When has a country used nuclear weapons in war?

Question

I need to know this for a science paper.

REMEMBER:
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed with an A-bomb and not a Nuclear weapon.

Dont give me the usual: It's the same thing...A-bombs explode while Nuclear weapons implode (the difference is when the bomb hits the ground and either explodes or implodes: not many people know this difference)

I really couldn't think of a better word to say than hit the ground...
implode/explode?

Answer 1

Nuclear weapons tend to embody the classification of both
-Fission weapons: Atomic bombs, "A" Bombs,
-Fusion weapons: Hydrogen, thermonuclear, 'H' Bombs
Thus "A-bombs" are considered by most official sources to be a type of nuclear bombs.
Just to confirm, I checked a word search in Google and all online sources seem to be in accordance. My unabridged dictionaries also establish the same conclusion.

Moreover, other nuclear weapons include 'boosted' fission weapons, neutron bombs (some of which are salted),

Although thermonuclear devices have not been detonated in battle (as far as history knows), they have been 'used' in war. You can make the point that a weapon does not need to be detonated to be used. Strategically, a demonstration of arms is still a power-play and a vital component of both war and battles.

In infantry-based battles, having more soldiers in one's army would have the same deterring effect because of intimidation. This accordingly weakens morale. The presence of cavalry could do the same as well as a massive armada of ships. The stockpiles of H bombs did the same.
Thus they were 'used' in a strategical sense but not 'detonated'/deployed.

I'm not sure how helpful that could be for your science paper, but it does drive a good argument for a military history paper.

Answer 2

The only difference between an Atom Bomb and a Hydrogen Bomb is the type of plutonium used to create the chain-reaction. That and the Atom bomb is fission while the more powerful Hydrogen bomb is fusion and the triggering devices are different. ( The hydrogen bomb is detonated through a series of explosions or reactions.) I hate to disagree with your science class, (if that is what you are being taught) but both types are nuclear weapons. And neither are made to "hit the ground" they set the height for the reaction to take place based on the target and what is considered to have the greatest destructive effect. The ONLY time we have used a "nuclear" weapon in war was in 1945 against Japan. If your science teacher is telling you something different, he/she needs to take their medications.

Answer 3

I think you are confusing fusion with fission. I think the atom bomb split at the atomic level where as a nuclear bomb splits at the neutron/proton level. Hydrogen bombs work by fusion (i.e. pushing hydrogen molecules together so they explode.)

I also think these bombs never hit the ground, but 100 feet or so above it. When they explode, the energy is spherical. If they hit the ground, destructive force would be wasted in the ground. By denotation above the ground, more of that energy is used above grounds.

I think no nuclear weapons have been deployed. A larger question might be conventional weapons using depleted uranium or conventional weapons made by power generated from a nuclear power plant. Or perhaps ships being deployed that utilize nuclear reactors for power.

Answer 4

The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were indeed nuclear, because of the fission of heavy NUCLEI. Uranium and plutonium.

All of them EXPLODE outward, and most but not all do so as a result of the IMPLOSION of a chemical explosive that surrounds shells of uranium or plutonium, which then undergoes nuclear fission creating sufficient temperatures to cause nuclear fusion of lightweight nuclei.

Your sources on nuclear weapons are highly flawed.

Answer 5

An A-bomb wasn't a nuclear weapon?

Answer 6

The USA also used Depleted Uranium ammunition (DPU) in the first Gulf War and I do not know if the US armed forces still use it. However, if you do not consider atomic bombs nuclear weapons I am not sure what you consider DPU.

Answer 7

Not to split hairs, but most people consider that the U.S. was the only nation to ever use atomic/nuclear weapons in a war. If you are arguing the point, you sound smart enough not to need our help.

Answer 8

Amazingly enough, I'm going to seriously ask you to define "Used." I consider "sabre rattling" to be a use of one's weapons. It goes back to my dinosaur mentality -- it worked so incredibly well for so many years, Peace Through Superior Firepower. And to further that though, simply because lead is not being sent down range does not mean a war is NOT being fought. This may not be the answer you are seeking, but from my perspective -- humbly, it'll have to do.

Answer 9

I find that he was the Americans in 1945 against the Japao

Answer 10

i dont know.. but you can always start with nuclear reactors .. there have been more built than you may think.