The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter

Nuclear weapons
History of nuclear weapons Nuclear warfare Nuclear arms race Nuclear weapon design Nuclear testing (Underground) Effects of nuclear explosions Delivery systems Nuclear espionage Proliferation / Arsenals
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United States - Russia - United Kingdom - France - China - India - Israel - Pakistan - North Korea
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A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from the nuclear reaction of fission or from a combination of fission and fusion. A mushroom cloud is a distinctive Mushroom -shaped Cloud of condensed Water vapor or Debris resulting from a very large Explosion. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at The hypocenter or hypocentre (literally 'below the center' from the Greek υπόκεντρον) refers to the site of an earthquake or to that of a nuclear The history of nuclear weapons chronicles the development of Nuclear weapons. The nuclear Arms race was a competition for supremacy in Nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective Nuclear weapon designs are physical chemical and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness yield and explosive capability of Nuclear weapons Throughout the twentieth century most nations Underground nuclear testing refers to test detonations of Nuclear weapons that are performed underground The energy released from a nuclear weapon detonated in the Troposphere can be divided into four basic categories Blast &mdash40-50% of total energy Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a Nuclear weapon at the position of Detonation, on or near its intended target Nuclear espionage is the purposeful giving of state secrets regarding Nuclear weapons to other states without authorization ( Espionage) Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations This is a list of Nuclear weapons ordered by state and then type within the states Nations that are known or believed to possess Nuclear weapons are sometimes referred to as the nuclear club. The United States was the first country in the world to develop Nuclear weapons, and is the only country to have used them as actual weapons, Russia possesses the largest stockpile of Weapons of mass destruction in the world The United Kingdom was the third state to test an independently developed Nuclear weapon in October 1952 France is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but is not known to possess or develop any chemical or The People's Republic of China is estimated by the US Government to have an arsenal of about 150 Nuclear weapons as of 1999, which matches India is believed to possess an arsenal of Nuclear weapons and maintains intermediate-range Ballistic missiles to deliver them Israel is widely believed to be the sixth country in the world to develop Nuclear weapons and to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized The Islamic Republic of Pakistan began focusing on nuclear development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali North Korea claims to possess Nuclear weapons and the CIA asserts that it has a substantial arsenal of Chemical weapons. In Nuclear physics, a nuclear reaction is the process in which two nuclei or nuclear particles collide to produce products different from the initial particles Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into parts (lighter nuclei) often producing Free neutrons and other smaller nuclei which may In Physics and Nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple- like charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter; a modern thermonuclear weapon weighing little more than a ton can produce an explosion comparable to the detonation of more than a billion kilograms of conventional high explosive^[1]. The largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, the Tsar Bomba, had a yield of approximately 50 megatons of TNT and even small nuclear devices with yields equivalent to only a few thousand tons of TNT can devastate a city. Tsar Bomba (ru Царь-бомба literally " King Bomb" is the Western name for the RDS-220 hydrogen bomb (codenamed "Иван" (Ivan by its Units of mass There are three similar units of Mass called the ton: Long ton (simply ton in countries such as the United Because of their extreme destructive power nuclear devices are considered weapons of mass destruction. A weapon of mass destruction ( WMD) is a weapon which can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures (e

In the history of warfare, only two nuclear weapons have been detonated offensively, both by the United States of America during the closing days of World War II. Military history is a Humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity The United States of America —commonly referred to as the World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The first was detonated on the morning of 6 August 1945, when the United States dropped a uranium gun-type device code-named "Little Boy" on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Uranium (jʊˈreɪniəm is a silvery-gray Metallic Chemical element in the Little Boy was the Codename of the Atomic bomb, developed via the "Manhattan Project" which was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6 1945 by the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Japanese city of ( is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest of Japan 's The second was detonated three days later when the United States dropped a plutonium implosion-type device code-named "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki. "Fat Man" is the codename for the Atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9 ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. These bombings resulted in the immediate deaths of around 120,000 people from injuries sustained from the explosion and acute radiation sickness, and even more deaths over time from long-term effects of radiation. A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely The use of these weapons was and remains controversial. (See Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a full discussion. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at )

Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thousand occasions for testing purposes and demonstration purposes. Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness yield and explosive capability of Nuclear weapons Throughout the twentieth century most nations The only countries known to have detonated such weapons are (chronologically) the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, the People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia,

Various other countries may hold nuclear weapons but have never publicly admitted possession, or their claims to possession have not been verified. For example, Israel, who has modern airborne delivery systems and appears to have an extensive nuclear program with hundreds of warheads (see Israel and weapons of mass destruction), officially maintains a policy of "ambiguity" with respect to its actual possession of nuclear weapons. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Typically a warhead is the Explosive material and Detonator that is delivered by a Missile, Rocket, or Torpedo. Israel is widely believed to possess a substantial arsenal (an estimated 100 to 200 of Nuclear weapons and maintains intercontinental-range Ballistic missiles to deliver Ambiguity (Am-big-u-i-ty is the property of being ambiguous, where a Word, term notation sign Symbol, Phrase, sentence, or any According to some estimates, it possesses as many as 200 nuclear warheads. Iran currently stands accused by the United States of attempting to develop nuclear weapons capabilities, though its government states that its acknowledged nuclear activities, such as uranium enrichment, are for non-weapons purposes. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program Enriched uranium is a kind of Uranium in which the percent composition of Uranium-235 has been increased through the process of Isotope separation. South Africa also secretly developed a small nuclear arsenal, but disassembled it in the early 1990s. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa (For more information see List of states with nuclear weapons. Nations that are known or believed to possess Nuclear weapons are sometimes referred to as the nuclear club. )

Apart from their use as weapons, nuclear explosives have been tested and used for various non-military uses. A nuclear explosive is an Explosive device that derives its energy from Nuclear reactions Almost all nuclear explosive devices that have been designed and produced Peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs are Nuclear explosions conducted for non-military purposes such as activities related to Economic development including the Synthetic elements, such as einsteinium and fermium, created by neutron bombardment of uranium and plutonium during thermonuclear explosions, were discovered in the aftermath of the first hydrogen bomb test. Einsteinium (aɪnˈstaɪniəm is a Metallic Synthetic element. Fermium (ˈfɝmiəm is a Synthetic element with the symbol Fm and Atomic number 100

History

Main article: History of nuclear weapons

The aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

The first nuclear weapons were created in the United States by an international team, including many displaced scientists from central Europe, which included Germany, with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The history of nuclear weapons chronicles the development of Nuclear weapons. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at The Japanese city of ( is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest of Japan 's Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The World War II Manhattan Project developed the first Nuclear weapon (atomic bomb While the first weapons were developed primarily out of fear that Nazi Germany would develop them first, they were eventually used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at The first test was conducted on July 16, 1945 at a site near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Trinity was the first test of technology for a Nuclear weapon. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Alamogordo is a city in Otero County, New Mexico, United States of America. New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. ^[2] The Soviet Union developed and tested their first nuclear weapon in 1949, based partially on information obtained from Soviet espionage in the United States. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Both the U. S. and USSR would go on to develop weapons powered by nuclear fusion (hydrogen bombs) by the mid-1950s. In Physics and Nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple- like charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus With the invention of reliable rocketry during the 1960s, it became possible for nuclear weapons to be delivered anywhere in the world on a very short notice, and the two Cold War superpowers adopted a strategy of deterrence to maintain a shaky peace. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the ^[3]

U. S. and USSR/Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles, 1945-2005

Nuclear weapons were symbols of military and national power, and nuclear testing often used both to test new designs as well as to send political messages. Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness yield and explosive capability of Nuclear weapons Throughout the twentieth century most nations Other nations also developed nuclear weapons during this time, including the United Kingdom, France, and China. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National These five members of the "nuclear club" agreed to attempt to limit the spread of nuclear proliferation to other nations, though four other countries (India, South Africa, Pakistan, and Israel) developed or acquired nuclear arms during this time. Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. ^[4] At the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the Russian Federation inherited the weapons of the former USSR, and along with the U. S. , pledged to reduce their stockpile for increased international safety. Nuclear proliferation has continued, though, with Pakistan testing their first weapons in 1998, and North Korea performing a test in 2006. Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations In January 2005, Pakistani metallurgist Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed to selling nuclear technology and information of nuclear weapons to Iran, Libya, and North Korea in a massive, international proliferation ring. Abdul Qadeer Khan ( عبدالقدیر خان; born April 1 1936 in Bhopal, India) is a Pakistani scientist and metallurgical engineer For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, ^[4] On October 9, 2006, North Korea claimed it had conducted an underground nuclear test, though the very small apparent yield of the blast has led many to conclude that it was not fully successful (see 2006 North Korean nuclear test). Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The 2006 North Korean nuclear test was the detonation of a nuclear device conducted on October 9, 2006 by the Democratic People's Republic Additionally, since 9/11 increased attention has been given to the threat of nuclear terrorism, whereby non-state actors manage to develop, purchase, or steal nuclear arms and detonate them against civilians. Nuclear terrorism denotes the use or threat of the use of Nuclear weapons or Radiological weapons in acts of Terrorism, including attacks against facilities Post-Cold War discussions of nuclear weapons have focused on the fact that the "rationality" of nuclear deterrence, credited with the lack of use of nuclear weapons during the Cold War, may not apply in a world with only one superpower, or a world where the nuclear actors are stateless. Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale ^[5]

There have been (at least) four major false alarms, the most recent in 1995, that almost resulted in the U. S. or USSR/Russia launching its weapons in retaliation for a supposed attack. ^[6] Additionally, during the Cold War the U. S. and USSR came close to nuclear warfare several times, most notably during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba during the Cold War. As of 2006, there are estimated to be at least 27,000 nuclear weapons held by at least eight countries, 96 percent of them in the possession of the United States and Russia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending ^[7]

Nuclear weapons have been at the heart of many national and international political disputes, have played a major part in popular culture since their dramatic public debut in the 1940s, and have usually symbolized the ultimate ability of mankind to utilize the strength of nature for destruction. Since their public debut in August 1945 Nuclear weapons and their potential effects have been a recurring motif in Popular culture Dozens of movies, books, television shows, plays, and other cultural productions have been made with nuclear weapons as either the explicit subject or an implied leitmotiv. ^[8]

Types of nuclear weapons

Main article: Nuclear weapon design

The two basic fission weapon designs

There are two basic types of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapon designs are physical chemical and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate The first are weapons which produce their explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of an atom into parts (lighter nuclei) often producing Free neutrons and other smaller nuclei which may These are known colloquially as atomic bombs, A-bombs, or fission bombs. In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method), or by compressing a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density (the "implosion" method). In Nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a Chain reaction of Nuclear fission. Enriched uranium is a kind of Uranium in which the percent composition of Uranium-235 has been increased through the process of Isotope separation. A critical mass is the smallest amount of Fissile material needed for a sustained Nuclear chain reaction. Exponential growth (including Exponential decay) occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value A nuclear chain reaction occurs when one Nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more nuclear reactions thus leading to a self-propagating number of these reactions An explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise Energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied The latter approach is considered more sophisticated than the former, and only the latter approach can be used if plutonium is the fissile material.

A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is to ensure that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range between the equivalent of less than a ton of TNT upwards to around 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT. Trinitrotoluene ( TNT) is a Chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO23CH3 Units of mass There are three similar units of Mass called the ton: Long ton (simply ton in countries such as the United ^[9]

The second basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large amount of its energy through nuclear fusion reactions, and can be over a thousand times more powerful than fission bombs as fusion reactions release much more energy per unit of mass than fission reactions. In Physics and Nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple- like charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus These are known as hydrogen bombs, H-bombs, thermonuclear bombs, or fusion bombs. Only six countries—United States, Russia, United Kingdom, People's Republic of China, France and India—have detonated hydrogen bombs. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

Hydrogen bombs work by using the energy of a fission bomb in order to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design, which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel (tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting container. The Teller–Ulam design is a Nuclear weapon design which is used in Megaton -range Thermonuclear weapons and is more colloquially referred to as "the Tritium (ˈtɹɪtiəm symbol or, also known as Hydrogen-3) is a radioactive Isotope of Hydrogen. Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is a Stable isotope of Hydrogen with a Natural abundance in the Oceans of Earth Lithium hydride ( Li[[Hydride H]] is the compound of Lithium and hydrogen When the fission bomb is detonated, gamma and X-rays emitted at the speed of light first compress the fusion fuel, then heat it to thermonuclear temperatures. Gamma rays (denoted as &gamma) are a form of Electromagnetic radiation or light emission of frequencies produced by sub-atomic particle interactions X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of Electromagnetic radiation. The ensuing fusion reaction creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons, which then can induce fission in materials which normally are not prone to it, such as depleted uranium. This article is a discussion of neutrons in general For the specific case of a neutron found outside the nucleus see Free neutron. Depleted uranium (DU is Uranium primarily composed of the Isotope Uranium-238 (U-238 Each of these components is known as a "stage," with the fission bomb as the "primary" and the fusion capsule as the "secondary. " In large hydrogen bombs, about half of the yield, and much of the resulting nuclear fallout, comes from the final fissioning of depleted uranium. Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a Nuclear explosion, so named because it "falls out" of the atmosphere into which it is spread during the explosion ^[9] By chaining together numerous stages with increasing amounts of fusion fuel, thermonuclear weapons can be made to an almost arbitrary yield; the largest ever detonated (the Tsar Bomba of the USSR) released an energy equivalent to over 50 million tons (megatons) of TNT. Tsar Bomba (ru Царь-бомба literally " King Bomb" is the Western name for the RDS-220 hydrogen bomb (codenamed "Иван" (Ivan by its The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Most hydrogen bombs are considerably smaller than this, though, due to constraints in fitting them into the space and weight requirements of missile warheads. ^[10]

There are many other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission weapon is a fission bomb which increases its explosive yield through a small amount of fusion reactions, but it is not a hydrogen bomb. A boosted fission weapon usually refers to a type of Nuclear bomb that uses a small amount of fusion fuel to increase the rate and thus yield of a fission In the boosted bomb, the neutrons produced by the fusion reactions serve primarily to increase the efficiency of the fission bomb. Some weapons are designed for special purposes; a neutron bomb is a nuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of radiation; such a device could theoretically be used to cause massive casualties while leaving infrastructure mostly intact and creating a minimal amount of fallout. A neutron bomb, technically referred to as an enhanced radiation weapon (ERW is a type of tactical Nuclear weapon formerly built mainly by the United States Radiation, as in Physics, is Energy in the form of waves or moving Subatomic particles emitted by an atom or other body as it changes from a higher energy The detonation of a nuclear weapon is accompanied by a blast of neutron radiation. Neutron radiation is a kind of Ionizing radiation which consists of Free neutrons Sources Neutrons may be emitted during either spontaneous Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as cobalt or gold) creates a weapon known as a salted bomb. Cobalt (ˈkoʊbɒlt is a hard lustrous silver-grey Metal, a Chemical element with symbol Co. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 A cobalt bomb, a type of salted bomb is a Nuclear weapon originally proposed by physicist Leó Szilárd, who suggested that it would be capable of destroying This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of radioactive contamination. Radioactive contamination is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive material in a given environment Most variety in nuclear weapon design is in different yields of nuclear weapons for different types of purposes, and in manipulating design elements to attempt to make weapons extremely small. Nuclear weapon designs are physical chemical and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate ^[9]

Nuclear strategy

Main article: Nuclear warfare

The United States' Peacekeeper missile was a MIRVed delivery system. A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV) is a collection of Nuclear weapons carried on a single Intercontinental ballistic missile Each missile could contain up to ten nuclear warheads (shown in red), each of which could be aimed at a different target. These were developed to make missile defense very difficult for an enemy country

Nuclear warfare strategy is a way for either fighting or avoiding a nuclear war. Missile defense is a system weapon or technology involved in the detection tracking interception and destruction of attacking Missiles Originally conceived as a defence against The policy of trying to ward off a potential attack by a nuclear weapon from another country by threatening nuclear retaliation is known as the strategy of nuclear deterrence. This article refers to deterrent theories of punishment For the legal theory of justice see Deterrence (legal. The goal in deterrence is to always maintain a second strike status (the ability of a country to respond to a nuclear attack with one of its own) and potentially to strive for first strike status (the ability to completely destroy an enemy's nuclear forces before they could retaliate). In Nuclear strategy, a first strike is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force The term enemy combatant has historically referred to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war During the Cold War, policy and military theorists in nuclear-enabled countries worked out models of what sorts of policies could prevent one from ever being attacked by a nuclear weapon. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

Different forms of nuclear weapons delivery (see below) allow for different types of nuclear strategy, primarily by making it difficult to defend against them and difficult to launch a pre-emptive strike against them. Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a Nuclear weapon at the position of Detonation, on or near its intended target Sometimes this has meant keeping the weapon locations hidden, such as putting it on submarines or train cars whose locations are very hard for an enemy to track, and other times this means burying them in hardened bunkers. A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another Other responses have included attempts to make it seem likely that the country could survive a nuclear attack, by using missile defense (to destroy the missiles before they land) or by means of civil defense (using early warning systems to evacuate citizens to a safe area before an attack). Missile defense is a system weapon or technology involved in the detection tracking interception and destruction of attacking Missiles Originally conceived as a defence against Civil defense or civil defence (see spelling differences) is an effort to prepare Civilians for Military attack Note that weapons which are designed to threaten large populations or to generally deter attacks are known as strategic weapons. A strategic nuclear weapon refers to a Nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on targets as part of a strategic plan such as nuclear Missile locations military Weapons which are designed to actually be used on a battlefield in military situations are known as tactical weapons. A tactical nuclear weapon (or TNW) refers to a Nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations

There are critics of the very idea of nuclear strategy for waging nuclear war who have suggested that a nuclear war between two nuclear powers would result in mutual annihilation. From this point of view, the significance of nuclear weapons is purely to deter war because any nuclear war would immediately escalate out of mutual distrust and fear, resulting in mutually assured destruction. Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale This threat of national, if not global, destruction has been a strong motivation for anti-nuclear weapons activism.

Critics from the peace movement and within the military establishment have questioned the usefulness of such weapons in the current military climate. The use of (or threat of use of) such weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, according to an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in 1996. Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons was an Advisory opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ on 8 July See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour

Perhaps the most controversial idea in nuclear strategy is that nuclear proliferation would be desirable. Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations This view argues that, unlike conventional weapons, nuclear weapons successfully deter all-out war between states, as they did during the Cold War between the U. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the S. and the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Political scientist Kenneth Waltz is the most prominent advocate of this argument. Kenneth Neal Waltz (born 1924 is a member of the faculty at Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars of International relations (IR alive today

It has been claimed that the threat of potentially suicidal terrorists possessing nuclear weapons (a form of nuclear terrorism) complicates the decision process. Nuclear terrorism denotes the use or threat of the use of Nuclear weapons or Radiological weapons in acts of Terrorism, including attacks against facilities Mutually assured destruction may not be effective against an enemy who expects to die in a confrontation, as they may feel they will be rewarded in a religious afterlife as martyrs and would not therefore be deterred by a sense of self-preservation. Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale AfterLife is a film drama set in Scotland directed by Alison Peebles made in 2003 about an ambitious Scottish journalist forced to choose between The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Further, if the initial act is from rogue groups of individuals instead of a nation, there is no fixed nation or fixed military targets to retaliate against. It has been argued, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks, that this complication is the sign of the next age of nuclear strategy, distinct from the relative stability of the Cold War. ^[5]

Weapons delivery

Main article: Nuclear weapons delivery

The first nuclear weapons were gravity bombs, such as the "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a Nuclear weapon at the position of Detonation, on or near its intended target A gravity bomb is an Aircraft -delivered Bomb that does not contain a Guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic Trajectory "Fat Man" is the codename for the Atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9 ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. These weapons were very large and could only be delivered by a bomber aircraft

Nuclear weapons delivery—the technology and systems used to bring a nuclear weapon to its target—is an important aspect of nuclear weapons relating both to nuclear weapon design and nuclear strategy. A bomber is a Military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets primarily by dropping Bombs on them Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a Nuclear weapon at the position of Detonation, on or near its intended target Nuclear weapon designs are physical chemical and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate Additionally, developing and maintaining delivery options is among the most resource-intensive aspects of nuclear weapons: according to one estimate, deployment of nuclear weapons accounted for 57% of the total financial resources spent by the United States in relation to nuclear weapons since 1940. ^[11]

Historically the first method of delivery, and the method used in the two nuclear weapons actually used in warfare, is as a gravity bomb, dropped from bomber aircraft. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units A gravity bomb is an Aircraft -delivered Bomb that does not contain a Guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic Trajectory A bomber is a Military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets primarily by dropping Bombs on them This method is usually the first developed by countries as it does not place many restrictions on the size of the weapon, and weapon miniaturization is something which requires considerable weapons design knowledge. It does, however, limit the range of attack, the response time to an impending attack, and the number of weapons which can be fielded at any given time. Additionally, specialized delivery systems are usually not necessary; especially with the advent of miniaturization, nuclear bombs can be delivered by both strategic bombers and tactical fighter-bombers, allowing an air force to use its current fleet with little or no modification. A strategic bomber is a heavy type Aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces This method may still be considered the primary means of nuclear weapons delivery; the majority of U. S. nuclear warheads, for example, are represented in free-fall gravity bombs, namely the B61. The B61 Nuclear bomb is the primary Thermonuclear weapon in the U ^[9]

More preferable from a strategic point of view are nuclear weapons mounted onto a missile, which can use a ballistic trajectory to deliver a warhead over the horizon. A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a self-propelled explosive Projectile used as a weapon towards a target Ballistics ( gr βάλλειν ('ba'llein' "throw" is the science of Mechanics that deals with the motion behavior and effects of Projectiles While even short range missiles allow for a faster and less vulnerable attack, the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) has allowed some nations to plausibly deliver missiles anywhere on the globe with a high likelihood of success. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBM s are Ballistic missiles delivering Nuclear weapons that are launched from Submarines Modern variants More advanced systems, such as multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) allow multiple warheads to be launched at several targets from any one missile, reducing the chance of any successful missile defense. A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV) is a collection of Nuclear weapons carried on a single Intercontinental ballistic missile Missile defense is a system weapon or technology involved in the detection tracking interception and destruction of attacking Missiles Originally conceived as a defence against Today, missiles are most common among systems designed for delivery of nuclear weapons. Making a warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, though, can be a difficult task. ^[9]

Tactical weapons (see above) have involved the most variety of delivery types, including not only gravity bombs and missiles but also artillery shells, land mines, and nuclear depth charges and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. A tactical nuclear weapon (or TNW) refers to a Nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person Depth Charge is a character in the Beast Wars: Transformers universe The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below Anti-submarine warfare (ASW or in older form A/S is a branch of Naval warfare that uses surface Warships Aircraft, space craft or other Submarines An atomic mortar was also tested at one time by the United States. A mortar is a muzzle-loading Indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities short ranges and high-arcing ballistic trajectories Small, two-man portable tactical weapons (somewhat misleadingly referred to as suitcase bombs), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, have been developed, although the difficulty to combine sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility. A suitcase bomb is a Bomb which uses a Suitcase as its delivery method The Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM was a United States Navy and Marines project that was demonstrated as feasible in the mid-to-late 1960s but was ^[9]

Governance, control, and law

The International Atomic Energy Agency was created in 1957 in order to encourage the peaceful development of nuclear technology while providing international safeguards against nuclear proliferation

Because of the immense military power they can confer, the political control of nuclear weapons has been a key issue for as long as they have existed; in most countries the use of nuclear force can only be authorized by the head of government. The International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State In the United States, the President and the Secretary of Defense, acting as the National Command Authority, must jointly authorize the use of nuclear weapons. National Command Authority ( NCA) is a term used by the United States military and government to refer to the ultimate lawful source of military orders

In the late 1940s, lack of mutual trust was preventing the United States and the Soviet Union from making ground towards international arms control agreements, but by the 1960s steps were being taken to limit both the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other countries and the environmental effects of nuclear testing. Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness yield and explosive capability of Nuclear weapons Throughout the twentieth century most nations The Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963) restricted all nuclear testing to underground nuclear testing, to prevent contamination from nuclear fallout, while the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) attempted to place restrictions on the types of activities which signatories could participate in, with the goal of allowing the transference of non-military nuclear technology to member countries without fear of proliferation. The Treaty banning Nuclear Weapon Tests In The Atmosphere In Outer Space And Under Water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty ( PTBT) Underground nuclear testing refers to test detonations of Nuclear weapons that are performed underground Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a Nuclear explosion, so named because it "falls out" of the atmosphere into which it is spread during the explosion The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ( NPT or NNPT) is a Treaty to limit the spread Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established under the mandate of the United Nations in order to encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against its misuse, and facilitate the application of safety measures in its use. The International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security In 1996, many nations signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which prohibits all testing of nuclear weapons, which would impose a significant hindrance to their development by any complying country. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT bans all nuclear explosions in all environments for military or civilian purposes ^[4]

Additional treaties have governed nuclear weapons stockpiles between individual countries, such as the SALT I and START I treaties, which limited the numbers and types of nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union. START (for St rategic A rms R eduction T reaty is a Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet

Nuclear weapons have also been opposed by agreements between countries. Many nations have been declared Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, areas where nuclear weapons production and deployment are prohibited, through the use of treaties. A Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone, or NWFZ is defined by the United Nations as an agreement generally by internationally recognized treaty to ban the use development The Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967) prohibited any production or deployment of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Treaty of Pelindaba (1964) prohibits nuclear weapons in many African countries. The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba, establishes a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Africa. As recently as 2006 a Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone was established amongst the former Soviet republics of Central Asia prohibiting nuclear weapons. The Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ treaty is a legally binding commitment by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

In the middle of 1996, the International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations, issued an Advisory Opinion concerned with the "Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons". See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons was an Advisory opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ on 8 July The court ruled that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would violate various articles of international law, including the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions, the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together nation-states in adherence to recognized values and standards The Geneva Conventions consist of four Treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland, that set the standards for International law for humanitarian The United Nations Charter is the Treaty that forms and establishes the International organization called the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly ( 10 December 1948 at Palais

Media

See also

• More technical details
  • Nuclear weapon design
  • Nuclear weapon yield
  • Effects of nuclear explosions
  • Neutron bomb
• History
  • History of nuclear weapons
  • Manhattan Project
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Nuclear testing
    • Nevada Test Site
  • Soviet atomic bomb project
  • Stanislav Petrov
  • German nuclear energy project
  • Japanese atomic program
  • Nuclear and radiation accidents (including nuclear weapons accidents)
• Related technology and science
  • Nuclear physics
  • Nuclear fission
  • Nuclear fusion
  • Nuclear reactor
  • Nuclear engineering
• Military strategy
  • Nuclear warfare
  • Civil Defense
  • Nuclear strategy
  • Mutual Assured Destruction
  • Fractional Orbital Bombardment System
• Proliferation and politics
  • Nuclear proliferation
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
  • Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
  • Nuclear disarmament
  • Nuclear peace
  • Three Non-Nuclear Principles of Japan
  • International Court of Justice advisory opinion on legality of nuclear weapons
  • List of countries with nuclear weapons
  • Nuclear weapons and the United States
  • Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom
  • List of nuclear weapons
• Popular culture
  • Nuclear weapons in popular culture
  • The Butter Battle Book
• Aftermath
  • Nuclear winter
  • Nuclear summer

Notes

References

• Bethe, Hans Albrecht. Hans Albrecht Bethe (/hans ˈalbʀɛçt ˈbeːtə/ ( July 2 1906 &ndash March 6, 2005) was a German - American Physicist The Road from Los Alamos. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0-671-74012-1
• DeVolpi, Alexander, Minkov, Vladimir E. , Simonenko, Vadim A. , and Stanford, George S. Nuclear Shadowboxing: Contemporary Threats from Cold War Weaponry. Fidlar Doubleday, 2004
• Glasstone, Samuel and Dolan, Philip J. The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (third edition). Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office, 1977. Available online (PDF).
• NATO Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations (Part I - Nuclear). Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force: Washington, D. C. , 1996
• Hansen, Chuck. U. S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History. Arlington, TX: Aerofax, 1988
• Hansen, Chuck. The Swords of Armageddon: U. S. nuclear weapons development since 1945. Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications, 1995. [1]
• Holloway, David. Stalin and the Bomb. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-300-06056-4
• The Manhattan Engineer District, "The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" (1946)
• Smyth, Henry DeWolf. Henry DeWolf Smyth ( May 1, 1898 &ndash September 11, 1986) was an American Physicist, Diplomat, and a Atomic Energy for Military Purposes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1945. (Smyth Report – the first declassified report by the US government on nuclear weapons)
• The Effects of Nuclear War. The Smyth Report was the common name given to an administrative history written by physicist Henry DeWolf Smyth about the Allied World War II Office of Technology Assessment, May 1979.
• Rhodes, Richard. Richard Lee Rhodes (b July 4, 1937) is an American journalist historian and author of both fiction and non-fiction (which he prefers to call "verity" Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0-684-82414-0
• Rhodes, Richard. Richard Lee Rhodes (b July 4, 1937) is an American journalist historian and author of both fiction and non-fiction (which he prefers to call "verity" The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986 ISBN 0-684-81378-5
• Weart, Spencer R. Nuclear Fear: A History of Images. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988.

External links

Current World Nuclear Arsenals

• Current World Nuclear Arsenals has estimates of nuclear arsenals in the respective countries.

General

• Nuclear Weapon Archive from Carey Sublette is a reliable source of information and has links to other sources and an informative FAQ.
• The Federation of American Scientists provide solid information on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons and their effects
• Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues – contains many resources related to nuclear weapons, including a historical and technical overview and searchable bibliography of web and print resources.
• Everything you wanted to know about nuclear technology — Provided by New Scientist. New Scientist is a weekly International science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English -speaking
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Nuclear weapons
• Video archive of US, Soviet, UK, Chinese and French Nuclear Weapon Testing at sonicbomb.com

Historical

• The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb at AtomicArchive. com
• Los Alamos National Laboratory — History (U. S. nuclear history)
• Race for the Superbomb, PBS website on the history of the H-bomb
• U.S. nuclear test photographs from the DOE Nevada Site Office
• U.S. nuclear test film clips from the DOE Nevada Site Office

Effects

• Hans Bethe talking about his shock of seeing the after effects of Hiroshima on Peoples Archive. The Peoples Archive is a website which has videos of notable persons telling their life stories.
• Nuclear weapon simulator for several major US cities, from Federation of American Scientists
• HYDESim: High-Yield Detonatonation Effects Simulator Another Nuclear weapon simulator with a few more features based on the "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons", 3rd Edition, by Samuel Glasstone and Philip J. Dolan.
• Fallout Calculator for various regions, from Federation of American Scientists
• Example scenarios – Two scenarios of a nuclear explosion on two United States cities, from AtomicArchive. com
• Effects of Nuclear weapons These tables describe the effects of various nuclear blast sizes. All figures are for 15 mph (24 km/h) winds. Thermal burns represent injuries to an unprotected person. The legend describes the data.
• Effects of nuclear weapons from AtomicArchive. com
• The Effects of Nuclear Weapons by Samuel Glasstone and Philip J. Dolan (1977 edn. Samuel Glasstone authored 40 popular Textbooks on Physical chemistry, Reaction rates Nuclear weapons effects, Nuclear reactor Philip J Dolan graduated in Physics from West Point in 1945, was assigned to the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos, in 1948 and received ) — an official text of the US government on weapons effects which is generally considered definitive

Issues

• "The Nuclear Weapons Debate" - OneWorld. net's Perspectives Magazine, May 2005
• "Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons: Making the Connections" – an article about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons development by an anti-nuclear group.
• Nuclear War Survival Skills is a public domain text about civil defense.
• IPPNW: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War – Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization with information about the medical consequences of nuclear weapons, war and militarization. The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor
• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – Magazine founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists. Covers nuclear weapons proliferation and many other global security issues. See this page for comprehensive data on nuclear weapons worldwide.
• 50 Facts About U.S. Nuclear Weapons – Largest, smallest, number, cost, etc.
• Nuclear Files.org covers the history of nuclear weapons and explores the political, legal and ethical challenges of the Nuclear Age.
• Union of Concerned Scientists – Nuclear Policy, weapons, testing, technical issues, and arms control.
• Nuclear Ambitions - The World's Deadly Arsenal - Independent news on issues relating to nuclear weapons and disarmament by the news agency Inter Press Service