Nuclear weapon
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Nuclear weapons are weapons which use the energy produced by nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. The two main types of nuclear weapons are fission weapons (also known as "atomic bombs", "atom bombs", or "A-bombs") and fusion weapons (also known as "hydrogen bombs", "H-bombs", or "thermonuclear bombs").
Nuclear weapons are very powerful, and a single nuclear weapon can destroy an entire city. All of them get their energy by converting some of their matter into energy.
The first nuclear weapons were created by the United States during World War II and used against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. This development was called the Manhattan Project.
Nuclear weapons are made from the elements uranium or plutonium. Certain forms of these elements can be made to undergo nuclear fission and have a nuclear chain reaction. This produces a very large amount of energy and radiation, and will kill any people or animals within several kilometers.
A hydrogen bomb, or fusion bomb, is a nuclear weapon which also has a certain kind of the element hydrogen as another type of fuel. Hydrogen bombs can be many hundreds of times more powerful than fission bombs.
Nuclear weapons are carried by bombers (like the B-36 Peacemaker, B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit.) These bombers are called strategic bombers. They are also carried by missiles (these missiles are called ICBM's if they are launched from land, and SLBM's if they are launched from a submarine).
Nuclear weapons cost a lot of money to make, because the materials they are made of are very rare and it takes many scientists to make them. But many countries have managed to create nuclear weapons. Many countries in the world have nuclear weapons today. In the order that they first made nuclear weapons, they are: United States (1945), Russia (1949), United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), China (1964), India (1974), and Pakistan (1998). Israel is thought to also have nuclear weapons, but they have never admitted it. Many people said that North Korea had nuclear weapons, and they have said that they do but they won't make any more. South Africa once had nuclear weapons, but now says that it has destroyed them all. Iran is believed to be making nuclear weapons, but they say they are just making nuclear energy. When countries get or try to get nuclear weapons, it is called nuclear proliferation.
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