110 lines
5.9 KiB
Markdown
110 lines
5.9 KiB
Markdown
'''Nuclear Weapons '''(sometimes called **atomic weapons**, **nuclear
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bombs**, **nukes**, **atomic bombs** or **A-bombs**) are the most
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powerful weapons in current existence, with small ones being able to
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flatten entire cities. They generate extreme amounts of force and heat
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via nuclear reactions that create very hot explosions several kilometres
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in diameter.
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## Accidents with Nuclear Weapons
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- 1961: A plane carrying two nuclear bombs in North Carolina, USA lost
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its wing dropped the bombs in the countryside, the parachutes of one
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bomb failed and it broke upon impact, with 5 out of the 6 safety
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devices failing.\[1\]
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- 1962: During an underground test of a nuclear bomb in the Algerian
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desert by the French military, an improperly sealed shaft has a
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flame burst through its concrete cap and radioactive gases and dust
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are vented into the atmosphere. The explosion climbed up to 2600m
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high and radiation was detected hundreds of kilometers away. About a
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hundred soldiers and officials, including two ministers, were
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irradiated. The number of contaminated Algerians is unknown.\[2\]
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- 2007: 6 live nuclear weapons in the US are accidentally loaded onto
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an aircraft and left unnoticed and unguarded for 36 hours until
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being discovered by a maintenance crew on the plane in
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Louisana.\[3\]
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- 2010: Nuclear missile silos in Wyoming, USA lost contact with a the
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main base, meaning that 50 nuclear missiles had an unknown status
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for an hour and would've been unable to cancel a launch. Luckily,
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none were launched, it was later discovered that
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[AT\&T](AT&T "wikilink") had not properly installed communication
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devices, despite assuring the government they had.\[4\]
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## Nuclear Close Calls
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Nuclear 'close calls' are moments in history where the world almost came
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close to witnessing a nuclear war.
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- 1956: During the [Suez Crisis](Suez_Crisis "wikilink"), the US
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detected unknown aircraft in Turkey, that USSR fighter jets were
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flying over Syria, that a British bomber aircraft had been shot down
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over Syria and that the USSR navy was moving out of the Black Sea
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into the Mediterranean, putting the US on high alert. However, all
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these events had reasonable explanations, the unknown aircraft in
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Turkey were a flock of birds detected in radar, a small air force
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escort by the USSR for the president of Syria, returning from
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Moscow, that the British bomber had crashed due to mechanical
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failures and the USSR navy was simply doing scheduled routine
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exercises.\[5\]
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- 1960: US radar equipment in Greenland mistakes a moonrise of Norway
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for a large-scale nuclera missile launch from the USSR. NORAD went
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on high alert. However, doubts about the authenticity of the attack
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arose due to the presence of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in New
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York as head of the USSR's United Nations delegation.\[6\]
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- 1961: Three US Ballistic Missile Early Warning Sites (one in
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Greenland, one in Alaska and on in England) suddenly lost
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communication with the Strategic Air Command Headquarters, leading
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them to believe a nuclear strike had taken place and bombers started
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their engines, awaiting orders. However, a plane in Greenland
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discovered that no attack had taken place and informed the Strategic
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Air Command that no attack had taken place. It was later discovered
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that a telephone relay station in Colorado had a motor that
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overheated.\[7\]
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- 1962: On October 26th, during the [Cuban Missile
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Crisis](Cuban_Missile_Crisis "wikilink"). The *B-59* nuclear patrol
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submarine owned by the USSR was harassed by US naval forces forcing
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it to submerge to the ocean floor. Unable to communicate with Moscow
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and running out of power for its life support systems, the dropping
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of practice depth charges (underwater bombs) by US ships were
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mistaken as actual depth charges. The commander of the submarine
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believed that nuclear war had already begun and Moscow had been
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destroyed and that the submarine should destroy the american ship.
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However, a sub-commander persuaded the commander to surface the ship
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and wait for orders via radio. Later that day, after a US spy plane
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was shot down over Cuba, another spy plane accidentally strayed in
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the airspace of the USSR, leading to MiG fighter jets deploying to
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shoot it down, leading to US F-102 fighter jets being deployed, both
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armed with nuclear missiles.\[8\] The destruction of a satellite
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owned by the USSR for unknown reasons led the US to believe a
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nuclear war was imminent.\[9\]
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- 1995: Russian military mistakes a rocket used to research the Aurora
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Borealis in the Arctic Ocean around Norway as a nuclear missile (as
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it is traveling at the same size, speed and route as a nuclear
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weapon) and prepare to launch nuclear weapons against the US and
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Western Europe, but stop after they realise the mistake.\[10\]
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## See Also
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- [Nuclear Energy](Nuclear_Energy "wikilink")
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<!-- end list -->
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1. [Union of Concerned
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Scientists](Union_of_Concerned_Scientists "wikilink") (2015) -
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[Close Calls with Nuclear
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Weapons](https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/04/Close%20Calls%20with%20Nuclear%20Weapons.pdf)
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2. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents#1960s>
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3.
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4.
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5. Project of the Nuclear Peace Age Foundation - [20 Mishaps That Might
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Have Started Accidental Nuclear
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War](http://nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/accidents/20-mishaps-maybe-caused-nuclear-war.htm)
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6. The New York Times (2018) - [Causes of False Missile Alerts: The
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Sun, the Moon and a 46-Cent
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Chip](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/us/false-alarm-missile-alerts.html)
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7.
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8. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_close_calls#27_October_1962>
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9.
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10. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_rocket_incident> |