If a medium-sized nuclear weapon were detonated over a city, everything within a fifty mile radius of the explosion would be flattened. That being said, there are approximately 13,890 nuclear warheads in the world. Russia has about 6,500 and the United States has about 6,185. The first successful nuclear weapon test took place in July 1945. The test was conducted by the United States in New Mexico. Less than a month later, the United States dropped two nuclear weapons on Japan, making it the first country to use nuclear weapons in war. The outbreak of global nuclear war constitutes the greatest global catastrophic threat facing humanity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe development of a nuclear weapon began with the discovery of nuclear fission, learning how to produce a reaction controlled and looking for a way to use the weapon. German scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman were the first to discover nuclear fission (Cochran and Norris). They discovered that bombarding uranium atoms with neutrons created a radioactive isotope of barium. The neutrons caused the uranium nucleus to break or fission into two pieces. This information was brought to the United States by Neils Bohr. Bohr later learned that each fission process releases on average about two neutrons. If many fission processes were close together, they would cause a chain reaction that would release a very large amount of energy. After understanding how to produce a controlled chain reaction, the next step was to assemble a weapon in which the fission process could be used. Originally, the weapon was supposed to be a firearm. A piece of Uranium-235, also known as Plutonium-239, would be placed in the barrel of a gun and then fired at the target. This idea failed because when Plutonium-239 was manufactured, it would sometimes absorb an extra electron, causing it to spontaneously fission and explode prematurely, which was very dangerous in close proximity. The final decision was to implode the plutonium rather than explode. To do this, there must be a compressed sphere of plutonium surrounded by other explosives. The plutonium was compressed to conserve the amount used so it could be used for more bombs. The final design resulted in a thirteen-pound plutonium sphere with a small hole drilled for the neutron reactor to pass through. Through the process of fission and its equivalent, fusion, the world has been able to create approximately 14,000 nuclear weapons. Although the world has a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons, only two of these nuclear bombs have ever been used. The first nuclear weapon used was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the United States of America (“Atomic Bomb History”). The United States needed a way to get Japan to capitulate. The economic blockade and conventional bombing were not convincing enough to force Japan to withdraw. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped its first nuclear bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” on the city of Hiroshima. “Little Boy” swept away almost everything except the reinforced concrete buildings. It killed approximately 69,000 people and injured approximately 64,000 civilians in Hiroshima (United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Manhattan District). The bombing of Hiroshima did not cause Japanese Emperor Hirohito to surrender. As a result, the United States decided to drop another nuclear weapon on Japan. The second and final nuclear weapon used was dropped on the Japanese city of..