The Consequences Nuclear War

This report will cover topics on Nuclear Warfare. The following things will be discussed in this topic is Creation/Testing of nuclear weapons, where the bombs were used, human and ecological risks and environmental risks that come with and after a nuclear war.

The Creation/Testing

In 1938 the first atomic explosives where deemed possible to make because three men by the names of Fritz Strassman, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner discovered nuclear fission at a laboratory in Berlin, Germany. Plutonium-239 and uranium-235 are the most commonly used radioactive materials in nuclear weapons. The reason they are used more commonly is that they are more stable, which allows for easier transport.

Nuclear bomb testing first began in Alamogordo, New Mexico, July 16th, 1945. The first nuclear bomb was tested and dropped in the desert creating a mushroom cloud around 40,000 feet high. This is what had started the nuclear age. There are two ways for the nuclear detonation to occur. The first way is by nuclear fission when an atom splits into two or more nuclei. Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, is the exact opposite and combines two atomic nuclei which then releases a vast amount of energy causing the blast.

Usage of nuclear weapons

On the date of August, 6th, 1945 America's military carried out a mission to drop the first ever nuclear weapon deployed in the war. The name of the bomb was “The little boy” it was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The explosion was estimated to be 13,000 kilotons of force, it leveled the city in a range of five miles and estimations were that it killed around 80,000 people instantly. Many after the explosion died later on due to nuclear exposure.

After the dropping of the first bomb, the Japanese were not showing a sign of surrender even though they had lost many lives and the Nazi party had already lost the war America’s plan was to drop another bomb on the city of Nagasaki. Initially they were not going to drop the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, but instead, the pilots had wanted to bomb the city of Kokura where the Japanese had some of the largest munitions plants. But because of some recent firebombing raids on the city, they headed to Nagasaki as their secondary. The bombs name was “The fat man” when the bomb made contact with the ground estimations were that approximately 40,000 people had died.

Human and ecological risks

After the explosion occurs the cloud or mushroom from a nuclear bomb detonation takes most of the radioactive material up into the atmosphere. When the material eventually comes back down it becomes very harmful towards humans. Small surface materials, pebbles, rocks and the material used to construct the bomb will also be taken up into the atmosphere. Larger material such as the pebbles, rocks, and material used for to create the bomb will come back down in some hours, while dirt, dust or ash will stay in the atmosphere for a few days. Whilst it is up I the atmosphere most of it becomes incorporated into the raindrops which then falls back down to earth.

When it mixes into the water and rains into a lake or on a city, animals and people will be able to drink it which will cause the water to be contaminated and not drinkable. Birth defects and Cancer will also play another role in this for humans and animals. Birth defects can play a big role, for animals they could see the baby that may be deformed deemed as dead weight and leave it behind. Cancer can also become another big issue since many people would be drinking out of the lake water and get treated there will still be some radiation left behind and when consumed you can get cancer very easily depending on how much you consume, which means that you could get it in a few weeks down the line or a few decades.

If the biggest atomic bomb (Tsar bomba) was dropped in a very thick forest around 21.2km would be flattened from the impact of the bomb. This would cause a severe decrease in some species, they would lose possibly a native habitat for them and anything within that radius would most likely die or be injured. 

Therefore, there is no need to provide additional arguments as to why the use of nuclear weapons and nuclear war in general is one of the most dangerous options for starting/ending a military conflict. The use of nuclear weapons will affect not only both members of the war, but also other countries.