1 / 16

Nuclear Warfare and the Cold War

Nuclear Warfare and the Cold War. How I learned to love the Bomb. Fission Nuclear weapons Atomic bomb. Uranium 235 atoms are split in a chain reaction This causes a massive release of energy Basic Nuclear Fission. Fusion Thermonuclear weapons Hydrogen bomb.

gefjun
Download Presentation

Nuclear Warfare and the Cold War

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Nuclear Warfare and the Cold War How I learned to love the Bomb.

  2. FissionNuclear weaponsAtomic bomb • Uranium 235 atoms are split in a chain reaction • This causes a massive release of energy • Basic Nuclear Fission

  3. FusionThermonuclear weaponsHydrogen bomb • Hydrogen Isotopes are forced together to create energy – process that powers sun. • Needs a fission explosion to create enough heat and pressure to start reaction • Creates much bigger explosion

  4. What is yield? • The power of nuclear and thermonuclear explosions are expressed in tons of TNT equivalent explosive power. • Nuclear weapons are in Kilotons(kt) • Thermonuclear weapons are in Megatons(mt) • The Hiroshima bomb was 16-18 kt • The largest ever detonated was 59 mt

  5. Delivery(or how to send nuclear joy to your enemy) • 1st bombs were delivered like any other bomb….by airplane. • This was the primary method of delivery until the mid 50s. • By 1980 their where several ways to deliver nuclear weapons • Airplane, Artillery, Missile • There were several varieties of each.

  6. Airplanes • Bombers – original means of delivery since early bombs were big and needed big airplanes • As the Cold War progressed advances in tech produced smaller weapons and a greater diversity of airplane delivery systems. • Today most military combat aircraft can deliver some sort of nuclear weapon • Bombers tend to be strategic and fighters/fighter bombers tend to be tactical

  7. Artillery • By the late 50s nuclear weapons had been reduced in size so they could fit into large cannons. • These were developed to use smaller atomic weapons on the battlefield. • These are called tactical nuclear weapons.

  8. MissilesGuided missiles to be accurate • There are 2 types of guided missiles • Ballistic – launched very high in big arcing trajectory • Cruise – flies like an airplane low to the ground. • Germans were the first to develop both in WW2 • V1 cruise and V2 ballistic

  9. Ballistic missiles • Ballistic missiles are categorized by range • Short range ballistic missile – SRBM • Medium range ballistic missile – MRBM • Intermediate – IRBM • Intercontinental - ICBM

  10. Submarines • By the early 60s the US developed nuclear powered submarines • They also developed a system to launch ballistic missiles from submarines • These are called SLBMs • The submarines are called Ballistic missile Submarines or “boomers” • Primarily strategic in nature.

  11. Cruise missiles • Fly like an airplane • Can be launched from… • the ground (GLCM) • From airplanes (ALCM) • From ships and subs (SLCM) • Tend to be more accurate and have a shorter range than ballistic missiles • Can be used tactically or strategically

  12. Other developments • MIRV – Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle • Basically putting many warheads on one missile. • Done in response to restrictions on the number of missiles • Neutron Bomb – enhanced radiation device • Developed to be used against Warsaw Pact Armies • Reduces physical damage of explosion while being lethal to people • Tactical nuclear weapon

  13. Defending against Nuclear Weapons • Airplanes – Shoot them down before they get to target • Cruise missiles –very hard to shoot down • Ballistic missiles- almost impossible to shoot down – ABM systems • ABM – Anti-Ballistic Missile • Early ones such as Nike-Hercules used nuclear warheads • Not very effective

  14. How to fight a nuclear war. • First Strike – take out your enemies nuclear forces before he can use them against you • Deterance – have enough nukes to survive or launch counter-strike before his weapons arrive • MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction • When both sides have enough nukes and delivery systems to ensure that they can launch a retaliatory strike that will destroy the attacker • Came about when the USSR finally had enough ICBMs to hit US.

  15. How each side organized its nuclear forces. • US developed nuclear “Triad” • Equal distribution of strategic nuclear weapons among bombers, submarines and ballistic missiles • Allowed greater flexiblity and less vulnerability • USSR had mostly ICBMs • 70% of Soviet strategic nukes in silos in ICBMs, rest in subs and bombers

  16. Effects of nukes • Detailed effects on a few american cities • http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/index.shtml • Blast radius based on size • http://www.fas.org/main/content.jsp?formAction=297&contentId=367 • List of US nukes • http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html

More Related