Nuclear weapons have had a huge impact on society of the twentieth century. The people, important dates, and important information regarding the consequences of nuclear testing and its effects are outlined in this web page.

Quote from Dr. Strangelove

"Doomsday Machine"

---

Contents

Chernobyl

Laws

People

Testing

Timeline

Glossary

Bibliography

          

Quote from the movie Atomic Cafe:

"Scary"

Hear this clip (format, nnK)
 

---

Introduction
 
            Nuclear weapons have had a tremendous effect on society of the twentieth century.  From their introduction in the 1940's to the regulations of the 1990's, the the threat of nuclear war has always been present, but has yet to occur.  The invention of nuclear weapons led to their testing, which led to accidents, some aptly called disasters.  Chernobyl, however was the first event that caused Americans to see the consequences of nuclear fallout from nuclear power plants.  This accident is chronicled in the following report.  Following that, one can delve deeper into the laws thus created as a result of some accidents.  Then, people who have had impact on nuclear issues are highlighted.  Most of these people were responsible for the development and testing of nuclear weapons, so the next issue this page raises is that of nuclear testing.  A timeline pinpointing important dates regarding nuclear weaponry is next, followed by an extensive glossary of many important nuclear weapon terms.
 

---

Back to Contents for this page

Chernobyl

    CHERNOBYL, THE NUCLEAR DISASTER OF THE CENTURY

    April 26, 1986 saw the most unreported nuclear disaster in history. The Soviets certainly did a good job in keeping the catastrophe at the Chernobyl Power Plant a secret. However, since the break up of the Soviet Union, extensive reports about the accident have been released. Chernobyl is a small town in the Ukraine republic.
    The power plant there used to house four reactors. It supplied power to the towns and cities within the region. On April 26, 1986 an unexpected event happened. Unit four exploded spewing out at least eight tons of radioactive poison, which is about "200 times more radioactivity than was released at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Nation 16)." The radiation effected an area or radius of 30 kilometers from the exploded core. Nearly 400,000 residents live within this sector.
    Last year was the tenth anniversary of the disaster. Today scientists have reflected back on what really went wrong that day. Many claimed that it was caused by a combination of bad engineering and operator error. The accident occurred when there was a test to see if the reactor number four could be used to power the reactor's cooling system. As power was reduced, the reactor became unstable with uneven heating throughout its pressure tubes. In an attempt to stabilize the reactor, the operators hooked up additional water pumps. When they decreased the rate of water flow through the reactor and under high power settings, it led to intense steam formation. The fuel in the reactor also overheated leading to a massive steam explosion destroying the plant.
    In addition to the explosion, about 3.5% of the radioactive material in the reactor were released. The area around the Chernobyl plant was declared a disaster area. The plant was completely fenced off 30 kilometers from the core. Vegetation and wildlife were exposed to harmful amounts of radiation. Animals that were exposed directly died within a week. Others were expected to die within a year to five years. The citizens that chose to stay within that zone were destined to die within a few years as a result of different forms of cancer.
    As of 1996, the massive sarcophagus (tomb), which was used to contain the melted core has developed cracks and is leaking radioactive waste. This contaminated spillage has reached the Dnepr River, which feeds into the Black Sea: a reservoir supplying much of the Ukraine drinking water. The fallout from Chernobyl was felt from one continent to the other. The radioactive cloud containing mostly iodine and cesium had spread over Belarus, Western Europe, Britian, Scandinavia, even to California. Numerous cases of thyroid cancer were reported soon after the Chernobyl cloud passed over Connecticut, Iowa, and Utah. The thyroid gland in children under the age of five is very sensitive to radioactive iodine. During that year, a University of Pittsburgh, Serindah, reported a 13% increase in the infant mortality rate nationwide during the summer (Nation 19). "Research and Development Institute of Power, which designed Chernobyl, estimated that the accident would cost the government as much as $358 billion…(Nation 19).
    The major costs include containment, capital investment, electricity and food production, contaminated farmland, clean up, evacuation, and auxiliary costs. A stronger tomb suggested to replace the leaking one would be priced in the millions of dollars. As one can see, the costs are enormous, therefore the Ukrainian government alone can not cover them all. As a result, numerous charitable organizations have been established to receive donations. The International Relief Fund of Russia has also been set up to help victims who were contaminated by nuclear fallout including the people that were affected by the Chernobyl tragedy.
    The impact of the Chernobyl accident was a major setback to the nuclear industry. Some countries stopped national nuclear energy programs. Others were expected to close before the turn of the century. The construction of new plants in Russia was halted as a result of public opinion against nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy is still a more efficient source of energy than fossil fuels. However, developers need to pay closer attention to the safety of nuclear power rather than just to its rewards. Once this idea has been established the world can lessen its chances of reliving another Chernobyl.
 

---

Back to Contents for this page

Laws

NUCLEAR LAWS

     Nuclear energy can be used in a wide variety of fields. Along with the presence of nuclear energy is the threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear war. The legal order and framework for the atom's safe and peaceful uses is outlined in numerous agreements and treaties involving countries all across the globe. These treaties evolved from World War II and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Since then, we have seen hundreds of other nations join in the fight to ensure safety and prevent nuclear war.
     The splitting of the atom is one of the greatest feats known to man. The consequences of nuclear power can carry the greatest danger as well. Since the materials, knowledge, and expertise required to produce nuclear weapons are extremely similar to those needed to produce nuclear power and nuclear research, the international community has made strict guidelines to ensure that nuclear energy is used safely and peacefully. The primary organization behind these guidelines is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The International Law regulates in two major categories: Safety and Peace.
 
    Some of the areas regarding the safe use of nuclear energy are:
 
            -Safety of nuclear power plants
            -Notification of a nuclear accident and emergency assistance
            -Radioactive waste management
            -Transportation of radioactive materials
            -Civil liability for nuclear damage
            -Physical protection of nuclear material
 
    The peaceful use of nuclear energy is more complex. It has been emphasized in numerous non-proliferation conventions and encouraged in agreements and treaties. Some treaties apply to all countries; some are agreements between certain nations, while others pertain to non-nuclear weapon states. One of the primary worldwide treaties is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The objectives of this treaty are to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and their technology, to encourage peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of completed disarmament. The treaty was open for signatures on July 1, 1968, with Ireland becoming the first non-nuclear Weapon State. Since then, nearly two hundred countries have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Depositary Governments, United States, United Kingdom, Russian Federation, China, and France are the nuclear weapon states remaining.
 
    Some primary treaties and agreements are:
 
    Requirements applicable to all states:
            -The Arctic Treaty
            -Limited Test Ban Treaty (the treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the     atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.
            -Incidents at Sea Agreement
            -Outer Space Treaty (the treaty on principles to govern the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies.
            -Seabed Arms Control Treaty (the treaty on the prohibition of the emplacement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction on the seabed and the ocean floor and the subsoil)
            -Open Skies Treaty

    Other treaties and agreements:
 
                -Anti-Ballistic Missile Protocol
                -Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
                -Ballistic Missile Launch Notification
                -Biological Weapons Prevention
                -Chemical Weapons Convention
                -Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
                -Hot Line Agreement
                -Hot Line Expansion Agreement
                -Hot Line Modernization Agreement
                -Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I)
                -Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II)
                -Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I)
                -Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II)
                -Threshold Test Ban Treaty

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has created four categories of safeguards in order to make sure that each state is using nuclear energy safely and peacefully. The four categories (three regard non-nuclear weapon states, one pertains to the five nuclear weapon states) serve different functions, however they all have these three things in common: 1) material accounting, 2) containment and surveillance, 3) and on-site inspection. The accounting is a census of the number of nuclear material present within a certain area. Containment and surveillance is used to restrict or control the transportation of nuclear material and detect and undeclared movement of such. The on-site inspection varies depending on the facility, and the depth or intensity is determined in the agreement. The purpose of these inspections is to verify the information laid out by the IAEA. The development of nuclear law by the IAEA continues to grow and strengthen each year through new treaties and agreements, while these safeguards monitor and ensure that each state operates in accordance to the treaties.
 

---

Back to Contents for this page

People

NUCLEAR WEAPONS: IMPORTANT PEOPLE

 

Luis Walter Alvarez

    Luis Walter Alvarez is an American-born atomic physicist. He helped lobby for the production of the hydrogen bomb.

Niels Bohr (1885-1962)
 
    Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist. He won the Nobel Prize in physics for his theory of atomic structure.

Enrico Fermi (1901-1954)
 
    Enrico Fermi was most noted for his accomplishments in theoretical and experimental physics. At an early age Fermi showed unusual intellectual talents. A close friend of the family, Adolfor Amidei was mostly responsible for Fermi's intellectual development. He gave Fermi books on math and physics in the proper sequence to challenge the child. Fermi continued to seek challenges and applied to Reale Scuola Normule in Pisa. In his entrance essay he convinced the examiners that he was a candidate of unusual promise. Four years later, Fermi was granted his doctorate in physics, magna cum laude from Pisa. Fermi accepted a teaching position at the University of Florence where he wrote a paper that would establish his name among physicists almost immediately. The paper dealt with atoms in gas. He then invented a mathematical system that has been known as Fermi-Dirac statistics. With this accomplishment he was offered a position as the chair of theoretical physics at Rome. He helped revitalize Italian science and develop a number of first class physicists and young students for Rome. To seek greater challenges Fermi decided to focus his studies on the atom, more specifically the nucleus of the atom. He discovered how to slow neutrons, which allows a more effective nuclear change than fast neutrons. He then discovered how to split a uranium atom, which then unleashed a tremendous amount of energy. This won him the Nobel Prize for Physics and allowed him to defect to the United States where he was place on the Manhattan Project. He then determined a controlled nuclear chain reaction was possible and how it could be used in the construction of a nuclear weapon.

Otto Robert Frisck (1904-1979)
 
    Otto Robert Frisck was an Austrian-English physicist. He was the first physicist to calculate fission energies and requirements for a bomb.

Leslie Richard Groves (1896-1970)

    Leslie Richard Groves was the general in charge of the Manhattan Project. He was an American engineer and Army general in charge of the Manhattan District of the Corps of Engineers. They were directly responsible for the atomic bomb.

Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901-1958)

    Ernest Orlando Lawrence was the inventor of the cyclotron. This cyclotron was a particle accelerator that was used to explore the atomic nucleus. He was also known for being one of America's most influential statesmen during and after World War II. The first atom bomb was to be used and he chose in favor of using the bomb. He too was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics for the invention of the cyclotron.

John Von Newmann (1903-1957)

    John Von Newmann was a Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist. He was the creator of the MANIAL computer.

J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)
    J. Robert Oppenheimer was a child prodigy at the age of 11. He was admitted to the New York Mineralogical Society at the age of 12, as he presented a paper there. He then attended Ethical Cultural School in New York. He took the following summer to vacation in Europe and got dysentery. So, it took him a year to get back in school. He then attended Harvard and in just three years graduated summa cum laude. After graduate work in theoretical physics he was recruited to the Manhattan Project where he directed the new research of the first nuclear weapon. On July 16, 1945 the first test bomb was detonated. He was then put on a panel of four scientists, which included Ernest Orlando Lawrence, Enrico Fermi, and Arthur Campton. This panel was to decide if the United States should use the bomb to end the war against Japan. He and his colleagues decided to use the bomb but later Oppenheimer regretted his decision. He then became chair of the general advisory committee of the Atomic Energy Commission and continued to advocate controls on the development of nuclear power.

Edward Teller (1908- )

    Edward Teller is a Hungarian-born theoretical physicist. He devoted his time on the superbomb and was a principal figure in the development of the bomb. The downfall of this bomb was the quantity of tritium that was needed to complete the bomb.

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)
    Harry S. Truman was the thirty-third president of the United States (1945-1953). He was the President who announced the United States' decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Stanis Law Ulam (1908-1984)
 
    Stanis Law Ulam was a Polish-born mathematician. He provided crucial analysis and critical insight that made the hydrogen bomb concept workable.

This is a picture of one of the first nuclear bombs, used in the testing at Alamorgordo, New Mexico.  

 

---

Back to Contents for this page

Testing

NUCLEAR TESTING

     Between July 16, 1945 and September 23, 1992 the United States alone conducted 1054 official nuclear tests. The first of these was near Alamorgordo, New Mexico. A flat scrub region 200 kilometers southeast of Alamorgordo was chosen for the test site. It was labeled "Operation Trinity." After a short thunderstorm delay, the bomb was detonated at 5:30 am. This started the testing of over 300 nuclear bombs in the next 18 years for the United States.
    Nuclear testing does much more than simply blows something up. It destroys the land and everything else in years to come, including people. An example of this is Bikini Atoll, which was a major site of nuclear testing. President Harry S. Truman commanded the first test in Bikini in March of 1946. During one testing a crew of Japanese fishermen on a boat called the "Lucky Dragon", one hundred and twenty miles away, became sick and was hospitalized. One of them even died! Dangerous levels of radioactivity exposed many native islanders as well.
    The people of Bikini fought back. They fought for compensation from the United States, who in February 1990 agreed to pay $45,000,000 to the victims of the nuclear testing program. The peoples of the Enewetak atoll got the same reward for damages done to their island as a result of nuclear testing.
    Other countries besides the United States with nuclear weapons include the Soviet Union who has conducted over 715 tests. The first is on August 29, 1949 in either the Aral or Caspian Sea. France has also tested nuclear weapons. The count totaling 210 from February 1960 to January 1996. The last test was conducted in the Mururoa atoll in the South Pacific. Recently France has declared that it will close the South Pacific as one of the testing sites. China is another country with nuclear weapons. Although they did not decide to obtain nuclear weapons until 1955, they have already conducted 43 tests. The first not being conducted until 1964. Although China's last recorded test was August 1996, they are expected to have at least four more testings. The newest country being introduced to the nuclear bomb is India. They gained interest after China began research and decided to obtain nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes. India has only had one nuclear test, which took place in the Rajasthan Desert on May 18, 1974.
    Although many other countries have tested nuclear weapons, the United States has detonated about 40 more bombs than the countries of the Soviet Union, France, China, India, and the United Kingdom combined. Not to mention the United States had about a five-year head start. The United States is definitely leading the world in nuclear testing, but with many tests being performed in our own country, (Nevada test site), the results could be deadly. As they were for the peoples of Bikini Atoll. . This is a picture of Einstein and Szilard researching the nuclear weapon's capabilities

 
 

---

Back to Contents for this page

Timeline

NUCLEAR WEAPONS: TIMELINE

-1938: Enrico Fermi recieves the noble prize for his fission of uranium.
-1939: 10/11-President Roosevelt receives Albert Einstein's letter on the possibility of a      uranium weapon.
-1941: United States Academy of Sciences endorses a bomb program
-1943: Bomb development is moved by Oppenheimer to Los Alamos
-1945: 1/20-First U-235 separated at Oak Ridge
-1945: 7/16-United States detonates first atomic bomb outside Alamogordo, New Mexico, in what was called the Trinity Test.
-1945: 8/6-Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
-1945: 8/9-Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
-1946: 6/30-United States participates in first subsurface detonation at Bikini Atoll
-1946: Times Square demonstrations against nuclear testing
-1948: United States continues with nuclear testing at Eniwetok Atoll
-1949: 4/4-NATO is established
-1949: 8/29-First detonation of nuclear weapon by the Soviet Union, in Ustyurt desert
-1950: 1/31-President Truman announces plans to proceed with the hydrogen bomb.
-1952: 8/3-Great Britian detonates its first atomic bomb at Monte Bello Islands, Australia  -1953: United States begin above-ground tests in Nevada
-1954: The U.S.S. Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, is launched.
-1954: 3/1-Hydrogen bomb test, Marshall Island and "Lucky Dragon" crew are affected     by the fallout of the detonation
-1957: 5/15-First hydrogen bomb detonated by Great Britian at Christmas Island
-1957: 9/19-First underground test at Rainer
-1960: 2/13-France conducts first nuclear test in the Sahara desert
-1961: 9/1-Soviet Union resumes its nuclear testing
-1961: 9/15-United States resumes its nuclear testing
-1961: 10/31-Soviet Union detonates the largest nuclear bomb
-1963: 8/5-Countries sign Limited Test Ban Treaty
-1964: 10/16-China detonates its first nuclear bomb
-1967: 1/27-The Outer Space Treaty bans the placing of nuclear weapons in orbit
-1969: 11/1-SALT talks begin in Helsinki
-1972: 5/26-SALT I Treaty signed by both Brezhnev and Nixon in Moscow
-1972: 11/1-Negotiations for SALT II begin
-1978: 4/1-Development of neutron bomb by the United States is cancelled
-1978: 11/15-Partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island Nuclear Power plant near Harrisburg, PA, causes radioactive material to be released
-1979: Brezhnev and Carter sign SALT II Treaty in Vienna
-1982: START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) begin in Geneva
-1986: 4/26-Kiev, Ukraine suffers radioactive material as result of Chernobyl accident
-1987: 12/8-INF Treaty is signed by Reagan and Gorbachev
-1991: Soviet Union replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) when communism falls across Eastern Europe
-1994: Secret nuclear testing on humans is revealed by both the United States and the Commonwealth of Independent States
-1995: 5/11-The Non-Proliferation Treaty is renewed by 178 nations
-1995: The United States announces a ban on all nuclear weapon testing
-1995: 9/5-France resumes its nuclear testing in the South Pacific

---

GLOSSARY

Able Test-the first peacetime nuclear explosion, U.S. conducted on July 1, 1946 at Bikini     Atoll on the Pacific Ocean.
Absolute Weapon-hypothetical, enormously destructive weapon. Doesn't exist but creation has been hypothesized: 1. against accidental use of nuclear weapons, 2. immediate notification if accident, 3. advanced notification of planned detonation.
Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS)-system can detect an enemy nuclear strike.
Air Burst-nuclear experiment above the ground.
AGM-air to ground missile: from an aircraft to target on ground.
ASM-air to surface missile: from an aircraft to target on ground or sea.
Atomic Blitz-all-out nuclear attack, well-known expression in the late 1940's.
Atomic weapon-a nuclear weapon whose destructive power comes from fission, the splitting of large, unstable atoms.
Black Book-nickname of book which outlines the U.S. presidents options in the event of nuclear war. Provides instructions on how to execute the central U.S. nuclear war plan known as the Single Integrated Operational Plan, carried in the Football, a top-secret briefcase which is in the president's reach at all times.
Camp David, Maryland-location of an underground installation that would serve as a U.S. military command center in nuclear war.
Civil nuclear power-a nation that has the capacity to build nuclear weapons, but has intentionally decided not to develop them: example-India.
Contamination-absorbtion of harmful radiation, such as that released when a nuclear weapon explodes.
Cruise Missile-a slow, low-flying, highly accurate missile that resembles a pilotless airplane.
Decapitation Attack-nuclear strike targeted at a nation's leaders and primary command posts. Purpose is to paralyze an enemy in a singular nuclear strike.
Deployment-positioning of a weapon so that it is ready to be used.
Détente-describes a policy of lessening tensions in relations between two or more countries, usually applied to relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 60's and early 70's, when the two superpowers backed away from the hostility of the Cold War and established relations based on peaceful coexistence.
Dirty nuclear weapon-a nuclear weapon that produces many radioactive by-products. Dispersal-relocating and spreading out of civilian and military force in order to increase their chances of survival in a nuclear attack.
Double Flash-the two bursts of light that are emitted as a nuclear weapon explodes. EMP-electromagnetic pulse: a burst of radiation released immediately after a nuclear explosion.
Enola Gay-the U.S. B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945.
Fallout-composed of the debris from a nuclear explosion. Buildings, trees, or people are pulverized in the blast, this debris is drawn up into the earth's atmosphere. As it rises, fallout is bathed in radiation from the explosion. Picked up by air currents and carried around the earth, fallout can remain in the atmosphere form months or years. It returns to the earth either under its own weight or in rain or snow. Fallout may be intensely radioactive and can cause nausea, hair loss, internal bleeding, genetic damage, and cancer. Fallout is a particularly devastating effect of a nuclear explosion. Fallout created in an all-out nuclear war could cause millions of deaths and contaminate the earth's food and water supply.
Fireball-sphere of superheated, burning gas that forms immediately after a nuclear weapon is detonated.
First strike-a massive nuclear attack launched before an enemy has used nuclear weapons. Flashburn-caused by exposure to a burst of thermal radiation, the intense light and heat released by nuclear explosion.
General war-enormously destructive nuclear war, in which the superpowers exhaust their nuclear arsenals.
Ground alert-a state of readiness in which bombers are fully serviced and armed, ready to take off on short notice.
Ground burst-nuclear explosion on the ground.
Ground zero-point on the ground directly under a nuclear explosion.
Half-life-amount of time necessary for a radioactive element to lose half of its radioactivity.
Homing-a technique by which a missile locates and directs itself to its target.
Implosion-one method of triggering nuclear explosion.
Inventory-a slang term that refers to the nuclear weapons that a nation has deployed.
Kill radius-an area around a nuclear explosion within which all people are killed.
Low air burst-a nuclear explosion close to the ground.
Mushroom cloud-a cloud of gas, dust and other debris that forms in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.
Neutron bomb-a nuclear weapon that kills chiefly through radiation, rather than blast and heat.
Nevada test sites-the principal U.S. nuclear test site.
No nukes-a popular battle cry of those who oppose nuclear power and weapons.
Nuclear Arms Control (NAC)-encompasses a wide variety of measures intended to limit or reduce the number of nuclear weapons throughout the world.
Nuclear arms race-refers to an extended competition between two nations, in which each continually improves the size an capability of its nuclear arsenal.
Nuclear blackmail-a situation in which a group or nation uses the threat of a nuclear attack in order to extract political concessions from its adversaries.
Nuclear bomb-an unpropeled nuclear weapon dropped from an aircraft.
Nuclear club-consists of all nations known to possess or to be able to build nuclear weapons.
Nuclear holocaust-the tremendous toll of death and destruction that would result form an all-out nuclear war.
Nuclear proliferation-the spread of nuclear weapons to nations that do not already possess them.
Nuclear radiation-general term for all of the deadly radiation emitted in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.
Nuclear reactor-a device in which atoms are split at a controlled rate.
Nuclear testing-closely monitored explosions of experimental nuclear devices.
Nuclear winter-a possible situation in which the earth would undergo severe and perilous climatic changes immediately following a nuclear war.
Offensive nuclear war-general term for a nuclear war that is designed to attack and destroy enemy targets.
Onsite Inspection (OSI)-a visit to a nation's nuclear facilities conducted in order to verify nuclear arms-control agreement.
Overkill-occurs when more nuclear weapons are used that are necessary to accomplish desired objectives.
Overpressure-the wall of compressed air created in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Overpressure can collapse buildings, uproot trees, and crush people.
Ozone depletion-one possible effect of nuclear war. When a nuclear weapon explodes, it creates and disperses many substances that can deplete the protective ozone layer. Passive deterrence-the strategy of threatening a nuclear attack in order to restrain an opponent from itself launching a nuclear attack.
Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE)-any detonation of a nuclear device that is not for a military purpose.
Phasing-method of gradually reducing nuclear arms over a period of years. Plutonium-element that is a basic raw material for many types of nuclear war and reactors. Positive control-refers to a nation's ability to recall nuclear weapons that have already been launched.
Preemptive attack-a nuclear strike launched on the presumption that an enemy attack is imminent.
Prompt radiation-consists of deadly radiation emitted within the first minute after the detonation of a nuclear weapon.
Protocol-an international agreement that is less formal than a treaty.
Push the Button-an informal expression that describes the launching of a nuclear attack. Qualitative limitation-a restriction on the capabilities of a weapon.
Quantitative limitation-a restriction on the number of weapons that can be deployed. Radiation-the process in which energy is emitted and travels through space. It can also refer to energy itself.
Radiation sickness-the malady that results from excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is the deadly radiation released in a nuclear explosion.
Radioactive cloud-a cloud of gases, vapor, and heavier debris that forms in the aftermath of nuclear explosion.
Radioactive decay-a process in which unstable elements release excess energy in order to become more stable.
Ratification-a formal confirmation of a treaty after it has been signed.
Reaction time-the amount of time a nation ahs to respond to a nuclear attack.
Red alert-a warning that an enemy nuclear attack is imminent or already in progress.
Red Box-the nickname of the container that holds two essential elements for launching a nuclear attack. In the Red Box are codes necessary for verifying an order to launch a nuclear attack and keys which actually activate the launch of the nuclear missiles.
Reload missile-a nuclear weapon that is fired in a nuclear war from a launcher that has already been used.
Roentgen-a unit that measures the amount of ionizing radiation given off by a substance. Safegaurd-the only missile defense system ever deployed by the U.S. Salvage fusing-causes a nuclear weapon to blow up if it is intercepted by enemy defenses. Sanctuary-a region (such as the homelands of the superpowers) that would be unaffected by a limited nuclear war.
Satka-an informal term for the computer system that would monitor an attacking nuclear missile as it streaks toward its target.
Saturation attack-a massive nuclear strike intended to overwhelm enemy defenses and completely wipe out targets.
Sensor-a sensitive electronic instrument that detect a variety of objects.
Shelf life-the period of time that a nuclear weapon can remain effective without being used.
Shining-the process of coating missile's surface with a reflective surface.
Shock wave-a wall of compressed air created as the result of a nuclear explosion. Signature-an identifying characteristic that allows a defense system to detect an attacking nuclear weapon.
Slew time-the time needed for a defensive weapon to re-aim at a new target after having just fired at a previous target.
Soft-Target-a target that has not been reinforced to protect against an enemy nuclear attack.
Stand-off bomb-a general term for a nuclear weapon fired from a aircraft considerable distance from the target.
Static overpressure-essentially strong, crushing wind created in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.
Strategic stability-a condition in which the superpowers choose not to build or use nuclear weapons.
Suitcase bomb-a nuclear weapon that can be transported and detonated in a suitcase or in a similarly-sized container.
Superbomb-the name given to thermonuclear weapons during the 50's when they were developed and first deployed.
Surgical strike-a very limited nuclear attack on selected targets only.
Surprise attack-an unexpected nuclear strike.
Survivability-the ability of military and civilian targets to withstand the effect of a nuclear attack.
Tactical aircraft-any aircraft designed to deliver nuclear or conventional weapons over battlefield distances.
Tactical nuclear weapon-a nuclear weapon intended for battlefield use.
Tamper-the blanket of uranium-238 that surrounds the core of a nuclear weapon.
Technical feasibility-addresses the issue of whether a weapon that is physically possible can be built within a certain amount of time using available technology.
Theater Nuclear Weapon (TNW)-a nuclear weapon intended to be used in a broad geographical region, such as Europe or the Far East.
Thermal kill-a theoretical method for destroying a target by using heat.
Thermal pulse-the burst of intense heat and light release in nuclear explosion.
Thermal radiation-the intense hear and light released in a nuclear explosion. Thermonuclear Weapon-the most destructive type of nuclear weapon.
Threat cloud-an informal name for a swarm of attacking nuclear warheads and decoys.
Tracking-the process of monitoring an attacking nuclear warhead or bomber. Essentially tracking reveals the path of an attacking object.
Trinity site-the exact spot in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, where the U.S. exploded the world's first atomic weapon on July 16, 1945.
Two-man rule-a security procedure that requires at least two authorized personnel to be present whenever people come in contact with nuclear weapons or the codes for launching them.
Unilateral disarmament-any action taken independently by one nation to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
War game-the test of a nation's ability to fight an actual war. War games are practice for a real war and simulate them in a number of ways. Some war games are conducted entirely on computer.
Weapons mix-a slang term used to describe all the different weapons making up a country's nuclear arsenal.
Yield-the amount of energy released in a nuclear explosion.
 

---

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED

 1. Anonymous. "Chernobyl, Cancer, and Creeping Paranoia." Economist, v338 n7956. Mar 9, 1996, pp. 81-82.

2. Balter, Micheal. "Chernobyl's Thyroid Cancer Toll." Science, v270 n5243. Dec 15, 1995, pp. 1758-1759.

3. Bonn, Dorothy. "RET oncogene puzzle in Chernobyl thyroid tumours." Lancet, v347 n9009. Apr 27, 1996, p. 1176.

4. Dyer, Owen. "Study links low dose radiation and Down's Syndrome." British Medical Journal, v310 n6987. Apr 29, 1996, pp. 1088-1089.

5. Nau, Jean-Yves. "Reports on Chernobyl effects." Lancet, v34428916. Jul 16, 1994, pp. 184.

6. Radetskey, Pavel. "Chernobyl an Encore?" Village Voice, May 7, 1996, pp. 23-24.

7. Raloff, J. "Soviets Unveil Lessons from Chernobyl." Science News, Aug 30, 1986, p.130.

8. Wasserman, Harvey. "In the Dead Zone: Aftermath of the Apocalypse." Nation, Apr 29,1996, pp. 16-20.

9. Wheeler, David L. "The Fallout from Chernobyl." Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb 23, 1996, pp. A10-A11.

  Really outstandingly interesting links:

WORLDATOM
U.S. Arms Control and Disarmement Agency
Trinity Site
Atomic Bomb Mueseam
Atomic Archive
Department of Energy
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Strategic Defense Initiative
Pershing Weapon System

This page was created by the World Civilization Group of: 
Lindsay Hill, 
Justin Oberndorfer, 
Josh Blizzard, 
Kurt Ennis, 
Tara Fisher, 
Sadat Thurston, and 
Bryan Vincent.

 

Back to Contents for this page

---

URL OF THIS PAGE -- Revised: 12/02/97
Copyright © 1997  LMHILL PUBLICATIONS
Lindsay
Justin
Josh
Sadat
Bryan
Tara
Woody

---