0
Nuclear Weapons
This category is for questions about weapons that use nuclear fission or fusion to gain explosive power.
3,869 Questions
How do weapons of mass destruction prevent war?
Nuclear weapons serve as a deterrent. One country will be less likely to attack another that it knows has nuclear capability because of the destruction that could be wrought by nuclear weapons. This theory is called MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction, meaning that both sides would destroy each other so utterly by going to war that peace (even bitter cold peace) is the only viable option.
Biological and Chemical weapons, which are also called weapons of mass destruction, do not have this deterrent effect.
Why did the US or USSR never attack the other with the force of nuclear weapons?
Possibly their leaders retained some small degree of rationality and/or empathy even at the most stressful moments (however I doubt that either the current United States president or Russian Federation president are capable of either rationality or empathy).
Possibly it was entirely sheer blind luck.
Possibly (if you are religious) God decided not to let them do it.
Possibly we will never know.
What is the US stance on North Korea's nuclear weapons program?
The US is strongly opposed to the North Korean nuclear weapons program and has been trying very hard to discourage North Korea from building nuclear weapons, although as we have seen, North Korea is building them anyway, in defiance of all forms of international pressure from the US or the UN.
Was Einstein present at Trinity test site in Alamogordo?
No, Einstein had no involvement in the Manhattan Project (or any other war related work as he was a pacifist).
underground
Why did some scientists oppose development of the hydrogen bomb?
Some scientists opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb due to the potential for catastrophic consequences if it were used in war, such as massive destruction and loss of life. They believed that the focus should be on promoting peace and disarmament rather than escalating the arms race. Additionally, there were concerns about the morality and ethical implications of creating such a powerful and destructive weapon.
What would weapons be kept in?
Weapons are typically stored in secure containers designed to prevent unauthorized access and ensure safety. Common storage options include gun safes, lockboxes, or cabinets specifically designed for firearms and ammunition. Additionally, military and law enforcement agencies may use armories or secure vaults to store weapons and sensitive equipment. Proper storage is crucial for preventing accidents and theft.
What is conventional vs nuclear weapons?
Conventional explosives get their energy entirely from chemistry; the outer shell of electrons.
Nuclear explosives get their energy from the nucleus. There is lots more energy there.
How many nuclear bombs did the US have after the Japanese surrender?
Probably only the one that had been built just before the Nagasaki bombing but had not yet left the country when the Japanese surrendered.
While the Manhattan Project had plans and facilities to make a total of 24 atomic bombs by the end of 1945, after the war ended the priority to continue operating these facility dropped. Declassified documents show that actual production in 1945 was only 5 atomic bombs and of these 3 had already been detonated (i.e. Trinity, Hiroshima, Nagasaki) resulting in a stockpile at the end of 1945 of just 2 atomic bombs (i.e. one produced before the surrender, one produced after the surrender).
Even as late as 1947 when the Manhattan Project came to an end and the Atomic Energy Commision took over the stockpile was only 13 atomic bombs, and none of these were complete they were just kits of parts that would have to be assembled by hand in the field by an assembly team of trained specialists over a period of 3 days before the bomb could be used. The Atomic Energy Commision also discovered that no such assembly teams existed and there were no plans to train people in the specialized skills they would need to work on these assembly teams.
When President Harry S. Truman was informed of all this by the Atomic Energy Commision it is said that his face turned completely grey! Since the end of the war he had been concentrating on balancing the Federal Budget by gutting the conventional military and depending 100% on atomic bombs to defend the US... and now he essentially was informed that he had neither a conventional nor a nuclear defense!
What is the mutual assured destruction?
The theory of nuclear war that both sides should have enough weapons to be able to effectively destroy the other, resulting in a stalemate and preventing either from starting a war.
This theory fails when there are multiple sides.
How many nuclear bombs were made in world war 2?
In August 1945 the US had three (3) atomic bomb weapons.
The test bomb nicknamed "the Gadget" ( a FAT MAN design type) was detonated at the TRINITY test site at Alamogordo Air Base , NM on 16 July 1945 (blast yield of 18.6 kilotons).
Two weapons, code named for the types of bombs designs and not the weapons themselves, were a LITTLE BOY (a MARK 1; bomb L-11) uranium U-235 bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 06 Aug 1945 (blast yield of 12-16 kilotons) called Operation: CENTERBOARD I and a FAT MAN (a MARK 3; bomb Y1561) plutonium Pu-239 bomb dropped on Nagasaki on 09 Aug 1945 (blast yield of 20 kilotons) called Operation: CENTERBOARD II. The third bomb also a FAT MAN (MARK 3) intended for Kokura on 19 Aug 1945 Operation: CENTERBOARD III was not used. Niigata and Yokohama were the next two (2) of the 17 (seventeen) targeted Japanese cities not bombed. Tokyo was considered a target city only of last resort since the Emperor, the Supreme War Council, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Imperial Army and Navy General Staffs would have to survive to order an unconditional surrender.
The US had plans to manufacture and assemble one (1) more LITTLE BOY U-235 uranium bomb and up to twelve (12) additional FAT MAN Pu-239 plutonium bombs to drop on the targeted Japanese cities before the invasion of Japan code named Operation: DOWNFALL on 01 Nov 1945, but the surrender of Japan 14 Aug 45 (V-J Day) halted production and assembly of further atomic weapons until the Operation: CROSSROADS tests in June 1946.
Sources:
Pincher - D. A. Rosenberg 1989
Silverplate Bombers - R. H. Campbell 2005
The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb - G. Alperovitz 1995
Making of the Atomic Bomb - R. Rhodes 1987
The General and the Bomb - W. Lawren 1988
Now It Can Be Told - L. Groves 1983
Which is common household pest capable of surviving a nuclear attack?
Most insects have a far higher LD50 for ionizing radiation than any mammal, but its a myth that cockroaches will survive nuclear war.
Which country can build the most nuclear weapons?
United States of America.
Why?
Because it has over 160 Nuclear reactors to produce Plutonium and Tritium. This rapidly alows engineers to construct more warheads.
