Talk:Doomsday device

What about this:http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/17-10/mf_deadhand?currentPage=all

What about Cat's Cradle? 205.217.105.2 18:15, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

What about the Soviet computer that would systematically launch weapons in the event of a nuclear war? I have searched but can't find the name of it. Thavron 05:39, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

"Guardian" as in the film "Colossus: the Forbin Project".

"Peremetr" At least thats what I've read. Built in the 1970's and 80's to launch a full nuclear strike if certain targets in the USSR were knocked out81.109.164.2 12:57, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Peremetr has got to be mentioned in this article, as well as our possible attempts to counter it. recently had an article on it. It's clear from such writings that this is more than just a silly pop culture referenceAdam2020 02:58, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Soviet Implementation
I'm pretty sure I read about a hydrogen bomb the size of an oil tanker ship being developed by the USSR for this purpose. Khrushchev found out about the project and stopped it before it could be completed. I think this was mentioned in CNN's miniseries entitled Cold War, and in the book that CNN published to go along with the series.


 * I've seen the CNN documentary and don't recall anything like that. The biggest weapon the Soviets ever constructed (or tried to construct) was the Tsar Bomba, which is considerably smaller than an oil tanker. --Fastfission 04:44, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
 * There's a clip from this on youtube. The project never left the drawing board, though. Takeshi357 23:56, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

The idea of a H bomb the size of a ship comes from talk by Teller and Szilard about a super 1000mg H bomb which would have to be carried by a large ship - not the size of one! - I read that in P D Smith's "Doomsday Men" although I don't think Smith has the reference of what was said. The "doomsday device" here was hypothetical.81.109.164.2 12:52, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Atomic Bomb Postulations
I think it would be interesting to add, or link from its own article, a discussion of the fable that the scientists who detonated the first atom bomb were less than positive that the chain reaction would be limited to the core of nuclear material; that the reaction could spiral out and destroy all the atoms in our little corner of space.

List of doomsday scenarios
Could use votes to save this article, thanks MapleTree 22:22, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

I would add Man to the list of scenarios: Man is the "doomsday device" if the three billion year evolution of life was "doomed" to result in a brain like man's which is "doomed" to destroy itself because error is hard wired into it.Riverleopard (talk) 21:46, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

I find interesting that the only possible doomsday machine built, LHC at CERN that might produce strangelets or black holes that swallow Earth, recently brought back by Sir Martin Rees royal astronomer, of which a lot of literature was written in 2008 with a suit that was cover of Sunday times is nowhere to be found on all the articles on extinction... I guess it is 'moderated'... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.139.58.230 (talk) 20:43, 6 October 2018 (UTC)

178.139.58.230 If you are brave to do reference it properly, I think you are welcome try any additions of this subject. Wikipedia is explicitly antagonistic to censorship as part of its reason for being, but then not everybody has been adhering to these ideals. Ken K. Smith (a.k.a. Thin Smek) (talk) 01:47, 7 January 2019 (UTC)

Reality Check, People
There's about one page of relevant data in this article followed by about three pages of pop-culture references. Some of these go into greater depth about the TV show making the reference than is appropriate for an article not about that show, and others could perhaps be edited out of the list in order to reduce its size. Is the factual part of the article so exhaustive? I mean, I love Exo-Squad, but citing it is going too far. The show's tie to the doomsday device concept is tenuous and brief. And then on the other end of the spectrum you have citations like Dr. Strangelove - which doesn't simply feature a doomsday device - it's actually quite central to that movie. Who cares if the Great Gazoo made one off-hand comment about having created a doomsday device? Who needs an elaborate description (or, episode summary) of the particular doomsday device the Bionic Woman had to deal with? How is the "Total Annihilation" game reference at all relevant?? It, the Gundam Colony Lasers, and the Pink Panther Pink Laser are apparently not Doomsday Devices at all - merely very powerful weapons. Less crap, more substance, please! --66.30.213.152 08:30, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

Are we really citing the Death Star as an example of a doomsday device? The Death Star? Come on, that trivia page is peeling back the this article's already thin veneer of respectability.

Perhaps a new article: Doomsday Devices in Popular Culture would be appropriate? --Jack Adcock (talk) 11:40, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

I support the creation of a "Doomsday Devices in Popular Culture" page. I came here expecting to learn about actual weapons that could be classified as doomsday machines; instead, I find myself reading a list of doomsday devices in popular culture. If this list is to be fictitious in nature, it is hopelessly incomplete. Furthermore, I would still like to see an article on actual doomsday machines.Belac Athanasius (talk) 03:40, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

reason on Dr Strangelove:
Wasn't the reason it wasn't announced because it was going to be announced not "the premier loves surprises?" Infact the Dr strangelove page agrees - I shall change it. 172.189.80.9 21:30, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Proposed Soviet Implementation
While its existence is still unconfirmed, the Soviets asserted claims of having constructed a Doomsday Machine that would destroy the world if Russia were ever attacked. People who lived through the Regan administration would remember this, and with the fall of the USSR there was sudden panic about whether the proposed Doomsday Machine would fall into the wrong hands or spontaneously destruct while left unsupervised.

This should absolutely be mentioned in the main article, as the word Doomsday Machine/Device has a 99% familiarity with people as a device by the same name that was purportedly constructed by Soviet Russia. Whether the device actually existed doesn't change the fact that Soviet Russia and mainstream media used the name as a proper noun, and was first recognized by the American public as this specific device constructed by Soviet Russia.~ Agvulpine (talk) 03:36, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

The statement in the article implies that this device is no longer in use and that it was only used in the Cold War. There is no treaty banning it or any common sense reason to dismantle it, so it is probably still in use. 99.236.220.155 (talk) 20:45, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

"In Popular Culture" - the Soviet doomsday weapon
I'm rather confused. Are the claims of a Soviet doomsday device apparently fact or fiction? If it is fiction, then where does it come from? If it is meant to be factual, why is it listed uner popular culture? --Andrews Palop (talk) 20:59, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I just went ahead and moved the claims of a Soviet superweapon into a new cateogory. I also added citation tags since there are no sources. Additionally, I completely deleted some nonsense about a Nazi doomsday device. --Andrews Palop (talk) 16:59, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Additions
My compliments to all of you for producing such a fine article. I want to suggest some additions. In regard to the above, the Soviet doomsday device was apparently real.

Times Online August 08, 2007 Dr Strangelove and the real Dooms day machine by Christopher Coker reviewing the book: PD Smith's Doomsday Men: the Real Dr Strangelove and the dream of the Super weapon. 552 pages, Allen Lane. http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25350-2648363,00.html

See also http://www.slate.com/id/2173108/pagenum/all/#page_start

In addition, I should appreciate it if someone would provide links from this fine Doomsday device Wikipedia entry to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Doomsday_films as well as to all of the films listed in this catagory. Why? Because too many viewers of, for example, Kramer's "On the Beach" see the film but do not remember the discussions of the 1950's and early 60's of a doomsday machine and believe when they see the film that it concerns a nuclear war, which it does not. It is about the detonation of a doomsday machine. Viewers need to realize this distinction or many of these films make no sense, so they need links to this article. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rumjal (talk • contribs) 03:00, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

The Purple Cloud
There's no doomsday device in Shiel's Purple Cloud. The poisonous gas that (almost) wipes out humanity and animal life is the result of volcanism, not any sort of "device." Deor (talk) 18:18, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I must admit Will Oakalnd makes a point on the nature of doomsday devices. Would having doomsday film and Doomsday devices in popular culture be worthwhile adding (not redirecting) to this page be good for a potential Good or Featured Article? Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:20, 17 June 2008 (UTC)


 * There is also some overlap with Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic science fiction, although not everything in all these articles concern the same thing. -- Nick Penguin ( contribs ) 14:39, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Yeah, it's tricky how one thing blends into another. I guess from what I have seen, there is a divergence between those films with a device, and then those post-apocalyptic films which are well and truly after something has happened. A Seealso is probably a better link or some short sentence/segment. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 21:40, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I don't want a merge of what currently exists on the "popular culture" (i.e. trivia) page. A review here of what secondary sources have said about the doomsday weapon concept in literature, well, that's a possibility. But having two articles is silly in either case. WillOakland (talk) 00:02, 29 June 2008 (UTC)


 * OK Will, we have your view on this now. Merge doesn't mean and redirect and effectively delete material. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 03:21, 19 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Given that this discussion has occured many months ago and there seems to be no consensus for merging, I'll remove the merge tag from the Doomsday film article. I see that it has already been removed from this article. Alastairward (talk) 21:14, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

Italics?
Under the picture, it italicizes "salted". Is this necessary? I don't see the role of it... --98.217.61.141 (talk) 03:23, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

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