A primer on nuclear weapons, from the science of fission and fusion to the pursuit of mutual assured destruction, the SALT treaties, and the Bomb in pop culture.Although the world's attention has shifted to drone-controlled bombing and cyberwarfare, the threat of nuclear war still exists. There are now fourteen thousand nuclear weapons in the hands of the nine declared nuclear powers. Even though the world survived the Cold War, we need to understand what it means to live with nuclear weapons. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Mark Wolverton offers a primer on nuclear weapons, from the science of fission and fusion to the pursuit of mutual assured destruction, the SALT and START agreements, and the Bomb in pop culture. Wolverton explains the basic scientific facts, offers historical perspective, and provides a nuanced view of the unique political, social, and moral dilemmas posed by nuclear weapons. He describes the birth of the Bomb in 1945 and its use against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; explains how a nuclear bomb works; recounts episodes when the world came close to waging nuclear war, including the Cuban missile crisis in 1962; discusses nuclear policy and nuclear treaties; and traces the influence of such films as On the Beach, Dr. Strangelove, and The Day After.

Series Foreword viiPreface ix1 Introduction: The Big Difference 12 Dawn over Trinity: The Nuclear Age Begins 273 Taming the Nuclear Genie: New Hopes and Threats 614 The Brink: Close Calls and Nuclear Crises 895 Brighter Than the Sun: What Nuclear Weapons Do 1256 Deterrence and Doomsday: Nuclear Theories and Treaties 1457 The Ends of the World: Nuclear Weapons and Popular Culture 1778 The Choice 211Glossary 237Notes 243Further Reading 247Index 253