A 

nuclear weapon (also known as an atom bomb, atomic bomb, nuclear bomb or nuclear

warhead, and colloquially as an A-bomb or nuke) is an explosive device that derives its destructive
force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission
and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb). Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from
relatively small amounts of matter.
The first test of a fission ("atomic") bomb released an amount of energy approximately equal to
20,000 tons of TNT (84 TJ).[1] The first thermonuclear ("hydrogen") bomb test released energy
approximately equal to 10 million tons of TNT (42 PJ). Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10
tons TNT (the W54) and 50 megatons for the Tsar Bomba (see TNT equivalent). A thermonuclear
weapon weighing little more than 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg) can release energy equal to more than
1.2 million tons of TNT (5.0 PJ).[2]
A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire,
and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a
focus of international relations policy. Nuclear weapons have been deployed twice in war, by the
United States against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II.

Contents

 1Testing and deployment

 2Types
o 2.1Fission weapons
o 2.2Fusion weapons
o 2.3Other types
 2.3.1Tactical nuclear weapons
 3Weapons delivery
 4Nuclear strategy
 5Governance, control, and law
o 5.1Disarmament
o 5.2United Nations
 6Controversy
o 6.1Ethics
o 6.2Notable nuclear weapons accidents
o 6.3Nuclear testing and fallout
 7Effects of nuclear explosions
o 7.1Effects of nuclear explosions on human health
o 7.2Public opposition
 8Costs and technology spin-offs
 9Non-weapons uses
 10History of development
 11See also
 12References
o 12.1Notes
o 12.2Bibliography
o 12.3Further reading
 13External links
Testing and deployment
Nuclear weapons have only twice been used in war, both times by the United
States against Japan near the end of World War II. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. Army Air
Forces detonated a uranium gun-type fission bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" over the Japanese city
of Hiroshima; three days later, on August 9, the U.S. Army Air Forces detonated
a plutonium implosion-type fission bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" over the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
These bombings caused injuries that resulted in the deaths of approximately
200,000 civilians and military personnel.[3] The ethics of these bombings and their role in Japan's
surrender are subjects of debate.
Since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have been detonated over
2,000 times for testing and demonstration. Only a few nations possess such weapons or are
suspected of seeking them. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons—and
acknowledge possessing them—are (chronologically by date of first test) the United States,
the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nuclear power by Russia), the United
Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is believed to possess nuclear
weapons, though, in a policy of deliberate ambiguity, it does not acknowledge having
them. Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands are nuclear weapons sharing states.[4][5]
[6]
 South Africa is the only country to have independently developed and then renounced and
dismantled its nuclear weapons.[7]
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons aims to reduce the spread of nuclear
weapons, but its effectiveness has been questioned. Modernisation of weapons continues to this
day.[8]