Contemporary World

 Competition for nuclear superiority between the USA, the USSR and their allies.

 Supersized explosive devices that take advantage of the properties of the atom.  This generates a charge  chain reaction  explosion.  Nuclear power plants aim to keep this process controlled, nuclear weapons let it run wild.

 Nuclear explosions destroy in many ways: 1. Intense heat produced 2. Extreme physical trauma 3. Massive amounts of radiation 4. Magnitude of destruction

 Atom split into two smaller pieces  Uranium-235  Produces 2 misc neutrons, which sets off a chain reaction  Bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki  Produced by the USA & UK in USSR got them in 1949, France in 1960 and China in  Today, at least a dozen countries have bombs of this type.

 Helium-4, which has to be artificially produced by putting together two other atoms  Much more difficult to produce, much more powerful  Greater shock wave, greater heat, less radiation.  Tested by the USA in 1952, the USSR in 1953, the UK in 1957 and France/China in  No others nations possess this type of weapon today.

 August 6 th 1945: USA dropped Little Boy over Hiroshima.  August 9 th 1945: USA dropped Fat Man over Nagasaki.  Stalin felt he had no choice but to get the A-Bomb ASAP.

 1950: Decision to develop the H- Bomb.  Most experts told Truman it wouldn’t be a weapon at all, but a psychological tool.

 November 1952  USA detonated an H- Bomb over a small island in the Marshalls  450x more powerful than the bomb dropped over Nagasaki  In August 1953 the Soviets tested an H- Bomb

 March 1954  Largest nuclear device exploded by the USA, again in the Marshalls  1000x more powerful than the bombs used in Japan  Radioactive fallout frightened people. Far out islands and Japanese fishermen were affected. Radioactive debris carried around the world.  Grim conclusion

 1961: To intimidate JFK, Khrushchev ordered the explosion of a massive bomb in the northern USSR.  Combined techniques in a fission fusion fission bomb  Largest man made explosion in history  Huge environmental fallout

 Consequences: 1. Scientists considered this purely a political show with no military or scientific value. 2. Infuriated the Kennedy administration  The USSR would try and outdo the USA in the space race

 The USSR and the USA never actually fought a “hot” war against each other. Instead, the wars were fought by proxy- in which of the following did the USA government not back a coup? A) Iran B) Switzerland C) Guatemala D) Brazil

B, Switzerland!

 Who said in 1956 “There are only two ways: either peaceful coexistence or the most destructive war in history. There is no third way.” A) JFK B) Stalin C) Eisenhower D) Khrushchev

D, Khrushchev!

 Who was the first American President to visit Moscow? A) Kennedy B) Nixon C) Reagan D) Bush

 B!  Nixon visited the USSR in Brezhnev visited the USA the next year.

 For the first time since WWII, the USA and Russia cooperated (at least diplomatically) against a common enemy in Who was it? A) Yasser Arafat B) John Major C) Osama bin Laden D) Saddam Hussein

 D! Saddam Hussein.  Russia did this for geopolitical reasons owing to Iraq’s close proximity to Russian borders.

 In March 1998 Yeltsin, known for his bizarre and erratic behavior, fired his entire Cabinet. What reason did he give for the decision? A) They were alcoholics B) They were all corrupt C) They were unsuitable for the new Russia D) He feared they were planning to kill him

 C!  It was unclear what he meant by “new” Russia, but it appears that this was his attempt to introduce reform.