Think of the most terrifying way human civilization could be erased. Maybe it’s an ancient deity awakening, or hostile aliens arriving. Maybe it’s the slow expansion of the universe, and the Milky Way’s subsequent drift from the rest of probable civilization. Or maybe it’s something of our own doing. A man-made horror even, often dubbed as “nuclear war,” or more correctly, nuclear winter. Is this something truly to be paranoid about?
Nuclear weapons have been put to the test in the past, with both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan being hit to end World War 2. In total, over 200,000 people died from just two bombs, which raises a few eyebrows as to why we as a species continue to make these super weapons. Even the Doomsday Clock, run by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, says that we are only 89 seconds from “midnight” (midnight being the end of human life on earth). However, evidence suggests that there may be some potential unforeseen benefits when different nations possess nuclear weapons.
In the past
The bombs used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both atom bombs, which were equivalent to around 36 tons of TNT in two blasts, according to the World Nuclear Association. Although nuclear winter didn’t happen from these two instances, occurrences on a later date could have done so. In 1949 during the Cold War, the Soviet Union named their first successful nuclear bomb “First Lightning.” Now that two rival nations possessed a nuclear arsenal, something called “mutually assured destruction” (MAD) was brought into play. If the Soviet Union were to nuke the United States or vice versa, then the other would respond with just as much or more force from their arsenal. Dealing with nuclear weapons is a precarious task, and one mistake could mean absolute ruination.
Instances of near annihilation
When a plane was transporting two hydrogen bombs over North Carolina, and it began to break apart due to an oil leak. The pilots ejected, and the plane and bombs landed in a field in Faro. One of the bombs followed procedure as if it were going to detonate, and deployed its parachute. It completed six of its seven procedures, and only a small piece of equipment prevented detonation and total annihilation of the countryside. The second bomb did not perform correctly and went into free fall, and landed deep into the earth. There are still unrecovered pieces of the second bomb in the field.
Not just this, but events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis show how close humanity has been to a full scale nuclear war, and how gentle it must be handled. It is with the greatest stroke of luck that we have lived to see another day.
In modern day
In 1950, the development of the hydrogen bomb was approved by President Truman, and in modern day, hydrogen bombs can be equivalent to millions of tons of TNT in a single blast. Generally speaking, countries primarily use hydrogen bombs today, increasing the stakes of possible conflict. There are nine countries today which possess a nuclear arsenal: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and Russia. Both the United States and Russia contain around 90% of the world’s nuclear firepower, according to armscontrol.org. In modern day, agitations between countries like India and Pakistan, as well as the United States and Russia harbors concern among international communities as they seem to be the most likely to begin a war. Multiple conflicts have arisen in the past couple of years, including the Russo-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts which adds to world tension.
Despite these dire scenarios, there is good news that has arisen despite nuclear weapon development: large-scale conflict has decreased since the introduction of nuclear weapons. Nuclear countries no longer directly engage in large-scale combat with each other because of MAD, therefore limiting combat to proxy wars, such as the Vietnam and Korean war. Additionally, war casualties have also decreased. From 1600 to World War 2, war casualties have ranged from 1.1-2.6% of the world population, and now in the 21st century it is around 0.1%. Humanity is now in one of its most peaceful times in history.
Student voices
Because nuclear weapons have been created by humanity, that means production can also be halted by humanity. Just as many international communities and institutions have put an emphasis and spent countless hours changing laws on an assortment of different topics, the same can be done for nuclear development. It is the will and might of civilization which truly makes change. It is up to the individual to decide- is nuclear development truly something which in the end, will be beneficial or harmful?
Sophomore Bailey Andrews says, “Personally, if I was in charge of a country, I would try to my best to halt nuclear weapon development due to its already high deadliness nowadays, and the threat that it already poses now, but I know that most countries have to continue up with nuclear development due to other countries keeping up with nuclear development. That’s why we see nuclear testing happening from Korea or China as concerning, because it’s them continuing to develop those nuclear weapons, and we’re falling behind. It’s the same with the space race, really.”
“People think that violence is an answer or like we have to go to court. . .I’m a firm believer in peace and talking things out, it just makes me think like this can’t be the only answer.” said Shekhinah Braly.
