why do we still have nukes?

Question

its the worst mistake the world ever made. i find it very disturbing that we will most likely live the rest of our lives in a cold war where each side (mainely Russia and the US) has their finger so close to the button. if either side decided to attack, that would be the end of the world as we know it. that bothers me. cause if we keep them we could all die, if we dont keep them we could all die. also does anyone know how many nukes their are in the world and how many it takes to kill most people on the planet?

Answer 1

Most nuclear weapons are not meant to be used. The Soviet Union's first nuclear weapon, the Tsar Bomb, weighed 50 megatonnes, but was originally designed to be twice that. They tested it once, and that was it. It could easily wipe out 1 country. The reason for them build it, however, was a scare tactic. At that time, the US was the only nation with a nuclear bomb, and had alot of power because of that. The Soviets, by dropping theres, showed there was a new big dog in town, and that dropped the US's power some. Most nuclear weapons are there for security measures, insurance. A deterrent to others. Some nations, however, might use them, to completely devastate the enemy. It is unknown how many nukes there are in the world. Most countries claim to have disarmed them, but you can never be too sure. And to wipe out the entire planet, if you were to use today's technology? Well, considering 60+ years ago they could build a 100 megatonne bomb, it's quite easy to believe that less than 10 can wipe the entire planet.

Answer 2

The next World War will involve a nuclear exchange, how could it not. In the first 30 minutes, nearly a billion people will have been vaporised, mostly in the US, Russia, Europe, China and Japan. Another 1.5 billion will die shortly thereafter from radiation poisoning. The northern hemisphere will be plunged into prolonged agony and barbarity.

Eventually the nuclear winter will spread to the southern hemisphere and all plant life will die. You ask why do we still have nukes, you are asking why are we ready to commit global suicide. My answer is it won't happen soon because the larger superpowers are more rational than the rump states in the middle east.

While we hear talk of a nuclear-Iran or a confrontation with NorKor, little is said about the 2 bulls in the glass shop. The arsenals of Russia and the US are enough to destroy a million Hiroshimas. But there are fewer than 3000 cities on the Earth with populations of 100,000 or more. You cannot find anything like a million Hiroshimas to obliterate. Prime military and industrial targets that are far from cities are comparatively rare. Our biggest threat is from an accidental launch by the Russians.

At the point of global suicide, it doesn't matter who is on what side.... In a nuclear age, the only true enemy is war itself.

In a 2-megaton explosion over a fairly large city, buildings would be vaporized, people reduced to atoms and shadows, outlying structures blown down like matchsticks and raging fires ignited. And if the bomb were exploded on the ground, an enormous crater, like those that can be seen through a telescope on the surface of the Moon, would be all that remained where midtown once had been.

There are now more than 50,000 nuclear weapons, more than 13,000 megatons of yield, deployed in the arsenals of the United States and Russia -- enough to obliterate a million Hiroshimas.

But there are fewer than 3000 cities on the Earth with populations of 100,000 or more. You cannot find anything like a million Hiroshimas to obliterate. Prime military and industrial targets that are far from cities are comparatively rare. Thus, there are vastly more nuclear weapons than are needed for any plausible deterrence of a potential adversary.

Even small nuclear wars can have devastating climatic effects. A war in which a mere 100 megatons were exploded, less than one percent of the world arsenals, and only in low-yield airbursts over cities. This scenario would ignite thousands of fires, and the smoke from these fires alone would be enough to generate an epoch of cold and dark almost as severe as in the 5000 megaton case. The threshold for the Global Impact Winter is very low.

Answer 3

There used to be enough nuclear weapons in the world to destroy it 40 times over. Recent initiatives over the last couple of decades have reduced the numbers dramatically, but there are still far more than anyone needs.

The threat of nuclear attack is not from Russia. Russia is NOT the Soviet Union. What weapons they have are poorly maintained and very, very old. The threat of nuclear attack will come from Iran or a similar wealthy state in the middle east that would sell or supply a terrorist faction with a nuclear weapon. It takes a lot of money and a lot of technology to build a real nuclear weapon. That's why the terrorists need the backing of weathy nations like Iran and, until recently, Iraq. The reason we still have nuclear weapons is so that those who would give such people such weapons would assure their own distruction and believe me, these nutballs are FAR too self interested to risk their posh lifestyle and tyrannical power over such an attack.

Still, I get your point. I'd be concerned if you didn't find the idea of nuclear weapons disturbing.

Answer 4

HA! You should have lived through the Cold War for 40 years. Right now, it isn't Russia we have to worry about....it is the whacko nations who have nukes like India, Pakistan and North Korea....

There are enough nuclear weapons in the world that scientists say a nuclear war would be over in 3 hours....the world as we know it would be totally destroyed with most of earths population dead or dying.

Isn't that a pleasant thought?

Why do they still have them? Because little boys can't give up their toys when they grow up.

Answer 5

Why do you worry about something you have no control over. We have nukes because others have nukes. It is called mutual assured destruction. We just have to prevent the crazies from getting nukes. When they get them then the world will truly be in jeopardy To AAA: I disagree they are not the worst mistake, if we had not gotten them we would have surely been in a world war with russia by now. Because we had them it kept us out of some major carnage.

Answer 6

The nature of your question is too complex to be simply answered by anyone. Additionally, there are many answers to this question, and each of them could be true. My take is that it is an absolutely horrible evil. I also believe that we have gotten to a point where if all nations agreed to get rid of their nukes, they would all still secretly keep some because they don't trust the others to get rid of them. The US, China, Russia, Western European Nations, Pakistan, Israel, India, N. Korea, etc. all have them and make things a little discomforting for humankind. Its too late to get rid of them because of man's deceitful, violent, greedy, and selfish nature. Last but not least, one can also make a case for Nukes creating peace between countries who realize that going to war with each other is too costly in terms of consequences. To summarize, I don't care for them but they are here to stay.

Answer 7

You made some good points. Nuke are for self defense. As for as dying, we all will someday. The world was destroyed with water last time. Now according to the Bible, it will be destroyed by hell fire and brimstone. Nukes fits this description. I do not mean to upset anyone, but this will all come to pass, no matter who is President of the US. When God says enough is enough, that is when the day will come that you ask about. Before you judge me, read the last book of the Bible, it is Revelations, then let me know what you think. Bless you.

Answer 8

Because they are vital to our defense. The idea that we have them is one thing that keeps countries like Iran from starting something they know they can't win. That is why they seek their own. I do agree though that they are the worst mistake ever made though some would argue that without them the end of WW II would have been far more costly. But, to counter that, there are those who believe otherwise.

Answer 9

I guess I would add, why are we not reporting our nukes under the Non Nuclear Proliferation Treaty as required, then complain when we THINK Iran has violated the very same treaty WE ARE violating!

Why isn't Israel a signer of the NPT?

Answer 10

I agree with Pinocchio Bill, to protect ourselves from "Evil" countries such as Iran and the rest of the insane including North Korea.