Nuclear Weapons Pros and Cons

Nuclear weapons have been in this world since World War 2 and have been used, till date only twice and that too in the same war we are speaking about. The only country to use nuclear weapons was the United States of America. The US dropped two atomic nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the world witnessed the power of the man-made nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons effects were such that millions of innocent people were killed and this brought the end of the World War 2. Scientists have long debated on the pros and cons of nuclear weapons. Some say it's very essential for a country, but some still see it as a major threat to the human race. Let's discuss some nuclear weapons pros and cons.

Nuclear Weapons Facts

• A nuclear weapon derives its devastating force from nuclear fission reaction. So, even a small nuclear weapon has enough potential to wipe out an entire city.
• In history, nuclear weapons have been used twice both during the closing days of the World War 2. The first one was dropped on the 6th of August 1945 on Hiroshima and the second bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki. You may also want to find out more information on bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• There are still 26,000 nuclear weapons in the world which is enough to destroy the entire human civilization.
• Of all the nuclear weapons in the world, 95% belong to US and Russia.
• There are currently nine countries in possession of nuclear weapons (US, Russia, India, China, UK, France, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea).
• The United States enjoys the right to declare any form of military action if it or its allies face any attack by a weapon of mass destruction. The United States also assures that it would not use a nuclear power bomb against a non nuclear state, unless the state attacked the US and its allies with a nuclear weapon.
• There are up to 2,000,000 kilograms of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) in global reserve and it take just 15 to 24 kilograms to make a nuclear weapon. There are about 27 countries which have enough reserve to make one nuclear bomb and 12 countries which have stock worth 20 nuclear bombs.
• Nuclear reactors create plutonium which also acts like a source of bomb material. It takes less than 5 kilograms of plutonium to make a nuclear bomb. There are around 500,000 kilograms of plutonium in global stockpiles. Its stock continues to rise due to civilian spent fuel reprocessing.
• The Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) which was signed between the US and Russia, requires them to lessen their deployed nuclear weapons between 1,700 to 2,200 by December 31, 2012. The day this treaty expires, both the countries can redeploy as many nuclear weapons as they want. The weapons which have been taken off deployed status are not being demolished, but are placed in storage where they are easily accessible and can be stolen by criminal and terrorist groups.

Nuclear Weapons Pros and Cons

Nuclear weapons advantages and disadvantages have been discussed by people from all walks of life. Some rational people think it's a secured future for their families, but some who know and have seen the destruction caused by nuclear bombs despise it. You might also be interested in nuclear power pros and cons.

Pros: Nuclear weapons have protected mankind since two generations. They are the ultimate hindrance to any enemy and the best way to ensure peace. The decision to replace a nuclear bomb with a new security measure has always been laid back. Nobody can predict how much dangerous the world will become when there would be no nuclear bombs. It is probably impossible to check the number of nuclear bombs in the world. Defense experts also say that it wouldn't be a wise decision to scrap all nuclear weapons when hostile states like Iran are about to acquire a nuclear bomb.

Cons: Use of nuclear weapons is immoral. We should try to prevent their growth. More the number of nuclear weapons made, more are the risks it poses to human life. Maintaining a nuclear bomb is very expensive. It takes a large share of the country's defense budget. Countries are more likely to have a civil war in which they can use nuclear weapons against each other, which could prove disastrous to the entire globe. Possession of nuclear weapons is an outdated manly symbol. Countries like Germany, Spain and Australia don't have any nuclear weapons, but are still popular as the US and UK.

Read more on:

• Effects of Nuclear Radiation
• Nuclear Weapons: Are they easy to design?

This elimination of nuclear weapons is practically impossible, but if we take a sincere effort, we might be able to make this planet free from nuclear weapons. I hope this article on nuclear weapons pros and cons helped you understand the various aspects of this destructive weapon.
By Kulbhushaan Raghuvanshi
FEMA: Nuclear Power Plant Emergency
Reports prepared by FEMA on the issues involved in nuclear emergency management and background information on nuclear hazards.

Top 10 Nuclear Weapons Countries

It is predicted that we humans ourselves will destroy our planet earth, so gracefully gifted to us by God, by war. Numerous wars have been fought till date, wherein some are aggressors while others are defenders. There are many things that need to be noted when one talks about the nuclear weapons pros and cons. Whatever the reason for acquiring arms, every country needs to defend its soil. In the race to do so, some have gone way ahead of others, and thus find a place in the list of top 10 nuclear weapons countries.

The race for arms among the top 10 military powers of the world has been hot since the past 60 - 70 years. There are other countries too that are believed to possess nuclear arms and warheads. Though, for now let us have a look at the top 10 nuclear power countries.

Nuclear Weapons Countries List

Country	First Year of Testing	Code Name	Active Warheads	Total Warheads	Status
United States	1945	Trinity	2468	9600	NPT
Russia	1949	RDS-1	4650	12000	NPT
United Kingdom	1952	Hurricane	160	225	NPT
France	1960	Gerboise Bleue	300	300	NPT
China	1964	596	180	240	NPT
India	1974	Smiling Buddha	Unknown	80	Non-NPT
Pakistan	1998	Chagai-I	Unknown	90	Non-NPT
North Korea	2006	2006 Test	Unknown	10	Non-NPT
Israel	1979	Vela Incident	Unknown	80	Undeclared
Germany/Belgium/Canada/Greece/ Italy/Netherlands/Turkey	Provided by US	---	---	---	---

Countries With Nuclear Weapons

These are the top 10 nuclear weapons countries on our planet. The top 5 mentioned here are member of the (NPT) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The next 3 countries are not members of the NPT. Israel is a non-declared state regarding nuclear weapons, and the rest are NATO nuclear weapons sharing nations.

United States: During World War II, it was feared that the Nazi regime would strive to develop nuclear weapons. As such, the United States started the Manhattan Project along with Canada and the United Kingdom. Trinity was first developed in 1945. The US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 2 Japanese cities, and is the only nation till date to have used nuclear weapons against another country.

Russia: After the World War, Russia needed to restore some balance of power during the Cold War. They were disparate and scrambled to develop their own nuclear weapons program, to be on the same page with the US. It is also believed that Russia made use of many spies to help develop their projects. Russia has the distinction of detonating the most powerful device by humans, the Tsar Bomba.

United Kingdom: Hurricane was first tested by the UK in 1952. A lot of its resources and data was taken from the Manhattan Project, that was done in collaboration with the United States. The UK's main aim was that its project act as a deterrent to Russia. It did not want to reply completely on the US for help and wanted to be an independent nuclear power.

France: Now the French did not want to be lagging behind. It wanted to be a power to reckon with, at least in Europe if not around the world. A commendable fact is that most of the project was carried out on indigenous data. Gerboise Bleue was tested in 1960.

China: China was wary of both the US and Russia. 596 was first tested in 1964. But once the Chinese got started, they worked hard and fast, and were striving to be at par with the 2 superpowers Russia and the US. Although, China is the only country in the nuclear weapons club to have adopted the 'first no use' policy.

India: India tested Smiling Budhha in 1974. India maintained that it was a peaceful nuclear program, but it was alleged that the dual use technology was in use, where civilian nuclear technology could be secretly channeled to weapons technology. India's aim was to be at par with China, and also make sure that neighbor Pakistan was aware of India's power.

Pakistan: Not wanting to be left behind by India, Pakistan started its own nuclear program, which is believed to have been helped by China. But it was only in 1998 that Pakistan tested Chagia, and is believed to be a nation in hot pursuit of increasing its stockpile.

North Korea: The first test by North Korea was just recently in 2006. North Korea was a member of the NPT until 2003. Not much is known about the tests and subsequent projects, as North Korea is one of the most secretive countries in the world.

Israel: Israel has never officially declared that it is a nuclear weapons state, and has always maintained that, whatever it does is related to its civilian nuclear program. Though, bunkers for weapons, mobile missile launchers and launch sites have been captured in satellite images.

Germany/Belgium/Canada/Greece/Italy/Netherlands/Turkey: These are NATO countries, and as a result of the NATO nuclear weapons sharing program, these nations have deployed and stored nuclear weapons that have been provided by the United States. This program is believed to be compliant with the NPT, as the US possesses absolute custody and control of these nuclear weapons.

Besides these top 10 nuclear weapons countries, there are a few countries that are on the verge of realizing their nuclear dreams, though things are not very clear about them in this regard. These countries are Iran, Iraq and Syria, though at present Iraq is not able to work towards a nuclear goal due to their situation as regards to the US. Then there were a few countries who were considered nuclear powers earlier. Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukrain became nuclear powers when they inherited weapons due to the fall of the USSR. But they have given back these weapons to Russia and joined the NPT. Lastly, countries such as South Africa, Argentina, South Korea, Libya, Brazil and Taiwan, have all had nuclear weapon programs, but have shelved them.
By Clifford AGA
HowStuffWorks "How Nuclear Power Works"
Nuclear power provides electricity for a significant percentage of the population. Learn about nuclear fission and take a look inside a nuclear reactor

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