A nuclear weapon includes both the bomb or warhead and the delivery vehicle. These treaties cover latin america and the caribbean, the south pacific, southeast asia, africa and central asia. The geopolitics of nuclear weapons geopolitical futures. Taylor, a former nuclear weapons designer, received the us atomic energy commissions 1965 lawrence memorial award and was deputy director of the defense nuclear agency.
The actions of countries in times of war are governed by international law that constantly changes with advancements in weapons technology. Pdf north korea, nuclear weapons, and the stability. In all except the last, the explosive energy of deployed devices is derived primarily from nuclear fission, not fusion pure fission weapons were the first nuclear weapons built and have so far been the only type. Broadly defined, a nuclear weapon is an explosive device that converts matter into energy. Nuclear weapon designs are physical, chemical, and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package 1 of a nuclear weapon to detonate. Even if they managed to strike japan, the united states or south korea with nuclear weapons a big if, given that they do not have a reliable delivery system. The first fission atomic bomb test released the same amount of energy as approximately 20,000 tons of tnt. Nuclear forces continue to represent the ultimate deterrent capability that supports u. A nuclear weapon is a explosive device that uses a controlled uncontrolled nuclear chain reacon to release huge amounts of energy. A nuclear weapon, also known as a nuclear bomb or a nuke, is a weapon that suddenly releases the energy in the nucleus of certain types of atoms. Types of nuclear weapons include atom bombs, hydrogen bombs, fission bombs, and fusion bombs. The basics of nuclear weapons federation of american. Of the 31 countries that possess nuclear power plants, we have identified five important countries for which the acquisition of nuclear weapons would radically impact relations with both their.
Similar to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, five treaties on regional nuclearweaponsfreezones require parties to conclude a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the iaea. Plutonium metal in its highest phase density, of 19. International law and possession of nuclear weapons 22. Rewind back to august 6, 1945 when an atomic bomb named the little boy was dropped on the japanese city of hiroshima. Nuclear weapon, device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. Nuclear weapons glossary 20 by ara barsamian, nnpi. Nonstrategic nuclear weapons may 2012 federation of american scientists. When bombarded by neutrons, certain isotopes of uranium and plutonium and some other heavier elements will split into atoms of lighter elements, a process known as nuclear fission. Kristensen, federation of american scientists, 2016 slide 2. A weapon, such as an atomic bomb or hydrogen bomb, whose destructive power comes from the release of nuclear energy. Despite not having been used in anger since hiroshima and nagasaki, the atomic bomb is still the biggest threat that faces us in the 21st century.
Critical nuclear weapon design information cnwdi access to cnwdi is on a needtoknow basis special dod briefing required documents containing cnwdi must be marked and stored according to dod instruction 5210. The dangers from such weapons arise from their very existence. Nuclear weapon designs are physical, chemical, and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate. Nuclear weapon definition of nuclear weapon by the free.
A nuclear weapon is a highpowered explosive that uses nuclear energy, this includes the carrier vector, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarinelaunched ballistic missiles and part of the infrastructure involved in their handling and operation. Apr 24, 2017 to build a nuclear weapon, a country must have technical knowledge and capabilities, access to materials, and a welldeveloped industrial sector. A strategic nuclear weapon is a weapon to whose use or threat of use only the highest authority of the state can resort, conceptually and structurally. Effects of nuclear weapons alexander glaser wws556d princeton university february 12, 2007 s. Data obtained from this test, and others, culminated in the eventual deployment of the highest yielding us nuclear weapon known, and the highest yieldtoweight weapon ever made, a threestage thermonuclear weapon with a maximum dirty yield of 25 megatons, designated as the b41 nuclear bomb, which was to be carried by u. In the interests of clarity, a list of terms and definitions has been included as. Fission weapons are commonly referred to as atomic bombs, and fusion weapons are referred to as thermonuclear bombs or, more commonly, hydrogen bombs. The effects nuclear weapons international panel on fissile.
But the postcold war world is decidedly not post nuclear. A nuclear weapon is a device which derives its explosive energy from fission or a combination of fission and fusion processes. Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weaponsapplicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as nuclear weapon states by the treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, commonly known as the nonproliferation treaty or npt. Ngo nongovernmental organization new start treaty between the united states and russia on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms nnws nonnuclearweapon state npt nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Accountability for use of nuclear weapons under international law 7 3. Nuclear weapon principles of atomic fission weapons. Jenny cheng business insider a conventional explosive device rapidly burns up a chemical to cause a blast.
The traditional focus on the nuclear test as marking the birth of a new nuclear weapon state fits the abovedescribed underlying concept quite well. History, description, and implementation introduction this white paper is intended to provide insight into the current and iongstanding doe definition of nuclear weapon reliability, the historical and academic bases for this definition, the larger dod. Disarmament, nonproliferation, and the nuclearweaponsfree zones 10 1. North korea, nuclear weapons, and the stabilityinstability paradox article pdf available in korean journal of defense analysis 282. A weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion. France china atmospheric 194563 194962 195258 196074 196480 215 219 21 50 23 underground 195192 196190 196291 196196 196996 815 496 24 160 22 total 1030 715 45 210 45 528. Yusuf, nuclear futures introduction it is a paradox that few aspects of international security have been as closely scrutinized, but as incorrectly forecast, as the future nuclear landscape. Discussions of nuclear weapons and the policies which guide them often utilize terminology which lacks standardized definition. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion.
The relevance of environmental law for nuclear weapons. Ngo nongovernmental organization new start treaty between the united states and russia on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, as well as how detonations are affected by different conditions. Information and translations of nuclear weapon in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. As bill clintons first secretary of defense, les aspin, aptly put it, the cold war is over, the soviet union is no more. Free thesaurus definition of nuclear weapons from the macmillan english dictionary a free english dictionary online with thesaurus and with pronunciation from macmillan education. Nuclearweapon article about nuclearweapon by the free. France china atmospheric 194563 194962 195258 196074 196480 215 219 21 50 23 under. United states can be reduced to considerably lower. Information and translations of nuclearweapon in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.
A widely used definition is that a nonstrategic nuclear weapon is a weapon that is. Abomb, atom bomb, atomic bomb, fission bomb, plutonium bomb a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission splitting the nuclei of a heavy element. The energy is produced by splitting the nucleus of an atom, resulting in a sustained chain reaction. Although nuclear weapons have only been used twice in warfarein the bombings of hiroshima. Disarmament, nonproliferation, and the nuclear weaponsfree zones 10 1. Not all sites are well secured against terrorists or criminals and nuclear security is only as strong as the weakest link. Weapons of mass destruction that are powered by nuclear reaction.
A weapon of mass destruction powered by the fission of the nuclei of heavy atomse. Nuclear weapon definition, an explosive device whose destructive potential derives from the release of energy that accompanies the splitting or combining of atomic nuclei. When triggered, these devices release a huge amount of energy in the form of a nuclear explosion nuclear explosions can destroy a. In this handbook, the term warhead is used to mean both warheads and bombs, and the terms weapon and warhead are used interchangeably. In addition to this formation of lighter atoms, on average between 2. The vicious circle of proliferation started with todays staunchest nonproliferation exponent. Civil society proponents have argued that a prohibition on nuclear weaponseither as an individual or.
During the cold war, when it came to defining nuclear weapon states this. The treaty defines an nws as one that had manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to january 1, 1967, which limits membership to the united states, the former soviet union and. France china atmospheric 194563 194962 195258 196074 196480 215 219 21 50 23 underground 195192 196190 196291 196196 196996. Nuclear weapon article about nuclear weapon by the free. Nuclear weaponsscience tracer bulletlibrary of congress. Dolan the effects of nuclear weapons, third edition u. Nuclear weapons legal definition of nuclear weapons. Much of the nuclear jargon consists of words or phrases which are essentially descriptive terms whose meaning is generally agreed upon, but in fact do not have precise technical definitions in any military or civilian dictionaries. Use of nuclear weapons under international law 5 1. A nuclear weapon also called an atom bomb, nuke, atomic bomb, nuclear warhead, abomb, or nuclear bomb is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission fission bomb or from a combination of fission and fusion reactions thermonuclear bomb. National security and nuclear weapons in the 21 century.
Nuclear weapon definition and meaning collins english. A nuclear weapon is a highpowered explosive that uses nuclear energy, this includes the carrier vector, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarinelaunched ballistic missiles and part of the infrastructure involved in their handling and operation a nuclear bomb is an explosive device that uses the power of the reactions of atomic and subatomic. But the postcold war world is decidedly not postnuclear. February 23, 2007, uploadsisisreportsdocumentsdprkenrichment22feb. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy. All nuclear weapons rely on the energy released by an explosively growing fission chain reactiona process in which heavy nuclei split into lighter ones following absorption of free neutrons and, in splitting, release more neutrons that in turn induce more fissions, and so on. There are two types of nuclear weapons, atomic bombs and. Under the treaty, the possession of nuclear weapons is prohibited by all states, except for the nuclear weapon states nws. Nuclear weapon definition of nuclear weapon by medical. Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability of nuclear weapons.
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