What is Nuclear Weapons? Essay

The definition of a nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its power from nuclear reactions. The nuclear reaction is a result of fission or a combination of fission and fusion. More specifically they are called fission bombs (for fission) and thermonuclear bombs (the combination of fission and fusion). The active element in most modern nuclear weapons is plutonium. When the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombs contained about 64kg of enriched uranium. Upon detonation, nuclear weapons release lethal radiation, shock waves, and scorching heat. The explosion were equivalent to 15 kilotons of chemical explosions. After the explosion, radioactive debris was carried by wind to cause radioactive fallout. Nuclear bombs haven’t been used in warfare since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during WWII. Even though nuclear weapons, such as the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, haven’t been used since, then there have been around 2000 nuclear bomb detonations, mainly from the U.S.A and the Soviet Union. The first nuclear weapon was made in the 1930’s by the U.S.A, the United Kingdom, Canada, and free France. This collaboration was given the name, the Manhattan Project. J. Robert Oppenheimer was credited as the man who created the first nuclear weapon. He was given the nickname, “Father of The Atomic Bomb”. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and then dropped three days later on Nagasaki, was the largest loss of life in the shortest amount of time. A Jewish scientist by the name of Leo Szilard, patented the idea of nuclear chain reaction via neutrons. This patent included the theory of critical mass, the smallest amount of radioactive material to sustain the chain reaction and to cause an explosion. Since the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945, many countries have built nuclear weapons of higher caliber than those used on Japan. The first nuclear weapons had to be air dropped above the targeted area/region, but scientific development has made it to launch nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are now warheads placed on surface to air ballistic missiles. After WWII Russia and the U.S.A began the Cold War. The Cold War was started by further development of nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, which was in between 1945-1992, the Americans developed somewhere near 32,000 nuclear weapons of 30 different types at their peak in 1966.

In social perspectives nuclear weapons are a topic with a pretty straight forward opinion with exception to some. Most people are terrified of nuclear weapons. There are people who have formed the Antinuclear movement or are a part of the Antinuclear movement. Antinuclear Movements aren’t only opposed to the production of nuclear weapons such as the atomic and hydrogen bomb. They also oppose using nuclear energy for electricity production and anything nuclear related. They base their beliefs on social standpoints such as conflicts between nuclear power applications and policies and personal values. But others believe they are a necessary tool in world peace. They may be necessary for world peace but they are also one of the leading reasons for America’s rotten and worsening relations with foreign countries such as North Korea. Switching back to antinuclear movements, these people prefer and preach the use of alternate fuels. They also fear that with the progression of nuclear weapons there will be a rise in nuclear weapons used in attacks of terror. Nuclear waste is difficult to dispose of properly and is another reason that the antinuclear movement is what it is. Scientists who helped develop the first atomic bomb with plutonium as it’s radioactive element, became more and more concerned with the destructive and horrifying power they have harnessed. The antinuclear movement was sparked after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearing the end of WWII. The start of this antinuclear movement was by scientists who did not like the idea of the military having control over atomic energy. The scientist formed a group called FAS, Federation of American Scientists. While the Cold War escalated, FAS was in support of the McMahon act which placed control of atomic energy with a civilian group called AEC, Atomic Energy Commision. In the 1950’s there was more effort to support world wide sharing and cooperation of nuclear materials through Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace proposal to the United Nations. Even though this proposal led to better control and research of atomic energy, this meant that more countries had access and the ability to make nuclear weapons. This led to both the government and the private sector constructing the first commercial nuclear power plants. This also caused an uproar in the antinuclear community because a large sum of government funding went towards research and development. Alongside this they were furious because there was little known about the environmental impacts of nuclear power plants.

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For scientific advancements in nuclear weapons there is a lot that needs to be done if that is what is to be decided. For them to be more effective they need to be more compact and more agile than what is currently being used. A better delivery system would also benefit the process of expanding nuclear weapons research and development in the future. In theory if they can eliminate radioactive fallout after a nuclear weapon is detonated, that would be much safer, relatively. Also theoretically if they can make a more dense and effective radioactive isotope that would have equal or greater effect than what is currently being used would progress nuclear weapon development. If these two theoreticals can be achieved there is still more to do like build better housing units because the newer and denser radioactive isotope will give a stronger geiger counter reading meaning it has stronger radiation. Plutonium was an unknown element to man until it was created by humans in 1943. To further progress nuclear weapons a new and better nuclear/radioactive isotope needs to be created. This is in reference to what was mentioned in the text earlier saying a new radioactive isotope is needed to further research and development of nuclear weapons in the future. After the Cold War the American government and antinuclear groups went to work with new policies to limit, restrict, and end certain aspects to atomic energy and nuclear weapons. With America’s worsening relationships with foreign countries, the United Nations, Federation od American Scientists, and the Atomic Energy Commision, should come up with new policies and Geneva war laws that forbid unauthorized launch of nuclear weapons. This could mean completely banning and safely disposing of nuclear weapons or putting a limit on how many nuclear weapons a country can have. This rule would have a large amount of things weighing in on it like reasons for certain amounts, enemies, and the countries past, future, and present regarding nuclear weapons. If a country uses its arsenal of nuclear weapons to threaten the world with a launch for certain bizzare reasons, like North Korea, that country should not have any nuclear weapons.

People fear what the future of nuclear weapons will bring with it. They have seen and heard about the horrors that follow heavy exposure following the initial explosion. Not to mention what happens within the radius of the explosion. They fear that future nuclear weapons are going to cause worse radioactive fallout which in turn will cause more dangerous health risks, ruin the landscape, and cause radiation poisoning to food that all living things consume. To go slightly off topic, nuclear weapons isn’t the only thing that the public is afraid of in that stand point. People who know about Chernobyl know how dangerous a malfunction in a nuclear power plant can be. Chernobyl can not be inhabited for around another 2000 years at least because of the immense amount of radiation. The people who are extremely opposed to anything nuclear related are the ones that form the antinuclear movement groups. They are afraid of what the government isn’t going to do to help regarding anything nuclear related. There is no safe and proper way to handle radioactive substances. Disposal of nuclear substances is extremely difficult to do safely and properly. They are afraid of human errors and malfunctions that can cause horrible fallouts. They are also afraid of a nuclear war.

To summarize, anything nuclear related is a touchy topic with mixed opinions. On the other hand nuclear weapons are usually seen as a necessary weapon in war and necessary to keep things calm to a certain degree. Then again with so many countries possessing the power of nuclear weapons there is tension that can easily lead to a nuclear war. Antinuclear groups were started to convince the government and the public to put bans and restrictions on atomic energy. For nuclear weapons to advance, missile engineering needs to advance as well. For nuclear weapons to be more effective a new radioactive isotope that is more radioactive than uranium 235 needs to be made or discovered. And people are on the fence about nuclear technology leaning to the side of no.