Nuclear weapon, device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two processes.
A briefing paper drawn up for ministers and Ministry of Defence officials argues that physical "movements under the MDA do not involve nuclear weapons or devices" and therefore the agreement does not contravene the letter of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
The orthodoxy in Whitehall and Westminster is that while less enlightened nations have nuclear weapons, which are devices for incinerating thousands of people, Britain has a nuclear deterrent, which is of course nothing like that.
The nuclear weapons were handmade devices, and a great deal of work remained to improve their ease of assembly, safety, reliability and storage before they were ready for production.
In the near future, Iran will be predicted to have approximately 10 20 nuclear weapons, mostly fission devices, in the range of 15 30 Kt.
I am afraid that assured destruction may not dissuade radical Islamic militants from using a nuclear weapon or device.
India has also offered to sign the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) that would prohibit further production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices.
In contrast to the 75-95% fatality outcomes for Iranian cities with the larger nuclear weapons, two 15 Kt devices used on Tel Aviv would result in 17% of the population being killed, though this still represents almost a quarter of a million people (Table 4).
Until the mid-nineteen-sixties, few of America's nuclear weapons contained a locking device.
"Historians will long wonder," he continued, "why this administration did not directly engage North Korea before Pyongyang gathered enough material for several nuclear weapons, tested a nuclear device and the missiles to deliver them".
