Nuclear arms race

May. The nuclear arms race ends—for the first time since 1945, the United States builds no nuclear weapons. 

Whatever scientists of one warring nation could conceive, the scientists of another warring nation might also conceive—and keep secret. That early in 1939 and early 1940, the nuclear arms race began. Responsible men who properly and understandably feared a dangerous enemy saw their own ideas reflected back to them malevolently distorted. Ideas that appeared defensive in friendly hands seen the other way around appeared aggressive. But they were the same ideas. 

Bohr was no fool. Obviously no nation could be expected to trust another nation s bare word about something so vital to survival Each would want to see for itself that the other was not secretly building bombs. That meant the world would have to open up. He knew very well how suspicious the Soviet Union would be of such an idea he hoped, however, that the dangers of a nuclear arms race might appear serious enough to make evident the compensating advantages ... 

Bohr had proposed to inform other nations of the common dangers of a nuclear arms race. At the hands of Stimson and his advisers that sensible proposal had drifted to the notion that the issue was sharing the weapon itself. As Commander in Chief, as a veteran of the First World War, as a man of common sense, Truman must have wondered what on earth his Secretary of War was talking about, especially when Stimson added that a certain moral responsibility followed from American leadership in nuclear technology which the nation could not shirk without very serious re-... 

The Board is responsible for an independent oversight of all activities affecting nuclear safety within DOE s nuclear weapons complex. Prior to the end of the nuclear arms race, the nuclear weapons complex concentrated on the design, manufacture, test, and maintenance of the nation s nuclear arsenal. The complex is now engaged in the cleanup of contaminated sites and facilities, disassembly of nuclear weapons to achieve arms control objectives, maintenance of the smaller stockpile, and storage and disposition of excess fissionable materials. All of these hazardous activities must be carried out in the strict observance of health and safety requirements. 

Richard Rhodes, Arsenals of Folly The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race (New York Knopf, 2007), 221. See also the essays in Bruce Hevly and John M. Findlay, eds.. The Atomic lyest (Seattle University of Washington Press, 1998). 

Rhodes, Richard. Arsenals of Folly The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race. New York Knopf, 2007. 

Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union generally tried at least to match US developments in the nuclear arms race - missiles, warheads and nuclear submarines. However, the Soviet record of nuclear submarine safety was not impressive [6] ... 

Teller was a nuclear physicist, and has been described as one of the giants of the nuclear age. He was a formidable mathematician who became impaled by the nuclear arms race, leading to the Star Wars program of the US President Ragan (Goodchild, 2004). 

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg leave federal court in 1950 after being indicted on charges of espionage. The case against the couple exemplified fears of a nuclear arms race. 

Further, the weapons states committed themselves to begin negotiations in good faith to end the nuclear arms race at an early date, and to work toward complete nuclear disarmament (Article VI). The insertion of Article VI was not entirely cynical. The Cuban Crisis of 1962 had brought home, even to the superpowers, that their rivalry could lead to universal nuclear annihilation if not carefully regulated. The aspiration toward nuclear disarmament remained litde more than an aspiration for the first 20 years of the Treaty s life. As a result, this key part of the bargain has not yet been fulfilled, which has lent support to accusations that the Treaty remains discriminatory and inequitable. 

Despite their rising concern about radiation after the 1954 Pacific bomb tests, the American people accepted the Eisenhower administration s contention that the risks of fallout were less disturbing than the dangers of falling behind the Soviets in the nuclear-arms race. In the 1956 presidential election. Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson questioned the administration s position on fallout and advocated a nudear-test ban but failed to win broad support or discernibly undermine public confidence in Eisenhower s polides. ... 

Fig. 4.4. Robert Havemann at a protest in West-Berlin against the nuclear arms race, 18 July 1950.

A basic introduction to nuclear arms control and semitechnical aspects of nuclear weapon development and design is provided by Paul B. Craig and John A. Jungerman s Nuclear Arms Race Technology and Society. For a basic introduction to the fundamentals of nuclear weapon design and early development, one can still usefully refer to Henry DeWolf... 

Craig, Paul B., and John A. Jungerman. Nuclear Arms Race Technology and Society. 2nd ed. New York McGraw-Hill, 1990. 

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