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Sedan Crater
This is the Sedan Crater at the Nevada Test Site, where the government tested atomic weapons between 1951 and 1992. The crater was created in 1962 as part of the Plowshare program, which researched the possibility of using nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes. Proposals for Plowshare included using bombs for excavation (hence the Sedan test). Government officials wanted to use bombs to dig a new Panama canal, and also to excavate a harbour in Alaska. Other potential uses including mining for oil.
The radiation produced by the bombs was one of the issues that caused the US government to abandon the idea, but the Russians are said to have gone ahead with their own program, using nuclear bombs for different purposes including creating dams.
Sedan Crater
This is the Sedan Crater at the Nevada Test Site, where the government tested atomic weapons between 1951 and 1992. The crater was created in 1962 as part of the Plowshare program, which researched the possibility of using nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes. Proposals for Plowshare included using bombs for excavation (hence the Sedan test). Government officials wanted to use bombs to dig a new Panama canal, and also to excavate a harbour in Alaska. Other potential uses including mining for oil.
The radiation produced by the bombs was one of the issues that caused the US government to abandon the idea, but the Russians are said to have gone ahead with their own program, using nuclear bombs for different purposes including creating dams.