Necluer Weopons and Their Effect on the World

716 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay of First atom bomb

Introduction On August 6, 1945 the United States unleashed a weapon upon the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the likes of which the world had never seen. Then, on August 9 a second weapon was deployed against the Japanese, at Nagasaki. The weapons used were atomic bombs: nuclear fission devices capable of massive destructive capabilities. It is estimated that more than 250,000 Japanese citizens died as a result of the two bombs being dropped. While the employment of these weapons led to the end of World War II, it also forced the world into the nuclear age where man had the power to destroy cities and in some cases, ensure the destruction of entire nations. In the years following World War II, The Limited Test Ban Treaty was developed to curtail the destructive testing of nuclear weapons by countries around the world. In this paper the history of the Limited Test Ban Treaty will be reviewed as well as the current and future status of this treaty, which remains in flux to this day. History After World War II the United States and several other nations, including the Soviet Union, continued the development and testing of nuclear weapons. In 1952 and 1953 the United States and the Soviet Union, respectively, detonated the first hydrogen bombs, which proved to be more powerful than the weapons used against Japan. At this time, concerns about the amount and effect of nuclear fallout produced by these weapons grew. In 1955, a group of five countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and the Soviet Union formed a committee as part of the U.N. Disarmament Commission to discuss the cessation of nuclear weapons testing. The committee made little progress over the next several years due to disagreements ove... ... middle of paper ... ...the United States, Israel, and United Kingdom have not ratified the treaty. President Obama, in his second term, is pushing for both the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and a reduction in nuclear arms. Before ratification can occur, however, the treaty must be debated and voted upon in the Senate which is unlikely to occur in the near future. Conclusion The Limited Test Ban Treaty is a safeguard put in place to ensure nuclear armed nations are not destroying the environment through nuclear testing. It offers provisions for the safe and responsible testing of nuclear weapons while simultaneously pushes for nuclear disarmament. While amendments have been proposed which would result in a complete moratorium on nuclear testing, this Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has not entered into force and likely will not within the next several years.

Show More
Related

  • DBQ part 2

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today’s society many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get in involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and state that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb.

    Read More

  • Impact of the Manhattan Project

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although nuclear technology can be used for good, it can also be used for destruction. One example of this was the bombing of 2 Japanese cities using the a...

    Read More

  • The Future of Energy: Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    International Panel on Fissile Materials. 2010. Reducing and Eliminating Nuclear Weapons: Country Perspectives on the Challenges to Nuclear Disarmament.

    Read More

  • The Wizard Of Oz: Film Analysis

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    This text provides a historical account of the development of the atomic bomb and nuclear fission. It provides insight into the function and effectiveness of the Manhattan Project, as well as the destruction of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This book illustrates human determination, the ability to perform during times of crisis, and again brings up the question of morality and human

    Read More

  • In Support of the American Nuclear Arsenal

    2036 Words  | 5 Pages

    August 5, 1945. A day that the entire world will remember, as it was the day that the first of two nuclear strikes against Japan ended World War Two. Although at the time “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” were the lesser of two evils, they started an arms race like the world has never seen. The Soviet Union, America, Great Britain, France, and later China, all started to produce nuclear weapons. The arsenals of these countries would soon number in the tens of thousands. Recently there have been pushes to rid the world of these weapons that can kill an entire city with a single push of a button. Although these weapons are in the eyes of several governments a necessary tool to have, the public, however, disagrees. The Americans in particular have been debating the issue for several years. But for America to still pose a threat to other countries, the nuclear arsenal of the United States of America should not be completely depleted but upgraded and decreased to where our enemies still fear us. But we have to make sure that we do not break the bank in the process.

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues of Human Test Subjects

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    The past century has unveiled many new revels in science and technology. Nuclear technology is one of the more recent brinks of discovery. Over the past 60 years or so, scientists have been on a gold rush for the nuclear power. New elements were being discovered and the potentials of their peculiar characteristics drew in more and more people. Highly radioactive substances were being tested for their potencies at the subatomic level. The gain in this scurry for answers was partially politically charged, if not totally for educational purposes. The United States was amid the throng of countries entering the World War II. If one of the most ...

    Read More

  • Why Nuclear Weapons are Essential

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    At this time treaties and laws between the United States and other countries exist in order to prevent a nuclear war. The Limited Test Ban treaty, otherwise known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty, was first signed in 1963 by the U.S.S.R, United Kingdom and the United States. The treaty prohibits testing of Nuclear Weapons in the atmosphere, space, or even underwater. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, adopted in 1996, “bans all nuclear explosions in environments for military or civilian purposes.” Since 2007 only three-fourths of the countries with nuclear reactors or generators have acknowledged the treaty. The treaty will not come into effect until every country with a nuclear generator approves it. Although Barrack Obama has promised in his presidential campaign that the United States would approve the treaty as soon as possible, The United States has yet to ratify the treaty. Although several of these bans have been put in place, these weapons are obtained by various countries illegally through secret sources such as the Black Market. Nuclear terrorism ...

    Read More

  • Nuclear Weapons- A Possible End to Civilization

    2548 Words  | 6 Pages

    When we talk about nuclear weapons technology, we need to talk about the Arms Race since World War II in order to be able to understand how this technology begins. The Arms Race is a continuous race among many nations to make and improve weapons in a struggle to maintain and/or gain power. The United States and the Soviet Union are two key players in this race. These two major nuclear weapons nations see one another as a reason and a justification for spending an enormo...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Nuclear Weapons

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    A nuclear weapon in current society places great danger and risk on our states, even though the creating and usage for a nuclear weapon at the time was to ultimately uphold state security for the duration of the cold war, by states keeping nuclear weapon was a way of assuring security. After the cold war, the idea of having security ‘Nuclear Weapon’ decreased chances of getting threats from other states this installed confidence amongst states, nevertheless dependence on the nuclear weapon for protection is gradually becoming dangerous.

    Read More

  • American Environmentalism

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    “On July 16, 1945, a six-kilogram sphere of plutonium exploded over the New Mexico desert with a force equal to 20,000 tons of dynamite” (Stoll 1). Shortly after, “on August 6 and 9, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” (Stoll 1). The levels of radiation released caused a lot of damage to humans and the environment .

    Read More

  • Nuclear Fission

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nuclear weapons are categorized into two types of weapons, which are nuclear fission, and fission induced reactions that trigger a fusion reaction. A nuclear fission bomb is also referred as an Atomic Bomb, a fission-induced nuclear weapon is referred to as a thermonuclear weapons and a hydrogen bomb (Union of Concerned Scientists [UCSUSA], 2009, p. 1). Thermonuclear weapons are able to create larger explosions than fission weapons by using fission and fusion instead of deriving their energy solely from fission (UCSUSA, 2009, p. 2). In the “Physics of Nuclear Weapons” the design of thermonuclear weapons is explained by two basic components, which are the “primary” and the “secondary” (“The Physics of Nuclear Weapons, p. 6). These two basic components are also called the Teller-Ulam design, which is a “two-stage bomb”, the basic design for all thermonuclear weapons (Fusion Weapon Physics 2.0 section, para. 1). This report will examine the beginning and development of thermonuclear weapons. Which involves the first thermonuclear weapon detonation in 1952 (“Race for the Superbomb”, para. 1). Also the development from the first thermonuclear weapon to the present day “Boosted” (UCSUSA, 2009, p. 2) and “Neutron” thermonuclear bombs (Nuclear Weapons section, para. 1...

    Read More

  • War: Nuclear Power

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.

    Read More

  • The Atomic Bomb Changed the World Forever

    2532 Words  | 6 Pages

    The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.

    Read More

  • Nuclear Test: The Semipalatinsk Test Site

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Between 1991 andпо 1992, within the framework of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program suggested by the USA, Kazakhstan received assistance in eliminating threat of radioactive materials getting from the landfill into the hands terrorists. However, the main humanitarian consequences of four decades of nuclear tests is still felt today.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Weapons

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1945, when the Americans bombed Hiroshima, Japan, approximately 140,000 men and women were instantly killed by the effects of American nuclear defense. With such extreme brutality and force how many people must die for one to finally realize the strengths of nuclear bombs and what damage they can cause. Nuclear weapons should be outlawed because they kill thousands of innocent humans at a time, destroy the environment, and inviolate human’s right to moral and personal freedoms.

    Read More

More about Necluer Weopons and Their Effect on the World

Open Document