How many nuclear bombs have been detonated on Earth, and for what purpose? Only the first question will be answered by the following video by Isao Hashimoto, which logs all of the nuclear blasts until 1998 (this video was created in 2003).
Via Discover Magazine.
A fascinating video. Rolled together and condensed down like this, it's easy to see how nuclear tests were just as much about posturing and chest-thumping as they were about conducting actual science. Just last night I was reading about the Castle Bravo tests that went forward despite some concerns for fallout– and the bosses decided to "keep going" because of the timeline they were on "against the Russians". This was the language used between the superpowers.
Put in that context, it's relatively easy to see the motivations behind Iran's pursuit for a bomb– it wants to be a player just as much as it (may or may not) wants to nuke Tel Aviv.
Dave: With the phrase "posturing and chest-thumping," I think you captured the phenomenon precisely.
The video immediately reminded me of Isaac Asimov's short story "Silly Asses".
Here a graphic clearly setting forth worldwide nuclear bomb testing up through 1998. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Worldwide_nucle…