One of the arguments that the U.S. gave was that by dropping the bomb it could save many more lives because of an impending invasion. The U.S. calculated that there would be more losses on both sides if the U.S. invaded as compared to the deaths caused by the nuclear weapons. O'Neill thinks other wise, "I don't buy it, the reason mainly is that we knew the Japanese were prepared to sue for peace but we dropped it anyway." Supposedly the U.S. had been intercepting secret messages from the Japanese and the U.S. knew that the Japanese were ready for peace, yet they used the bombs despite this information. O'Neill said, "when you analyze the mental inertia of military leaders, when they have a weapon, they will use the weapon. They didn't want to end the war without the use of the bomb." The U.S. had spent billions of dollars and many years developing these weapons and if they weren't used it would have been seen as a waste and a lack of strength by other countries.

Another type of combined fission and fusion bomb is the neutron bomb. In nuclear weapons a certain amount of neutrons are created through the reactions, yet they are usually shielded by the bomb itself. In a neutron bomb the neutrons are allowed to escape and become the primary force of the bomb. The radiation produced by the neutrons is very powerful. For this reason neutron bombs are often called "enhanced radiation warheads". Most radiation shielding devices are penetrated by neutrons because of the neutron's size. The neutron bombs were used to destroy the nuclear components of enemy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's) and to kill soldiers who were armored. Neutron bombs also work well against armored vehicles because of the radiation. The destructive power of a nuclear bomb against armored targets was often low because of the targets protection against the intense heat and energy. So the lethality of the bomb was determined by the extent of the radiation produced. The neutron bomb has a much larger radioactive range than any other nuclear bomb and therefore is very potent against any ground targets. The neutron bomb has never been used in combat and only four countries are known to have them, the United States, France, the Soviet Union, and China (Sublette). In this sense it seems as if the bomb is more of a political weapon than a military one. Four of the major world powers are the only to possess them yet they have never been used and probably never will be. The bombs are more of a status symbol than a military threat.

The next type of nuclear weapon is the combined fission and fusion bomb. Nuclear fusion is the combination of nuclei while nuclear fission is the breaking apart of nuclei. Nuclear fusion produces much more energy than fission but is harder to contain because of the amounts of energy it creates and requires to begin. The sun produces its power from nuclear fusion. The fusion portion is used to strengthen the power of the initial fission bomb. The first types of bombs to incorporate fusion were the boosted fission weapons. In these bombs a mixture of deuterium and tritium gas is mixed into the core of the bomb. When the fission reaction begins it creates enough heat and energy to start a fusion reactions with the deuterium and tritium. This fusion reaction then in turn increases the speed of the fission reaction doubling the energy produced. The fusion reaction itself produces little energy, it is it's affect on the fission reaction that makes it effective (Sublette).

This was the first use of a nuclear weapon in human history and America was the first country to possess this massive weapon. Its use caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people and ended a war. Its physical effects were equally rivaled in its political impact, between American, Japan, and the rest of the world. The

The third type of nuclear weapon is the "salted" bomb. These bombs are somewhat like the combined fission

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Approximate Word count = 3372
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)