About Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear weapons are the most devastating devices in the history of humanity. A relatively small nuclear bomb is capable of completely destroying a sizable city and its inhabitants along with it. Only two nuclear weapons have been used in warfare, both of which were detonated in Japanese cities by the United States of America during World War II.

Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction that release energy through nuclear reactions that involve relatively small amounts of substances. The effects include explosive blasts and the release of damaging forms of radiation. The thermal radiation released from a blast of this magnitude is capable of completely disintegrating nearby materials. Nuclear weapons can be divided into two groups: fission weapons and fusion weapons.

Fission Weapons

• These forms of nuclear weapons are often referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs. 


• All nuclear weapons derive a large amount of their power from fission reactions. 


• This type of reaction occurs when the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts. 


• Enriched uranium and plutonium are the most common substances used to fuel fission reactions. 


• Both of the weapons used by the United States during World War II were atomic bombs fueled by fission reactions.

Fusion Weapons

• Fusion weapons are often known as hydrogen bombs or thermonuclear weapons. 


• The weapons are fueled by fusion reactions that occur when hydrogen isotopes are joined; the most commonly used isotopes are deuterium and tritium. 


• Fusion weapons also gain a great deal of their power from fission reactions; this is because fission reactions are often used to trigger fusion reactions, which tend to trigger more fission reactions in turn. 


• The only countries known to have tested fusion-based nuclear weapons are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China, France, and India.