A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its force from nuclear reactions involving the use of fission and fusion. These reactions release a vast amount of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. Nuclear weapons are considered to be weapons of mass destruction and their use has been a topic of discussion since their debut in 1945. There are two basic types of nuclear weapons (Wikipedia 2013). The first type derives the majority of its energy from nuclear fission reactions alone. Weapons whose explosive output is obtained only from fission reactions are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs (abbreviated as A-bombs). The first atomic bomb was used by the United states during the Cold War and was called ‘Little Boy’ (Wikipedia 2014). Figure 1.1 shows the structure of a gun type fission weapon similar to the ‘little boy’ bomb. The second type uses fission reactions to begin nuclear fusion reactions which in turn produce a large amount of the total energy output. Such fusion weapons are known as thermonuclear weapons or hydrogen bombs (abbreviated as H-bombs). Figure 1.2 shows the structure of such a weapon. There are other types of nuclear weapons such as a boosted fission weapon and a neutron bomb. Most variation in nuclear weapon design is for the purpose of achieving different yields for different situations, and to manipulating design elements in order to minimize weapon size (Wikipedia 2013). Nuclear weapons have been used twice in the course of warfare, both times by the United States, near the end of World War II, to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then, they have been detonated for testing purposes and demonstrations more than 2000 times. Countries that have acknowledged possession of... ... middle of paper ... ...heir nuclear arsenals (Deen 2013). Yet nuclear weapons are not the currency of international status and power they once were (Street 2013). "Leaving aside current force trends, I am convinced that to ultimately reach the goal of a nuclear weapon-free world, we will have to first overcome what might called the persistence of deterrence thinking. This will require us in effect to redraw our mental maps of how best to defend against 21st-century threats." says Kile. However, he pointed out that this might actually be the biggest challenge in moving toward a nuclear weapon free world (Deen 2013). "The best way to eliminate the nuclear threat anywhere is by eliminating nuclear weapons everywhere", says General Ban Ki-moon, who is counted among the strongest opponents of nuclear arms (Deen 2013). Indeed, the road to a nuclear weapon free world seems to be a long way off.
Any country with a nuclear program has the prospective to make nuclear weapons. The fuel of a nuclear reactor at its core is uranium. Low enriched uranium is used in energy production while the highly enriched version is used to make weapons and is called weapons grade uranium. The atom bomb that landed in Hiroshima used 60kg of weapons grade uranium and since the advancements of warfare it now only requires 20-25kg to make a nuclear weapon. Plutonium which is a byproduct of the fission process can also be used for manufacturing weapons and only requires 2-10kg to develop weapons. The atom bomb that landed in Nagasaki contained plutonium fuel. Depleted uranium, which is the left over from the enrichment process, is used to make military grade armor piercing bullets. These DU penetrators have been used in wars throughout history the most recent being the Gulf wars. This is a disadvantage because the depleted uranium is toxic and has been scientifically proven cause birth defects, cancer, and death where it was used. All these effects were the cause of discovering nuclear fission and its
Scott D. Sagan, the author of chapter two of “More Will Be Worse”, looks back on the deep political hostilities, numerous crises, and a prolonged arms race in of the cold war, and questions “Why should we expect that the experience of future nuclear powers will be any different?” The author talks about counter arguments among scholars on the subject that the world is better off without nuclear weapons. In this chapter a scholar named Kenneth Waltz argues that “The further spread of nuclear weapons may well be a stabilizing factor in international relations.” He believes that the spread of nuclear weapons will have a positive implications in which the likely-hood of war decreases and deterrent and defensive capabilities increase. Although there
After 1945 the US made thousand of atomic bombs and a wide range of small size nuclear weapons like, land mines, missiles, and grenades. By 1965 the larger countries of the world had also developed atomic weapons.
Atomic Bomb The use of the atomic bombs on Japan was necessary for the revenge of the Americans. These bombs took years to make due to a problematic equation. The impact of the bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people and the radiation is still killing people today. People today still wonder why the bombs were dropped. If these bombs weren’t dropped on the Japanese the history of the world would have been changed forever. The Atomic bomb took 6 years to develop (1939-1945) for scientists to work on a equation to make the U-235 into a bomb. The most complicated process in this was trying to produce enough uranium to sustain a chain reaction. The bombs used on the cities cost about $2 billion to develop, this also making the U.S. wanting to use them against Japan. “Hiroshima was a major military target and we have spent 2 billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history- and won.” (3) The bomb dropped on Hiroshima weighted 4.5 tons and the bomb used on Nagasaki weighted 10 kilotons. On July 16, 1945, the first ever atomic bomb was tested in the Jamez Mountains in Northern New Mexico, code named “Gadget.” The single weapon ultimately dropped on Hiroshima, nicknamed “Little Boy,” produced the amount of approximately twenty- thousand tons of TNT, which is roughly seven times greater than all of the bombs dropped by all the allies on all of Germany in 1942. The first Japanese City bomb was Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. An American B-29 bomber, named Enola Gay, flown by the pilot Paul W. Tibbets, dropped the “Little Boy” uranium atomic bomb. Three days later a second bomb named ”Fat Boy,” made of plutonium was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. After being released, it took approximately one minute for Little Boy to reach the point of explosion, which was about 2,000 feet. The impact of the bombs on the cities and people was massive. Black rain containing large amounts of nuclear fallout fell as much as 30km from the original blast site. A mushroom cloud rose to twenty thousand feet in the air, and sixty percent of the city was destroyed. The shock wave and its reverse effect reached speeds close to those of the speed of sound. The wind generated by the bombs destroyed most of the houses and buildings within a 1.
Nuclear energy must be a consideration for the future with the rapidly depleting supply of fossil fuels. This type of energy can be created through nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a heavy atom into two or more parts, releasing huge amounts of energy. The release of energy can be controlled and captured for generating electricity. Nuclear fusion involves bombarding hydrogen atoms together to form helium. In the long run, nuclear fusion has greater potential than fission.
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
According to Merriam-Webster, nuclear fission is defined as “the splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large amounts of energy” (Nuclear Fission). In the book Remembering the Manhattan Project: Perspectives on the Making of the Atomic Bomb and Its Legacy, Richard Rhodes, an American journalist and historian, states that fission was essentially discovered by accident. On December 21, 1938, German physicists, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, were performing an experiment in which they bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons (Rhodes 17). They saw that this procedure created mutated atoms that had strange characteristics. Hahn and Strassman found that the neutrons split the nuclei of the uranium in half producing radioactive barium and krypton (Rhodes 18). Rhodes explains that the physicists observed that the reaction was extremely exothermic, producing about ten times the energy needed for the fission to occur. After publishing their findings, physicists all over the world recreated the experiment. After conducting his own fission experiment, Enrico Fermi, an Italian physicist at Colombia University, said, “A little bomb like that and it would all disappear” (qtd. Rhodes 19). Many of the world’s physicists came to the same conclusion; this reaction could be used to develop an atomic weapon. According to Rhodes, this discovery made the development of atomic weaponry seem essential to many countries because the only way to defend themselves against atomic weapons was to have similar weapons of their own.
Of course, there is no way to rid the world of nuclear power, but it must be controlled.
Also today is the danger that life is extinguished on earth through such a horrible weapon , not over. Many states are in possession of nuclear bombs , because that means for them power. Even dictatorships and unjust regime like China and North Korea have nuclear weapons.
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...
The atomic bomb is a powerful, explosive nuclear weapon. It is fueled by the fission of the nuclei of specific amounts of plutonium or uranium, in a chain reaction. The strength of the explosion created by one of these bombs is equal to the strength of an explosion created by thousands of tons of TNT.
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 has created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces were 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 come 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.
Nuclear Weapons date back to World War II when the world was on the verge of one of the greatest wars in history. In 1942 German physicists learned how to split an atom which caused fear throughout the world. With Germany attempting to create an atomic bomb Einstein and Fermi developed a plan to defeat Axis forces. Fermi informed American Government officials of the situation but very few people saw it as an issue. Einstein then made an attempt of bringing awareness by sending a letter to President Roosevelt asking him to start an atomic research program. Roosevelt found it unnecessary but slowly over time he agreed towards Einsteins request. Thus the Manhattan Project began with a slow start but assured start.
The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, “Trinity”, “Little Boy”, and “Fat Man”. “Trinity” was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. “Fat Man” was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construction and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
The Cold War was a time of great tension all over the world. From 1945 to 1989, the United States was the leader and nuclear power and was competing with the Soviet Union to create huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. However, even though the Cold War ended, nuclear weapons are still a threat. Countries around the world strive to create nuclear power, and they do not promise to use it for peaceful purposes. Some examples of the struggles caused by nuclear weapons include the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s recent nuclear weapon program. Surely, nuclear weapons have created conflict all over the world since the Cold War era.