Bro_jad

Broń jądrowa Z Wikipedii

Wybuch bomby atomowej w Nagasaki

9 sierpnia

1945

Kraje oficjalnie posiadające bomby atomowe

Broń jądrowa – rodzaj

broni masowego raŜenia

wykorzystującej wewnątrz jądrową energię wydzielaną podczas

łańcuchowej reakcji

rozszczepienia jąder cięŜkich pierwiastków (

uranu

plutonu

- broń atomowa) lub reakcji termojądrowej syntezy lekkich pierwiastków z

wodoru

bomba wodorowa

– o sile wybuchu znacznie większej niŜ broni atomowej. Dzięki istnieniu tej

broni

powstało przekonanie o moŜliwości

pokonania przeciwnika bez uŜycia ogromnych

armii

, do zadania duŜych zniszczeń na obszarze przeciwnika wystarczy

samolot bombowy

pocisk

artyleryjski lub

rakieta

przenosząca atomowe

głowice bojowe

Czynnikami raŜenia broni jądrowej są:

•

fala uderzeniowa

•

promieniowanie przenikliwe

•

promieniowanie cieplne

(świetlne),

•

skaŜenie promieniotwórcze

•

impuls elektromagnetyczny

Siła raŜenia jest daleko większa niŜ w przypadku konwencjonalnego

materiału wybuchowego

-- największe bomby są zdolne zniszczyć całe

miasta. Bomby atomowe zostały zastosowane dwukrotnie w celach wojennych przez armię

Stanów Zjednoczonych

przeciwko

japońskim

miastom

Hirosima

Nagasaki

, w trakcie

II wojny światowej

. Od tego czasu uŜyto ich około 2000 razy, jedynie w ramach testów,

przeprowadzanych przez dziesięć państw (

USA

Związek Radziecki

Wielka Brytania

Francja

Chińska Republika Ludowa

Indie

Pakistan

RPA

wspólnie z

Izraelem

[1]

Mocarstwami nuklearnymi są

Stany Zjednoczone

Rosja

Wielka Brytania

Francja

Chińska Republika Ludowa

Indie

Pakistan

Korea Północna

Izrael

, którego władze nie potwierdzają ani nie zaprzeczają tym podejrzeniom.

RPA

wyprodukowała 4 bomby atomowe, lecz po upadku

apartheidu

jej arsenał nuklearny został zdeponowany w Izraelu

[1]

Korea Północna

ogłosiła, Ŝe posiada arsenał nuklearny. Próbny ładunek został

zdetonowany

9 października

2006

o 4.36 czasu polskiego. Eksplozję przeprowadzono w wyrytej w górach kopalni w prowincji Hamgyong.

Jednak według wielu ekspertów władze w Phenianie potrzebują jeszcze 5-10 lat na przełamanie technicznych problemów i takie udoskonalenie
ładunku, by móc umieścić go na rakiecie dalekiego zasięgu.

Ukraina

moŜe posiadać głowice atomowe, które w wyniku pomyłki nie zostały

zabrane przez

Armię Radziecką

. O prace nad budową broni atomowej podejrzewany jest

Iran

Prace nad budową broni atomowej prowadziły swego czasu

RPA

oraz

Irak

. Przed upadkiem muru berlińskiego broń atomowa znajdowała się

takŜe na terenie

NRD

oraz w pewnym okresie na terenie

Polski

(patrz:

LWP - Broń jądrowa na terytorium Polski

). W okresie zimnej wojny przez

krótki czas na Kubie stacjonowały takŜe radzieckie

pociski balistyczne

Nagasaki 24. IX. 1945 - 6 tygodni po eksplozji

Spis treści

[

ukryj

]

•

1 Rodzaje broni nuklearnej

1.1 Podstawowe rodzaje

1.1.1 Bomba atomowa

1.1.2 Bomba wodorowa

1.1.3 Brudna bomba

1.2 Zaawansowane konstrukcje

1.2.1 Bomba neutronowa

1.2.2 Bomba kobaltowa

•

2 Historia broni jądrowej

•

3 Broń jądrowa w kulturze

•

4 NajpotęŜniejsza bomba atomowa

•

5 Przypisy

•

6 Zobacz teŜ

•

7 Linki zewnętrzne

Rodzaje broni nuklearnej

[

edytuj

]

Podstawowe rodzaje

[

edytuj

]

Bomba atomowa

[

edytuj

]

Efekt

grzyba

podczas próbnego wybuchu bomby atomowej na

Poligonie Nevada

Bomba atomowa czerpie swoją energię z reakcji rozszczepienia cięŜkich

jąder atomowych

(np.

uranu

lub

plutonu

) na lŜejsze pod wpływem

bombardowania

neutronami

. Rozpadające się jądra emitują kolejne neutrony, które bombardują inne jądra, wywołując

reakcję łańcuchową

Nazwa bomba atomowa moŜe być myląca, gdyŜ konwencjonalne chemiczne

materiały wybuchowe

czerpią swą energię z wiązań atomowych a

inne rodzaje broni nuklearnej są nie mniej atomowe.

Zasada działania bomby atomowej polega na wytworzeniu/przekroczeniu w jak najkrótszym czasie

masy krytycznej

ładunku jądrowego.

Przekroczenie masy krytycznej uzyskuje się poprzez połączenie kilku porcji materiału rozszczepialnego lub zapadnięcie materiału
uformowanego w powłokę. Połączenie to musi odbyć się szybko by reakcja nie została przerwana juŜ w początkowej fazie w wyniku
rozproszenia energii powstającej podczas rozszczepiania jąder dlatego do połączenia materiałów rozszczepialnych uŜywa się konwencjonalnego
materiału wybuchowego. Reakcja łańcuchowa wydziela ogromną ilość energii,ogromna temperatura i energia produktów rozpadu powodują
rozproszenie materiału rozszczepialnego i przerwanie reakcji łańcuchowej. Jako ładunku nuklearnego uŜywa się

uranu-235

lub

plutonu-239

Z jednego

kilograma

U-235 moŜna uzyskać do 82

TJ (teradŜuli)

energii. Typowy czas trwania reakcji łańcuchowej to 1

, więc moc wynosi 82

/kg.

Bomba wodorowa

[

edytuj

]

Zwana jest teŜ

bombą termojądrową

. Zasada działania bomby wodorowej opiera się na wykorzystaniu

reakcji termojądrowej

, czyli łączenia

się lekkich jąder atomowych (np.

wodoru

lub

helu

) w cięŜsze, czemu towarzyszy wydzielanie ogromnej ilości energii. PoniewaŜ rozpoczęcie i

utrzymanie fuzji wymaga bardzo wysokiej temperatury, bomba wodorowa zawiera ładunek rozszczepialny (pierwszy stopień), którego detonacja
inicjuje fuzję w ładunku drugiego stopnia.

Ładunki drugiego stopnia mogą być łączone w prawie dowolnej ilości i wielkości (jedna reakcja fuzji inicjuje następną), to jak i brak
ograniczenia przez masę krytyczną oraz znacznie większa niŜ w przypadku ładunków rozszczepialnych wydajność, umoŜliwiają budowę broni o
mocy daleko większej niŜ w przypadku zwykłej bomby atomowej.

Brudna bomba

[

edytuj

]

Brudna bomba

to określenie na rodzaj

broni radiologicznej

, której działanie polega na rozrzuceniu materiału radioaktywnego na duŜej przestrzeni

za pomocą konwencjonalnej eksplozji. Powoduje to

skaŜenie promieniotwórcze

terenu. Ze względu na łatwość konstrukcji takiej bomby,

znaczną dezorganizację funkcjonowania duŜych aglomeracji oraz bardzo duŜe koszty usuwania materiałów promieniotwórczych istnieje
niebezpieczeństwo uŜycia ich przez terrorystów.

Zaawansowane konstrukcje

[

edytuj

]

Bomba neutronowa

[

edytuj

]

Bomba neutronowa to specjalny rodzaj bomby termojądrowej, pozbawiona ekranu odbijającego neutrony, w której

energia

powstaje w wyniku

reakcji syntezy

deuteru

trytem

. Siła jej

wybuchu

jest relatywnie niewielka. Małe jest równieŜ

skaŜenie promieniotwórcze terenu

Czynnikiem

raŜącym

jest

promieniowanie przenikliwe

–

neutronowe

(

szybkie neutrony

– stąd nazwa), przenikające przez

materię

(w tym

opancerzenie

), ale

zabójcze dla

ywych organizmów

Bomba kobaltowa

[

edytuj

]

Bomba kobaltowa

zawiera w osłonie

kobalt

, który pod wpływem wytwarzanych przez ładunek neutronów przekształca się w izotop Co-60, silne

i trwałe (

okres półrozpadu

5,26 lat) źródło

promieniowania gamma

. Głównym celem jest

skaŜenie

terenu, by uczynić go niezdatnym do

•

Eksplozja próbna:

16 lipca

1945

– pustynia w stanie

Nowy Meksyk

(

USA

), miejsce próby nazywano nieoficjalnie Jornada del Muerto (PodróŜ

Umarłego);

•

UŜycie bojowe:

6 sierpnia

1945

–

Hiroszima

(bomba

Little Boy

);

9 sierpnia

1945

–

Nagasaki

(bomba

Fat Man

Broń jądrowa w kulturze

[

edytuj

]

Zimna wojna

toczona poprzez

Stany Zjednoczone

oraz

ZSRR

, przyczyniła się do powstania wizji zagłady ludzkości lub upadku cywilizacji na

skutek dojścia do konfliktu nuklearnego pomiędzy tymi dwoma państwami. W tej globalnej

wojnie atomowej

dokonano by tak wielu eksplozji

bomb atomowych, Ŝe doprowadzono by do rozległych zniszczeń, a efektem rozpylenia duŜych ilości pyłów w górnych warstwach atmosfery
byłaby

zima nuklearna

. W czasach zimnej wojny, w USA strach przed nuklearnym atakiem ze strony Związku Radzieckiego był ogromny,

powstał nurt, ukazujący upadek cywilizacji. Z tego nurtu wywodzą się filmy z serii

Mad Max

Terminator

Nazajutrz

, Wysłannik przyszłości

oraz gry

Fallout

. Paranoiczne lęki związane z zimną wojną doskonale pokazał

Stanley Kubrick

w filmie "

Doktor Strangelove, lub jak przestałem

się martwić i pokochałem bombę

" z roku 1963. W literaturze powstały liczne opowiadania fantastyczne dotyczące tego tematu jak: Ostatnie

Brzeg,

Deus Irae

Blade Runer

. Istnieje równieŜ interpretacja

Władcy Pierścieni

mówiąca, Ŝe

Tolkien

, pisząc o zgubnej mocy Pierścienia

wskazywał na zagroŜenie bronią jądrową czerpiącą swoją niszczycielską moc z przemiany relatywnie małej ilości materii w olbrzymią energię -
sam pisarz odrzucał jednak tę interpretację.

NajpotęŜniejsza bomba atomowa

[

edytuj

]

Zobacz więcej w osobnym artykule:

Car Bomba

NajpotęŜniejszą bombą atomową była

Bomba Cara

. Eksplozji dokonał

Związek Radziecki

30 października

1961

r. na wyspie

Nowa Ziemia

połoŜonej na

Morzu Arktycznym

, na północnych krańcach obecnej

Rosji

. Była to jednostopniowa

bomba termojądrowa

, czyli oparta na

pojedynczej fazie syntezy lekkich jąder atomowych, zainicjowanej detonacją jądrową. Miała moc 58

megaton

czyli w przybliŜeniu 4000 bomb

zrzuconych na Hiroszimę. Mimo Ŝe zmniejszono jej moc ze względów bezpieczeństwa (Bomba Cara zaprojektowana została jako broń
trójfazowa i mogła ona osiągnąć nawet 150 megaton, ale wówczas obszar objęty zniszczeniami, mimo duŜego odosobnienia, objąłby kilka
większych miast północnej Rosji, a opad radioaktywny zagroziłby całej Europie, toteŜ zrezygnowano z trzeciej fazy rozszczepiania), część

skalistych wysepek, w otoczeniu których dokonano detonacji wyparowała, a sam wybuch był odczuwalny nawet na

Alasce

. Bomba ta nazywana

była takŜe złowieszczo "Zabójcą Miast". Bomba mogłaby zniszczyć miasto wielkości

Londynu

Przypisy

↑

1,0

1,1

Kubiak, Krzysztof.

Burska przygoda atomowa

. Stosunki Międzynarodowe. 2007.

Zobacz teŜ

[

edytuj

]

Zobacz galerię na Wikimedia Commons:

Broń jądrowa

•

bomba termojądrowa

•

grzyb atomowy

•

międzykontynentalny pocisk balistyczny

•

próby z bronią jądrową

•

przegląd zagadnień z zakresu wojskowości

•

wojna jądrowa

•

SLBM

Linki zewnętrzne

[

edytuj

]

•

Historia powstania bomby atomowej

•

zasada działania bomby atomowej

ródło: "

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bro%C5%84_j%C4%85drowa

Kategoria

Broń atomowa

•

Tę stronę ostatnio zmodyfikowano 19:58, 29 kwi 2008.

•

Tekst udostępniany na licencji

GNU Free Documentation License

. (patrz:

Prawa autorskie

)

Wikipedia® jest zarejestrowanym znakiem towarowym

Wikimedia Foundation

. MoŜesz

przekazać dary pienięŜne Fundacji Wikimedia

•

Zasady ochrony prywatności

•

O Wikipedii

•

Informacje prawne

Nuclear weapon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

•

Learn more about citing Wikipedia

•

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

Weapon design

testing

Effects of nuclear explosions

Delivery systems

Nuclear espionage

Proliferation

Arsenals

Nuclear-armed countries

Russia

France

Israel

PR China

India

Pakistan

North Korea

This box:

view

•

talk

•

edit

A nuclear weapon is a type of explosive weapon that derives its destructive force from the

nuclear reaction

fission

or from a combination of

fission and

fusion

. As a result, even a nuclear

weapon

with a small

yield

is significantly more powerful than the largest conventional

explosives

available, with a single weapon capable of destroying an entire city.

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

. 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

. 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

. 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. The use of these weapons was and remains controversial. (See

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

for a full discussion.)

Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thousand occasions for

testing purposes

and

demonstration purposes. 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

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

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. According to some estimates, it possesses as many as 200 nuclear warheads.

Iran

currently stands accused by the

United States

attempting to develop nuclear weapons capabilities, though its government states that its

acknowledged nuclear activities

, such as

uranium

enrichment

, are for non-weapons purposes.

South Africa

also secretly developed a small nuclear arsenal, but disassembled it in the early 1990s.

(For more information see

List of states with nuclear weapons

Apart from their use as weapons,

nuclear explosives

have been tested and used for various

non-military uses

. 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.

Contents

[

hide

]

•

1 History

•

2 Types of nuclear weapons

•

3 Nuclear strategy

•

4 Weapons delivery

•

5 Governance, control, and law

•

6 Media

•

7 See also

•

8 Notes

•

9 References

•

10 External links

History

Main article:

History of nuclear weapons

The aftermath of the

atomic bombing

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

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

. The

first test

was conducted on

July 16

1945

at a site near

Alamogordo

New Mexico

[1]

The

Soviet

Union

developed and tested their first nuclear weapon in 1949, based partially on information obtained from Soviet espionage in the United

States. Both the U.S. and USSR would go on to develop weapons powered by

nuclear fusion

(hydrogen bombs) by the mid-1950s. 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.

[2]

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. Other nations also developed nuclear weapons during this time, including the

United Kingdom

France

, and

China

. 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.

[3]

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. 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.

[3]

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

). 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. 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.

[4]

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.

[5]

Additionally, during the Cold War the U.S. and USSR came close to nuclear warfare several

times, most notably during the

Cuban Missile Crisis

. 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

[6]

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. 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.

[7]

Types of nuclear weapons

Main article:

Nuclear weapon design

The two basic fission weapon designs

There are two basic types of nuclear weapons. The first are weapons which produce their explosive energy through

nuclear fission

reactions

alone. These are known colloquially as atomic bombs, A-bombs, or fission bombs. In fission weapons, a mass of

fissile

material (

enriched

uranium

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). 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.

[8]

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. 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.

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. 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. 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

. 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.

[8]

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. Most hydrogen bombs

are considerably smaller than this, though, due to constraints in fitting them into the space and weight requirements of missile warheads.

[9]

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. 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. The detonation of a nuclear weapon
is accompanied by a blast of

neutron radiation

. Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as

cobalt

gold

) creates a weapon

known as a

salted bomb

. This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of

radioactive contamination

. 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.

[8]

Nuclear strategy

Main article:

Nuclear warfare

The United States'

Peacekeeper missile

was a

MIRVed

delivery system. 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. 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

. 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). 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.

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. Sometimes this has meant keeping the weapon locations hidden, such as
putting it on

submarines

train

cars whose locations are very hard for an enemy to track, and other times this means burying them in hardened

bunkers. 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). Note that weapons which are designed to threaten large populations or to generally deter attacks are known as

strategic weapons

Weapons which are designed to actually be used on a

battlefield

in military situations are known as

tactical weapons

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

. 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.

Perhaps the most controversial idea in nuclear strategy is that

nuclear proliferation

would be desirable. 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.S. and the

Soviet Union

Political scientist

Kenneth Waltz

is the most prominent advocate of this argument.

It has been claimed that the threat of potentially suicidal terrorists possessing nuclear weapons (a form of

nuclear terrorism

) complicates the

decision process.

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

martyrs

and would not therefore be deterred by a sense of self-preservation. 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.

[4]

Weapons delivery

Main article:

Nuclear weapons delivery

The first nuclear weapons were

gravity bombs

, such as the "

Fat Man

" weapon dropped on

Nagasaki

Japan

. 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

. 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.

[10]

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

. 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. 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

[8]

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. 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. 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

. 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.

[8]

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

. An atomic

mortar

was also tested at one time by the

United States. 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.

[8]

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

. 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.

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

. 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. 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. 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.

[3]

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.

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. 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. As recently as 2006 a

Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone

was established amongst the former Soviet

republics of Central Asia prohibiting nuclear weapons.

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

". 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

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More technical details

Nuclear weapon design

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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

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Japanese atomic program

Nuclear and radiation accidents

(including nuclear weapons accidents)

•

Related technology and science

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•

Military strategy

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•

Proliferation and politics

Nuclear proliferation

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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

Trinity Site Pamphlet

. White Sands Missile Range. Retrieved on

2007

08-15

Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986.

Richelson, Jeffrey. Spying on the bomb: American nuclear intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea. New York:

Norton, 2006.

See, for example: Feldman, Noah. "

Islam, Terror and the Second Nuclear Age

," New York Times Magazine (29 October 2006).

Forden, Geoffrey (October 2001).

False Alarms on the Nuclear Front

. Nova Online. Retrieved on

2006

03-05

Norris, Robert S., and Hans M. Kristensen. "Global nuclear stockpiles, 1945-2006", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 62, no. 4

(July/August 2006), 64-66.

Weart, Spencer R. Nuclear Fear: A History of Images. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1988; Boyer, Paul S. By the bomb’s early

light: American thought and culture at the dawn of the atomic age. New York: Pantheon, 1985.

The best overall printed sources on nuclear weapons design are: Hansen, Chuck. U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History.

San Antonio, TX: Aerofax, 1988; and the more-updated Hansen, Chuck. Swords of Armageddon: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development
since 1945. Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications, 1995.

Sublette, Carey.

The Nuclear Weapon Archive

. Retrieved on

2007

03-07

10.

Stephen I. Schwartz, ed., Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940. Washington, D.C.:

Brookings Institution Press, 1998. See also

Estimated Minimum Incurred Costs of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Programs, 1940-1996

, an

excerpt from the book.

References

•

Bethe, Hans Albrecht

. 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

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

. Office of Technology Assessment, May 1979.

•

Rhodes, Richard

. Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.

ISBN 0-684-82414-0

•

Rhodes, Richard

. 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Nuclear weapons

Wikinews

has related news:

Nuclear proliferation

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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

•

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Nuclear weapons

•

Video archive of

US, Soviet, UK, Chinese and French Nuclear Weapon Testing

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

Peoples Archive

•

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

Samuel Glasstone

and

Philip J. Dolan

(1977 edn.) — 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.

•

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

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