Nuclear Weapons & Nuclear Warfare - University of Notre Dame › ~nsl › Lectures ›...

Nuclear Weapons & Nuclear Warfare

PHYSICS 20061, SS2012Michael Wiescher

Lecturers

Will Bauder NSH117aKaren Chamberlin NSH113b

Michael Wiescher, Physics NSH181Manoel Couder, Physics

That’s You

Fact Sheet

28,800: The total number of intact nuclear warheads retained by the United States and Russia. 30,000: Number of intact nuclear warheads throughout the world. 17,500 of these are operational. 128,000+: Estimated number of nuclear warheads built worldwide since 1945.

All but 2 percent of these nuclear warheads have been built by the United States (55 % or 70,000+) and Russia (43 % or 55,000+).

10,729: Total number of intact U.S. nuclear warheads (274 warheads are awaiting dismantlement) 10,455: Total warheads in the U.S. stockpile ~7,000: Number of operational strategic U.S. nuclear weapons ~1,600: Number of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons (~800 of these are operational) 8,400: Total number of operational nuclear warheads in Russian arsenal 5,000: Approximate number of Russian strategic nuclear weapons 3,400: Approximate number of operational Russian tactical nuclear weapons

(total tactical arsenal said to comprise as many as 10,000+ weapons) 3,500: Approximate number of strategic U.S. nuclear weapons, year 2003 under START II. 3,000: Approximate number of strategic Russian nuclear weapons, year 2003 under START II. ~2,000: Maximum number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons that will remain in the U.S.

and Russian arsenals by 2012 ( The Treaty of Moscow (also known as SORT) signed by U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2002.

10,000: The number of warheads the United States will retain in 2012 (essentially the same number as today)

$3.5 trillion: Amount the United States spent between 1940 and 1995 to prepare to fight a nuclear war. $27 billion: Amount the United States spends annually to prepare to fight a nuclear war. $2.2 billion: Cost for one B-2 bomber (21 were authorized by Congress). $2.5 billion: The lifecycle cost of each B-2 (RDT&E, procurement, operations, maintenance, support).The figures cited above were gathered with the aid of resources from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datainx.asp and the Secretary of Defense Office http://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/index.htm

The History of warfare in the 20th century

The Physicsof the bomb

Technical Design of Bomb

Little Boy.exe

Fat Man.exe

Infra-structure requirements for a nuclear weapon program

Popularization of the Bombthe Fear Factor

Duck and Cover

The Bomb Showthe weapon test series 1945-1963

Medical Consequences

The U.S. "Federal Emergency Management Agency" predicts approximately86,000,000 people dead and 34,000,000 severely injured in the United States. Thereare about 2,000,000 hospital beds in Canada and U.S.A. combined.

"Lethal effects of radiation can be summarized briefly: a very high dose (5000 rads +)causes death in hours; a smaller but lethal dose (400 rads +): death in weeks. In thelatter case, sickness starts with diarrhea and vomiting, followed by some temporaryimprovement, and then the same symptoms recur with the addition of hemorrhage,anemia, infections, and a slow death."

Business Opportunities & Ethics

Ecological ConsequencesFall-Out

International Nuclear Weapon Treaties1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty1967 Outer Space Treaty1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I ABM treaty1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I Interim Agreement1979 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty1993 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

Personal Conscience“Thou shalt not kill”

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."

Scientific Hubris?

The Bomb Test Series

SyllabusThe course on Nuclear Warfare PHYS 20061 is offered by the PhysicsDepartment, co-listed by the Reilly Center of Technology and Values and theKroc institute for International Peace Studies as an introductory course fornon-science majors to provide an overview about the broad range of topicsand aspects of nuclear weapons and warfare in the 20th century.

Class ContentThe course will start with the history and emergence of weapons of massdestruction technologies as a consequence of World War I and World War II,culminating in the development and use of the nuclear bomb. This will befollowed by a discussion of the underlying physics principles to provide thenecessary background for a basic understanding of nuclear weaponstechniques and nuclear weapons effects as well as the decay radiationdriven consequences. These consequences will be discussed in terms ofshort-range, atmospheric, biological, and medical effects together with theimplications for social groups and societies. This will be complemented by anextensive discussion of the legal, political, and ethical implications ofpossession and use of nuclear weapons and nuclear warfare.

Class Content & Participation Participation & Discussion

Concentration points for class: 3 questions/lecture

x<10 Homework Sets (collaborative effort)

Midterm exam(single person effort)

Final project report

Date Lecture17‐Jan‐12 Introduction & Overview19‐Jan‐12 Modern Warfare in the 20th Century24‐Jan‐12  Radioactivity, the New Toy26‐Jan‐12 The Physics of Nuclear Decay31‐Jan‐12 What is Nuclear Energy02‐Feb‐12 Dawn of the Nuclear Age07‐Feb‐12 The Total War07‐Feb‐12 The Manhattan Project09‐Feb‐12 The German Competition14‐Feb‐12 Hiroshima & Nagasaki16‐Feb‐12 Uranium Bomb versus Plutonium Bomb21‐Feb‐12 Destructive Power of Nuclear Weapons23‐Feb‐12 Biological and Medical Effects of Radiation28‐Feb‐12 Early Moral Opposition01‐Mar‐12 The Cold War, the First Case of Proliferation08‐Mar‐12 The Hydrogen Bomb13‐Mar‐1215‐Mar‐1220‐Mar‐12 Natural Radioactivity22‐Mar‐12 The US Testprogram27‐Mar‐12 US tests in atmosphere and under ground29‐Mar‐12 The Cold War, Further Proliferation03‐Apr‐12 Radiation Fall‐Out and Distribution05‐Apr‐12 Nuclear Winter10‐Apr‐12 Easter Break12‐Apr‐12 Societal Impact and Emotional Fears17‐Apr‐12 Nonproliferation Treaties an Hidden Proliferation19‐Apr‐12 Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Productiom24‐Apr‐12 Fuel Enrichment and Technical Challenges26‐Apr‐12  Nuclear Waste Issues01‐May‐12 Nuclear Terror and Nuclear Fears

2012 Spring Nuclear Warfare Class ScheduleTuesday, Thursday 9:30‐10:45 am

Mid‐Term Break

Are we prepared for a future nuclear war?

QuestionsPlease answer in a short and precise manner – without using Google

1. What event triggered the first world war WWI2. What is fission, and what is fusion3. Who was Madam Curie4. Where does nuclear radiation come from5. What is the Manhattan project6. What is the difference between U-235 and U-2387. What was Trinity and what was Bikini8. What was the purpose of the Easter marches9. Who was the father of the atomic bomb10. Who was the father of the hydrogen bomb11. What was the Cuba crisis12. List the countries which have nuclear weapons today13. Is Iran allowed to perform uranium enrichment for peaceful energy production purposes14. Should Israel have the atomic bomb15. Should Iran have the atomic bomb16. Should the USA have the atomic bomb17. Are you afraid of nuclear terrorists18. What is a dirty bomb