Beer 'can survive nuclear blast'
London, September 21 (ANI)
Scientists looking to see if items like beer and soft drinks were still drinkable if an atomic bomb went off nearby have finally found their answer - bottles and cans are left largely unaffected by the radiation.
The experiment was conducted as a part of Operation Teapot, a sequence of nuclear weapons assessments by the U.S. Military in 1955.
Documentation of the 1957 experiment has now been made available by science historian Alex Wellerstein, who runs the blog Restricted Data.
The cans and bottles were set up in three positions ranging from 0.2 miles to one mile away from 'ground zero' of the atomic blast.
The study found that the drinks were mostly unaffected by the radiation - except for the few bottles that were shattered by the force of the bomb blast.
There was however, a question of a taste in the beer.
"Some flavour change was found in the beverages, more in beer than in soft drinks," the Daily Mail quoted the documents as reading.
Drinks placed more than 1,270 feet away from ground zero showed no change to their consistency or taste and also retained their airtight carbonation.
The study ruled that the containers housing soft drinks and beer would be okay for consumption in the event of a nuclear explosion.