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Nuclear weapons are the most powerful and destructive technology ever created. From the first notion that nuclear technology could be harnessed to create a bomb, massive amounts of time and energy (as well as government funding) have been invested in further increasing the destructive yield of nuclear weapons. The process of development was carried out independently by governments worldwide. Despite the segregation of groups of scientists and secrecy surrounding their discoveries, design strategies and problems remained basically the same in all development projects with similar solutions being realized more or less concurrently. The first and most basic fission bomb quickly evolved to produce higher and higher yields. Through discoveries and modifications, nuclear technology evolved to eventually produce fission-fusion weapons, which are what compose most of the nuclear arsenal today. Further development, ironic as it may seem, is highly unnecessary and unlikely (except, perhaps, to increase efficiency) due to the ridiculous power wielded in every modern thermonuclear weapon. The popular modern threat of nuclear weapons is the possibility of terrorist groups acquiring the materials to produce bombs. 'Lo-tech' nuclear weapons are feasible and would seem highly desirable for such groups to possess. The home enthusiast might even flirt with the idea of creating his or her own nuclear arsenal. Assuming one could obtain 10-20kg of highly enriched fissionable material, this may not be such a romantic idea after all. There are a number of things anyone must know about nuclear weapons, however, before declaring themselves a nuclear power.
Fission Weapons (Atomic Bombs)
Fission weapons, or "Atomic Bombs", are based on nuclear fission. Nuclear fission occurs when the nuclei of certain isotopes of heavy elements (such as uranium or plutonium) capture neutrons. The result is that the nuclei become unstable and break apart into two smaller nuclei. This process converts some of the mass into energy and releases varying numbers of neutrons that go on to collide with other nuclei causing them to break apart and so on and so on. In nature this process is irrelevant due to the low natural occurrence and densities of radioactive isotopes. During weapons construction, however, isotopes are refined and concentrated to ultra-pure forms so that fission can occur at the ...
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...can be added on. The fusion reaction can go on to start another fusion reaction and so on with unlimited yield. The most powerful weapon ever conceived was of a similar design. The Russian "Tsar Bomba" (King of Bombs) was a fission-fusion-fusion weapon with an additional fission jacket surrounding the third stage that would have produced a yield of at least 100 megatons if it were ever exploded. Without the additional fission jacket it still produced the largest nuclear explosion ever at 50 megatons.
Works Cited
Brown, Richard K. "Nuclear Weapons Diagrams" href="http://www.enviroweb.org/issues/nuketesting/hew/Library/Brown/index.html">http://www.enviroweb.org/issues/nuketesting/hew/Library/Brown/index.html
"Nuclear Explosive Devices" href="http://www.accutek.com/~moistner/homepg1.htm">http://www.accutek.com/~moistner/homepg1.htm
Sublette, Carey "The High Energy Weapons Archive: A Guide to Nuclear Weapons" <a href="http://www.enviroweb.org/issues/nuketesting/hew/">http://www.enviroweb.org/issues/nuketesting/hew/
"The Atomic Bomb" <a href="http://www.geocities.com/athens/agora/4526/index1.html">http://www.geocities.com/athens/agora/4526/index1.html
The fission of uranium-235 creates neutrons which in an ideal situation bombard other uranium-235 atoms which then divide and...
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
In a fission reaction, the nucleus of an atom is split. Neutrons are released, forming nuclear energy, and the remaining nuclei are lighter.1 Think of fission a little bit like opening a nutshell, for example, a pistachio. As you put pressure and force into breaking the shell, it breaks in two and pieces may fly off. Similarly, when the atoms are forced apart, they break in two and neutrons fly away and energy is released.
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.
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.
Out of all the dangerous powers and authority our government wields, possibly the most threatening powers are nuclear weapons. People tend to be frightened by things they do not understand, which make nuclear weapons a perfect catalyst for fear. These weapons have the most overwhelming and destructive power known to man; although, nuclear weapons are only safe in countries that try to maintain harmony and stability. Nuclear weapons are defined as “explosive devices whose destructive potential derives from the release of energy that accompanies the splitting or combining of atomic nuclei.” This power is both dangerous and unstable in the hands of small erratic countries.
Nuclear weapons are the safest defense mechanism in the world. Although nuclear weapons can lead to mass destruction and the loss of thousands of lives when detonated, they are the optimal solution to the conflicts between countries in the future. The actual use of the nuclear weapon is not the deterrent, but rather just the mere fact that a country could use it against another country which avoids the large scale conflict. Thus, nuclear deterrence presents itself as a preferred security option. Firstly, based on deterrence theory, nuclear weapons will lead to Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). This means that if nuclear weapons are used in warfare, either side will not be able to succeed in winning, as the destruction caused by the weapons will be too much for either side to recuperate from. Since the detonation of “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” over Nagasaki and Hiroshima, nuclear weapons have never been used in warfare again. The world saw the destruction which a nuclear bomb could have. Ever since, this has driven fear to never use nuclear weapons. Although many countries possess nuclear weapons today, they have yet to engage in a nuclear war. This has so far maintained “a tense but global peace” (Mutual Assured Destruction, 2014). As the use of nuclear weapons would lead to the ultimate destruction of humankind, nuclear deterrence is a viable security option as shown by the MAD principles, the application of the MAD doctrine throughout history and the current global stability.
Mining for elements that could be used as a nuclear power were very important in the Cold War. New technology and research for nuclear material was an essential part in building a nuclear weapon. The most important element for making nuclear weapons is uranium. Uranium is used to make plutonium, a very powerful element, by deuteron bombardment of uranium oxide. Uranium, a gray-colored element, is mined from the common uranium ores. Common isotopes, such as, radioactive sulfur (S35), radioactive carbon (C14), radioactive phosphorus (P32) and strontium (Sr90) were a great safety hazard towards the environment and mammals. The amount of time it takes for half the radioactive isotope to disintegrate is called half-life. "Isotopes with a short half-life, measured in seconds, hours, or days, are considered generally less dangerous to the envioronment2." Isotopes with a high half-life are very harmful to our world; for example, plutonium in one of its forms (Pu239) has a half-life of over 20,000 years. There is so much heat given off that, in power reactors, the heat is used to generate electricity. These nuclear elements, mainly plutonium, was used to make the most destructive weapons ever to be built: nuclear missiles.
...ain such a weapon. Terrorists will not acquiesce to the terms concerning possession and production of nuclear weapons handed down by an international organization, regardless of its power. The best we can hope for is a level of regulation among the nuclear-capable states of the world that is strong enough to remove the possibility of any terrorist acquisition of nuclear materiel.
...nt. This innovation also leads to the possibility of never fully understanding the nuclear weapon. The second is reducing the environmental burden. This will help in longer causing long term inhabitable locations. The third is designing warheads that can be safely manufactured. This allows the lives of scientists and other workers to not be endangered during the production of warheads. (pg. 16-30).
'Nuclear weapons protect our country. The very fact we have them means no-one will ever use them' In this account, I am going to discuss the diverse arguments which concern the issue of nuclear weapons, and whether or not their ownership actually voids use. Exploring both contrasting arguments, I will discuss both sides to the subject; arguments which support this statement contrast a great deal to those who rebut it, yet both sides have their valid reasons to their case; those who favour the statement believe that the weapons are somewhat of a taboo, however, those who support the opposing view look at the matter a lot more practically, after all nuclear weapons are extremely destructive. Supporting arguments have a legitimate cause to believe that their theory is right; there is a profound degree of responsibility which goes in hand with owning a weapon of this calibre, which taking into account the potential destruction they can cause extinguishes any possibility of usage. In support of this is a substantial measure of evidence, the cold war, for example.
Thesis Statement The hydrogen bomb is a nuclear weapon in which light atomic nuclei of hydrogen are joined together in an uncontrolled nuclear fusion reaction to release tremendous amounts of energy. The hydrogen bomb is about a thousand times as powerful as the atomic bomb, which produces a nuclear fission explosion about a million times more powerful than comparably sized bombs using conventional high explosives such as TNT.
Nuclear weapons were made to cause mass destruction, kill and mame other human beings. They were first used to bomb Japan in 1945 in order to end World War II. With the aftermath of the bombs 140,000 people died and detrimental effects lasted after the explosion causing cancer and other diseases (Hiroshima). Not long after the end of World War II, the Cold War arose between the Soviet Union and America and an arms race took place stockpiling more nuclear weapons. While the war lasted forty five years, no bombs were denentated because of the fear that using one would cause mutually assured destruction (Kennedy). The fear of mutually assured destruction from nuclear weapons and other weapons eventually lead the Soviet Union and America signed the INF treaty years after the Cold War, that implemented restrictions and regulations for missiles (Treaty Between The United States). Since missiles
Nuclear warfare is the use of nuclear weapons as a military strategy against enemies. Nuclear weapons or atomic weapons are bombs or missiles that use nuclear energy to cause an explosion and are considered the most powerful and destructive weapon ever created. The U.S. was the first country to build an atomic bomb in 1945 after Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt, concerned about efforts in Nazi Germany to purify uranium-235 and create an atomic bomb. After this the U.S. began The Manhattan Engineer District Project to build an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany. The creation of nuclear weapons was done by some of the greatest minds of the time. The chief of this group was Robert Oppenheimer, who is often called “father of the
Nuclear energy is generated by a process called fission. Fission occurs within the reactor of a nuclear power plant when a neutron is fired at an atom of uranium causing it to split and release subsequent neutrons.1 These are able to crash into other uranium atoms causing a chain reaction and releasing a great deal of heat energy.