This textbook is the first comprehensive and systematic account of the science, technology and policy issues associated with nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Throughout their account of the evolution of nuclear policy, from its origin to the early Trump presidency, the authors interweave clear technical expositions of the science and technology that underpin and constrain it. The book begins by tracing the early work in atomic physics, the discovery of fission, and the developments that led to the Manhattan Project and the delivery of atomic bombs against Japan that ended World War II. It follows the initial failed attempts at nuclear disarmament, the onset of the Cold War nuclear arms competition, and the development of light water reactors to harness nuclear energy for electric power generation. The authors thoroughly unpack the problem of nuclear proliferation, examining the strategy and incentives for states that have and have not pursued nuclear weapons, and providing an overview of the nuclear arsenals of the current nuclear weapon states. They trace the technical, political and strategic evolution of deterrence, arms control and disarmament policies from the first attempts for an Outer Space Treaty in 1957 through the new START treaty of 2009. At critical junctures in the narrative, the authors explain the relevant nuclear science and technology including nuclear fission and criticality; nuclear materials and enrichment; nuclear detonation and nuclear weapons effects; nuclear weapons stockpile constraints, stewardship and surveillance; nuclear fusion and thermonuclear weapons; technologies for monitoring, verification and proliferation; and nuclear forensics. They conclude with an assessment of contemporary issues ranging from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons development program, to the threat of nuclear terrorism, the perceived nuclear weapons policies of Russia and China, and the US efforts to provide disincentives for its allies to acquire their own nuclear weapons by maintaining credible security guarantees.
Author(s): Michael Nacht, Michael Frank, Stanley Prussin
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 357
City: Cham
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter 1: Early Days
Development of Atomic Physics
Origins of Nuclear Fission: Great Britain and Continental Europe
Nuclear Science I: Fission and Criticality
Energy and Mass
Radioactivity
Nuclear Fission: Spontaneous and Neutron-Induced
Controlled Fission Reactions and Basic Nuclear Reactor Concepts
Fission Products, Their Radioactivity, and Radiation Hazards
Reaction Probabilities
Criticality: Basic Concepts
How Big Was the ``Chicago Pile?´´
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project Becomes Operational
Los Alamos
The Trinity Test
Truman´s Decision to Drop Two Atomic Bombs
Nuclear Weapons and their Effects
Basic Design Concepts
Context and Caution
Classifying Nuclear Weapon Information
Principles of Nuclear Fission Explosives
Nuclear Weapon Effects
Blast and Pressure
Thermal Effects
Initial and Residual Radiation
Damage and Consequences
Radiation Effects on Biological Systems
Electromagnetic Pulse Effects
Effects from Hiroshima
Chapter 2: Postwar Expansion (1946-1968)
The Onset of Cold War Competition
Toward Thermonuclear Weapons
Oppenheimer vs. Teller
Fusion and Thermonuclear Weapons
Failed International Arms Control and Cold War Intensification
Korea, NSC-68, and the Beginnings of Extended Deterrence
Nuclear Proliferation Begins
The British Program
Maturation of the Superpower Nuclear Arms Competition
Oppenheimer vs. Teller, Again
The Search for a Nuclear Strategy
From Massive Retaliation to Assured Destruction
The McNamara Era
The Arms Competition Intensifies
Modern Nuclear Weapons and Designing for the Stockpile
Chapter 3: The Problem of Nuclear Proliferation
Great Britain
The Eisenhower Initiative and Beyond
The Zangger Committee and the Nuclear Suppliers Group
Nuclear Proliferation Builds
France
China
Israel
Sweden, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, and Others
US Views and Counterviews on Nuclear Proliferation
First Arms Control Measures
The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Limited Test Ban Treaty
Nuclear Science: Nuclear Proliferation and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Overview of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Uranium Mining and Milling
Refining
Conversion
Enrichment and Isotope Separation: Concepts and Methods
Gaseous Diffusion
Gas Centrifugation
Separative Work
Other Enrichment Methods
Laser Isotope Separation
Aerodynamic Separation
Reactor Basics: Irradiation, Production, Burnup, and Disposal
Nuclear Reactors
Light-Water Reactors
Heavy-Water Reactor
Gas-Cooled Thermal Reactors
Breeder Reactors
Proliferation-Resistant Fuel Cycles
Chapter 4: Technical, Political, and Strategic Evolution of Deterrence and Arms Control
Introduction
Massive Retaliation and Its Critics
From Kennedy to Schlesinger to Carter
The Schlesinger Doctrine
Carter´s Countervailing Strategy
The Reagan Strategy
Other Key Considerations
Extended Deterrence
The Importance of Missile Defense
Nuclear Arms Control and Restraint
Core US-Soviet Bilateral Arms Control Agreements
The SALT II
Elaboration of the Nuclear Strategy
Carter´s Policy of Deferring the Reprocessing of Spent Fuel
Additional Proliferation Activities
India and Pakistan
The German-Brazilian Deal
Pressuring Allies: South Korea and Taiwan
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty
The START I
Technical Methods of Monitoring and Verifying Nonproliferation
Ionizing Radiation and Radiation Detection
Technologies for Treaty Verification and Monitoring
Monitoring for Nuclear Tests: Eyes in the Sky, Ear to the Ground, Nose in the Air
Space-Based Optical Monitoring
Seismic
Atmospheric
Infrasonic and Hydroacoustic
Chapter 5: The Second Nuclear Age (1992-Present)
The End of the Cold War
START II
Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program
The Special Case of Ukraine
Regional Proliferation
Iraq
North Korea
Libya
India Vs. Pakistan
Iran
Counter-Proliferation
Operation Olympic Games
Nuclear Disarmament
The Legitimacy of the NPT
Historical Examples of Nuclear Disarmament
South Africa
Brazil and Argentina
Post-Cold War Arms Control Developments
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (SORT)
US Withdrawal from the ABM Treaty
New START
Maintaining the Stockpile in the Second Nuclear Age
Stockpile Stewardship
Applying Quantification of Uncertainty to the Stockpile
Laboratory Experiments: Integrated Hydrodynamics Testing
Laboratory Experiments: Focused High-Energy-Density Experiments
Shock Physics and the Equation of State
Actinide Metallurgy and Chemistry
Nuclear Science
Computer Simulations
Stockpile Surveillance
Chapter 6: Contemporary Issues in Nuclear Security
The Threat of Nuclear Terrorism
Loss of Control of a Nuclear Weapon
Loss of Control of Nuclear Material
Loss of Control of Nuclear Expertise
US Efforts in Response to the Growing Nuclear Risks
Proliferation Against the Backdrop of a Failed Nuclear State
Growing Lethality of Terrorism Inspired by Fundamentalist Ideologies
Nuclear Science: The Challenges of Threat Detection, Interdiction, and Forensics
Radiation Detection for Nuclear Terroristic Threats
Active Interrogation
Nuclear Forensics
Pre-detonation Nuclear Forensics
Post-detonation Nuclear Forensics
The Late Bush Years and the Obama Nuclear Security Initiatives
Modifying Stockpile Weapons in Response to Proliferation: The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP)
Beyond Life Extension Programs: The Reliable Replacement Warhead
The Obama Nuclear Security Initiatives
Strengthening the NPT Additional Protocol
Trump´s Nuclear Posture Review
Russia Signals a Strategy of ``Escalate to De-escalate´´
China´s Anti-access/Area Denial Strategy
Advanced Weaponry
Space-Based Missile Defense Systems
Hypersonic Offensive Weapon Systems
Cyber Treats to Nuclear Command and Control Systems
Hackers Might Engage in Spying, Hacking, and Nuclear Espionage
Nuclear Weapons, Cross Domain Deterrence, and the Shift to Integrated Strategic Deterrence
Economic Sanctions as a Counter-Proliferation Tool
The Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
Chapter 7: Conjectures and Conclusions
Introduction
Nuclear Weapon Use Between Major Powers
US-Russia
US-China
Russia-China
Nuclear Weapon Use Between Regional Powers
India-Pakistan
China-India
North Korea-United States/Japan/South Korea
Israel-Iran
Russia-United Kingdom/France
Nuclear Weapon Use Involving Subnational Groups
Al-Qaeda-United States, Israel, France
ISIS-United States, United Kingdom, Israel, France
New Technologies
Further Nuclear Weapons Proliferation
Future Questions for US Nuclear Policy
To Test or Not to Test? That Is the Question
Nuclear Power and Climate Change: Peril and Promise
Final Thoughts
Index
