NUCLEAR WEAPONS

1. NUCLEAR WEAPONS HUMN 432X Social Issues Project Group #4

2. Contribution Page Members • Mark Craig • Todd French • Joe Brun • Ken Kiyai • Jackie Miller • Mike Vasquez

3. Table of Contents I. Statement of Purpose II. Contribution Page III. History IV. Identification of Social Aspects V. Consequences/Problems/Dilemmas VI. Solutions/Responsibilities VII. Recommendations

4. Statement of Purpose *U.S.-Ultimate Power *Strategic Stability *Three Types of Nuclear Weapons *2500 Nuclear Warheads *China *Defense and Deterrence

5. History * The Nuclear age began at the Trinity Test Range in Los Alamos, NM.. 16 July 1945 * It exploded with the force of 18,600 tons of TNT * The typical bomber of the day only carried 3 tons of TNT

6. How It Works * The energy appears as kinetic energy of the fragments, which converts to thermal energy as the fragments collide in matter and slow down. Fission also releases two or three free neutrons. The free neutrons can bombard other nuclei, leading to a series of fissions called a chain reaction.

7. Founding Fathers and Mothers * This technology would not have been possible without the work of many people. * Pierre and Marie Curie- they discovered “radiation”, and discovered the elements radium and plutonium. * Albert Einstein- His theory special theory of relativity published in 1905 (E=MC2). This theory was pivotal to the discoveries that would follow.

8. Founding Fathers and Mothers * Earnest Rutherford- His Cavendish laboratory at Cambridge proved Albert Einstein’s theory in 1932. * Enrico Fermi- Inadvertently “split” a uranium atom by bombarding it with neutrons. He did not fully understand what he had done. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1938. * Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman- For “splitting” an atom in 1938. They also won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

9. How It Works * Nuclear Weapons work through forcible division of a heavy atomic nucleus into two fragments of roughly equal mass, accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy, the binding energy of the subatomic particles. * The energy released in the fission of one uranium nucleus is about 50 million times greater than that released when a carbon atom combines with oxygen atoms in the burning of coal.

10. The Manhattan Project * A project funded by the U.S. government. This project operated from a “blank check”. It spent what needed to be spent. Failure was not an option. * They collected the best and the brightest minds on the subject. This project was managed by Gen. Groves and Robert Oppenheimer. * This project succeeded. It produced two functional bombs (“Fat Man” and “Little Boy”), and a test weapon.

11. The Cold War * This was not a real war. In part this was due to the truth in a quote made by Albert Einstein, “If World War III is fought with nuclear weapons, World War IV will be fought with rocks”. * This war was comprised of a series of small low intensity engagements between the U.S. and the Soviet Union

12. The Cold War Breakthrough * Intense effort was placed on research during the Cold War. * The research produced a flexible framework that enabled the bomb to be divorced from the method of delivery. This made the bomb nothing more than a payload to be delivered. * It enabled a broad spectrum of new delivery methods traditional bombers, missiles from submarines, torpedoes from any platform, and artillery pieces are all examples of delivery systems

13. The Nuclear Fraternity 1. United States 1945 2. USSR (Soviet Union) 1949 3. United Kingdom (Great Britain) 1958 4. France 1961 5. China 1964 6. Israel (suspected) 1967 7. India 1986 8. Pakistan 1998 9. North Korea (suspected) 2003

14. Other Nuclear Capable Nations 1. Australia 2. Germany 3. Japan 4. Canada 5. Netherlands

15. The Trouble Section Nations Formerly Possessing Nuclear Weapons or Pursuing them 1. Argentina 2. Iran 3. Brazil 4. Iraq 5. South Africa 6. South Korea 7. Sweden 8. Switzerland 9. Taiwan 10. Algeria 11. Libya (current events may remove this nation from this list in the near future)

16. Identification of Social Aspects * Political • Nuclear bombs- weapons of war or peace? * Religious • Cult of the bomb? * Cultural • “nuk’em”

17. Consequences/Problems/Dilemmas * Effects of Nuclear Weapons • NUCLEAR WEAPONS CAN PRODUCE IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS • THESE EFFECTS CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS: A) BLAST B) THERMAL RADIATION C) PROMPT IONIZING

18. EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS *THESE EFFECTS CAN CAUSE DAMAGE RANGING TIME FRAME VARIES FROM SECONDS TO YEARS * THE ENERGY RELEASE IN THE 1ST MINUTE IS AS FOLLOWS * Overview of Immediate Effects * Low Yield (<100 kt) High Yield (>1 Mt) Thermal Radiation 35% 45% Blast Wave 50% 60% Ionizing Radiation 5% 5% (80% gamma, 20% neutrons)

19. ADVERSE EFFECTS- RADIATION *THE 1ST ADVERSE EFFECT • EXISTS CLOSE TO THE EXPLOSION (NO SURVIVORS) • 200,000 FATALITIES OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI WHICH IS ¼ OF THE COMBINED POPULATION OF THE TWO CITIES • DAMAGE ON PEOPLE AND BUILDINGS IS INSTANT • HARM TO THE OZONE LAYER • VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES FROM THE NUCLEAR FIRE • BALLS ARE CREATED • CAUSES EXPANSION AND COOLING OF AIR

20. ADVERSE EFFECTS- RADIATION -LARGE AMOUNT OF NITROGEN OXIDE FROM OXYGEN AND NITROGEN -PRODUCES 5,000 TONS OF NITROGEN OXIDE -LARGE ATMOSPHERIC EXPLOSIONS COULD SIGNIFICANTLY DESTROY THE OZONE LAYER

21. ADVERSE EFFECTS- THERMAL RADIATION *THERMAL RADIATION AND BLAST ARE CHERACTERISTICS FROM ALL NUCLEAR WEAPONS REGADLESS OF TYPE OR DESIGN *BLASTS ARE THE 4TH EFFECT OF DAMAGE AND COMES FROM EXPLOSIVE BLASTS *SHOCK WAVES RADIATES OUTWARDS *CAUSES ARIM WHERE SOME MATERIALS ARE DEPOSITED *OTHER MATERIALS ARE CARRIED IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND RETURNS TO THE EARTH AS RADIOACTIVE.

22. ADVERSE EFFECTS- THERMAL RADIATION -35% OF ENERGY FROM NUCLEAR EXPLOSION IS INTENSE AND CAN CAUSE 1ST ,2ND , AND 3RD DEGREE BURNS -SPCIALIZED MEDICAL CARE IS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY -NOT ENOUGH FACILITIES IN THE WORLD -USA HAS FACILITIES TO TREAT ONLY 1000 -2000 SEVERE BURNS -A SINGLE EXPLOSION COULD PRODUCE MORE THAN 10,000 SUCH BURNS.

23. ADVERSE EFFECTS- DIRECT RADIATION -OCCURS AT TIME OF EXPLOSION -CAN BE INTENSE BUT LIMITED IN RANGE -SMALL DOSE OF RADIATION COLD BE LETHAL TO HUMAN HEALTH.

24. Solutions/Responsibilities * Solutions * Abolition The act of doing away with or the state of being done away with * Non-Proliferation Stopping the increase and/or spread of nuclear weapons at rapid rates

25. * Responsibilities * Non-Governmental Organizations *Anti-nuclear organizations Participate actively in activities that promote abolition and non-proliferation * Governmental Organizations *Department of Energy *Department of State *President of the United States Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) SALT II Treaty * Scientists and Engineers *Issues of removal, storage, transportation of, and the eventual dismantling, and storage of nuclear weapons

26. Recommendations Land Based weapons Minuteman III ICBM (LGM-30G) Year Deployed: 1970 Dimensions: 18.2 meters length, 1.85 meters diameter Weight: 34,467 kilograms Propulsion: Three stage solid-fuel (liquid PBV), hot launch Throw-weight: 1,150 kilograms Range: 13,000 kilometers

27. Sea Based Weapons Year Deployed: 1981 Displacement: 16,600 tons surfaced, 18,750 tons dived Dimensions: 170.7 meters length, 12.8 meters diameter, 11.1 meters draft Propulsion: Nuclear, S8G reactor, 2 turbines, 1 shaft Speed: 20+ knots dived Missiles: 24 Trident II D-5 SLBMs (last 10 boats), or 24 Trident I C-4 SLBM (first eight boats) Locations: Bangor, Washington - 8, King's Bay, Georgia - 9 Number Deployed: 17 submarines (14 planned)[1]

28. Air Based Weapons

29. Final Recommendations *Abolition is not a real possibility *Non-proliferation has had limited success *All countries need to be responsible with their nuclear ability *The U.S. nuclear stockpile is still the primary deterrent to aggression

30. The End