Modern nuclear weapons pose as a great threat to everyone, all over the world. Many countries around the world have nuclear weapons. A small disagreement between countries could ultimately cause the end of the world, as we know it. Nuclear weapons are the most destructive explosives in existence.
Nuclear weapons are in the hands of some very powerful people. Countries all around the world have access to nuclear weapons. Some countries actually own the weapon themselves, while other countries may simply rely on an ally. Many countries, such as the United States, have nuclear weapons available so that, when they are being threatened by another country, they can threaten back. Nuclear weapons are powerful weapons against enemies because of their destructive abilities. One nuclear weapon can do the work of thousands of soldiers and conventional weaponry. .
Nuclear weapons are designed to produce large-scale destruction. Nuclear weapons are designed to produce large reactions so as to increase the amount destruction and devastation. An atomic bomb the size of a baseball can produce an explosion that is equal to approximately 20,000 tons of TNT.1 The bigger the explosion, the bigger the devastation. .
The physical size of nuclear weapons has been drastically reduced. Nuclear weapons come in all shapes and sizes. A nuclear weapon could be hidden anywhere - in a janitor's closet in a busy hospital, inside a pop machine at a sports stadium, even in a hole in a sandbox. Nuclear weapons are becoming easier to hide and even harder to detect.
Nuclear weapons produce chain reactions. When an atomic bomb is used, it involves the splitting of atoms. A chain reaction occurs when an atomic bomb explodes. All of the atoms nearby also begin to split, thus, exploding. A chain reaction can carry on for hundreds of kilometers away from the place of detonation and the amount of time it takes to produce this reaction can occur within a millionth of a second.