The Negative Effects Of Nuclear Weapons

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

The dropping of the atomic bomb was the first of many nuclear projects. The first project was called the Manhattan project. Three bombs were created, one was a test, and the two others were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cities in Japan. These bombs created mass destruction for the two cities; buildings were obliterated, fires erupted, and radiation spread for miles. After foreign countries saw what the United States was capable of, countries all around the world started to develop their own nuclear weapons, creating a surplus of weapons of mass destruction. “Today, eight countries in the world have nuclear arsenals (weapon supplies). The United States and Russia (formerly part of the Soviet Union) have most of the world’s nuclear weapons. Other countries with nuclear arms include China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom” (Kroenig). Following World War Two, the Soviet Union and the United States were leaders of nuclear weapons. This period was called the Cold War. Forty-five years of potential nuclear destruction loomed over the Soviets and Americans. It wasn’t until after the Cold War that diplomats created the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. The Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, or NPT for short, recognizes the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom as nuclear weapon states. Nearly every country in the world is a member of the treaty, even if they do not possess nuclear weapons, by law they state that they are a nonnuclear

“A nuclear bomb is defined as ‘an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.’ “

They release great amounts of energy in the form of blast, heat and radiation. No acceptable humanitarian response is possible. In addition to causing millions of deaths, a nuclear war involving around 100 or so Hiroshima sized weapons would disrupt the global climate and agriculture so much that more than hundreds of millions of people would be at risk of famine.(Arguments for nuclear abolition)

Albert Einstein developed an equation for this process, E=mc^2. To summarize this equation, energy is lost or produced when a change in mass occurs. So the process of nuclear fission begins with a neutron. The neutron then strikes the Uranium nucleus, causing the Uranium nucleus to split into two Uranium nuclei. By splitting the nucleus, it also produces more neutrons, and with those neutron, it continues to split the Uranium nucleus. From this uncontrolled process of fission, nuclear weapons can be made. This process is known as a nuclear chain reaction. The energy released (exothermic reaction) from this chain reaction is what powered the atomic bombs.

The atomic bombs great power is created with a chain reaction of the uranium-235’s atom. This isotope is highly radioactive and gives off much radiation and because it is an isotope, the atom is no longer stable. Inside the atom there are four forces occurring, the electromagnetic, gravitational, strong and weak force. The electromagnetic force forces protons, from the nucleus, and electrons, from the electron cloud, to attract and also keeps the electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The strong force is greater than the electromagnetic force and acts on the quarks and gluons that make up the protons in the nucleus. The strong force prevents protons that get too close to each other in the nucleus from repelling. The gravitational force is what keeps both the protons and neutrons in the nucleus due to their large mass and close distance. The force of the nucleus is the strongest force in the world and the nucleus of uranium is in much strain because of the critical mass and gravitational force. When one more neutron is added to the nucleus, it splits, this process is called fission. When the atom splits it causes a chain reaction, and releases three neutrons which each hit three more uranium-235 atoms and triggers more atoms to be split. This process occurs to all atoms in the bomb in only seconds and until there are no more unstable atoms to be split. The weak force in an atom is what allows them to be unstable. The force acts on the quarks and gluons in protons and changes them into neutrons or an isotope which is unstable and is capable for fission. Albert Einstein contributed to the Manhattan Project and building the atomic bomb with his famous equation E=MC2. This equation shows how to find the amount of energy an atom contains. And during the explosion of the atomic bomb, an immense amount of energy was given off by the split atoms which is found based on the equation. In the final

This weapon can be used in nuclear terrorism or intimidation. Because of this, various public organizations resist the wide use of nuclear power.

The Nuclear bomb, the most feared weapon in the world. A weapon that has the power to wipe out a whole state let alone a large chunk of earth. On the 6th of August, 1945 an American bomber dropped the first ever atomic bomb wiping out over 90 percent of Hiroshima and instantly killing over 80,000 people. (Yavenditti, 1974) At the time the bomb hit only one state had nuclear weapon capability, this state was The United States of America. Since 2010, the world has nine states with nuclear weapons Russia, United States, France, United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and lastly the most recent addition North Korea. (Norris and Kristensen, 2010) The spread of nuclear weapons has created a constant debate. Some have argued the world is safer

Atomic bombs are made up of uranium, that has an isotope that creates a nuclear chain reaction. The immediate energy release per atom is about 180 million electron volts. It is caused by a sudden release of energy produced by splitting the nuclei of the fissile elements making up the bombs' core.

Fission is employed by assassins who use the fission process during the manufacture of atomic bombs and other nuclear weapons; which are detonated in public areas, for example, the Hiroshima, and Nagasaki atomic bomb launched during World War II, the Chernobyl disaster. Atomic bombs are made from chemical compounds that are strongly compressed only to lead to a lethal explosion, for

A thermonuclear weapon is a weapon intended to discharge energy in an unstable way as a consequence of atomic splitting, atomic combination, or a mix of the two procedures. Fusion weapons are regularly alluded to as nuclear bombs. Fission weapons are additionally alluded to as atomic bombs or, all the more ordinarily, hydrogen bombs; they are normally characterized as atomic weapons in which no less than a segment of the energyis discharged by atomic combination.

The historian Spencer Weart notes "You say 'nuclear bomb ' and everybody immediately thinks of the end of the world" The escalation of nuclear proliferation in and around the world, especially in the Middle East has led to the fear of nuclear war in the near future. Many countries built nuclear weapons because it felt insecure from the major nuclear states or from their neighbors conventional military or nuclear capabilities. This is the situation with China, India and Pakistan. Many other reasons encourage countries to seek nuclear weapons, but the main reason for acquiring nuclear weapons is the deterrence against any external threat and prevention external offensive that might lead to war. Nuclear weapons make such countries feel more secure, nuclear weapons can prevent war because countries will have the ability to deter any external aggression. At the same time, there is no guarantee that acquiring nuclear weapons may lead to nuclear war.

Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous weapons on earth. One can demolish a whole city, potentially killing millions, and exposed the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects. According to the UNODA- United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (2011), “Although nuclear weapons have only been used twice in warfare- in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945-about 22,000 reportedly remains in our world today and there have been over 2,000 nuclear tests conducted to date.” Nuclear weapons have been viewed as a threat to peace by world leaders. There have been debates of whether to let Iran and North Korea acquire nuclear weapons, leaders all around the world along with Liberals believe that it is a threat to peace and should limit the spread whereas neo realist have another belief that nuclear weapon can make the world a peaceful place. Because states would fear to attack each other. For example the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and cold war- there were only threats and war did not happen because of nuclear deterrence. The Cuban missile crisis has frequently been portrayed as the only time where the world stood in the point of nuclear war between the superpowers. This is an example of how nuclear weapons were used to threaten the rival. Another examples would be that of India and Pakistan before they acquire nuclear weapon , they fought three bloody wars after having their independence but since 1998, after acquiring

First, nuclear weapons can possibly lead to radiation disaster, affecting large masses of land. Although the radiation will go away instantly, the threat it poses to humankind and the environment stays. Second, the entire industry in charge of nuclear weapons is actively producing radioactive waste and this waste is can be found in everyday products such as: “clothing, water purifier resin, hand tools and the materials used in building nuclear reactors.” Exposure to this radioactive waste can lead to disabilities and cancer. Lastly, residual radiation can essentially destroy wildlife and the environment for hundreds of

The U.K and Paris built nuclear weapons due to the impending Soviet military threat and the reduction in the credibility of the U.S guarantee to NATO alliances after the Soviet Union threatened retaliation. China on the other hand developed the bomb because of the U.S’s threat to bomb Beijing at the end of the Korean War. Furthermore the emergence of hostility in Sino-Soviet relations in the 1960s further inspired the “robust and affordable security” of nuclear weapons since without it, China’s deterrence was thought to be inadequate compared to nuclear states. (Goldstein, 1992) Following the development of the bomb in China in 1964, India who had just fought a war with China in 1962 felt compelled to follow in its footsteps. Then following India’s nuclear test explosion, Pakistan felt it needed to step up its nuclear program facing a recently hostile neighbor with both nuclear weapons and conventional military security. Ultimately as a result of this domino effect, there have been no conflicts between these previous hostile states due to the generation of nuclear weapons; further emphasizing the key role nuclear weapons plays in the stability of international politics.