Informative Essay: The Harmful Effects Of Nuclear Weapons

650 Words3 Pages

Many people have heard of nuclear weapons, but not many people know the way nuclear weapons work, or how dangerous they can actually be. Nuclear weapons have taken the lives of several people and new weapons are created everyday to kill more people. The technology behind nuclear weapons are complex and require experts and extra care due to the fact that they are on hair-like triggers and could destroy everything around them in a matter of seconds. Firstly, there are two types of nuclear bombs that can be made, fission and fusion. Fission bombs are often referred to as Atomic bombs because of the atoms inside the bomb. Fission bombs use the splitting of atoms to cause an explosion. The splitting of atoms can cause a powerful reaction, so they …show more content…

Fusion and fission bombs can be combined to create a hybrid nuclear bomb, which would just make it twice as dangerous. The smallest nuclear bomb ever created was the W54. Created by the US, the purpose of the bomb was to destroy bridges and other small areas in Europe. The W54 was a fusion bomb. The largest nuclear bomb ever created was the Tsar Bomba. Tested and created by the Soviet Union in 1961, the shockwave from the explosion circled the Earth 3 times. The Tsar Bomba was also a fusion bomb. Secondly, these bombs of mass destruction cannot just be tested anywhere. They are tested in areas where humans have no access, for instance, uninhabited islands, underwater, deserts, and the atmosphere. The radiation that is released with nuclear weapons can cause humans to develop different types of health issues, especially cancer. For this reason, they are not to be tested around humans. South Africa and Israel are among the few countries who have never tested nuclear weapons. America and France are the only two countries who have compensated for the damages they have done to the people of their countries during these nuclear tests. Russia compensated for the veterans that were part of their nuclear tests, but never the civilians. The experts behind the creation and testing of these bombs are mathematicians, physicists, engineers, and scientists. Government officials are often in charge of these