News
Putin suspends Russian involvement in nuclear arms pact over Ukraine tensions
Biden hails ‘rock solid’ Nato as Putin blames West for Russia’s war
What is the future of the internet? Don’t ask the Supreme Court– The problem with cyberlaw in the courts.
Assignment
Given current events, we are going to read Chapter 15 for class on Thursday.
Also review:
Read Chapter 15 – Nuclear War – no slides – this is a discussion class
Duck And Cover (1951) Bert The Turtle – This is an example of what we saw in school when I was a kid. This is the modern version: https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-explosion
No US missile defense system proven capable against ‘realistic’ ICBM threats: Study
All intercontinental missiles are hypersonic, i.e., they travel at several times the speed of sound. What is in the press as hypersonic missiles are ones that stay low in the atmosphere, rather than going into space and coming down, making them much harder to detect and shoot down.
What Happens When a Nuclear Bomb Hits”
Nuclear Winter May Bring a Decade of Destruction
How a small nuclear war would transform the entire planet
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Long Term Health Effects
Long-term radiation (a few years) effects are low, as is residual radiation, at least for air burst bombs. Bombs that explode at ground level put a lot more dirt into the atmosphere and may leave more residual radiation, but we have no experience with this.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Close Calls with Nuclear Weapons (Apr. 2015) – summary
Resource document, you do not need to read for class.
Blundering into a nuclear war in Ukraine: a hypothetical scenario
CRS: Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons. Updated March 7, 2022
This is a clear guide to tactical versus strategic nuclear weapons prepared for Congress. Read pp 25-32 – Russian Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons after the Cold War to get a sense of the Ukraine problem. Is this a meaningful distinction?