Preview

Is There a Nuclear Arms Threat?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2279 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is There a Nuclear Arms Threat?
Eli Rex
PS 2713/GE 2713
Dr. Jerry Emison, Mr. Robert Green
September 28, 2013

Is There a Nuclear Arms Threat?

America has been considered a “superpower” state for decades. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “superpower” as “an extremely powerful nation, especially one capable of influencing international events and the acts and policies of less powerful nations.” The earning of the title superpower comes with some benefits and disadvantages. Certain benefits America possesses is: an unparalleled military authority from any other nation, growing economic prosperity, headway improvements of civil rights, and other things that fit into a broad spectrum of the greater good for the citizens of America and mankind in general. There are consequential drawbacks of being a superpower that degrade what can be considered for the greater good of American citizens; America has been put on the spotlight for its global impact on the environment, this nation has been involved in numerous wars that account for millions of lost lives, and there have been unimaginable advancements in technology that lead to many outcomes that can not be foreseen, for better or worse. In this paper I would like to discuss the matter of nuclear weapons and the various terrorist organizations and enemies of the state that Americans and its leaders have to come to terms with. The media and the conventional belief assume that eventually America will have to deal with another nuclear threat. There are even nuclear experts who were involved in the design process of some of the early nuclear bombs, that predict the chances of a nuclear bomb going off are critical and imminent (1). Contrary to this, after close reading of the book “Physics for future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines”, by Richard A. Muller, I think that we are in the clear and have little to worry about concerning nuclear attacks against our homeland. A majority of the technical details in this article are



Cited: 1. Muller, Richard A. Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines. New York u.a.: Norton, 2008. Print. 2. "Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Part 2)." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. . 3.  "USSR." About.com Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. . 4. "Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Hiroshima Research Paper

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On August 6th, 1945, the world was forever changed when the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The attack was made as an attempt to end World War 2, and it succeeded at a devastating price. John Hersey’s Hiroshima depicts six different accounts of victims of the bomb. The journalistic novel tells how each of the people began their day, how they survived the explosion, the response, and where they were 40 years later. Each account is different, and they all represent the various ways that the bomb hurt the people. These six individual catastrophes illustrate the horrible effects of atomic bombs and how the use of them should not be even considered by any empathetic human being.…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this essay I will discuss the reasons for and against whether America was right to drop the two atomic bombs. These two bombs were unloaded on Hiroshima, 6th August 1945, and attempted to hit Nagasaki, 9th August 1945. America gave the two bombs code names, the one that was dropped on Hiroshima was called ‘Little Boy’. This bomb was made of uranium. The final death toll added up to 135,000. The nuclear bomb that fell on Nagasaki was called ‘Fat Man’. This bomb was made of plutonium. The final death toll was about 70,000. This was because the bomb had missed its allocated target and instead fell into a valley.…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    BREAKING NEWS- President Truman had been warned about invading Japan, and the terrific casualties they were capable off. However since they were afraid of attacking our soil, he ordered for a weapon large enough and powerful enough in hopes of bringing this all to an end. On August 6th, 1945 a five ton-bomb was dropped in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The bombing killed 80,000 people; the city wasn’t left in great shape as well. Although the devastating outcome, we believe that this is the last of the feuding between them and us. (P.2, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima). The atomic bombs are scary, and threating to all nations. Sadly we believe this has both ended problems we have been facing, but also…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bibliography: Dixon, Norm. "Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Worst Single Terror Attacks in History | Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal." Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Worst Single Terror Attacks in History | Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article, “The Day the Bomb Went Off,” Knoll and Postol argue nuclear bombs are catastrophic. The event of a nuclear attack would send humans back to the stone age, and put a halt on any technological advances. Furthermore, the effects of radiation would harm the population within a broad radius of a nuclear explosion. Readers may wonder what America would do under nuclear attack, and draw the conclusion nuclear bombs would destroy everything our society has accomplished.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Three...two...one…¡#@%^! Instantly, 80,000 are dead (Hall). Near the end of World War II on August 6th of 1945, American B-29 aircraft Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb, ‘Little Boy,’ on the unsuspecting city of Hiroshima, Japan. Tens of thousands of civilians were instantly killed from the explosion and as time passed, the death toll almost doubled due to exposure to radiation and other aftereffects from the bomb (LeMay & Tibbets). To this day, historians debate over very controversial ideas concerning the attack. Many people justify the use of the nuclear bombs by reasoning that the attack was what broke Japan’s spirit and ended the war. Consequently, one of the debates is over whether or not the Japanese surrendered as…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Saigaishi, Genbaku, and Iinkai, Henshu. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Physical, Medical, and Social Effects of the Atomic Bombings. Trans. Eisei Ishikawa and David Swain. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc., 1981. Print.…

    • 1704 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wittner, Lawrence S. "There Is an Ongoing Danger of Nuclear War." Nuclear Armament. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "The Ongoing Danger of Nuclear War." hnn.us. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.…

    • 946 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    1995. Hiroshima in History and Memory: A symposium, Japan’s Delayed Surrender: A reinterpretation. Diplomatic History 19(2)-197-225…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Good

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hiroshima, written by John Hersey is a book that takes account of the August 6, 1945, bombing in Hiroshima, Japan. Hersey writes about the events before, during and after the bomb was dropped, as well as the effects that it had on six survivors, and the city as a whole. Throughout this account, Hersey uses numerous rhetorical devices that enhance the reading, such as irony and alliteration. Hershey’s intended purpose of informing the reader of these events, by providing up-close, personal accounts, accentuates these devices and adds to its powerful message.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Towards the end of World War II, Japan had already been weakened by the battle of coral sea, but on August 6, 1945 an American B-29 bomber dropped a first hand developed atomic bomb on the civilian and military inhabited city of Hiroshima. 70,000 people were killed instantly. Thousands were left heavily injured and sick. The United States had many different reasons to be justified to have dropped the bomb. Nevertheless, the bomb was ‘a weapon of mass description, a weapon of terror’.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    6 august, 1945 America had attacked Hiroshima, Japan with nuclear bomb named little boy. Nuclear bomb has taken around 10000 lives in the provenience of explosion. Three days later again an attack had occurred with the same type of the bomb named fat man in Nagasaki. The intensity of the bomb was 12500 TNT and it had caused around 4000 degree Celsius. It was enough to vaporize the flesh and bones of humans. It was a nightmare for the people of Japan.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evidence does exist that terrorist cells, such as Al-Qaeda, is constantly pursuing a nuclear capability. Whether that capability is acquisition or production is not necessarily certain, but the sources, as shown by the mishandling of HEU in some countries, are out there. Potential sources of nuclear weapons, like Russia and Pakistan, also present a concern due to their ample supply of tactical nuclear weapons which, by comparison of high yield bombs, have low security measures (Oppenheimer 2005,…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The nuclear bombings of Japan are a very controversial topic, and is highly discussed and researched by scholars and the general public. The nuclear bombings are not just a small part in military history, but a lesson in reality and the destruction possible of man to achieve their goals; these bombings have raised a whole host of ethical issues and concerns, which must be taken into consideration. There are many reasons why the actions taken by the United States and specifically President Truman to drop the A-Bomb on Hiroshima were absolutely unnecessary. On the other hand there is an abundant amount of weak justification as to why it was so imperative for the U.S. to distinguish the lives of sixty-six thousand civilians in the blink of an eye, and cause catastrophic destruction and disparity that would have a lasting effect for decades to come.…

    • 2280 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Living under the threat of nuclear war would have been a very scary and unimaginable event, especially in the 1950s. Terrorism is another very dangerous threat, but it is different in its own.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays