Lets speak for a moment about the
atomic bomb. Specifically, a bit about its history. Since this
particular weapon is so pivotal in human history, I figured it'd be a
good idea to see what happened.
1930s – The Science
It was 33 years since Albert Einstein
asserted his famous equation, E=mc2, which implies that
mass can be transformed into energy. Two Berlin scientists,
performing an experiment with uranium, bombarded the heavy atoms with
neutrons and split it. This was nuclear fission. This was
transforming mass into energy. This was what would power the first
generation of nuclear weapons.
1940s – The Atomic Bomb
In August of 1939, Albert Einstein sent
a letter to President Roosevelt expressing concern that the Germans
may be developing a weapon that was powered by a nuclear chain
reaction. The President agreed that "this requires action".
The Manhattan Project begins. There were many challenges involved,
including: how to procure enough refined uranium and plutonium, how
to begin a chain reaction, and, finally, how to detonate the fuel.
These issues were largely worked out by the summer of 1945, when US
scientists had created the first nuclear bomb. On 1945 July 16, "Fat
Man" was detonated at Alamogordo, New Mexico. The blast was
about as powerful as 15,000-20,000 tons of TNT.
Fast forward a few weeks and refocus on
the Pacific theatre of World War II. Japan has yet to surrender.
President Truman, who "regarded the bomb as a military weapon",
issued orders to prepare and deploy three atomic weapons on Japan.
On 1945 August 6, the B-52 "Enola
Gay" made a bombing run for Hiroshima, Japan and dropped a
13-kiloton atomic bomb. About 142,000 people died.
On 1945 August 9, the B-29 "No.
77" dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. About 75,000 people died.
On 1945 August 14, Japan surrendered.
Whether these bombings encouraged Japan's surrender continues to be
debated, but the atomic bomb had become a centerpiece of American
foreign policy. The US thought it would be another several decades
before any other countries could have this power.
Around 1949 August 27, the Soviet Union
detonated their own atomic bomb.
1950s – The Hydrogen Bomb
Feeling threatened by the USSR's rapid
advancement, President Truman approved research into a new type of
weapon on 1950 January 31, the hydrogen bomb. Instead of fission, the
hydrogen bomb relied on nuclear fusion, and would be roughly
one-thousand times more powerful than current fission bombs.
There were similar questions as with
the first atomic bomb: what kind of fuel to use and how to get it,
and how to generate enough initial energy to begin the fusion. The
decision was to use lithium deuteride as fuel and traditional fission
explosives to trigger the fusion. It was the first day of November
1952, on a Pacific islet known as Elugelab, that the first fusion
bomb, "Mike", was detonated. The blast was about as
powerful as 12,000,000 tons of TNT. It was only nine months later
when the Soviet Union detonated their own hydrogen bomb.
On the plus side, nobody died as a
result of nuclear explosions. Well, not directly, at any rate.
1960s – Missiles and Submarines
Now that the Soviets had the hydrogen
bomb, the new question for the US was how to deliver these bombs. The
traditional bombers were relatively slow and easily destroyed by
enemy defences. Interest shifted to missiles.
Beginning in 1957, US engineers created
newer and newer versions of nuclear ballistic missiles. The first
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was the Atlas: 85 feet
long, 120 tons, and accurate within 5 miles. What followed were
continuous improvements with missiles named: Titan, Titan II, and
Minuteman. The Minuteman had a range of 6,000 miles and was
significantly more accurate. For most intents and purposes, there is
no defence for a missile closing in at 9,400 miles per hour.
Alongside ballistic missile research,
developments were being made to submarine warfare. In 1956, the
submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Polaris, was introduced.
At only about 28 feet long, this nuclear warhead could be loaded into
and fired from a submarine. Further refinements to firepower and
distance were made with the Poseidon and Trident missiles.
Starting in 1967, the US started to
seriously look into anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defence. Many ideas
were developed, including The Safeguard system that would shoot down
incoming missiles with its own missiles. However, none of the ideas
bore effective fruit. Before any decent solutions could be created,
new weapons were being developed that defeated them anyway. For
example, the multiple independently targeted reentry vehicle (MIRV)
overcame these proposed defences by simply putting a cluster of
warheads on each missiles. An ABM system may take out the first
warhead, but the others would still make the target. It wasn't until
1973 that the Soviets would test their own MIRV.
1970s – Improved Accuracy and Cheap Uranium
In October of 1973, the Yom Kippur War
flared up, resulting in nuclear-armed tension akin to the Cuban
Missile Crisis. This encouraged another push into further research.
Specifically, improving accuracy. The better a missile's accuracy,
the better the destructive power.
Building off of the MIRV, US engineers
began work on the maneuverable reentry vehicle (MARV). By adding
weights, flaps, sensors, and GPS to the vehicle, it can be guided as
it descended on its target.
Next came the cruise missile. These
missiles could be launched from just about any type of vehicle and
flew relatively low to the ground to avoid radar. Cruise missiles
were cheap ($1.4 million each), far-reaching (2,000 miles), and
accurate (within 100 feet).
The USSR was, of course, developing the
same technology. At this point, only five countries had the technical
know-how to develop and deploy nuclear weapons: the US, the USSR, the
UK, France, and China. That changed on 1974 May 18, when India
detonated their own 12-kiloton nuclear bomb.
The fact that a sixth country detonated
a nuclear explosive was not the shocking thing; what shocked the
world was the fuel they used. Traditional uranium and plutonium for
bombs was created in expensive enrichment facilities. Instead, India
reprocessed spent nuclear reactor rods, which contained various forms
of the weapons-grade material. As nuclear energy was not uncommon,
the cost for other countries to create their own nuclear weapons
significantly dropped. By 1977, nine more nations had the bomb:
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Africa,
Taiwan, and West Germany. By 1982, twenty-one more joined the club.
1980s – This Book Was Published
Sadly, the history lesson ends here.
The book I was reading (see below) was published in 1982, so I don't
have any more history close at hand. I'll probably do some more
digging, but I think I've had enough writing for now.
Sources:
"The Bomb" - Sidney Lens
