Evolution Of Nuclear Weapons

The beginnings of the Nuclear Age started when Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt warning him of a dangerous weapon the Nazis had begun researching, known as the atomic bomb. (1) Though, when President Roosevelt first read this letter, he was too preoccupied with events in Europe to be bothered with such ideas. He at the time did not take the creation of such weapon to seriously, nor did he believe America had the resources for such a task. (2) Finally, on October 19, 1939 President Roosevelt wrote back to Einstein stating that the United States had begun to research the power of uranium. (2) With the help of the British, whom reluctantly gave the United States leadership on this project, in June of 1942 the Manhattan Project had begun, though most of the world had no idea that this was even happening, not even Vice President Truman. (2)

The morning of December 7th, 1941 started out just like any other day on the south side of Oahu Hawaii but at 7:55 a.m. it all changed. Japanese fighter planes made an attack on the United States Naval Base, Pearl Harbor which would lead to a bloody war between the United States and Japan. By the end of the day, with the United States now on the cusp of entering World War II, a total of 2,335 U.S. servicemen and sixty-eight civilians would lie dead.

The creation of the atomic bomb starts first with a complicated background in physics. When neutron combines with the nucleus of an atom of the isotopes uranium 235 or plutonium-239, it causes the nucleus to split into two fragments. In the process of splitting, a great amount of thermal energy, plus gamma rays and neutrons, are released. The escaping neutrons strike and then divide more of the surrounding uranium nuclei, which then discharge more neutrons that still split more nuclei. This series of rapidly multiplying divisions culminates in a chain

It has been seventy years since the last military nuclear bomb was successfully executed and many of us feel that nuclear threats have decedent or vanished, but Schell informs us that they are full of life. The Seventh Decade examines how the nuclear bomb has continued to cast a dark shadow over global politics and has advocated for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The book takes on a robust roadmap to a nuclear bomb free world that looks at the historical dark uncertainties of the Cold War, where the odds of a nuclear attack were extremely high during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis to the spread of nuclear knowledge and technology in the 1990s to unstable nations like Iraq and Pakistan, increasing the risk and fear of a nuclear war.

During the early 1940’s atomic science had just began to mature. Many people were exploring the powerful mystery of the atom. Two of those people were Eugene Booth and John Dunning, who, in 1941, synthesized uranium-235. Immense scientific growth followed their contribution, since it allowed for nuclear fission (Griffith). In the years following this discovery, nuclear science took a turn. Once only used as a constructive power source, atoms began being explored for their destructive power. In 1942 the United States government funded the Manhattan Project that sole goal was to develop a nuclear bomb. The initiator for this endeavor was surprisingly the famous scientist Albert Einstein. He wrote to Franklin D. Roosevelt , and tipped him off

On December 7th, 1941 the Japanese surprise attacked our biggest naval fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii where thousands of US soldiers lost their lives and sprung us into World War II. This is the deadliest attack to ever occur on US soil in history. As the late and great Franklin D Roosevelt stated when speaking about pearl harbor “a date that will live in infamy” and that it has as we continue the remembrance 75 years later.

Britannica, Encyclopaedia and Dr. Thomas B. Cochran. nuclear weapon. n.d. Inc. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 18 November 2015. .

At the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II scientist started to develop new ways to to react to wars.Scientist like Julius Robert Oppenheimer with the help of Albert Einstein created the first atomic bomb called the “Little Boy” and the “FatMan”. Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. He was incharge of gather the best minds to develop weapons of mass destruction. Oppenheimer along with 200 other physics developed weapons that would change the world forever.

Nuclear developments from 1945-1991 (Cold War Period) were atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945) to the signing of the Non-Proliferation Treaty by all 5 major Super Powers (United States, Great

The first use of nuclear weaponry in warfare occurred on the morning of August 6, 1945 when the United States dropped the atomic bomb known as “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. The result was devastating, demonstrating the true power of nuclear warfare. Since the incident, the world has been left fearing the possible calamity of another nuclear war. Joseph Siracusa’s Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction explains aspects of nuclear weaponry from simply what a nuclear weapon is, to the growing fear from nuclear warfare advancements in an age of terrorism. The book furthered my education on nuclear weapons and the effect they place on society, physically and mentally.

Nuclear weapons have only ever been used once in human history, and that was during World War II when The United States deployed missiles on Japanese territory, in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. At the time of bombing in 1945 only the USA had developed nuclear weapons, whilst today the pool of states consisting of nuclear weapons is still extremely small, with only nine states laying claim to nuclear technology and weaponry. This nuclear proliferation is explained by Darryl Howlett who explains this as the worldwide spread of nuclear weapons. For Howlett states are nuclear driven because of the ‘strategic, political and prestige benefits’ attached to nuclear weapons[1]. In the

This concept drastically transformed the image of the atom and eventually led to further discoveries in physics. After the discovery of the neutron, the concept of utilizing the neutron for a bullet to assault other nuclei was in place. This would later be known as nuclear fission, which is a major stepping stone going into World War II. It was a matter of speed and time to figure out the most optimal conditions and power for this chain reaction bomb. Later, it was applied to Uranium atoms, in which it released huge packets of energy. This was discovered through the use of Einstein’s theory and relationship between mass and

The science behind the nuclear weapon was in full force by July 4, 1934 when Leo Szilard was rewarded the patent for the nuclear weapon. Szilard explains in

The Project was held at first out of only a few colleges, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and the University of California at Berkeley. The same year that the project was established the first controlled nuclear reaction was achieved by Fermi and the S-1 group at the University of Chicago. With this success more funds were placed into the project and development of the bomb. Nuclear facilities were built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington. The main station and bomb building plant was placed in Los Alamos, Texas with Robert Oppenheimer as the head. The main Power source for the bomb is Uranium-235 and that that its isotope would work as a fuel source for a nuclear device. The process though of separating Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 would prove very difficult but necessary to gain access to the fuel source (Sherrow page 7; “The Manhattan

Countless individuals assert that nuclear weapons are vital shields for the planet. They claim that nuclear weapons are disincentive, and prevent the world from breaking out in total bloodshed. Nuclear weapons have had a large impact on the world, but have we gone too far in nuclear weapon proliferation? Are they doing more harm than good? Many claims that nuclear weapons have been keeping peace and creates a feeling of security. However, the effects of Nuclear weapons appear to be more miserable than vigorous. Nuclear explosions produce both immediate and delayed violent effects. Blast, thermal radiation, and ionizing radiation cause significant destruction within seconds or minutes of a nuclear action. The delayed effects, such as radioactive fallout and other environmental effects, cause damage over a continuous period ranging from hours even to years. The world's first nuclear weapons explosion on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico, when the United States tested its first nuclear bomb. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It killed or wounded nearly 130,000 people. Three days later, the United States bombed Nagasaki. Of the 286,00-people living there at the time of the blast, 74,000 were killed and another 75,000 sustained severe injuries. Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945; it also resulted in the end of World War II. In subsequent years, the United States, the Soviet Union and Great