Nuclear Warfare Pelletier
Nuclear weapon is a new kind of technology that gives us an unprecedented power over nature and humanity. The technological decisions regarding nuclear weapons will have a huge impact upon all nations around the world and even future generations. “Of all the unprecedented powers in our hands, none is potentially more destructive than nuclear weapons. For forty years we lived with the threat of a nuclear holocaust that could wipe out a large part of humanity and other forms of life” (Barbour, 200). This technology increases the power of one nation, or a small group of nations, over other nations and nature. Corruption, a shadow of power, lurks around the corner where power is present. With the advancement of nuclear weapons technology, the chances of a “master race” wanting to dominate the world is not far fetch. The possibility of a second Adolph Hitler is high, and this time the existence of humanity is at risk. We need to approach this area of technology with caution and with modesty because these devices have incredible destructive power. As the technology advances and the devices become more powerful, we need to become more careful to use them wisely or the extinction of the human race and other life forms are at stake.
When we talk about nuclear weapons technology, we need to talk about the Arms Race since World War II in order to be able to understand how this technology begins. The Arms Race is a continuous race among many nations to make and improve weapons in a struggle to maintain and/or gain power. The United States and the Soviet Union are two key players in this race. These two major nuclear weapons nations see one another as a reason and a justification for spending an enormous amount of money and resources on military expenditures. Two of the key reasons for the race amongst these two nations might be the irreconcilable differences between democratic capitalism and communism, and the competition for raw materials in third world countries. The intention for the nuclear weapons for the NATO forces in Europe is to counteract against the Soviet’s forces. The Soviet Union has the lead in Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). However, the United States counteract with the development and improvement in strategic weapons. Regional conflicts between neighboring nations become an incentive for research and development of nuclear weapons. Many nations develop nuclear weapons as a defense against neighboring weapon nations. The lobbying of military weapons has strongly promoted the funding of money and resources to develop new weapons systems. Another subtle factor of the Arms Race is the male dominance in the social and political scene. Male, whom often seek violence as a solution, is making most of the political, social, and military decisions. These are some of the reasons why the Arms Race started and continued.
What were the costs of the Arms Race? We can look at the cost of the race from the economic, social and environmental point of view.
With economic development, the money and resources going into the funding nuclear weapons generate no further wealth or income. Whereas, money invested in industrial equipment or agriculture development will generate further wealth and income for the nation. Global military expenditures accumulate to about $1 trillion dollars annually as of the end of 1980s. However, as funding for the development of nuclear weapons increases, other social funding is drastically cut. As military expenditures gain attention, the social aspect of one nation is being neglected. The last cost of the Arms Race is the violation of environmental values because toxic waste from military plants are damaging to the environment. The Arms Race violates many human and environmental values.
Nuclear weapons can be grouped into different classes based on their reactions, their destructive energy, and their detailed design. A variety of names are used for weapons that release energy through nuclear reactions – atomic bombs (A-bomb), hydrogen bombs (H-bomb), nuclear weapons, fission bombs, fusion bombs or thermonuclear weapons. Atomic bomb is the earliest name for such a weapon. Nuclear bombs involve the forces, strong and weak, that hold the nucleus of an atom together, especially atoms with unstable nuclei. An atom can release nuclear energy in two basic ways: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. In nuclear fission, the nucleus of an atom splits into two smaller fragments with a neutron. This method usually involves isotopes of uranium (uranium-235, uranium-233) or plutonium-239. In nuclear fusion, two small atoms, often hydrogen or hydrogen isotopes (deuterium, tritium), are brought together to form a larger atom (helium or helium isotopes). A special notice that the sun produces energy similar to the method of nuclear fusion. Sadly, to build an atomic bomb is not a hard task. The required elements are: a source of fissionable or fusionable fuel, a triggering device, and a way to allow the fuel to fission or fuse before the explosion occurs. There are two main types of bombs. We will look closely at each type.
First type of nuclear bombs is fission bombs. Fission bombs use elements like uranium-235 to create a nuclear explosion because of the physical process of radioactive decay and fission if uranium-235. U-235 is one of the few materials existed in the world that can undergo induced fission, making it useful for both of the production of nuclear-power and nuclear-bomb. A U-235 nucleus, after absorb a free neutron, becomes unstable and split. The nucleus splits into two smaller atoms immediately after it captures the free neutron and spits out two more three neutrons. The two new atoms then emit gamma radiation as they settle into their stable states. The U-235 atom absorbs free neutron without any hesitation thus the chance of a U-235 atom capturing a neutron as it passes by is very high. More than one neutron will be ejected from each fission causing a chain reaction of many other fission to occur in a bomb that is working properly. The process of absorbing and splitting occurs in the order of picoseconds, extremely quickly. The amount of energy being released, in form of heat and gamma radiation when the atom splits, is enormous. In a fission bomb, the fuel must be separated from the masses in order to prevent premature detonation. This is called subcritical masses. Critical mass is the minimum mass of fissionable materials required to have a fission reaction. Two or more of the subcritical mass have to be brought together in order to provide enough neutrons to sustain a reaction. Free neutrons must be introduced into the mass to start the fission. Neutrons are being introduced by making a neutron generator. This generator is being separated by foil within the fissionable fuel core. There are two types of fission bombs: gun-triggered, and implosion-triggered.
Gun-triggered fission bomb is the simplest way to bring the subcritical masses together by firing one mass into another with a gun. A small bullet of U-235 is placed at the end of a long tube with explosives, while a sphere of U-235 is placed at the other end. A barometric-pressure sensor determines the appropriate altitude for detonation. The explosive will fire the bullet down the tube. The bullet then strikes the sphere and the generator initiating a fission reaction. The reaction begins and the bomb explodes. “Little Boy” is the name of this type of bomb and has a 14.5-kiloton yield (equivalent to 14,500 tons of dynamite) with an efficiency of 1.5 percent.
Little Boy Specifications
Length: 10 feet 6 inches
Diameter: 29 inches
Weight: 9,700 lbs
Yield: 12.5 kilotons
Implosion-triggered fission bomb compresses the subcritical masses together into a sphere. The implosion device consisted of several subcritical masses of plutonium-239 surrounded by high explosives within a U-235 sphere. The explosive is being fired creating a shock wave. The shock wave then carries the plutonium pieces together into a sphere. The plutonium pieces hit the beryllium at the center. The fission reaction then begins and the bomb explodes. “Fat Man” is the name of this type of bomb, which has a 23-kiloton yield and 17 percent efficiency. These bombs explode in fractions of a second.
Fat Man Specifications
Length: 10 feet 8 inches
Diameter: 5 feet
Weight: 10,000 lbs
Yield: 22 kilotons
The second type of nuclear weapons is fusion bomb, which works but is not efficient. Fusion bombs are also called thermonuclear bomb have higher kiloton yield with greater percentage of efficiency than fission bomb. However, deuterium and tritium, the two required elements to fuel the fuse, are both gases and are hard to store. Tritium has a short half-life; therefore, the fuel in the bomb has to be replenished continuously. Deuterium or tritium has to be compressed at extremely high temperature in order to initiate a fusion reaction. By encasing a fission bomb within a fusion bomb, the X-rays given off by fission reaction provides the high temperature and pressure necessary to initiate a fusion bomb. So within a fusion bomb is a fission bomb and a cylinder of U-238. A fusion bomb is detonated in 600 billionth of a second with an explosion 700 times greater than a “Little Boy” explosion.
What are the effects of a nuclear explosion? A 20-megaton ground-burst nuclear detonation could have the following potential consequences. Within two-mile radius from ground zero, the point where the bomb goes off, a fireball would form within 1/1000th of a second. Temperature would rise to 20 million degrees Fahrenheit and everything will be vaporized. Within four-mile radius, a blast would produce pressures of 25 pounds per square inch and winds in excess of 650 miles per hour. These forces would rip everything apart, even reinforced concrete and steel structures. Even deep underground shelters would be crushed. Out to ten-mile radius, the heat would be intense enough to vaporize glass and metal. The pressure would be about 7 to 10 pounds per square inch and winds of 200 miles per hour. At a distance of sixteen miles from center, the temperature rises to about 1400 degrees Fahrenheit and would ignite all flammable materials. Within minutes after the bomb is exploded, millions people would die and millions would be fatally injured. Even those that survive the explosion will be exposed to a very high does of radiation would suffer from the central nervous system syndrome. They would develop convulsion and pass into a coma and die within days after the bomb. This is the potential effect of one 20-megaton warhead. See nuclear winter
The two main policies to “regulate” further development of nuclear weapons are the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is formally known as the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Underwater. This treaty bans all nuclear weapons tests except for those being conducted underground. The goal of this treaty is to decrease nuclear weapon testing. The Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed by sixty-two nations including the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union in agreement to stop obtaining and producing nuclear weapons. The treaty, originally, becomes effective in 1970 and remains for a 25-year period. However, in 1995 the treaty is being extended indefinitely with a consensus vote from 174 countries in New York. This treaty requires nations with nuclear weapons to toward arms control disarmament, and nations without nuclear weapons to refrain from obtaining them, and all nations to submit their nuclear energy programs for the UN to inspect.
There are many issues regarding nuclear weapons and its development. Problem arises when a large portion of tax money and GNP go to the funding of military expenditures, which generates no further wealth or income, when the fund can be put to better use in the development of education, housing and social welfare. Nuclear testing has many effects on human and the surrounding environment. There are many lawsuits arise from nuclear plants and testing around the world. A legal issue arises when worldwide laws are hard to implement and who should have the power to enforce the law. But all issues stop at the ethical issue of is it right to create such a destructive weapon that could bring the world to an end? Is it ethical to build a weapon that has the capability to wipe out humanity and many other life forms? Who give us that right to play God?
Many things and many people are at stake when we talk about nuclear weapons. All nations and governments throughout the world must make a wise and careful decision when it comes to the usage, the testing, and the development of nuclear weapons. All civilians’ lives are at stake. The toxic waste produced by nuclear weapons will affect the environment. Overall, all living and non-living things are directly affected by the decision regarding nuclear weapons.
There are several possible actions we can take regarding nuclear weapons technology. First possible action is to ban and eliminate all research and development of nuclear weapon, as well as nuclear testing throughout the world. The banning of all research and development of nuclear weapons seems impossible. The genie is already out of the bottle, it’s very hard to put it back into the bottle. Who will enforce this law? Who will have the power and the authority to carry out this law? If a nation break this law and continue to develop nuclear weapons, how can we stop that nation? Or what can we do to stop that nation. Also if we give the power to regulate to global organizations such as United Nation, this would require all countries to give up self-autonomy. Another possibility is to continue the production and the implementation of new nuclear weapons without any regulation and leave the decision to the individual government. If we foster the development of nuclear weapons, the world might come to an end before we know it. This means we will leave individual nations all the freedom to pursue one’s interest. Corruption comes with power. The Arms Race will begin all over and the unthinkable will have more chance to occur. Another possibility is we could let all research and development of nuclear weapons to continue with mutual agreement among nations to regulate and limit these developments. Which possibility is the most ethical one?
Out of the three possibilities, the last one is the most ethical of them all. With the help of global organization such as the United Nations, we can begin the disarmament of most of the nuclear warheads. We should also stop new productions of nuclear weapons. We cannot afford a war with these powerful weapons because the price of the war would be the extinction of humanity. All nations should focus more on foreign policy and foreign relation to reduce further tension between nations. Everything will work out through communication and understanding. Violence has never been a good solution to a problem. The bigger the fireworks, the bigger the show but who will be left after the show?
Work Cited
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