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What was the significance of the Cold War arms race
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Throughout the entirety of the twentieth century, the most disputed topic of discussion has perhaps been that of nuclear weapons. Some people argue these weapons of mass destruction are vital to the survival of order and decency in the world, while others contend that nuclear weapons will bring an end to civilization as we now know it. Regardless of both of these arguments, there are two things that just about nobody can deny – nuclear weapons are extremely expensive and enormously destructive. The first thing to know about nuclear weapons is exactly how much money they have cost the United States? Since the first government supported work on nuclear weapons began in 1940, the United States has spent approximately $4 trillion on its nuclear arsenal as of 1995. This figure is roughly 3 times what the United States spent on World War II. It should also be mentioned that with overhead costs required to develop, produce, deploy, operate, support, and control these weapons, the total would come to approximately an extra $500 billion to $1 trillion dollars once all known costs are documented. Since the conclusion of World War II in 1945, nuclear weapons have been held accountable for the consumption of one quarter to one third of the United States’ military budget. Currently, the figures are a bit more gentle on the United States’ annual budget but still astronomical in its own right. Annually, the United States spends at least $33 billion on nuclear weapons and weapon-related activities, which is equivalent to about 13 percent of all military spending. Of this $33 billion, $8 billion is spent annually on nuclear waste management, environmental remediation, weapons dismantling, and disposition activities. The majo... ... middle of paper ... ...o referred to as an “enhanced radiation weapon.” This bomb is in the 1 to 10 kiloton range minus the outer casing of uranium. The neutron bomb emits a spray of neutrons that is lethal for a distance of a few hundred meters. Unlike x-rays discharged from conventional nuclear bombs, the neutrons penetrate a considerable thickness as in steel and concrete (RC p. 56-64). These particular bombs are designed for battlefield use, not cities. The blast this bomb produces is equivalent to about half of a regular nuclear blast, yet still potent. Bibliography - Clough, Richard. The Dawn of Nuclear Development. Albuquerque: Academia - El Norte, 1994. - Tompkins, Harry. Effects and Costs of the Nuclear Research Project. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. - Voss, Milton. The Aftermath of a Nuclear Blast. Boston: Houghton, 1993.
In today’s society many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get in involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and state 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.
Although nuclear technology can be used for good, it can also be used for destruction. One example of this was the bombing of 2 Japanese cities using the a...
The United States is currently spending $35 Billion a year; which is 14% of the defense budget, or it is $96 million a day, because of the nuclear efforts of which about $25 million goes for operation and maintenance for the nuclear arsenal. The rest of the money is spent on cleanup, arms control verification, and ballistic missile research, which all of that, just adds to the cost greatly. President Obama revealed a budget that includes more than $220 million in cuts for nuclear security programs in the next fiscal year. One of the largest reductions is going to come to the International Material Protection and Cooperation program, and which it works to secure and eliminate the vulnerable nuclear weapons and materials. President Obama asked for $ 3.5 million or $114 million less than was appropriated in the 2014 budget. President Obama has also requested $108 million less than was appropriated last year for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative; this is a program that actually plays a key part in the “Energy Department’s effort at preventing terrorist from obtaining nuclear and radiological materials that could be used in weapons of mass destruction” (Silverberg). Should the U.S. Congress amend the D.O.D. Appropriations Act of 2015 to eliminate funding for nuclear weapons production?
Together with the Soviet Union we have made the crucial breakthroughs that have begun the process of limiting nuclear arms. But we must set as our goal not just limiting but reducing and finally destroying these terrible weapons so that they cannot destroy civilization and so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people.
agree with them on, it is this. The construction of nuclear weapons is expensive and since
Protecting the United States from Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction through the National Missile Defense Program
The continuous spread of nuclear technology and nuclear weapons is a threat for national security and the safety of the entire planet. The inextricable link between nuclear energy and nuclear power is arguably the greatest danger of nuclear power. The same low-enriched uranium that is processed in a nuclear power plant is the same uranium used to make nuclear weapons. Nuclear power plants are the contributors to these mass destruction weapon capable of wiping out the human race. An article published by the World Nuclear Stockpile Report says, “ Nine countries in the world posses a total of 15,375 nuclear weapons.
Nuclear Arms, as opposed to conventional arms, generate their destructive force from nuclear reactions. The issues that are related to the use of nuclear weapons is also far different than the issues generated by conventional bombs. The long term
To detonate one of these bombs, enough mass of plutonium or uranium must be provided to reach what is known as "critical mass." Critical mass is the mass at which the nuclear reactions going on inside the material can make up for the neutrons that are leaving the material through its outside surface. These materials are usually separated within the bomb so that critical mass cannot be reached until the bomb is ready to explode. Once the chemical reactions within the bomb begin, the neutrons released by each reaction hit other atoms and create more fission reactions until all the material is scattered, or completely exhausted. This process releases enormous amounts of energy in the form of extreme heat and a massive shock wave. These nuclear explosions, in addition to their pressure waves, high winds, and flash burns, produce deadly radiation that contaminates soil and water, and destroyed living matter.
(D) any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life.”
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 has created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces were 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 come 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.
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.
In 1945, when the Americans bombed Hiroshima, Japan, approximately 140,000 men and women were instantly killed by the effects of American nuclear defense. With such extreme brutality and force how many people must die for one to finally realize the strengths of nuclear bombs and what damage they can cause. Nuclear weapons should be outlawed because they kill thousands of innocent humans at a time, destroy the environment, and inviolate human’s right to moral and personal freedoms.
The use of nuclear energy has increased in the United States since 1973. Nuclear energy's share of U.S. electricity generation has grown from 4 percent in 1973 to 19 percent in 1998. This is excellent news for the environment. Nuclear energy and hydropower are the cleanest large-scale means of electricity production. Since nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, they emit no combustion byproducts—like carbon dioxide—into the atmosphere (www.nei.org). Nuclear power can come from the fission of Uranium, plutonium or thorium or the fusion of hydrogen into helium. Today uranium (U-235 and U-238) is most commonly used in the production of nuclear energy. The expa...
The first won is they are extremely expensive to make, an estimated 150-640 billion dollars is needed to cover overall cost of maintaining The United States nuclear arsenal. Another negative is a nuclear bomb would never be used by a major power but could be used by accident by someone else. Some countries, such as North Korea, might use them in a moment of panic, or in response to a imagined threat or insult, or in a fit of religious hysteria. Nuclear states set a bad example for the rest of the world and they could kill us all. So say a Nuclear warhead was to go off and destroy some land, there would be tons of casualties both immediately and for long periods of time afterwards, but a detonation of a nuclear warhead is horrible for an environment. The detention would case whats called a “nuclear winter”, which is when a atomic bomb goes off and the smoke from the smoldering city would be so dense that it would block the sun, making it cold, dark, and dry at Earths surface killing all plants and preventing agriculture for at least a year. The smoke would last for more than a decade. As President Obama said in Prague four years ago, "The existence of thousands of nuclear weapons is the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War. ... In a strange turn of history, the threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up. More nations have acquired these weapons. ... As