Nuclear weapon
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Themushroom cloudof theatomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18
kilometers (11 mi) above theh
ypocenterNuclear weaponsHistory of nuclear weaponsNuclear warfareNuclear arms raceNuclear weapon designNuclear testing (Underground)Effects of nuclear explosionsDelivery systemsNuclear espionageProliferation/Arsenals Nuclear-armed countries United States-Russia-
United Kingdom-France-China
-India -Israel -Pakistan-
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A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from thenuclear reactionof fission or from a combination of fission andfusion. 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 anexplosion comparable to the detonation of more than a billion kilograms of conventional high explosive
.Even small nuclear devices with yields equivalent toonly a few thousand tons of TNT can devastate a city. Nuclear weapons areconsideredweapons of mass destruction.In thehistory of warfare, only two nuclear weapons have been detonated offensively,both by theUnited States of Americaduring 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 Japanesecity
of Hiroshima.The second was detonated three days later when the United States
dropped aplutoniumimplosion-type device code-named "Fat Man" on the city of
Nagasaki. These bombingsresulted in the immediate deaths of around 120,000
people from injuries sustained from the explosion and acuteradiation sickness, andeven more deaths over time from long-term effects of (ionising) radiation. The use of
these weapons was and remains controversial. (See Atomic bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasakifor a full discussion.)Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, nuclear weapons have been detonatedon over two thousand occasions fortesting purposesand demonstration purposes.The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons - and thatacknowledge possessing such weapons - are (chronologically) theUnited States,the
Soviet Union, the United Kingdom,France, thePeople's Republic of China, India,
Pakistan, andNorth Korea.Israelis also widely believed to possess nuclear
weapons, though it does not acknowledge having them. For more information onthese states' nuclear programs, as well as other states that formerly possessednuclear weapons or are suspected of seeking nuclear weapons, seeList of states with nuclear weapons.Apart from their use as weapons,nuclear explosiveshave been tested and used forvarious non-military uses. Synthetic elements, such aseinsteiniumand fermium,
created by neutron bombardment of uranium and plutonium during thermonuclearexplosions, were discovered in the aftermath of the first thermonuclear bomb test.Contents[hide]
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History
Main article: History of nuclear weapons
The aftermath of theatomic bombing of Hiroshima
The first nuclear weapons were created in the United States by an internationalteam, including many displaced scientists from central Europe, which includedGermany, with assistance from the United Kingdom andCanadaduringWorld War
IIas part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. While the first weapons were
developed primarily out of fear thatNazi Germanywould develop them first, theywere eventually used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thefirst testwas conducted onJuly 16,1945 at a site near Alamogordo,New Mexico.
TheSoviet Uniondeveloped and tested their first nuclear weapon in 1949, basedpartially on information obtained from Soviet espionage in the United States. Boththe U.S. and USSR would go on to develop weapons powered bynuclear fusion (thermonuclear bombs) by the mid-1950s. With the invention of reliablerocketry during the 1960s, it became possible for nuclear weapons to be delivered anywherein the world on a very short notice, and the twoCold War superpowers adopted a
strategy of deterrence to maintain a shaky peace.
U.S. and USSR/Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles, 1945-2005
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Nuclear Weapon
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