Nuclear Bombs
Indeed, while nuclear weapons have only been used once during times of war, dropped in Japan in August 1945, killing over 215,000 innocent people, there are a greater number of countries acquiring nuclear capabilities in the 21st Century making them more of a threat than ever before. Nuclear weapons are just one of many weapons of mass destruction that threaten innocent citizens worldwide (“World Mysteries” 1),
There are weapons of mass destruction other than the different kinds of nuclear warheads. Anthrax was a threat to our country not more than one year ago, and Smallpox is a current threat talked about quite often. Only a few countries possess Anthrax, but Iraq, North Korea, Russia, France, and the United States all possess Smallpox. The International Terrorist Group “al Qaida” is also thought to possess the deadly disease according to the State Department (Staff A6). An outbreak of Smallpox would bring the disease back from over 25 years of eradication, and could cause the death of thousands of people (McEnery B1).
Nuclear weapons pose a great threat to the world, by not only third-world countries, but also terrorist organizations using “Dirty Bombs”. Dirty bombs are conventional explosives, however encased by nuclear material such as Uranium or Plutonium. In addition to atomic bombs, and dirty bombs, there are over seventy-five other different variants of nuclear weapons, creating a constant threat to countries all around the world, including the United States of America.
There are over seventy-five top-secret presidential nuclear bunkers in which the President and some select few can go to during and after a nuclear war (“50 Facts” 3). On September 11, 2001, George W. Bush and others went to one of these facilities in Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska (Gibbs 33). Also until 1988, there was over $2,000,000,000 stored by the Federal Reserve in a facility for use after a nuclear war (“50 Facts” 3). There are many other precautions the United States Government takes to protect the country from nuclear war.
The history of nuclear warfare goes back hundreds of years. Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth in the mineral pitchblende, and it was named after the planet Uranus. Pitchblende was only known about eight year’s prior to the discovery of Uranium. Uranium has a high density. The heaviest of all naturally occurring elements; Uranium is 18.7 times as dense as water, making it a common material in the keels of yachts and as counterweights in aircraft rudders and elevators. Also, it is great for radiation or heat shielding, as its melting point is 1132 degrees Celsius (“WNA: What is Uranium?” 1).
Atomic Bombs work as fission, where particles, or nuclei, are split exerting massive amounts of energy. This force expelled violently and explosively, is the atomic bomb, from the power that harnesses the atom. Atomic bombs are made up of one of the most unstable elements on the current periodic table, Uranium-235. Uranium’s atoms are unusually large; therefore, it is hard to hold them together. Plutonium-239 is also one of the materials used in making atomic weapons, however not harnessing the fission of Uranium; it acts as a catalyst to an even greater reaction (“World Mysteries” 2).
The concept of radioactivity has barely been around for 100 years. Discovered by Antoine Henri Becquerel in 1896, it was quickly studied by the scientific community. Albert Einstein formulated his “Theory of Relativity” in 1905, stating if mass could be transformed into energy, the energy liberated would be massive. Einstein’s theory would be proved thirty-three years later by Otto Hahn, along with his partner Fritz Strassman (“World Mysteries” 2).
It wasn’t until August 1942 when the United States established the Manhattan Project, when it developed, constructed, and tested the world’s first atomic bomb. Many prominent American scientists, associated with the United States Army, and their engineers, headed the project. It was three years later, July 16, 1945, when the first atomic bomb was tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico, using it less than one month later against Japan during World War II (“World Mysteries” 3).
There was tremendous competition in the race to develop nuclear weapons. The United States was far ahead of their competition, beating out the Soviets by over four years, when they tested their first test, August 29, 1949 (“World Mysteries” 3)?
Today both the Unites States and Russia have just about the same amount of active nuclear warheads, around 10,000. There are nuclear-arms treaties between the two superpowers, attempting to erase nuclear weapons from the weapon stockpile of countries worldwide. So many countries, and now terrorist organizations, now or soon will have nuclear weapons; some believe it could bring our world to an end. But once a country abolishes the weapons, their national security would be put at risk (“Nuclear Powers” 1).
Nuclear bombs are not the only form of weapons of mass destruction. There are various other methods, such as viruses, diseases, bacteria, etc. Actually, one of the greatest threats to the United States currently is the deadly smallpox virus. In preparation for an attack, the United States government is taking drastic action by vaccinating medical personnel in case of such an attack, who in turn would vaccinate the general public and by ensuring a stock of vaccinations is available (McEnery B1).
Nuclear bombs are not the only kind of nuclear weapons; the biggest threat comes from terrorists, and their “dirty bombs”. Dirty Bombs are not dropped out of an airplane; they are not launched from a missile site. They are conventional bombs; such as those used in car bombings, bus bombings, etc. The difference between conventional bombs, and dirty bombs is that at the core of dirty bombs is compacted radioactive nuclear material, which expands quickly after the conventional TNT explosion (“NRC: Fact Sheet” 1).
If a dirty bomb were to go off in Times Square, New York, the explosion would kill less than ten people, however it would kill or injure thousands more due to radiation exposure. There are several ways nuclear material can be acquired; there are over 21,000 licensed organizations in the United States legally using radioactive or nuclear material for medical, academic, research, or industrial purposes (“NRC: Fact Sheet” 1).
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission stated that they receive on average 300 reports of lost or stolen radioactive materials per year that could be used to build a dirty bomb. Due to the tragic events of September 11, the NRC is taking greater steps to safeguard higher-risk nuclear devices against terrorists. However, terrorists are not the only people attempting to obtain nuclear weapons (“NRC: Fact Sheet” 1).
There are countries attempting to obtain full nuclear warheads for use against other countries, and in one case against it’s own people. Iran, North Korea, Iraq, India, Pakistan, and Israel all have nuclear warheads. India, Pakistan, and Israel are commonly called the “de facto” states, while India and Pakistan conduct nuclear tests, Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons of their own, despite not declaring any. Iran and Iraq both posses nuclear material and may be close to developing nuclear warheads (“Declared Nuclear Powers” 1).
Nuclear waste from nuclear power is another possible threat for nuclear bomb fuel. The most common nuclear element exerted as a waste product from Nuclear Power Plants is being tested for use in an atomic bomb, both for government and terrorist use. Since it is the most readily available radioactive element, there are threats that quantities may be stolen for terrorist use, providing radioactive material for both weapons making, and research (Vergano 1).
Weapons scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are studying the energy expelled when two halves of a neptunium sphere gets closer together over a four-day period. Americium, another nuclear waste product, was investigated by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1999, along with neptunium. The IAEA found it could also serve as a weapons material, however it was viewed as less of a threat (Vergano 1).
While the detonation of a nuclear weapon anywhere would cause extensive damage, its power would depend on the altitude at which it explodes- high in the air, or at ground level. It also on whether it was detonated in an urban setting, such as a major city, or in the open country (“Effects of a Nuclear Bomb” 1).
Nuclear explosions give off a great pulse of radiation, leaving everything intensely radioactive. The air-burst given off from the explosion would completely vaporize most everything within the blast radius, rising into a giant fireball. Not only would immediate effects obliterate the affected area, but also electricity, communications, water, and other city utilities would be destroyed. Rescue services would be impaired from responding due to the severe damage to the immediate vicinity, and the inaccessible roads. Hospitals and medical personnel would be overloaded, due to the massive number of injured requiring medical attention (“Effects of a Nuclear Bomb” 4).
The effects to a major U.S. city of between one and two million people, by a one-megaton bomb would be devastating. One third of its population, would be killed immediately, another third would be seriously injured, while the remaining third would go with little or no injury. A whole year’s supply of blood would instantly be needed for transfusions, with new patients covering one third of all hospital beds in North America (“Effects of a Nuclear Bomb” 5).
Nuclear power plants use the neutrons surrounded by neutron-absorbing material to limit the chain reaction process in a controlled “slow burn,” instead of an explosion. The energy omitted by nuclear fission is used to heat water into steam, which in turn rotates a generator. There are over 107 nuclear power plants in the United States providing power to the country every day. Over 16% of the world’s electricity is from nuclear reactors powered by Uranium, all together generating enough power to provide five times the world’s most populated country, India (“WNA:What is Uranium?” 3).
Plutonium, Uranium, and other nuclear materials are often considered “Radioactive,” but what does radioactive mean? Radioactive materials atoms are continuously “falling apart,” resulting in such intense extra energy in the form of leftover neutrons that it damages human cells. In spite of this, the energy that is emitted is not an adequate amount of energy to create a nuclear explosion. The force of the Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, squashes the radioactive element to its ‘critical mass’, making it so dense that every escaping neutron bumps into another atom creating large explosions; this describes ‘nuclear fission’ (“Nuclear Bombs” 1).
When the atoms bump into each other, other nucleuses break down as well, whether it was ready to or not, releasing even more energy, and more neutrons. Those newly released neutrons are bumping into and breaking up more nuclei, quickly triggering a chain reaction. Within a fraction of a second, trillions of neutrons release energy, creating the massive explosion associated with a nuclear bomb (“Nuclear Bombs” 2).
Uranium is all around us in nature, often seen in rocks in two to four parts per million. It is also commonly found in seawater in small concentrations, which could be mined from seawater if demand rose high enough (“WNA: What is Uranium?” 1).
The world’s foremost miners of uranium in order are Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada, South Africa, Namibia, Brazil, Russia, and the United States of America. There are other smaller deposits that could be mined when deemed necessary as well. Uranium is only sold from these countries to countries who have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and who allow international inspectors to verify it is being used for peaceful purposes only.
Peaceful purposes for uranium include use of radioisotopes in medicine, emitting gamma radiation treating illnesses, cancer, sterilizing syringes, and other medical equipment as well. Smoke detectors also often contain radioisotopes derived from plutonium. Over 200 ships use nuclear reactors for power, submarines, aircraft carriers, icebreakers, and others enabling them to stay at sea for long periods of time without refueling (“WNA: What is Uranium?” 2).
Due to the disarmament agreements world wide, methods have been developed to dilute military uranium for use in peaceful purposes. Radioisotopes from such methods are currently being used in the preservation of food, crops, and livestock. Today’s uses for uranium are expanding to the thought of nuclear powered aircraft, and much more. Nuclear bombs are a threat that is never going to be erased, however, the power coming from radioactive elements for peaceful purposes is something that we cannot live without (“WNC: What is Uranium? 2).
Nuclear research has benefited mankind in many ways. But today, the nuclear industry faces huge, very complex issues. The future will depend on the advanced engineering and scientific research. The concept of the atom has existed for many centuries, but we only recently began to understand the enormous power contained in these tiny molecules. This power has been put to use for peaceful purposes, however it still posses the threat Albert Einstein stated in 1939 to the American President “It is possible to set up nuclear chain reactions in a large mass of uranium creating a new phenomenon in bombs” (“World Mysteries” 1).
Bibliography:
Works Cited
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