from Trident section

" In August 1945 at the end of World War II the United States of America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. These were the first nuclear weapons to be used. Their destructive power was very much greater than that of any weapon used before.

In the confrontion between Russia and the US which began after World War II, nuclear weapons were manufactured in large numbers.

In the 1970s the US deployed its system of submarine-launched nuclear missiles which it called Trident. "

Summary

In 1912 Albert Einstein proposed that mass and energy are equivalent: if a piece of matter could be converted to energy a predictable amount would be released. During World War II research was undertaken in the US to find a way to do this so that an atomic bomb could be made.

In 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Their destructive power was equal to that of thousands of tons of high explosive. Both towns were destroyed.

It is frequently argued that it was these attacks which brought about the end of the war with Japan. Against this argument is the claim that the cities were bombed to demonstrate to the world, and in particular to the USSR, the military power of the US. One statement of this counter-claim is made in this essay by Brian Quail.

Shortly after the war Britain and Russia also made atomic bombs. In the 1950s all three countries developed the more powerful H-bomb, with the explosive power of millions of tons of chemical explosive.

Bombs were tested in the atmosphere with the release of radioactive particles which will continue to cause cancer deaths for many years. In 1963 a Test Ban Treaty brought these tests to an end.
(see CND UK's Nuclear testing section.)

The arms race which was part of the Cold War between the USSR and US with its allies brought the accumulation of more and bigger bombs. The state of tension reached a climax in 1962 when the USSR sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. After the missiles were withdrawn a 'hot line' was set up so that the leaders of the US and the USSR could speak directly. In 1972 an Anti-Ballistic Treaty was signed by the which US and USSR agreed to restrict their defences against incoming missiles carrying atom bombs. This was consistent with the US advocacy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). In 1983 President Regan moved against the doctrine by proposing Star Wars which was a plan to equip the US with means to destroy incoming missiles before they reached their targets. (This plan has again been recommended by President George W. Bush.)
(See CND UK's Nuclear Weapons Treaties and International arms control treaties sections.)
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Weapons

During the military nuclear power era as well as aquiring great quantities of atomic explosive the nuclear powers have equipped their forces with all manner of nuclear weaponry. The US especially made nuclear weapons that could be launched by individual soldiers, from artillery, aircraft, surface vessels, submarines, and sent by missiles - some which kept close to the ground (for example Cruise), and some which travelled into space before returning to earth (for example Trident - click here to see how Trident works). The chief nuclear weapons now are nuclear missiles launched from sites in the ground and from submarines.
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Politics

The period from World War II till the collapse of the Soviet Union - called the Cold War - has been seen to be dominated by the existence of nuclear weapons. The five permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations are the nuclear powers US, Russia, China, France, and UK. The Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1969 prohibited other countries from joining the club. Israel, India, and Pakistan have not complied. Most countries are opposed to nuclear weapons and to their possession by the nuclear powers who justify holding on to them on the grounds that the other countries have them and because they might be required to control 'rogue' nations - for example Libya and Iraq.