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Nuclear Weapons
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Published: September 19, 2006
The timeline of nuclear discovery goes as far back as 500 B.C. During that period, Leucippus and Democritus theorized atoms and void. Then, in 1704, Sir Isaac Newton proposed "a mechanical universe with small solid masses in motion." In the 1940s, the Manhattan Project began; the nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped as well as more nuclear testing in the Pacific.
There was also the Chernobyl (1986) and Three Mile Island (1979) nuclear accidents.
Atomic bombs have existed since 1945 with the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki, Japan and "Little Boy" over Hiroshima. Fat Man was an implosion-triggered fission bomb; Little Boy was a gun-triggered fission bomb. Nuclear fission uses uranium-235, uranium-233 or plutonium-239. Nuclear fusion is how the sun produces energy. Two smaller atoms, hydrogen or hydrogen isotopes for instance, are brought together to form a larger atom.
Three things are needed to make an atomic bomb: "a source of fissionable or fusionable material, a triggering device, and a way to allow the majority of fuel to fission or fuse before the explosion occurs."
After the bomb is detonated over the target area, the center of the area is known as "ground zero." The closer to the center of ground zero, the more severe the damage. Damage from nuclear weapons is caused by four occurrences: intense heat, pressure from the blast, radioactive fallout and radiation. The fallout is defined as "clouds of fine radioactive particles of dust and bomb debris that fall back to the ground." Radiation is "energy traveling in the form of particles or waves in bundles of energy called photons." Basically "energy in transit."
After the bomb tests in Japan in 1945, the survivors were studied to find out the resulting health conditions of survivors. Their conditions included: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cataracts, hair loss, and loss of blood cells in the body. These conditions resulted in a risk of birth defects or infertility when attempting to produce offspring, or an increased risk of cancer.
The worldwide environmental organization Greenpeace is asking supporters to call for the end of nuclear energy. On their website, Greenpeace states that nuclear energy "is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity." They are calling for existing nuclear plants to shutdown and to stop the expansion of all nuclear power. Furthermore, Greenpeace states that renewable energy is better than nuclear energy in that it delivers more energy globally than nuclear energy. Renewable energy will also emit less greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the amount of nuclear weapons materials, and reduce the likelihood of another power plant incident like Chernobyl or Three-Mile Island.
The current trend of nuclear proliferation seems to be at an elevated, if not constant state. A February 2002 report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences said that the hands of the infamous Doomsday Clock were moved from nine to seven minutes before midnight. This means that we are moving closer towards "nuclear danger."
Although the Atomic Sciences' report mentions a weapons threat from the Middle East, particularly with a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb from Al Qaeda, the biggest threat of nuclear weapons (outside of the United States having weapons) is from Russia. The report states that the United States and Russia hold 95% of nuclear weapons.
A year later, the Center for Defense Information (CDI) agreed with the findings of the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences. The CDI's report specified North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In a January 2003 fact sheet, the CDI said "(O)n Oct. 16, 2002, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush disclosed that North Korea had admitted to having a program to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons." As a result, North Korea revoked their 1994 Agreed Framework deal with the U.S.
Two months later, "North Korea announced it would restart plutonium production and eject the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors who monitored North Korea's compliance with the Agreed Framework." With that, North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Finally, the CDI report stated that North Korea was working on both uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing for the purpose of producing fuel for nuclear warheads.
"Nuclear." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. September 18, 2006.
dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=nuclear&a mp;x=0&y=0.
Freudenrich, Craig C. "How Nuclear Bombs Work." How Stuff Works. 2006. HowStuffWorks, Inc. September 18, 2006.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb.ht m
Radiation Information Network. "Radiation and Radioactivity." Idaho State University, Physics Department. September 18, 2006.
http://physics.isu.edu/radinf/rads&rads.htm< br />
Timeline of the Nuclear Age. Nuclearfiles.org. 2006. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. September 18, 2006.
http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/timeline/flash_ index.htm
Greenpeace. "End the nuclear age." Greenpeace International. September 18, 2006. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/ nuclear
Board of Directors. "It's seven minutes to midnight." Bulletin of Atomic Sciences. February 27, 2002. Bulletin of Atomic Sciences: March/ April 2002 edition.
September 19, 2006. http://www.thebulletin.org/doomsday_clock/current_ time.htm
Friedman, Benjamin-Independent Analyst. "Fact Sheet: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program." Center for Defense Information. January 23, 2003. Center for Defense Information. September 19, 2006. http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/nk-fact-sheet.cfm
Atomic bombs have existed since 1945 with the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki, Japan and "Little Boy" over Hiroshima. Fat Man was an implosion-triggered fission bomb; Little Boy was a gun-triggered fission bomb. Nuclear fission uses uranium-235, uranium-233 or plutonium-239. Nuclear fusion is how the sun produces energy. Two smaller atoms, hydrogen or hydrogen isotopes for instance, are brought together to form a larger atom.
Three things are needed to make an atomic bomb: "a source of fissionable or fusionable material, a triggering device, and a way to allow the majority of fuel to fission or fuse before the explosion occurs."
After the bomb is detonated over the target area, the center of the area is known as "ground zero." The closer to the center of ground zero, the more severe the damage. Damage from nuclear weapons is caused by four occurrences: intense heat, pressure from the blast, radioactive fallout and radiation. The fallout is defined as "clouds of fine radioactive particles of dust and bomb debris that fall back to the ground." Radiation is "energy traveling in the form of particles or waves in bundles of energy called photons." Basically "energy in transit."
After the bomb tests in Japan in 1945, the survivors were studied to find out the resulting health conditions of survivors. Their conditions included: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cataracts, hair loss, and loss of blood cells in the body. These conditions resulted in a risk of birth defects or infertility when attempting to produce offspring, or an increased risk of cancer.
The worldwide environmental organization Greenpeace is asking supporters to call for the end of nuclear energy. On their website, Greenpeace states that nuclear energy "is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity." They are calling for existing nuclear plants to shutdown and to stop the expansion of all nuclear power. Furthermore, Greenpeace states that renewable energy is better than nuclear energy in that it delivers more energy globally than nuclear energy. Renewable energy will also emit less greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the amount of nuclear weapons materials, and reduce the likelihood of another power plant incident like Chernobyl or Three-Mile Island.
The current trend of nuclear proliferation seems to be at an elevated, if not constant state. A February 2002 report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences said that the hands of the infamous Doomsday Clock were moved from nine to seven minutes before midnight. This means that we are moving closer towards "nuclear danger."
Although the Atomic Sciences' report mentions a weapons threat from the Middle East, particularly with a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb from Al Qaeda, the biggest threat of nuclear weapons (outside of the United States having weapons) is from Russia. The report states that the United States and Russia hold 95% of nuclear weapons.
A year later, the Center for Defense Information (CDI) agreed with the findings of the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences. The CDI's report specified North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In a January 2003 fact sheet, the CDI said "(O)n Oct. 16, 2002, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush disclosed that North Korea had admitted to having a program to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons." As a result, North Korea revoked their 1994 Agreed Framework deal with the U.S.
Two months later, "North Korea announced it would restart plutonium production and eject the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors who monitored North Korea's compliance with the Agreed Framework." With that, North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Finally, the CDI report stated that North Korea was working on both uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing for the purpose of producing fuel for nuclear warheads.
"Nuclear." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. September 18, 2006.
dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=nuclear&a mp;x=0&y=0.
Freudenrich, Craig C. "How Nuclear Bombs Work." How Stuff Works. 2006. HowStuffWorks, Inc. September 18, 2006.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb.ht m
Radiation Information Network. "Radiation and Radioactivity." Idaho State University, Physics Department. September 18, 2006.
http://physics.isu.edu/radinf/rads&rads.htm< br />
Timeline of the Nuclear Age. Nuclearfiles.org. 2006. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. September 18, 2006.
http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/timeline/flash_ index.htm
Greenpeace. "End the nuclear age." Greenpeace International. September 18, 2006. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/ nuclear
Board of Directors. "It's seven minutes to midnight." Bulletin of Atomic Sciences. February 27, 2002. Bulletin of Atomic Sciences: March/ April 2002 edition.
September 19, 2006. http://www.thebulletin.org/doomsday_clock/current_ time.htm
Friedman, Benjamin-Independent Analyst. "Fact Sheet: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program." Center for Defense Information. January 23, 2003. Center for Defense Information. September 19, 2006. http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/nk-fact-sheet.cfm
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