The history of atomic weapons begins with the discoveries of J. Curie in 1939. Then the scientists realized that the chain reaction of some elements may be accompanied by the release of an exorbitant amount of energy. Subsequently, this formed the basis of nuclear weapons.
The atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction. In the process of its explosion, so much energy is released in a relatively small space that seismic shocks occur when projected onto the ground.
The striking factors of atomic weapons: a strong shock wave, thermal energy, light, penetrating radiation, as well as a powerful electromagnetic pulse. The atomic bomb is made on the basis of plutonium. Uranium is also used.
The first atomic bomb was created and tested by the Americans on July 16, 1945 in the town of Almogordo. This demonstrated to the world all the formidable power of nuclear weapons. Then, in August of that year, new weapons were used against civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese cities were almost wiped off the face of the planet by shock waves, and the survivors of the bombing subsequently died of radiation sickness. Their death was painful and long. The use of US nuclear weapons was determined not so much by military necessity as by the intention to intimidate the USSR with new weapons. In essence, this marked the beginning of the Cold War and the arms race.
I. Stalin correctly understood the hint, but did not succumb to blackmail. All the country's forces were thrown at creating a “symmetrical response” - Soviet nuclear weapons. For its development, a special committee was formed under the leadership of L. Beria, which included such luminaries of science as I. Kurchatov, P. Kapitsa and A. Ioffe. The captured German documents on the Bulgarian deposits of high-quality uranium helped to provide the project with nuclear fuel, and timely intelligence on American nuclear weapons significantly accelerated the development.
The information that the USSR is actively developing an atomic bomb aroused the desire of the ruling elite in the United States to start a preventive war. For these purposes, the Troyan plan was developed, according to which it was planned to start military operations on January 1, 1950. At that time, the United States already had 300 nuclear bombs. The plan included the destruction of seventy of the largest Soviet cities.
However, the Soviet Union was ahead of the aggressors. In 1949, on August 29, the USSR atomic bomb was successfully tested at a training ground near Semipalatinsk. The device, code-named RDS-1, was blown up at 7 in the morning. The whole world was notified of this event. The successful testing of nuclear weapons in 1949 thwarted plans for an American attack on the Soviet Union due to the threat of a retaliatory strike. Indeed, now the Country of Soviets also had an atomic bomb, which put an end to the "atomic monopoly" of the United States. A new, active phase of the Cold War has begun.
The Soviet nuclear bomb had a force of only 22 kilotons. Now super-powerful thermonuclear devices carry megatons of destructive energy. Mankind has created the most destructive weapon, but the presence of such weapons keeps it from new world wars.