weapons ever conceived, designed to maximize radioactive contamination.

History of the cobalt bomb concept

In 1950, a Hungarian-British physicist, Leo Szilard, proposed the notion of encasing a hydrogen bomb in Cobalt-59. On the surface, this would seem harmless as Cobalt-59 is a stable and relatively harmless isotope. The concept was that the nuclear explosion would covert the material into Cobalt-60, which is a highly radioactive material through fusion-generated neutron activation. The Co or Co-60 isotope would be responsible for about half of the gamma dose in the resulting fallout.

The brutality of this weapon is then exacerbated as Cobalt-60 has a half-life of 5.27 years. Meaning the radioactive fallout would circle the globe and remain for decades. This could end human life on earth and as such, made for the perfect material for Dr. Strangelove's doomsday weapon. The cobalt bomb was intended to contaminate vast areas for years, making it one of the most devastating nuclear weapons that could ever be built.

Theoretical vs. practical considerations

Now that tensions with Russia are at a near all-time high and China is extending in the Pacific, the conversation has once again resumed as to just how far will a country go to ensure the victor doesn't now reign over them in a post-nuclear world. Russia's Vladimir Putin has famously said on multiple occasions that he would not "care about a world if there was no Russia." The cobalt bomb concept shows how weapon technology would soon reach the point of no return, as nuclear weapon technology would soon reach the point where mutually assured destruction becomes universal extinction.

Practically, any nation that detonated such weapons in mass would be signing their own death certificates. Nuclear weapons are already a losing game of mutually assured destruction. However, would a nation such as Iran be willing to donate limited cobalt bomb devices or a dirty bomb over Israel? Just how crazy is North Korea and would they undertake such an effort if the "dear leader" asked them to do so. The radioactive cobalt-60 from such devices would create fallout patterns that could render entire regions universally rendered lifeless.

This was essentially the premise explored by Dr. Strangelove as both the Americans and the Soviets wanted to stop the war. The Americans desperately try to recall the bombers when one plane led by a dedicated pilot unfortunately gets through. He mounts the bomb and rides it down to the ground to the end of humanity while waiving a cowboy hat. A montage of nuclear explosions follows while the audience is serenaded by the song, "We'll meet again." The Status-6 does exist as a modern example of such doomsday thinking.

Radiation Levels and Apocalypse to Follow

The first half of this article was dedicated to the movie theme while the second half will revolve more around what the world would look like afterwards and how one might survive it. Many people have this misguided notion that it is the fireball at the nuclear explosion site that will do all the killing in a nuclear exchange. When the bomb explodes, you certainly don't want to be a ground zero. Then again, maybe those at ground zero are the lucky ones if cobalt bomb devices reign down upon the world.

Radioactive fallout patterns after the strike

Where going to by pass the initial few days after the strike as we've written extensively on how to survive nuclear incidents. The standard rules still apply. If you survived the blast, shelter in place for a few days, load up on the potassium iodide, and then make a plan to move to safer lands after the radiation subsides in 48 to 72 hours. The radioactive fallout from traditional nuclear weapons has a much shorter duration than cobalt bomb fallout.

In the event that cobalt-60 was used, you've got a new problem to worry about. That's because it emits high-energy gamma radiation which is much deadlier. For an unknown number of weeks afterwards, possibly a month or more, even brief exposure outside would be lethal. This means that the shelf life of your emergency supplies would need to increase with the higher half-life of the Cobalt. Prepare to shelter in place for as long as you possibly can. The radiation levels would be times more intense at 1 megaton yield compared to conventional weapons.

What radiation does to the human body short-term

The effect on the human body would depend on exactly how much radiation one absorbed and for how long. High doses in the short term and smaller doses over time can be equally deadly. Severe to moderate exposure will result in vomiting, diarrhea, massive infections, internal bleeding, bone marrow failure and death is likely without medical intervention. An unsheltered person exposed to such radiation levels would receive a lethal dose within 4 days exposed to the contaminated environment.

This is caused by cellular destruction where DNA strands are broken which prevent repair. Rapidly dividing blood cells during bone marrow failure which leads to immune collapse and anemia. Cells in the intestines die off causing the massive vomiting, dehydration and sepsis. High gamma doses can even lead to the liquification of brain tissue causing convulsions, coma, and death within hours. The dose rate would have decayed to around 30 times greater than normal background radiation levels after significant time.

For an unknown number of weeks and months, high doses of gamma radiation in the short term will become the norm. The average person is just not prepared to hold out that long until radiation is remotely safe enough to exit and search for resources. There may be a voice over a radio program telling you that everything is safe, but without your own Geiger counter, you wouldn't know for sure. By the time you realize you are sick, it is too late. The outlook for long-term survival doesn't look much better, as would have decayed to around acceptable levels only after years of decay.

Long-term contamination effects

A standard nuclear explosive device will emit radiation, but it has a much shorter life. With the half-life being over 5 years, the cobalt bomb could end human life as we know it. The force of the strike and the fires that would burn around the world for weeks afterwards would launch radioactive soot into the air. Then it comes back down, even the best top soil in the world will be unusable over a large area. The deposited cobalt-60 would decay faster than some isotopes but still remain dangerous for decades.

This nuclear weapon designed to maximize contamination was clearly intended to contaminate the world in perpetuity, or at least until a new species of life arrived. The intense radiation would eventually seep into underground shelters, meaning even those who went underground would be at risk. This means farming, collecting water, and animal husbandry would be deadly affair for the next couple of decades. The fallout patterns would scale upwards linearly with the explosive yield of the device.

Keep in mind that even with traditional nuclear weapons used over a large area, full remediation of the effects can take 30 to 40 years in a nuclear test site. The Chernobyl nuclear leak occurred in 1986 and that site is schedule to be off limits for hundreds of years. The Maralinga range in Australia and the Semipalatinsk test site show similar long-term contamination patterns. Now, let's consider a world where there is no services and certainly no one will to clean up the damage. Everywhere you stepped for the remainder of you life would be to risk exposure to radioactive materials. Research by scientists like Ramzaev, Khramtsov, Timofeeva, and Yakovlev on radiation effects demonstrates the long-term consequences.

Humanity's hope would be to band together in small groups and pray the radioactive cobalt-60 couldn't find them by some grace of the almighty. Because any nuclear weapon designed by humanity was designed by a faulty creature, perhaps there were shortcomings. Maybe radiological investigations after the war indicated that levels are falling much quicker than anticipated. Maybe the explosive yield designed by Russian scientists was not what they thought it to be? However, as it currently stands, the science is fairly bleak. It made for a great movie, but it makes for a poor reality. Studies involving isotopes like Gold-198, Tantalum-182, and Zinc-65 show how radioactive materials behave in the environment.

What radiation does to the body long-term

Even if there were those who survived the initial attack and blast of radiation, the 5.27 year life of Cobalt 60 means you've still have years to go if humanity is going to make it. This particular type of radiation mutates the DNA which makes cancers like leukemia, thyroid, and long more likely. Keep in mind that survivors of the atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima have a 40% to 50% higher cancer rate than the average population. The yearly dose rate in contaminated areas would be treated as equivalent to multiple medical procedures.

Genetic damage and birth defects can be passed on to unborn children. Stillbirths, deformities and sterilizations will become more common. Brain disease, heart failure and organ failure will become routine. All of that is if you didn't starve to death in the nuclear winter before the cancer took hold. Long-term survival is bleak indeed. The cobalt bomb would continue contaminating the ground for decades as the radioactive material undergoes slow decay.

Military and Strategic Considerations

It is publicly known that any nuclear deterrent only works if every one else knows you have that capacity. A rogue state like Iran might make a limited dirty bomb with such material, but when it comes to mutually assured destruction, secrets don't work. This gives us hope that no such weapon exists because part of the military and strategic intent is to threaten others with it. Modern weapons research may use drone technology for delivery, but the cobalt bomb remains theoretical.

Deterrence theory and cobalt bombs

In the 1950's, U.S. scientist working with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists proposed a 10,000 megaton bomb in what became known as Project Sundial. Much like the cobalt bomb, it was weapon too terrifying to develop. The largest bomb ever tested was Tsar Bomba at 50 megatons for some perspective. Project Sundial had no use as a deterrent because left even the "victor" without the ability to survive. The design was titled amongst other comments as being too powerful to ever be built.

Since the first atomic weapon was tested, it was inevitable that nuclear weapon technology would soon reach the point of no return. The nuclear race was on the only way to ensure the enemy didn't use them on you was to show that you would use them right back. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) became the policy of deterrence. If you vaporized Washington D.C., Moscow would be vaporized into dust and debris as well. The cobalt bomb concept shows that nuclear weapon technology would advance beyond conventional deterrence.

For a nation to maintain a significant stockpile of cobalt bomb weapons wouldn't make much military sense unless they, as Putin said, we're truly willing to give up on a future where their country does not exist. When the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1963, it seemed that the world was marking a turning point. Atomic energy would soon be harnessed for more than destructive power. Perhaps the decay of radioactive isotopes would be a good thing for humanity, if we could just avoid destroying the world along the way. The treaty was considered a failure by some who wanted more comprehensive bans.

Research continues into radiochemical tracers and isotope behavior. Studies from September 14 test dates and other nuclear salvo tests provide data on fallout patterns. The cobalt-60 isotope source remains a concern for weapons proliferation. Modern sequestration coating performance requirements for mitigation of contamination from a radiological dispersion device show advances in protective technology.

What Dr. Strangelove gets right about the Cold War

As we wrap up this article, let's give a quick not back to the movie that inspired it. The movie came out in 1964, just one year after the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed. Some would argue that the movie helped move along nuclear arms testing bans as it demonstrated that in some cases, mutually assured destruction is really just mutually assured extinction. The cobalt bomb concept that Strangelove himself explained remains relevant today.

The film's namesake was an eccentric ex-Nazi scientist who would go on to call the Soviet doomsday device the "ultimate nuclear deterrent" to have ever been built. A weapon that would destroy humanity if even on bomb was dropped is sure to stop anyone from trying it just once. He then turns to chide the Soviets for keeping it a secret and not announcing it in advance. That's because a deterrent only works if both sides are aware of the consequences up front. So it is with the cobalt bomb and we pray that any nuclear power would have the good sense to announce them before it is too late.

The radiation would continue for years after any such attack, making recovery nearly impossible. Modern robotic torpedoes could potentially deliver such devices, but hopefully nuclear war remains as fictional as Dr. Strangelove's world. The fallout from such weapons would contaminate vast areas, making them uninhabitable for decades.

For additional technical information, jump to content on nuclear physics and radiation protection measures. See cobalt therapy for medical applications of the isotope. Part II of nuclear weapons effects covers long-term contamination. The dose rate would have decayed to levels that are still dangerous but more manageable after years of natural decay, though areas would remain uninhabitable for the general population without proper protection.