AmeliaStClair 3/26/13

Nuclear Warfare
a weapon that could end a war, as easily as it could trigger one -Chain Reaction

OnthesixthofAugust,1945,theworldasmanypeopleknewitchanged.Thebomb knownasLittleBoywasdroppedonthecityofHiroshima,Japan,butitwasnotanormal bombbyanystandards.Itwastheworldsfirstatomicbomb,anditsetoffanarmsracethe likesofwhichnoonehadeverimagined.Theconsequenceswouldbebothgoodandbad. Importantdiscoveriesweremadeintheadvancementofnotjustbombs,butalsoenergy. Vastnumbersmathematiciansoncecreated,scientistscouldnowbringtolife.Butwhile LittleBoymadeJapansurrendernooneexpectedtheaftereffectsthatwouldfollowit. 90,000deadwithinafewshortmonths.Aincreaseincancersforthepeoplewhosurvived that.Landdeserted,uninhabitableforthenextdecadeattheleast.Thatwasjustwhat Americacoulddobackthen.Now,68yearslater,avastmajorityofdevelopedcountriesare capableoffarmorethanthat.Whichiswhythequestionhaschanged.Insteadofasking Willtheybeabletohavethatpower?,theseparatecountriesoftheworldmustnowpuzzle overWilltheyusetheirpower?.Itsnotanicequestiontoask.Manywouldratherdeal withguns,andthechemicalwarfarethattheyhavecometolivewith.Butinaworldwhere thepersonwiththebiggestgunhasthemostcontrol,nucleararmsissomethingthatcannot beignored.Itwaswantedfortwomainreasons:security,andofcourse,power.In1949,the
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SovietUnioncreatedanuclearbomb,takingpowerforthemselves(becomingasuperpower forquitesometime)andendingthemonopolytheU.S.had,butatthesametimestartingthe armsracethatwouldlastforoverfortyyears.Startingwiththecoldwar,thecreationof enoughweaponstodecimatetheworldahundredtimesoverbegain.Withtheendofthe coldwar,theworldturnedablindeyetonuclearweapons,buttheraceneverstopped.The worldwasgivenatwoedgedsword.Whatcoulddoomhumanity,orallowittocontinue.But perhapsiftheworldactsright,orcanbecomeanand.Whilenucleararmsshouldbe controlledatagreaterextentthanitcurrentlyis,itshouldalsobelookedatinabetterview, aviewforthefutureoftomorrow.

A Threat to take seriously Originally,most(savethecreators),lovedtheideaoftheatomicbomb,andthe nuclearage.Now,withthethreatofanuclearwarcloserthanever,manypausetowonderif itwassuchagoodidea.WiththeColdWar,nucleararmsadvancedtoalevelunseenbythe majorityoftheworld.Amidit,cametheresearchdocumentingtherealconsequencesof thebombs.WhenthefirstbombsweredroppedonHiroshimaandNagasaki,itwasatest. Noone,noteventhescientistswhocreatedit,fullyknewwhatwouldhappen.Now,almost 68yearslater,weknowtheseverityofwhattookplace,enoughtobemoreafraidofitthen asimple,almostcommonplacebomb.Bothkillbutsomekillmoregenerouslythanothers. Itturnedthemonsterhidingunderourbedsintosomethingimaginablesomethingwehad

createdourselves.Yetitdoesntneedmuchspacetohide.Referringtothetable,atomic weaponsstockpileshavedecreasedsignificantlysincetheendofthecoldwar,nevertheless, theproblemisntthefactthatthenumbersaredropping,butwhytheyaredropping.The reasonissimple.Withtheadvancementsinnuclearresearchthatcamefromboththecold warandafterit,countrieshavelearnedhowtoputthepowerandpotentialoffiftybombsin one.Theydontneedasmuchtodothenecessarydamage.Andthesmallertheyget,the easieritistohidethem.Andwebecometheelephantswhocantstandthesightofalittle mouse.Becauseweconstructeditweknowwhatitcando.Butweliveinaworldthathas protestsoveranimalrights,wecantjustpretendthatthethreatofnuclearwarfareand annihilationdoesntexist.Sohumansgetcrafty,andmakeupanotheruseforthetable shownbelow.Foranyonesimplylookingatthetable,itappearsasifthethreatissimple goingaway.Sothefeardecreasesbecauseoflies.Butinaworldasuncertainasthis,where anyonecoulddiefromanything,perhapsitisbestformost,savetheexperts,tobelievethe liesfornow.Panicwouldonlyhurttheeffortstopreventtheusageoftheseweapons,and preventioniswhateveryoneshouldbeworkingfor.

Egos of the world Asstatedbefore,theUnitedStatesnolongerhasamonopolyonnuclearresearch. AfterRussia,Chinadevelopednuclearweapons,followedbytheUK,France,India, Pakistan,Iran,andNorthKorea,foratotalofeightcountrieswiththepowertodestroythe world.Ofcourse,therehasbeenmanytriestoinitiateastoponthecreation,testing,and spreadofnuclearweapons.TheNuclearNonProliferationtreatyisonesuchexample.The treatycametogetherinthelate1960s,withthesameideaaboutnuclearweaponsas Americasideaofwhattodoaboutcommunism:containment.Itstatedthatatthetime,the fiveacknowledgednuclearweaponstates(theUnitedStates,RussianFederation,United Kingdom,France,andChina)[cannot]transfernuclearweapons,othernuclearexplosive devices,ortheirtechnologytoanynonnuclearweaponstateandthattheyarealso obligatedtopursuenegotiationsingoodfaithoneffectivemeasuresrelatingtocessation ofthenucleararmsraceatanearlydateandtonucleardisarmament,andonatreatyon

generalandcompletedisarmamentunderstrictandeffectiveinternationalcontrol.The treatywouldbegreat,ifitworkedtoitsfullpotential.Wherethetreatydoesworkincertain cases,itisntwithoutitsflaws.NorthKoreawithdrewfromthetreatyin2003,andIsrael, India,andPakistanhaveneversignedthetreaty.Wellthetreatyisastepintheright direction,itfailstoworkifeveryoneplaysbydifferentrules.Withtheworldthewayitis, thegameofwarhaschangeddrastically.Ithasturnedintoagamewhereeveryonewillkill tohidetheircards.Agameofdoublestandardswheretheyshouldntbutweshould.Itsa dangerousgame,and fueledbythethreatofretaliation,eachcountrylivesunderthefearofanuclearstrike.The reactionbythemajorityofthosecountriesmakethesamechoice,tousedeterrence. Thereisavarietyofreasonsthattheychoosedeterrence:

Becausenuclearweaponscontinuetoexist,thereisthepermanentdanger
ofcatastrophe,andthesystemmightproducecatastropheratherthanstalemate.

Thesystemrequiresthatnuclearpowersregardeachotheraspossible
enemies,keepingcalculatingmilitarybalancesagainsteachother,andwatchingnervously forsignsthatothershavefoundwaystobreakthestalemateintheirfavorandengagein nuclearblackmail,orevenanattack. While,theorectically[sic],deterrencecouldbemaintainedbyonlyafew nuclearweapons,thekindofsuspicionanduncertaintythatexiststendstodrivenuclear powerstoheavyexpendituresinordertoincreaseorimprovetheirarsenals.This,inturn, reinforcesmutualsuspicion. Forallthesereasons,deterrencecannotbeassuredsimplybypossessingafewnuclearweapons. Theweaponsalsohavetobeeffectiveagainstanagressor's[sic]rangeofcountermeasures.Sucha situationcreatesanarmscompetitionthatwouldbeexpensiveatbestand,attheworst,mightproduce tensionsanduncertaintiesthatcouldleadanuclearpowertobelievethatattackingwastheonlywayto avertorminimizeanattackonitself.

Theideaisbasically,theywontattackusifwehavemorethenthemandcouldhurtthem
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morethantheycouldus.Again,referringtothetable,eventhoughthenumbersare dropping,itonlyappearsthatnuclearweaponsaredecreasingwheninreality,theresearch isincreasing,theplayersinourgameareincreasing,andalongwithitthesizeofwhatcan killusistheonlythingdecreasing. Thegamethattheegosoftheworldcreatedandareplayingnow,isagamewhere therewillalwaysbealoser.Onlyifwechangetherulesandeveryonestickstothemcanwe hopetohaveawinner,oranendatall.

The future of Tomorrow

Thereisonepowerbesidesthesuperpowersthathasntbeenconsidered:energy. Alongwiththeresearchduringthecoldwaronnuclearweapons,theprospectformaking poweroutofthevastenergythatcamefromtheelementsusedintheweapons(plutonium, uranium,exc.)wasdiscovered.Itsrathersimple:theatomsgothroughfission,whichheats upwater,thatcanthenbechangedintopowertofuelalightbulb,orinothercases,acity. Nuclearpowercaneasilybeattained,ispossiblythemostenvironmentallyfriendlyoutof alltheotheralternatives,andtypicallyrequirelessspacetodoso.Outofalltheoptions, nuclearenergyshouldbewidelyconsideredasthebestforsupplyingtheworld. Butitsnotaperfectworld.In2011,afteranearthquakeinJapanthatcauseda fifteenmetertsunami,threenuclearreactorspowersuppliesandcoolingsystemswere disabled,andthethreereactorsexperiencedmeltdowns.Noonediedfromthemeltdowns,

butitcamewithhighradioactivereleasesintothepropertiesandtheirsurroundings,which leadtotheevacuationsofhundreds.Theimpactontherestoftheworld,wasalotlikewhat happenedinChernobyl.Nuclearenergywaslookedatinthesamewayasnuclearweapons: dangerous. Although,whenyoulookattheotheroptionsforenergy,dangerousisnttheword youwoulduse.Whenmostoftheworldhastheireyesonthemiddleeastforthevery reasonthatstearingthemiddleeastapart.Thewarforfuelhaskilledmorethannuclear weaponsbutbecauseweassociateitwithnuclearweapons,wedratherfightawarwith weaponsanddeathswearecomfortablewith.Yetitseemsthattheverywaronfueliswhat couldleadustousingthoseweapons.Andifthathappens,thenwewontreallyneedto worryaboutfuelmuch.Soreally,nuclearenergydoesntsoundsobadnow.Itseemsmore likethefuturehiddenwherewefoundourdestruction.Ofcourse,onlyifwegiveita chance.

Destruction and a future WhentheatomicbombdroppedonHiroshima,theentireworldchanged.Thecold warwasbroughton,andwithittheadvancementsthatbroughtonourfuture.Different countriesstockeduptheirnewweapons,andinvestedintoscience,andthefuture,although thatistheverythingtheirshinyunusedbombscouldtakeaway.Buttheirbombshelda secrettopoweringtheworld,andmaybeifthepowerendsupintherighthandsitwillbe

usedthewayitshould.Yetperfectworldsdontcomebyoften,sostricterregulationson atomicweaponsandmoreacceptanceofatomicenergyshouldbeputinplace,toallowthe worldtokeepmovingtowardsitsfuture.

The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five. Carl Sagan

Works Cited: .InventionandDiscovery:AtomicBombsandFission.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Med/Discfiss.html>. History of atomic bombs and fission in a short timeline. Fast read. .NuclearWarfare.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/nuclear_warfare.html>. The countermeasures of nuclear warfare. Nuclear deterrence quote, mentions nuclear terrorism. Talks about how to control the nuclear forces that are spread out around the world. .TheThreatofNuclearWarfare.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://www.33minutes.com/33minutes/nuclearwarfare.htm>. Short article talking about the threat of nuclear warfare. Not as helpful as other pieces. .NuclearWeapons:WhatShouldOurPolicyBe?.N.p..Web.26March2013.

<http://www.choices.edu/resources/documents/nukes_options_001.pdf>. PDF on the options America has regarding their policies on nuclear weapons. .HiroshimaandNagasaki:TheLongTermHealthEffects.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://k1project.org/weapons/hiroshimaandnagasakithelongtermhealtheffects/>. Documentation of the long and short term effects on Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the 1945 bombings. Mentions the effect of radiation on causing multiple types of cancers.

ChainReaction.K1Project,Film.26March2013. <http://k1project.org/documentaries/chainreaction/>. Short film on the history and the consequences of nuclear warfare. .NuclearWeapons:WhoHasWhatataGlance.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat>. Short piece documenting the countries of the world that have access to nuclear weapons. .TreatyontheNonProliferationofNuclearWeapons[NPT].N.p..Web.26March 2013.<http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/npt/>. Extensive information on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. Helpful links to primary documents. .AdvancesinNuclearPowerTechnology.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://www.ctcase.org/reports/nuclear/nuclear_power_2011.pdf Study by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering on the prospect of nuclear reactors for energy. 230 pages. .WhatisNuclearEnergy?.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/Community/WhatIsNuclearEnergy.shtm>. Nuclear power introduction. Helpful diagrams.
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 .FukushimaAccident2011.N.p..Web.26March2013. <http://www.worldnuclear.org/info/SafetyandSecurity/SafetyofPlants/FukushimaAccident 2011/ Web Page detailing the events that came to place in Japan during and after the problems that arose with the nuclear power plants.

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