nuclear weapons definition of nuclear weapons in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction powered by atomic, rather than chemical, processes. Nuclear weapons produce large explosions and hazardous radioactive byproducts by means of either nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. Nuclear weapons can be delivered by artillery, plane, ship, or ballistic missile (ICBM); some can also fit inside a suitcase. Tactical nuclear weapons can have the explosive power of a fraction of a kiloton (one kiloton equals 1,000 tons of TNT), while strategic nuclear weapons can produce thousands of kilotons of explosive force. After World War II, the proliferation of nuclear weapons became an increasing cause of concern throughout the world. At the end of the 20th cent. the vast majority of such weapons were held by the United States and the USSR; smaller numbers were held by Great Britain, France, China, India, and Pakistan. Israel also has nuclear weapons but has not confirmed that fact publicly; North Korea has conducted a nuclear test explosion but probably does not have a readily deliverable nuclear weapon; and South Africa formerly had a small arsenal. Over a dozen other countries can, or soon could, make nuclear weapons. In addition to the danger of radioactive fallout fallout, minute particles of radioactive material produced by nuclear explosions (see atomic bomb; hydrogen bomb; Chernobyl) or by discharge from nuclear-power or atomic installations and scattered throughout the earth's atmosphere by winds and convection currents.
..... Click the link for more information. , in the 1970s scientists began investigating the potential impact of nuclear war on the environment. The collective effects of the environmental damage that could result from a large number of nuclear explosions has been termed nuclear winter nuclear winter, theory holding that the smoke and dust produced by a large nuclear war would result in a prolonged period of cold on the earth. The earliest version of the theory, which was put forward in the early 1980s in the so-called TTAPS report (named for last
..... Click the link for more information. . Treaties have been signed limiting certain aspects of nuclear testing and development. Although the absolute numbers of nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles have declined since the end of the cold war, disarmament remains a distant goal. See atomic bomb atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex.
..... Click the link for more information. ; cold war cold war, term used to describe the shifting struggle for power and prestige between the Western powers and the Communist bloc from the end of World War II until 1989.
..... Click the link for more information. ; disarmament, nuclear disarmament, nuclear, the reduction and limitation of the various nuclear weapons in the military forces of the world's nations. The atomic bombs dropped (1945) on Japan by the United States in World War II demonstrated the overwhelming destructive potential of
..... Click the link for more information. ; guided missile guided missile, self-propelled, unmanned space or air vehicle carrying an explosive warhead. Its path can be adjusted during flight, either by automatic self-contained controls or remote human control.
..... Click the link for more information. ; hydrogen bomb hydrogen bomb or H-bomb, weapon deriving a large portion of its energy from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes. In an atomic bomb, uranium or plutonium is split into lighter elements that together weigh less than the original atoms, the
..... Click the link for more information. ; nuclear energy nuclear energy, the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom and released through fission, fusion, or radioactivity. In these processes a small amount of mass is converted to energy according to the relationship E = mc², where E
..... Click the link for more information. ; nuclear physics nuclear physics, study of the components, structure, and behavior of the nucleus of the atom. It is especially concerned with the nature of matter and with nuclear energy.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See L. Martin, The Changing Face of Nuclear Warfare (1987).

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No references found	Kennedy, believed in the 1960s that there would be dozens of countries with nuclear weapons by now, and that their use would be highly probable. If implemented, Obama's nuclear agenda will render 2010 a critical ... by The Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon) Kennedy, believed in the 1960's that there would be dozens of countries with nuclear weapons by now, and that their use would be highly probable. Obama's nuclear agenda by Daily News Egypt (Egypt) GAO-09-828 September 18, 2009 A successful terrorist attack on a facility containing nuclear weapons could have devastating consequences. Homeland Defense: Greater Focus on Analysis of Alternatives and ... by General Accounting Office Reports & Testimony	nuclear spallation nuclear species Nuclear spectra Nuclear Spectroscopy nuclear spectrum nuclear spin nuclear spontaneous reaction nuclear stability nuclear star nuclear strategy Nuclear structure nuclear submarine nuclear superheating nuclear teleoperator Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty of 1963 nuclear thermionic converter nuclear time scale nuclear transfer nuclear transformation nuclear triode detector nuclear twin-probe gage nuclear warhead nuclear waste Nuclear Weapon nuclear weapons nuclear winter nuclear yield nuclear Zeeman effect nuclear-electric propulsion nuclear-electric rocket engine Nuclear-Free Zone Nuclear-Propulsion Plant Nuclease nucleate boiling nucleated glass nucleation nucleic acid Nucleic Acids nuclein nucleocapsid Nucleocytoplasmic Ratio nucleodesma nucleofuge nucleogenesis nucleoid NUCLEOL nucleolar Nucleolonema Nucleolus nucleon	Nuclear Weapon Accident Investigation Board nuclear weapon degradation Nuclear weapon design Nuclear weapon design Nuclear Weapon Effects Development Nuclear Weapon Effects Research Nuclear Weapon Effects Test nuclear weapon employment time nuclear weapon exercise Nuclear weapon free zone nuclear weapon maneuver Nuclear Weapon of Mass Destruction Nuclear Weapon Related Materiel Nuclear Weapon Release Procedures Nuclear weapon state Nuclear Weapon Storage Nuclear Weapon Storage Site Nuclear Weapon Subsystem Nuclear Weapon Subsystem Test Plan Nuclear Weapon System Safety Group Nuclear Weapon Systems Sustainment Programs Nuclear weapon yield Nuclear weapon yield nuclear weapon(s) accident Nuclear Weaponry Nuclear Weaponry nuclear weapons Nuclear Weapons Acceptance Inspection Nuclear Weapons Accident Response Procedures Nuclear Weapons Accounting System Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency Nuclear Weapons and Materials Technical Area Nuclear Weapons Applications and Planning Nuclear Weapons Archival Project Nuclear Weapons Assist Team Nuclear Weapons Center Nuclear Weapons Complex Nuclear Weapons Complex Modernization Task Force Nuclear Weapons Complex Network Nuclear Weapons Contingency Operational Module System Nuclear Weapons Correction Report Nuclear Weapons Council Nuclear Weapons Council Standing and Safety Committee Nuclear Weapons Council Standing Committee Nuclear Weapons Data nuclear weapons development guidance Nuclear Weapons Effect Panel Nuclear Weapons Effects Nuclear Weapons Effects Program Office Nuclear Weapons Effects Simulation Nuclear Weapons Electronic Specialist

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Kennedy, believed in the 1960s that there would be dozens of countries with nuclear weapons by now, and that their use would be highly probable.

If implemented, Obama's nuclear agenda will render 2010 a critical ... by The Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon)

Kennedy, believed in the 1960's that there would be dozens of countries with nuclear weapons by now, and that their use would be highly probable.

Obama's nuclear agenda by Daily News Egypt (Egypt)

GAO-09-828 September 18, 2009 A successful terrorist attack on a facility containing nuclear weapons could have devastating consequences.

Homeland Defense: Greater Focus on Analysis of Alternatives and ... by General Accounting Office Reports & Testimony

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Nuclear Weapons Accident Response Procedures
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Nuclear Weapons Applications and Planning
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Nuclear Weapons Electronic Specialist