Topic > Cold War Nuclear Weapons - 907

The Pope quickly organized a meeting to prepare the world for a weapon that would destroy all life on earth. "Pope Innocent II organized the conference in 11391" because of a crossbow. About 800 years after this conference, the Cold War began. The potential for mass destruction could occur at any time. More mining and technology efforts went towards building nuclear weapons. Missiles such as the Tomahawk® cruise missile and the Trident fleet ballistic missile were the new wave of nuclear weapons, in the 1980s, used during the Cold War. Restrictions and security treaties have prevented these weapons of mass destruction from causing Armageddon. Mining elements that could be used as nuclear energy was very important during the Cold War. New technology and research into nuclear materials were an essential part in building a nuclear weapon. The most important element for making nuclear weapons is uranium. Uranium is used to produce plutonium, a very powerful element, by deuteron bombardment of uranium oxide. Uranium, a gray-colored element, is mined from common uranium ores. Common isotopes, such as radioactive sulfur (S35), radioactive carbon (C14), radioactive phosphorus (P32), and strontium (Sr90) posed a great danger to the safety of the environment and mammals. The time it takes for half of the radioactive isotope to disintegrate is called the half-life. “Isotopes with a short half-life, measured in seconds, hours or days, are generally considered less dangerous to the environment2.” Isotopes with a long half-life are very harmful to our world; for example, plutonium in one of its forms (Pu239) has a half-life of over 20,000 years. So much heat is emitted that, in energy reactors, the heat is used to generate electricity. These nuclear elements, primarily plutonium, were used to make the most destructive weapons ever built: nuclear missiles. In 1979, one of the most powerful missiles, the Trident I (C4), was created, and in 1990, the Trident II (D5). The Trident II (D5), slightly larger and improved than the Trident I (C4), can travel approximately 14,000 miles per hour3. This guided missile can be launched beyond 4,000 nautical miles4. The Trident missile is launched from a submarine that can hold up to 24 missiles. Due to the missile's long range and supersonic speed, this nuclear weapon had the potential to cause Armageddon. Probably the most important missile for the United States is the Tomahawk® cruise missile. The U.