In the early decades of the twentieth century, scientists were uncovering the structure of the atom. They discovered the existence of negatively charged particles, electrons, orbiting positively charged protons in the nucleus — the center —...

For many observers, "Living with the Bomb" has become the evocative phrase to describe life in twentieth-century America. The cultural fallout from this technological innovation has influenced economics, politics, and social policy and...

The mushroom-shaped cloud associated with the above-ground detonation of an atomic bomb is one of the most defining images and represents one of the most challenging moral imperatives to arise from the mid-twentieth century. The scientific,...

Emerging strategic trends indicate that the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region is becoming more complex and uncertain, with the gradual diffusion of power and proliferation of nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities. The Asia-Pacific...

Humans have warred against one another since the being of time. Until recently, this tendency to wage war endangered hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people, but never our existence as a species. The advent of nuclear weapons, however, has...

The first nuclear explosion on earth occured on July 16, 1945, in Alamagordo, New Mexico, as part of a test for the Manhattan project initiated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The first nuclear weapon used in war was deployed less than a month...

There are two types of nuclear weapons, each of which utilizes a different nuclear reaction: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. The bomb developed by the Manhattan Project and dropped on Japan during World War II were fission weapons, also known as...

Even as work on the first atomic bomb was going ahead, some scientists were thinking about an even more powerful weapon, the hydrogen, or fusion bomb. As far back as the 1920s, scientists had been exploring the possibility that small nuclei might join...

The invention of the atomic bomb was an historical inevitability. The scientific discovery necessary for construction of such a bomb occurred just as World War II was about to begin. It seems impossible that an enormous new source of energy (nuclear...

The 1950 decision to build a hydrogen bomb involved the consideration of U.S. strategic, scientific, and moral concerns in light of the growing threat from the Soviet Union. The decision was part of an arms race with the Soviet Union, which lasted...

An atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction which uses nuclear fission to produce vast amounts of energy. Its basic principle is assembling a critical mass of a radioactive element with properties to spark a swift chain reaction. Its devastating...

The war mobilization effort included the creation of an industry to produce atomic bombs. To develop the atomic bomb many new facilities, including three new cities, were built. The cities, built for the purpose of testing the atomic bombs, were Oak...

History of nuclear weapons Nuclear warfare Nuclear arms race Weapon design / testing Effects of nuclear explosions Delivery systems Nuclear espionage Proliferation /...