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Nuclear Weapons
This category is for questions about weapons that use nuclear fission or fusion to gain explosive power.
3,869 Questions
Killing lots of people considered "enemy" by any means possible while watching friends get killed.
What are the pros and cons of weapons of mass destruction?
PROS:
-wipes out a huge area
-good for ending wars
CONS:
-causes much loss of life
-gives of terrible radiation
The worlds deepest and most silent nuclear submarine was built by whom?
As regards military submarines meant as warships, the Russians built the submarines with the deepest diving capability, but U.S. submarines generally make less noise.
Is deterrence the best strategy to prevent nuclear war?
Well, yes, and a nuclear war is very unlikely to happen, because of a protocol known by every countries bearing nuclear power, mutually assured destruction. For example, if the US sent all of their ballastic missles to Russia, they would retaliate and send their fleet of missiles to us, and both the US and Russia would be destroyed.
Nicolas Dupont
What is the only nation to ever have used nuclear weapons against another country?
The United States of America against the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
What was the reason for using atomic weapons during World War 2?
Japan was not going to surrender in WWII and supposedly they were developing their own super weapon. President Harry S. Truman didn't want to take any risks and wanted to end the war immediately. He sent one nuke and Japan didn't surrender he sent a bigger nuke and they surrendered.
Were nuclear weapons first used by japan against the US during World War 1?
No, they did not exist until July 1945. WW1 was over before 1920.
What is difference between tool and weapon?
Although many tools may be used as weapons, any object that persists in the category of things intended for use in threatening, harming, debilitating or killing either people or sentient creatures would be called a weapon. This excludes tools like chisels or scissors that can be used as weapons since their use as weapons would not usually persist through time. An object such as a rifle can be used for other purposes; however, its main purpose, as a weapon, persists through time.
How many nuclear weapons did the US have in 1956?
I believe that is still classified Top Secret-Q Restricted Data. The most current data on the US stockpile that is not classified is from 1946, following Operation Crossroads (where we detonated 2 stockpile devices for effects tests at Bikini atoll) the US had a grand total of 4 fission bombs remaining in stockpile. I am still looking to find additional data, if I can't I may have to file a FOIA or MDR request.
Should have dropped a third atomic bomb on japan?
The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were totally destroyed by the atomic bombs. The ultimatum sent to Emperor Hirohito was "surrender unconditionally, or Tokyo is next." The aim was to end the war, not to kill another half million innocent people. The Japanese surrendered, so it would have been mass murder to bomb them again.
The third bomb would have been dropped on either Kokura, Yokohama, or Niigata, the only cities remaining on the approved list (not Tokyo). However by the time the third bomb was available, Japan had already surrendered.
Bomb production schedule if war continued:
- September - 3
- October - 3
- November - 7
- December - 7
Therefore only 23 cities could have been bombed in 1945. Change in production rate in November was due to upgrading MK-3 Mod 0 Fatman with Plutonium core to MK-3 Mod 1 Fatman with composite core (Plutonium/Uranium-235).
Richard Rhodes: The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Chuck Hansen: Swords of Armageddon
Absolutely the first real clue was when President Harry Truman told then Soviet Premier Josef Stalin that we had successfully tested a nuclear device, and Stalin's reaction was that of not being surprised - he already knew from Soviet spy Klaus Fuch, who was attached to the Manhattan Project and was feeding information to them.
The Soviets had also captured German scientists working on missile technology at Penemunde and the Nazi Heavy Water experiments. The information stolen from the Manhattan Project helped the Soviets accelerate their program and detonate their first weapon in 1949, just 4 years after the Trinity test at Alamogordo.
What incident brought the world to the edge of a nuclear war?
The Cuban missile crisis.After Fidel Castro led a successful revolt to sieze power in Cuba in 1959 he was courted and mentored buy the Soviet Union, who then secretly installed armed rocket silo's in Cuba Pointed at the USA from less than 100 miles away. It did not take the US, under J F Kennedy, to the discover them. The Soviets were told to remove them or else. The world waited with bated breath. Then the Soviets removed them.
What were the nuclear weapons the countries used in the Cold War?
No nuclear weapons were used in the Cold War. The reason it is called that is that the United States and the Soviet union never came into direct military conflict. The only time that atomic weapons have been used was during the Second World War. The USA has only used nuclear weapons in combat twice. A Nuclear weapon has not been used in action since 1945. Many countries tested nuclear weapons during the cold war such as USA, Russia, France and the United Kingdom. While none were used in combat a wide variety were tested and you could argue that these were effectively used in the Cold War due to the fact their testing was a deterrent. Examples of nuclear weapons designed for use in the cold war include the USA's Castle Bravo, Russia's Tsar Bomb, the M-388 Davy Crockett and a variety of ICBM's.
Why did Einstein cry when the US had thrown nuclear bomb on Japan?
I don't know for sure that he cried or not, but if he did, it was because of two reasons. First, it was Einstein who had sent a letter to the us president implying to build an atomic bomb to defend the world against the Nazis who were working on completing their nuclear bomb at that time. Two months after sending that letter though, Germany surrendered and left the Americans with the first atomic bomb to be built, and that was then ready to be tested. Unfortunately, USA found Japan a convenient country to test the bomb on because it wanted to see the actual effect of it. Second, Einstein was simply the one who derived the equation ENERGY = MASS X (SPEED OF LIGHT) SQUARED, the one responsible to the reaction in an atomic bomb.
Did the Cold War affect the economy?
The cold war divided Europe and Germany after WW2. The Western European countries, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom as well as Canada and the United States, formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). USSR took the Eastern European countries as satellite countries. East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria had be influenced and controlled by the USSR.
The Cold War divided Europe into two armed camps. There was very little contact between the two blocs. Even traditionally 'Western' cities like Prague seemed to be in another world.
What is the use of the first nuclear bomb?
The first nuclear bomb used in war was dropped on Hiroshima Japan on August 6, 1945. The purpose was to convince Japan to surrender before the invasion landing scheduled for the end of August began. These were expected to be the bloodiest landings in the entire war!
How long does the lethal radiation from a nuclear bomb take to die?
That depends on the initial amount and type. It also depends on altitude (or depth) of burst. If you know the isotopes involved you can look up their half lives, measure current radiation intensity, and calculate time until radiation will drop to desired level.
You can also periodically measure radiation intensity over a period of time, then extrapolate to get a reasonable estimate of time to drop to desired level without knowing isotopes.
How long has the us had nuclear weapons?
Since 1945.
By the summer of 1946 we had built 9: 3 tested, 2 used, 4 stockpiled.
