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Role of nuclear weapons in cold war essay
Nuclear warfare development
Role of nuclear weapons in cold war essay
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So the thought of United States of America having possession of nuclear war fare and having the ability to blow up our enemies use to be to a comforting thought. I believed that the other countries would be to terrified to mess with the United States because they would fear the all mighty nuclear bomb. I am sure that I am not the only person living on America soil who also held these beliefs. It never occurred to me prior to the class that the other countries also possessed nuclear power and the dangers that come along with such an influential destruction implement.
The atomic bomb was first used in cold war when two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945. This bomb was responsible for claiming thousands of lives and in turn caused Japan to surrender. This was the only time a nuclear bomb has been used during a war. However, since this incident there have been many races as to see who can build the biggest and ugliest bomb among nations. Each country now feels the need to be better prepared and have the meanest technology known to mankind. Each country wants to have the advantage even if means that there is the possibility of wiping out man.
There are eight independent states that have successfully detonated nuclear weapons. There are five known states to have nuclear power currently. They include the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France, and China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons). However, it is believed that there are many more countries with this power and it is just not know or they do not pose such a threat.
When one country begins to build nuclear bombs this automatically puts the other country at a disadvantage. So the other country then in turns has the desire to figure out this technology and begins to build its own nuclear bombs. By doing this dangers lurk and the potential of arm races begin to arise. Each country wants to outdo the other and have a bigger and dangerous way of gaining ultimate control. Nuclear power puts fate into man’s hands. At any given moment one country could wipe out another country by dropping a bomb. Although not all of the other countries have the ability to build a massive bomb because of the lack of money.
When you look at the cost it takes to build these bombs what a waste in my opinion.
In today’s society, many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and stated that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb. The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons.
The creation of the hydrogen bomb, moreover the summoning of an arms race, spawned worldwide desire for nuclear arms, and worldwide fear for those who had them; The effects of such can be seen in the economic and diplomatic benefits exhibited by those with enough stamina and vigilance to endure its costs, and in the extreme measures taken by countries, nominally the United States, to respond to the security threat posed when other countries owned the bomb. Furthermore: For those whose economy could afford it, nominally the U.S., USSR and India, economic and diplomatic benefits followed its creation; For the U.S., following the creation of the bomb by enemies were extreme defense tactics; For all the benefits and costs compelled a worldwide
In 1945, America terrified the world by using the Atom Bomb in Hiroshima and later in Nagasaki. This fear of the most powerful weapon ever created started a cold war between America and Russia. These two great nations had started the race for the super bomb, which would have each country trying to out do the other for decades to come.
We are told, "To love thy neighbour" and "To treat." our enemies, as we would want to be treated. " If you were to look at these commandments you would see that nuclear warfare could never be justified, and if you do provoke a nuclear war, you should be punished. That brings me into the second reason why countries retain nuclear weapons and that is a threat. It is a way of protecting your country, but you will protect yourself and retaliate if provoked.
After 1945 the US made thousand of atomic bombs and a wide range of small size nuclear weapons like, land mines, missiles, and grenades. By 1965 the larger countries of the world had also developed atomic weapons.
Atomic Bomb The use of the atomic bombs on Japan was necessary for the revenge of the Americans. These bombs took years to make due to a problematic equation. The impact of the bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people and the radiation is still killing people today. People today still wonder why the bombs were dropped. If these bombs weren’t dropped on the Japanese the history of the world would have been changed forever. The Atomic bomb took 6 years to develop (1939-1945) for scientists to work on a equation to make the U-235 into a bomb. The most complicated process in this was trying to produce enough uranium to sustain a chain reaction. The bombs used on the cities cost about $2 billion to develop, this also making the U.S. wanting to use them against Japan. “Hiroshima was a major military target and we have spent 2 billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history- and won.” (3) The bomb dropped on Hiroshima weighted 4.5 tons and the bomb used on Nagasaki weighted 10 kilotons. On July 16, 1945, the first ever atomic bomb was tested in the Jamez Mountains in Northern New Mexico, code named “Gadget.” The single weapon ultimately dropped on Hiroshima, nicknamed “Little Boy,” produced the amount of approximately twenty- thousand tons of TNT, which is roughly seven times greater than all of the bombs dropped by all the allies on all of Germany in 1942. The first Japanese City bomb was Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. An American B-29 bomber, named Enola Gay, flown by the pilot Paul W. Tibbets, dropped the “Little Boy” uranium atomic bomb. Three days later a second bomb named ”Fat Boy,” made of plutonium was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. After being released, it took approximately one minute for Little Boy to reach the point of explosion, which was about 2,000 feet. The impact of the bombs on the cities and people was massive. Black rain containing large amounts of nuclear fallout fell as much as 30km from the original blast site. A mushroom cloud rose to twenty thousand feet in the air, and sixty percent of the city was destroyed. The shock wave and its reverse effect reached speeds close to those of the speed of sound. The wind generated by the bombs destroyed most of the houses and buildings within a 1.
In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
The United States and Russia account for 93% of them”. This shows how nuclear weapons are a very big deal to countries and also it is terrifying to know how many nuclear weapons are ready to launch any second and cause a catastrophic event that could kill thousands of people. Nuclear power plants are an accomplice to all the weapons created by them. A nuclear bomb would cause massive destruction to the environment and would leave it radioactive for tens of thousands of years. Not to mention the thousands of people that would be killed by such explosion.
Also today is the danger that life is extinguished on earth through such a horrible weapon , not over. Many states are in possession of nuclear bombs , because that means for them power. Even dictatorships and unjust regime like China and North Korea have nuclear weapons.
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.
The Manhattan Project totaled to a cost of two billion dollars. They were able to create fission bombs that changed the look and destruction of war (Stimson). With Japan’s surrender, World War II was coming to an end. The emperor was looked down by a small groups but was later subdued. With this great power comes a great responsibility. An all out nuclear warfare could destroy humanity. To make sure a nuclear warfare doesn’t happen, treaties were made so no country would fire a nuclear weapon unless they wanted to strike first which would result in the start of a nuclear warfare. Now that most countries possess nuclear weapons, everyone must watch each other before another World War starts.
The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, “Trinity”, “Little Boy”, and “Fat Man”. “Trinity” was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. “Fat Man” was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construction and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
The nuclear age began before the Cold War. The United States was the first country to develop the nuclear weapons through the Manhattan Project during World War II against Axis power. The US ended the war by dropping nuclear bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Nuclear bombs are extremely powerful. It could destroy an entire city and kill tens of thousands of people. The only time nuclear weapons have been used in war was at the end of World War II against Japan. Although the Cold War was predicated