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**Nuclear Weapons Public Service Announcement**

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**//__About Nuclear Weapons:__//**

 * Nuclear weapons get their energy from nuclear reactions. There are two types of nuclear reactions: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Nuclear weapons work by either of these two reactions. Nuclear fission is when the very large, unstable nucleus splits into smaller and more stable nuclei to create enormous amounts of energy. The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WW II were nuclear fission bombs or atomic bombs. Nuclear fusion is when nuclei with low masses combine to form a heavier and more stable nucleus, which releases even more energy than nuclear fission. Nuclear Fusion is when many atoms join together and form a bigger atom. Nuclear Fusion is very common, and fuel stars. The Hydrogen bomb which uses Fusion and Fission is more powerful than the Atomic bomb.


 * Another name for the nuclear fission bomb is an atomic bomb. An atomic bomb has the destructive power of 20,000 tons of TNT(Trinitrotoluene). Another comparison to how powerful a nuclear bomb is that it is estimated to be as powerful as 67 million sticks of dynamite. When the first ever nuclear bomb was tested in Los Alamos, New Mexico, before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the nuclear bomb was being kept in a steel container and after the explosion, the whole steel container was melted. Another name for the Nuclear Fusion bomb is the Hydrogen Bomb. The power of a Hydrogen Bomb is about an average of 10 megatons. Each megaton is equal to 1,000,000 Tons of TNT. This is about 500 times stronger than the Atomic Bomb.




 * History of the Nuclear Weapon: The nuclear weapon was first developed by scientists in the Manhattan Project during WW II. It took three years of intense research to develop it. The Manhattan Project cost $20,000,000,000 to fund. The Manhattan Project first started because Einstein stated that it was possible to create a very powerful bomb with uranium, and the nazis were already experimenting with it. The first testing of the Atomic bombs were during WWII. The first tests were in July 1945. The first Hydrogen Bomb that was tested happened in 1952. The U.S.S.R tested it in 1953. All the tests have been underwater, and none have been used in warfare.



**//__What We Think:__//**



 * When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II, there was an immense amount of damage that occured. When the bomb was dropped, there was a 300 meter fireball radius of pure destruction. The heat produced from the bomb was up to 4,000 degrees Celsius. The people in Hiroshima that were out in the open when the bomb dropped were instantly vaporized or turned into carbon. Other people had burnt skin. Some people had no skin, their skin was all burnt off, even their face. Some of them were able to walk about 3 miles before dying.


 * The atomic bomb released in Hiroshima caused enormous amounts of beta and gamma rays. Beta rays can be stopped by a sheet of plastic. Gamma rays can be stopped by a thick sheet of lead or concrete. The rays must have traveled a great distance. Also immediately after the bomb, there was a powerful shock wave that traveled at the speed of sound. The shock wave knocked down many of the buildings that survived the blasts and many more objects. The radiation released also mixed in with the cloud and created black rain which was very, very radioactive. Many people died just from drinking the contaminated rain. Some effects on the Japanese from the radiation were that purple spots appeared all over their bodies, vomited, and when their hair was touched, it would come off their head and stick to their hand.


 * The amount of nuclear bombs that are on the earth right now have the potential to destroy our whole planet and wipe humanity right off the face of the earth. The after effects or radiation will remain on the earth for thousands of years and that area will be inhabitable for thousands of years. It takes an enormous amount of money to just maintain one nuclear weapon, and USA has many nuclear weapons. The money to maintain nuclear bombs comes from US defense budget. Also nuclear power plants can be a big target for terrorist attacks which would be devastating for the health of humans and nature.



//__The History of Nuclear Weapons:__//
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJe7fY-yowk

**//__References:__//**
[|http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=true&prodId=OVIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId= GALE%7CEJ3010611211&mode=view]

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/nuclear-weapons-pros-and-cons.html

http://www.timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-nuclear-power-and-sustainability

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Nagasakibomb.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Fission_bomb_assembly_methods.svg

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40169

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5tKvwoPy9SM/SxE21WLfx4I/AAAAAAAAHHc/o6TX1JkKjEs/s1600/Lane-Iran_Nuclear_Po.jpg

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/fat-man-model.jpg

http://peacesymbols.org/svg/art/openclipart.org/cibo00_anti-nuclear_weapons_sign-555px.png

http://www.political-economy.net/map-nuclear-world.gif

http://library.thinkquest.org/C005271F/atohyd.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/abomb.html

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/bomb.html

==//__Source Citations: __//==

 "50 Facts About U.S. Nuclear Weapons - Brookings Institution." Brookings - Quality. Independence. Impact. Brookings. Web.04 Feb. 2012. . "Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power |

"Nuclear Weapons." //Http: //hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu//. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. . //

//Time for Change." Time for Change | For Whom Enough Is Too Little - Nothing Is Ever Enough. 14 Jan. 2007. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. . Raghuvanshi, Kulbhushaan. //

" The Threat of Nuclear Terrorism Is Real " by Matthew Bunn. Nuclear Weapons Louise I. Gerdes, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2009. Matthew Bunn, "The Risk Of Nuclear Terrorism—And Next Steps To Reduce The Danger," Testimony for the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, April 2, 2008. Reproduced by permission of the author. Wilmshurst, Paul, dir. Hiroshima: BBC History of World War II. BBC World wide, 2006. Film. "Nuclear Weapons Pros and Cons." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Buzzle, 21 Aug. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. . United, Nations. "Dream of Nuclear-weapon-free

World Is Possible, Ban Says." Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. .

==__**Picture Citations:**__ ==

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Fission_bomb_assembly_methods.svg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5tKvwoPy9SM/SxE21WLfx4I/AAAAAAAAHHc/o6TX1JkKjEs/s1600/Lane-Iran_Nuclear_Po.jpg

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/fat-man-model.jpg

http://peacesymbols.org/svg/art/openclipart.org/cibo00_anti-nuclear_weapons_sign-555px.png

http://www.political-economy.net/map-nuclear-world.gif