Friday, July 17, 2009

Pakistan Offers To Share Nuclear Technology With Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been offered help from Pakistan for the proposed first nuclear reactor of Bangladesh, which was conceived when it was a single country but never actually took off. Alamgir Babar, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh said on Monday that his country was ready to share the technology for civilian purposes to help tackle the great energy crisis that Bangladesh faces.

The Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A. Chowdhury has already discussed nuclear energy co-operation with Russia and China. This happened, after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently cleared Bangladesh to use nuclear power for civilian use. The Russians also showed their willingness to help Bangladesh during Chowdhury's last

Babar said that they (Pakistan) have a programme for nuclear energy already in place. They are going ahead with it, so it is now upto Bangladesh to decide what they actually want. He added that discussions over the matter could take place within the parameters of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It is to be noted that Pakistan is not a part of the NPT, while Bangladesh is a signatory.

month visit to Moscow.

The bid to strike a civilian nuclear technology agreement has been rejected by the US. China, who is the traditional ally of Pakistan has also not obliged, being governed by the IAEA and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers' Group Bangladesh too has sought help from China. The project was conceived during the Ayub Khan era in the year 1961 to be located at Rooppur in Northern Bangladesh' Pabna distri

Many countries including the Britain and the United States, France and Canada had earlier shown interest in the project when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. And after the independence of Bangladesh, India too seemed keen but the project however, somehow did not quite materialize.

ct.

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Pakistan Institute of Science and Technology (PINSTECH)


PINSTECH is the premier scientific R & D centre of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. PINSTECH symbolizes the will and the ability of a small developing nation to embark upon a viable nuclear program aimed at peaceful exploitation of atomic energy for socio-economic uplift. Self reliance is the basic philosophy shaping the evolution of the institute's facilities and R&D program, and has become the hallmark of its achievements. !

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France offers civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan



PARIS (AFP) – France and Pakistan have agreed to cooperate in the nuclear field, officials said Friday, with Islamabad claiming an important breakthrough in its bid to be seen as a responsible nuclear power.

Following talks between France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, the French leader's office said he had offered to help Pakistan improve its nuclear safety capability.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi went further, saying France had agreed to a transfer of civilian nuclear energy technology, despite international concerns over the stability of Pakistan's government.

Sarkozy's office would not comment on Qureshi's statements, and any such deal -- while a diplomatic coup for Zardari -- would need the agreement of other nuclear powers and the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.

France is a major exporter of nuclear technology, and in February agreed to supply Pakistan's rival India with between two and six modern reactors.

“France has agreed to transfer civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan,” Qureshi told reporters, explaining that Pakistan was suffering an “energy crisis” and needed nuclear power to guarantee its electricity supply.

In addition to maintaining a small arsenal of nuclear armed missiles, Pakistan has a civilian nuclear energy program developed with Chinese aid, with one working power station and another under construction.

A spokesman for the French presidency said Sarkozy had “confirmed France was ready, within the framework of its international agreements, to cooperate with Pakistan in the field of nuclear safety.”

“This is so the Pakistani program can develop in the best conditions of safety and security,” he added.

Qureshi hailed the French offer as an important sign of his government's credibility.

“That is a significant development, and we have agreed that Pakistan should be treated like India. President Sarkozy said, and I quote him, 'What can be done for India, can be done for Pakistan as well.',” he said.

Neither India nor Pakistan, which both maintain nuclear missile arsenals, have signed the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and foreign powers were therefore forbidden from sharing technology with them.

India, however, negotiated bilateral nuclear agreements with the United States, Russia and France, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has now allowed Delhi in from the nuclear cold.

Now Pakistan wants to follow suit.

“Pakistan has no issues with the IAEA ... Pakistan will give all necessary international guarantees,” Qureshi insisted.

“The world recognizes the steps Pakistan has taken to assure and protect its nuclear assets. Everyone who matters is confident about our arrangements, the three-layer security system that we have put in place.”

Asked when French shipments might begin, he said: “Today, in principle, the two countries agreed that there is a necessity that has to be fulfilled. In principle they've agreed, and now the modalities will be worked out.” Earlier, Zardari came away from the talks with a promise of 12 million euros (16.2 million dollars) in French aid for civilian refugees fleeing fighting between the army and Taliban rebels. “There may be concern always everywhere, but there is support and there is confidence in the world that democracy has always delivered,” said Zardari, who was elected last year after the military ceded power.

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France agrees to provide Pakistan nuclear technology: FM

France agrees to provide Pakistan nuclear technology: FM ISLAMABAD: France has agreed to provide civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan for peaceful uses, the state TV reported Friday.According to the state TV, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has told that France has expressed its readiness for cooperation with Pakistan concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.While further negotiations in this connection will be held in July this year.
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Zardari asks U.S. to provide drone technology


President Asif Ali Zardari asked the US to give drones technology to Pakistan for boosting its indigenous capacity to eliminate the militants from its soil. The President said this while talking to General (R) James Jones US National Security Advisor who called on him in the Presidency today. The US Ambassador in Islamabad Ms Anne W.Patterson and senior officers of the National Security Agency of the US were also present on the occasion. The President also thanked the US administration for its efforts in the adoption of the Kerry Lugar Bill to provide 1.5 billion dollars of annual assistance to Pakistan over a period of 5 years. The President said that Pakistan needed much more assistance to rehabilitate the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and embark upon a massive socio economic development program of the area to banish poverty and thereby to the forces of militancy. He said he was looking forward to the materialization soon of the building of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) to help build the underdeveloped areas economically and provide jobs to the people. He also asked for international assistance to Pakistan in meeting its energy challenges.
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France to provide Civil Nuclear technology to Pakistan

Islamabad: France Friday announced to provide civil nuclear technology to Pakistan. According to a Press statement, issued by President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar from Paris, this decision was taken during a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Ambassador Asma Anisa and Spokesperson of the President were also present on the occasion.

Further to this facility France also pledged to extend a 300 million Euro aid in economic assistance and another 12 million Euros for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons in Pakistan along with a pledge to hammer out a Framework for Cooperation Agreement within the next three months that will comprehensively cover cooperation in the fields of energy including civilian nuclear power plants for peaceful purposes, trade, civil aviation and defence.

France deeply admires the determination of the government of Pakistan to root out militancy from the country, the French President said adding, “France totally supports you Mr. President and it is our determination to see Pakistan succeed”. France will not only directly support Pakistan but also seek the support of the international community to the economic and political stability of Pakistan, the French President said.

The spokespersons said that the French President assured President Zardari that at the forthcoming summit of the EU in Brussels he will seek to persuade the grouping to allow Pakistan greater market access to enable it stabilize its economy and provide jobs to its people. President Sarkozy said that he looked forward to the interlocutors from Pakistan and France meeting soon to hammer out a comprehensive framework of cooperation agreement before the fall this year.

Earlier the President of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari explained to his French counterpart the steps taken by the government in rooting out militancy and the range of economic and political assistance it needed in this regard. Pakistan requires massive and immediate assistance in rehabilitating the internally displaced persons (IDPs) displaced from Swat and other areas as a result of the fight against militants. Poverty, lack of education and homelessness provided breeding grounds for extremism and the world must come forward in helping Pakistan, President Zardari said.

“We need trade and not aid, the President said adding”, We also need international assistance in broadening and strengthening our educational base, He said that the over 17,000 madrassahs in Pakistan provided free education, shelter and food to the children of poor families. Some of the political madrassah had also been imparting lessons in extremism and militancy. To counter it the President said that Pakistan needed to provide free education to its children. This alone, the President said, had been calculated to cost nearly two billion dollars a year.

President Zardari also emphasized the importance of strengthening the civilian law enforcing agencies by providing it with weapons, transport, bomb proof police stations and better pay scales to fight the militants who were better and far better paid by their masters. He said that the government envisaged recruiting another 20,000 special police for each province in addition to the existing police force which was not possible without international support. The President said that the government had information that that the militants paid to their fighters 60 dollars a day. The government planned to pay its special police force about 300 dollars a month which would require international support.

President Zardari said that the fight against militancy now had political ownership as well. He said that the Parliament had set up a national security committee which had also adopted a unanimous resolution. Under the dictatorship there was no political ownership but now there was a broad based consensus behind the fight against militancy.

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Science and Technology in Pakistan: The Way Forward

By Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman

September 13, 2002

"Only when we have high-quality basic research in various fields and can work at the cutting edge of knowledge will we have the capacity to absorb frontier technologies and adapt them for our use."

BACK TO THE FEATURE INDEX

The stunning advances in various fields of science and technology have had a profound impact on our lives in almost every sphere of our activity, such as health, agriculture, communication, transportation, and defence. These advances have been driven by an ever-growing volume of exciting discoveries, largely emanating from science laboratories in the West, and by their transformation into new products or processes that have flooded world markets. These floods in turn shower vast economic rewards on those nations that have the will and vision to make science and technology the cornerstone of their development programmes.

The world is today sharply divided by a technology boundary that separates the technologically advanced countries from the technologically backward ones. The former have been able to use their scientists and engineers for rapid economic growth, whereas the so-called developing countries (which in reality are not developing at all) are relegated to the role of consumers of technological products. They become almost totally dependent on the advanced countries for most of their needs, be they chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, transportation equipment, or defence equipment. In the process, more and more funds from developing countries are being transferred to developed countries, raising the level of poverty in the developing countries.

It needs to be understood that development is a multifaceted process, and a number of factors must dovetail together before economic growth and progress can occur. In my opinion, five key components must come together. First, the development process must be built on a foundation of high degrees of literacy and quality education at all levels. The Afro-Asian countries have vast populations at their disposal, and the challenge is to transform this resource into wealth. In order to unleash their creativity, the Third World countries must expose their youth to a challenging educational environment that teaches them to think and find novel solutions to difficult problems.

The second important facet for development is a high level of expertise in the sciences. Third World countries need to upgrade their universities and research centres to an internationally compatible level of excellence through development and retention of world-class researchers and provision of appropriate research facilities. They must become focal points for creation of new knowledge. Only when we have high-quality basic research in various fields and can work at the cutting edge of knowledge will we have the capacity to absorb frontier technologies and adapt them for our use.

The third important facet of the development process concerns applied research and technology development. We must identify and launch focused projects directed at (a) enhancing exports, (b) fostering import substitutions, (c) improving the quality and productivity of existing manufactured products, and (d) bringing to market new and better products through supporting the creative talents of our technologists and engineers. This is a complex issue involving the interaction between technologists and economists to develop and optimise the production process on a reasonably large scale so that financial feasibilities can be properly worked out.

The fourth facet of development involves government policies and mechanisms to encourage investment of entrepreneurs in indigenously developed products and processes. These measures include tax incentives, provision of risk capital by venture capital companies, protection of intellectual property rights, rationalisation of import duty structures, banning of smuggling to protect local industry, and creation of investor confidence through stable and long-term policies.

The fifth and most important factor for success is involving the most creative people at all levels, which requires introducing measures that will persuade our brightest students to opt for science and technology when they are deciding on their careers. This involves introducing an appropriately attractive career structure and creating R&D institutions at an international level of excellence where our scientists can lead intellectually stimulating and rewarding careers. Research grants must also be provided so that they can contribute meaningfully. In other words, the operation of a merit-based system in which only the brightest people are allowed to go up the ladder must be incorporated with a suitable reward and punishment system as an integral component of a highly transparent but demanding accountability system.

In Pakistan, due to negligence and faulty vision of planners in successive governments, the science and technology sector was never given the status required to effectively use it as a contributor to national and economic growth. Due to meagre funding provided by the government, our R&D institutions could not produce any valuable research. Lack of proper facilities and environment for research in the universities and research institutes led to deterioration in the standard of higher education to the extent that today our universities have been relegated to the status of low-level colleges in which valuable university-economy links are totally missing.

The present government places science and technology, including information technology (IT), amongst its highest priorities. A comprehensive programme has been worked out and launched for building a knowledge-based economy by integrating science and technology with economic development programmes. The government has raised the financial commitment to the ministry I head to more than Rs. 7 billion (US$120 million; a 6000% increase). In turn, the ministry, taking a holistic view of the dismal scenario in Pakistan, has launched a vast number of projects that fall under other ministries but that involve the effective use of science and technology for economic growth. Since June 2000 the government has launched over 260 development projects worth a total of about Rs. 18 billion (US$300 million) in various fields of the IT, telecommunications, and science and technology sectors.

In the science and technology domain, our programmes aim mainly at human resource development, technology development and industrialisation, strengthening of R&D activities, and use of science and technology for economic development.

Pakistan faces another problem: Higher education has also been neglected, and the quality and quantity of Ph.D.-level research in universities has been constantly deteriorating. As a result of four Ph.D.-level programmes launched and financed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ph.D. output has increased from 60 per year to 400 per year. Under the Indigenous Ph.D. Programme, grants are being given to both young scholars and their supervisors. Each supervisor gets Rs. 5 lacs (Rs. 500,000 or US$8400) per student per year for the purchase of equipment, chemicals, consumables, and so on. This provides much-needed infrastructural support to our universities. Rs. 600 million (US$10 million) will be spent over the next 4 years on this programme.

In addition to these Ph.D. programmes, the ministry has launched a postdoctoral fellowship programme to help teachers and researchers update their knowledge. To ensure that these researchers are gainfully employed on their return to Pakistan, jobs will be guaranteed for them by the nominating institutions on their return. A system of ?starter grants? will provide them with immediate access to research funds on their return. To improve the standard of research, the laboratories of 25 universities have been strengthened with grants of Rs. 37 million to Rs. 39 million (US$630,000 to US$660,000) each.

A very interesting initiative that should have a far reaching impact on the economic development of Pakistan is a programme entitled Science and Technology for Economic Development (STED). Under this programme, joint projects are being initiated between public-sector institutions and private-sector industries for technology-based production of high-value-added goods. This partnership between academia and industry represents an exciting new approach to achieving a certain level of technological development. These are not just research projects but involve the application of existing technologies for agricultural or industrial development. So far 28 projects in different sectors including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, IT, energy, and health have been launched under public-private collaboration. The STED programme is expected to strengthen the industrial and technological base of the country and set the trend for commercially viable high-value-added products and processes.

IT and biotechnology are the main thrust areas of the government. The government has established the National Commission on Biotechnology and initiated 15 projects worth Rs. 415 million for various fields of biotechnology, mainly in the health and agriculture sectors.

The government has given highest priority to IT education. As a result of the multidimensional strategy adopted by us in Pakistan to overcome the deficiency in human resources in the field of IT, a large number of short-, medium-, and long-term training programmes have been initiated, and some have been completed. Six new IT universities have been established, and 34 IT and computer science departments have been set up or strengthened in public-sector universities. Through an educational intranet programme, about 56 universities are being interconnected so that they may share knowledge and information. Internships and scholarships have been offered in various fields of IT to encourage bright students.

While seven new IT universities are in the process of being set up in the public sector and two in the private sector, in order to save money and time we have decided not to invest government funds in construction but rather to use existing campuses and convert them into IT universities or institutes. The most exciting educational programme, however, is the establishment of the Virtual IT University, which started functioning 26 March 2002. It will allow us to train tens of thousands of IT professionals from all over the country. Under this distance-learning programme, high-quality TV programmes are being prepared and then broadcast through the television and Internet across the country. Four separate digital TV channels are now being established for educational programs and will begin to function later this year.

To facilitate software development, the government has set up a chain of well-equipped technology parks in major cities. And a project has been launched for industrial automation of small- and medium-sized industries and ISO certification for IT companies.

Although the government has taken many steps to improve the standard of education and research in Pakistan, the most important step, in my opinion, is the establishment of the Higher Education Commission. The commission, which is in the process of formulation, has already done good work to prepare its action plan for attainment of international standards in the quality of education, research, and development. The commission is working to tailor higher education programmes to national needs and socio-economic development. The government has announced a substantial increase in funding to universities through the commission.

These programmes represent a genuine turning point in the development of science and technology in Pakistan and should provide a much-needed injection of funds and scientific expertise to our universities, ultimately leading to the country's socio-economic development. A real beginning has therefore at last been made, after 50 years of negligence in this important sector.

The author is the Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan; and winner of the prestigious UNESCO Science Prize. He is also Director of the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi; Coordinator-General of COMSTECH; and Chairman of the Higher Education Commission
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CIO LEADERSHIP EVENT AND 2ND ANNUAL TECHNOLOGY PIONEER AWARDS

Event profile:
This two part event, which was a huge success in 2008, is designed to serve as a forum where industry leaders can communicate with their business counterparts to define the potential of Pakistan’s IT industry.

The CIO Technology Pioneer Awards are dedicated to recognizing excellence and achievement in all segments of the technology and telecom industry. We honor the top 20 business professionals for their work throughout the year. For the first awards in 2008, CIO Pakistan honored professionals based on their performance in Pakistan's technology industry during the last 10 years.

The award winners are selected at the discretion of CIO Pakistan, which collects recommendations from industry experts and then selects candidates distinguished for their innovative applications of technology and excellence in their respective sectors. A CIO panel reviews the prospects and analyzes them with respect to their effect on their industry. Decisions are based on operational activities, practices, creativity and innovation, achievement, and how the candidates benefit their industry and country. The awards are to recognize the efforts of outstanding individuals and organizations and are not conducted through any nomination processes.

Combined with the CIO Leadership Event, this is meant to be CIO Pakistan's most prestigious flagship event in any given calender year.

Event details:

City:Karachi
Venue:Sheraton Hotel
Event Date(s):2009-08-05
Event Manager:CIO Events Secretariat
Telephone: +92-21-588-8017
Fax: +92-21-538-5460
E-Mail: events@ciopakistan.com

Main web site for CIO Leadership Event and 2nd Annual Technology Pioneer Awards
http://www.ciopakistan.com/events

Advertising information:
http://www.ciopakistan.com/marketing

email: igs_marketing@idg.com
or visit: www.idgglobalsolutions.com

If you have a general inquiry, or would like to submit an RFP, please click here.
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Nuclear weapon

"A-bomb" redirects here. For antimatter bomb, see Antimatter weapon.
"Atom bomb" redirects here. For the 1996 song by Fluke, see Atom Bomb (Fluke song).
The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 rose some 18 kilometers (11 miles) above the bomb's hypocenter.
Nuclear weapons
One of the first nuclear bombs.

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A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter; a modern thermonuclear weapon weighing little more than a thousand kilograms can produce an explosion comparable to the detonation of more than a billion kilograms of conventional high explosive.[1] Even small nuclear devices can devastate a city. Nuclear weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction, and their use and control has been a major aspect of international policy since their debut.

In the history of warfare, only two nuclear weapons have been detonated offensively, both near the end of World War II. The first was detonated on the morning of 6 August 1945, when the United States dropped a uranium gun-type device code-named "Little Boy" on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The second was detonated three days later when the United States dropped a plutonium implosion-type device code-named "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki, Japan. These bombings resulted in the immediate deaths of around 120,000 people (mostly civilians) from injuries sustained from the explosion and acute radiation sickness, and even more deaths from long-term effects of ionizing radiation. The use of these weapons was and remains controversial. (See atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a full discussion.)

Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thousand occasions for testing purposes and demonstration purposes. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons—and that acknowledge possessing such weapons—are (chronologically) the United States, the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nuclear power by Russia), the United Kingdom, France, the People's Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is also widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it does not acknowledge having them. (For more information on these states' nuclear programs, as well as other states that formerly possessed nuclear weapons or are suspected of seeking nuclear weapons, see list of states with nuclear weapons.)

Contents

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Types of nuclear weapons

Main article: Nuclear weapon design
The two basic fission weapon designs

There are two basic types of nuclear weapon. The first type produces its explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. Such fission weapons are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs (abbreviated as A-bombs), though their energy comes specifically from the nucleus of the atom.

In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material (enriched uranium or plutonium) is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method), or by compressing a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density (the "implosion" method). The latter approach is considered more sophisticated than the former, and only the latter approach can be used if plutonium is the fissile material.

A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is to ensure that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range between the equivalent of less than a ton of TNT upwards to around 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT.[2]

The second basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large amount of its energy through nuclear fusion reactions. Such fusion weapons are generally referred to as thermonuclear weapons or more colloquially as hydrogen bombs (abbreviated as H-bombs), as they rely on fusion reactions between isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium). However, all such weapons derive a significant portion – and sometimes a majority – of their energy from fission (including fission induced by neutrons from fusion reactions). Unlike fission weapons, there are no inherent limits on the energy released by thermonuclear weapons. Only six countries—United States, Russia, United Kingdom, People's Republic of China, France and India—have conducted thermonuclear weapon tests. (Whether India has detonated a "true," multi-staged thermonuclear weapon is controversial.)[3]

The basics of the Teller–Ulam design for a hydrogen bomb: a fission bomb uses radiation to compress and heat a separate section of fusion fuel.

Thermonuclear bombs work by using the energy of a fission bomb in order to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design, which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel (tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting container. When the fission bomb is detonated, gamma and X-rays emitted first compress the fusion fuel, then heat it to thermonuclear temperatures. The ensuing fusion reaction creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons, which then can induce fission in materials which normally are not prone to it, such as depleted uranium. Each of these components is known as a "stage," with the fission bomb as the "primary" and the fusion capsule as the "secondary." In large hydrogen bombs, about half of the yield, and much of the resulting nuclear fallout, comes from the final fissioning of depleted uranium.[2] By chaining together numerous stages with increasing amounts of fusion fuel, thermonuclear weapons can be made to an almost arbitrary yield; the largest ever detonated (the Tsar Bomba of the USSR) released an energy equivalent to over 50 million tons (50 megatons) of TNT. Most thermonuclear weapons are considerably smaller than this, due for instance to practical constraints in fitting them into the space and weight requirements of missile warheads.[4]

There are other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission weapon is a fission bomb which increases its explosive yield through a small amount of fusion reactions, but it is not a fusion bomb. In the boosted bomb, the neutrons produced by the fusion reactions serve primarily to increase the efficiency of the fission bomb. Some weapons are designed for special purposes; a neutron bomb is a thermonuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of neutron radiation; such a device could theoretically be used to cause massive casualties while leaving infrastructure mostly intact and creating a minimal amount of fallout. The detonation of a nuclear weapon is accompanied by a blast of neutron radiation. Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as cobalt or gold) creates a weapon known as a salted bomb. This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of radioactive contamination. Most variety in nuclear weapon design is in different yields of nuclear weapons for different types of purposes, and in manipulating design elements to attempt to make weapons extremely small.[2]

Nuclear strategy

Main article: Nuclear warfare
The United States' Peacekeeper missile was a MIRVed delivery system. Each missile could contain up to ten nuclear warheads (shown in red), each of which could be aimed at a different target. These were developed to make missile defense very difficult for an enemy country

Nuclear warfare strategy is a way for either fighting or avoiding a nuclear war. The policy of trying to ward off a potential attack by a nuclear weapon from another country by threatening nuclear retaliation is known as the strategy of nuclear deterrence. The goal in deterrence is to always maintain a second strike status (the ability of a country to respond to a nuclear attack with one of its own) and potentially to strive for first strike status (the ability to completely destroy an enemy's nuclear forces before they could retaliate). During the Cold War, policy and military theorists in nuclear-enabled countries worked out models of what sorts of policies could prevent one from ever being attacked by a nuclear weapon.

Different forms of nuclear weapons delivery (see below) allow for different types of nuclear strategy, primarily by making it difficult to defend against them and difficult to launch a pre-emptive strike against them. Sometimes this has meant keeping the weapon locations hidden, such as putting it on submarines or train cars whose locations are very hard for an enemy to track, and other times this means burying them in hardened bunkers. Other responses have included attempts to make it seem likely that the country could survive a nuclear attack, by using missile defense (to destroy the missiles before they land) or by means of civil defense (using early warning systems to evacuate citizens to a safe area before an attack). Note that weapons which are designed to threaten large populations or to generally deter attacks are known as strategic weapons. Weapons which are designed to actually be used on a battlefield in military situations are known as tactical weapons.

There are critics of the very idea of nuclear strategy for waging nuclear war who have suggested that a nuclear war between two nuclear powers would result in mutual annihilation. From this point of view, the significance of nuclear weapons is purely to deter war because any nuclear war would immediately escalate out of mutual distrust and fear, resulting in mutually assured destruction. This threat of national, if not global, destruction has been a strong motivation for anti-nuclear weapons activism.

Critics from the peace movement and within the military establishment have questioned the usefulness of such weapons in the current military climate. The use of (or threat of use of) such weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, according to an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in 1996.

Perhaps the most controversial idea in nuclear strategy is that nuclear proliferation would be desirable. This view argues that, unlike conventional weapons, nuclear weapons successfully deter all-out war between states, as they did during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Political scientist Kenneth Waltz is the most prominent advocate of this argument.

It has been claimed that the threat of potentially suicidal terrorists possessing nuclear weapons (a form of nuclear terrorism) complicates the decision process. Mutually assured destruction may not be effective against an enemy who expects to die in a confrontation, as they may feel they will be rewarded in a religious afterlife as martyrs and would not therefore be deterred by a sense of self-preservation. Further, if the initial act is from rogue groups of individuals instead of a nation, there is no fixed nation or fixed military targets to retaliate against. It has been argued, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks, that this complication is the sign of the next age of nuclear strategy, distinct from the relative stability of the Cold War.[5]

Weapons delivery

Main article: Nuclear weapons delivery
The first nuclear weapons were gravity bombs, such as the "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. These weapons were very large and could only be delivered by a bomber aircraft

Nuclear weapons delivery—the technology and systems used to bring a nuclear weapon to its target—is an important aspect of nuclear weapons relating both to nuclear weapon design and nuclear strategy. Additionally, developing and maintaining delivery options is among the most resource-intensive aspects of nuclear weapons: according to one estimate, deployment of nuclear weapons accounted for 57% of the total financial resources spent by the United States in relation to nuclear weapons since 1940.[6]

Historically the first method of delivery, and the method used in the two nuclear weapons actually used in warfare, is as a gravity bomb, dropped from bomber aircraft. This method is usually the first developed by countries as it does not place many restrictions on the size of the weapon, and weapon miniaturization is something which requires considerable weapons design knowledge. It does, however, limit the range of attack, the response time to an impending attack, and the number of weapons which can be fielded at any given time. Additionally, specialized delivery systems are usually not necessary; especially with the advent of miniaturization, nuclear bombs can be delivered by both strategic bombers and tactical fighter-bombers, allowing an air force to use its current fleet with little or no modification. This method may still be considered the primary means of nuclear weapons delivery; the majority of U.S. nuclear warheads, for example, are represented in free-fall gravity bombs, namely the B61.[2]

More preferable from a strategic point of view are nuclear weapons mounted onto a missile, which can use a ballistic trajectory to deliver a warhead over the horizon. While even short range missiles allow for a faster and less vulnerable attack, the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) has allowed some nations to plausibly deliver missiles anywhere on the globe with a high likelihood of success. More advanced systems, such as multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) allow multiple warheads to be launched at several targets from any one missile, reducing the chance of any successful missile defense. Today, missiles are most common among systems designed for delivery of nuclear weapons. Making a warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, though, can be a difficult task.[2]

Tactical weapons (see above) have involved the most variety of delivery types, including not only gravity bombs and missiles but also artillery shells, land mines, and nuclear depth charges and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. An atomic mortar was also tested at one time by the United States. Small, two-man portable tactical weapons (somewhat misleadingly referred to as suitcase bombs), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, have been developed, although the difficulty to combine sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility.[2]

Governance, control, and law

The International Atomic Energy Agency was created in 1957 in order to encourage the peaceful development of nuclear technology while providing international safeguards against nuclear proliferation

Because of the immense military power they can confer, the political control of nuclear weapons has been a key issue for as long as they have existed; in most countries the use of nuclear force can only be authorized by the head of government or head of state.[7]

In the late 1940s, lack of mutual trust was preventing the United States and the Soviet Union from making ground towards international arms control agreements, but by the 1960s steps were being taken to limit both the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other countries and the environmental effects of nuclear testing. The Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963) restricted all nuclear testing to underground nuclear testing, to prevent contamination from nuclear fallout, while the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968) attempted to place restrictions on the types of activities which signatories could participate in, with the goal of allowing the transference of non-military nuclear technology to member countries without fear of proliferation. In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established under the mandate of the United Nations in order to encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against its misuse, and facilitate the application of safety measures in its use. In 1996, many nations signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which prohibits all testing of nuclear weapons, which would impose a significant hindrance to their development by any complying country.[8]

Additional treaties have governed nuclear weapons stockpiles between individual countries, such as the SALT I and START I treaties, which limited the numbers and types of nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Nuclear weapons have also been opposed by agreements between countries. Many nations have been declared Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, areas where nuclear weapons production and deployment are prohibited, through the use of treaties. The Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967) prohibited any production or deployment of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Treaty of Pelindaba (1964) prohibits nuclear weapons in many African countries. As recently as 2006 a Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone was established amongst the former Soviet republics of Central Asia prohibiting nuclear weapons.

In the middle of 1996, the International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations, issued an Advisory Opinion concerned with the "Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons". The court ruled that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would violate various articles of international law, including the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions, the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Additionally, there have been other, specific actions meant to discourage countries from developing nuclear arms. In the wake of the tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, economic sanctions were (temporarily) levied against both countries, though neither were signatories with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. One of the stated casus belli for the initiation of the 2003 Iraq War was an accusation by the United States that Iraq was actively pursuing nuclear arms (though this was soon discovered not to be the case as the program had been discontinued). In 1981, Israel had bombed a nuclear reactor in Osirak, Iraq, in what it called an attempt to halt Iraq's previous nuclear arms ambitions.[citation needed]

Disarmament proposals

Main article: Nuclear disarmament

Beginning with the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty and continuing through the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, there have been many treaties to limit or reduce nuclear weapons testing and stockpiles. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has as one of its explicit conditions that all signatories must "pursue negotiations in good faith" towards the long-term goal of "complete disarmament". However, no nuclear state has treated that aspect of the agreement as having binding force.[9]

Only one country—South Africa—has ever fully renounced nuclear weapons they had independently developed. A number of former Soviet republics—Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine—returned Soviet nuclear arms stationed in their countries to Russia after the collapse of the USSR.

Uses

Apart from their use as weapons, nuclear explosives have been tested and used for various non-military uses, and proposed, but not used for large scale earth moving. When long term health and clean-up costs were included, there was no economic advantage over conventional explosives.[10]

Synthetic elements, such as einsteinium and fermium, created by neutron bombardment of uranium and plutonium during thermonuclear explosions, were discovered in the aftermath of the first thermonuclear bomb test. In 2008 the worldwide presence of new isotopes from atmospheric testing beginning in the 1950s was developed into a reliable way of detecting art forgeries, as all paintings created after that period contain traces of Cesium-137 and Strontium-90, isotopes that did not exist in nature before 1945.[11]

Nuclear explosives have also been seriously studied as potential propulsion mechanisms for space travel (see Project Orion).

See also

Weapons of
mass destruction
WMD world map
By type
Biological
Chemical
Nuclear
Radiological
By country
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
PR China
France
Germany
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel		 Japan
Netherlands
North Korea
Pakistan
Poland
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Sweden
Syria
Taiwan (ROC)
United Kingdom
United States
List of treaties
v • d • e

Notes

  1. ^ Specifically the US B83 nuclear bomb, with a yield of up to 1.2 Megatons.
  2. ^ a b c d e f The best overall printed sources on nuclear weapons design are: Hansen, Chuck. U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History. San Antonio, TX: Aerofax, 1988; and the more-updated Hansen, Chuck. Swords of Armageddon: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development since 1945. Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications, 1995.
  3. ^ On India's alleged hydrogen bomb test, see Carey Sublette, What Are the Real Yields of India's Test?.
  4. ^ Sublette, Carey. "The Nuclear Weapon Archive". http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
  5. ^ See, for example: Feldman, Noah. "Islam, Terror and the Second Nuclear Age," New York Times Magazine (29 October 2006).
  6. ^ Stephen I. Schwartz, ed., Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1998. See also Estimated Minimum Incurred Costs of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Programs, 1940-1996, an excerpt from the book.
  7. ^ In the United States, the President and the Secretary of Defense, acting as the National Command Authority, must jointly authorize the use of nuclear weapons.
  8. ^ Richelson, Jeffrey. Spying on the bomb: American nuclear intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea. New York: Norton, 2006.
  9. ^ Gusterson, Hugh, "Finding Article VI" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (8 January 2007).
  10. ^ Q&A with Scott Kirsch: Digging with bombs
  11. ^ Can past nuclear explosions help detect forgeries?

References

External links

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