A nuclear weapon is defined as a device that has the ability to explode like a bomb due to a series of chemical reactions through fission (division), fusion (joining), or a combination of both. The reaction produces a lot of energy as compared to its reacting elements. It is reported that for an explosion from a billion kilograms of conventionally high explosives, one needs only 1000kg of thermonuclear weapons. Due to their ability to cause huge explosions, nuclear weapons have been declared to be Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). This means that their use can result in great losses of life and destruction of property, as was witnessed in August 1945 during World War II when the US detonated it in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan (Rezelman, Gosling and Terrence; “Page on the Hiroshima casualties”). It caused the death of 120,000 people and later some succumbed to long-term effects related to ionization (radiation).
One frequently asked question is whether there are different types of nuclear weapons? Basically, there are three types of nuclear weapons. The classification depends on the way by which the reaction is initiated. First, we have fission bombs that result from compressing a sub-critical sphere of a material using chemical explosives to multiple times the amount of its density. The second is the thermonuclear bomb where the energy emanating from the fission reactions is used to spark an explosion by compressing on heating fuel (tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride). The third and last category comprises neutron, salted, and boosted fission bombs whose reaction modes are based on either one or a combination of the first two. “Swords of Armageddon” (Hansen 50-118).
Facts about nuclear weapons are not known by many, and it is an ongoing debate worldwide on whether to own or not to own nuclear weapons. Some countries are reported to be already having nuclear weapons and those that do not feel left out. Therefore, some of them are trying to acquire the weapons themselves, while others are busy forming allies with the countries that have the weapons.
Many people have expressed their concern about the global security situation due to the presence of these nuclear weapons. To address this, the UN has made proposals on a disarmament process to create a leveled ground security state, worldwide. The condition is that, whether any given country can or can not afford to have nuclear weapons is no question; none of them is authorized to do so. This is what the audience is to be made aware of to help them understand the situation better on the risks the world runs if countries are allowed to acquire the WMD gadgets. A sample of the survey questionnaire to help researchers identify how much his/her audience understands facts on nuclear weapons is as shown below:
- What is a nuclear weapon?
- When and where did you first hear of nuclear weapons?
- What do you think a nuclear weapon is like?
- In your own opinion, which countries do you think have nuclear weapons?
- What do you think about a country owning nuclear weapons?
- Do you accept the use of nuclear weapons?
Work Cited
Hansen, Chuck. Swords of Armageddon: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development since 1945 Vol 1: Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications, 1995.
Hansen, Chuck. U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History. San Antonio, TX: Aerofax, 1988.
Rezelman, David; F.G. Gosling and Terrence R. Fehner: (2000). “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima”: The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History. U.S. Department of Energy: The page on Hiroshima casualties.