The largest explosive device ever detonated in human history was the 50,000 kilo tonne (3330 Hiroshima’s) Soviet AN602 hydrogen bomb nicknamed “Tsar Bomba” which was tested on the arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya on the 30 th October 1961.
This three stage weapon was actually a 100 megaton bomb design, but the uranium fusion stage tamper of the tertiary (and possibly the secondary) stages were replaced by ones made of lead. This reduced the yield by 50% by eliminating the fast fissioning of the uranium tamper by the fusion neutrons, and eliminated 97% of the fallout (1.5 megatons of fission, instead of about 51.5 Mt). The result was the "cleanest" weapon ever tested with 97% of the energy coming from fusion reactions. The effect of this bomb at full yield though would have been tremendous increasing the world's total fission fallout since the invention of the atomic bomb by 25%.
“Tsar” measured 8 metres long, had a diameter of 2 metres and weighed in at a whopping 27 tonnes.
When detonated at a height of 4 kilometers (it was dropped on a parachute from a modified TU95-V aircraft) it was seen and felt 1000 km away and shattered windows as far away as Finland and Sweden. The resultant mushroom cloud was 7 times higher than Mt Everest and the seismic shock wave was still measurable after it had circled the Earth for a third time.
Ironically (in an Alanis Morrisette kind of way) due to its weight the Tsar was never intended to be actually used, it was too heavy to be practical. It was merely a demonstration of power and propaganda during the nuclear arms race.
Below is a short soviet video of the explosion.
Right I'm off to watch "Dr Stranglelove".
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