What Are Nuclear Weapons?

This section covers the following topics:

• How nuclear fission and nuclear fusion work
• Three types of nuclear weapon warheads:
  • Fission
  • Boosted fission
  • Thermonuclear
• Two types of nuclear weapon designs:
  • Gun-type
  • Implosion-type
• The effects of nuclear weapons:
  • Blast
  • Heat
  • Radiation
  • Fallout
  • Electromagnetic pulse
• Strategic and tactical nuclear weapons
• Examples of the destructive power of nuclear weapons: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Nuclear weapons are the most powerful weapons ever created. Their tremendous power comes from nuclear reactions, which are interactions within and between atomic nuclei. These reactions can occur in two distinct ways, either through the process of nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. The following two sections focus on the characteristics of these reactions.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents.
Copyright © 2009 by MIIS.