No matter how pacifistic the leader of the state may be, worrying about the safety of his citizens is considered one of his most important duties. Peace can only be achieved through skillful deterrence of potential adversaries. Only the leader of the state that has the most powerful weapons in the world can guarantee the safety of citizens. Its very presence inspires respect for potential aggressors. Therefore, large countries are now acquiring the most powerful weapons. Nuclear weapons are considered the most dangerous weapons in the world. Today, there are ten states on the planet that have a nuclear stockpile. As the current situation has shown, the opinion of their leaders is always listened to. The desire to be friends with them, or at least not to quarrel, is a completely understandable line of behavior for the heads of countries who do not have such an advantage.
What did people fight in ancient times?
Throughout the history of its development, humanity has constantlyinvented more and more new ways to kill each other. Already in the years of the Middle Ages, considerable success was achieved in this area. Before the invention of gunpowder, weapons were cold. But already in those days, a person had samples aimed at mass destruction.
Claw of Archimedes
In ancient times it was the most powerful melee weapon. The principle of its operation was to raise the enemy ram as high as possible and drop it down. For this purpose, special hooks were provided in the design of the gun to capture the enemy. At a certain moment, the hooks opened up, the enemy soldiers fell to the ground and broke. The Archimedes' Claw was used to lift and throw logs at the enemy, and as a lever to turn over enemy ships.
Scientific progress has left the "Claw of Archimedes" in the distant past, instead providing humanity with much more effective ways to mass destruction of each other.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Throughout its history, mankind has often wondered: what is the most powerful weapon that can be used to massively hit the enemy? It is generally accepted that the most powerful is a nuclear weapon. But those who are interested should know that today the following types of means of killing a person by a person belong to the category of "weapons of mass destruction":
- Nuclear weapons.
- H-bombs.
- Chemical weapons.
- Laser.
- Neutron bomb.
- Bioweapon.
Each species differs from others in the principle of action and characteristic features. What unites them is unconditional effectiveness and powerful impact.
Tsar Bomba
Surely many who wondered what the most powerful weapon in the world would answer that a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb contains a very terrible and destructive force. For the first time, such weapons were officially talked about in 1963.
Show strength
"Tsar bomb", or as it was also called "Kuzkin's mother", was tested on Novaya Zemlya a year and a half before Nikita Khrushchev's official statement about the presence of such powerful weapons in the USSR. Compared to the American thermonuclear bomb, the Soviet one was four times more powerful. Testing it, the scientists noted that the "king-bomb" exploded three minutes after it was dropped from a bomber. The height of the nuclear mushroom was 67 km, and the fireball had a radius of 5.6 km. The shock wave circled the globe three times. The created ionization for more than thirty minutes interfered with radio communications for several hundred kilometers. At the epicenter of the explosion, the heat turned the stones to ash. At the end of the test, the experts concluded: the "Tsar Bomba" is a "clean" weapon, since its power of 97% came from a thermonuclear fusion reaction, without creating radioactive contamination.
Atomic Bomb Gadget
In July 1945, the Americans tested the first plutonium-based Gadget atomic bomb near Alamogordo. In the same year, in August, shewas dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This event demonstrated to the whole world the fact that the United States has a powerful weapon. Five years later, the leadership of the USSR also officially announced the presence of such atomic weapons, which in terms of their destructive power are not inferior to the American ones.
Chemical weapons
In the history of mankind, it was first used in 1915 by German troops against Russian soldiers. A huge cloud of chlorine was released from special cylinders, as a result of which five thousand people died, another 15 thousand were severely poisoned.
During the Second World War, Japan also used chemical weapons. While bombing Chinese cities, Japanese troops fired about a thousand chemical shells. As a result of poisoning, 50 thousand people died.
Chemical weapons were also used by the Americans during the Vietnam War. The use of American poisonous substances left both the military and the civilian population no chance of salvation. During the period of the military conflict, US troops sprayed 72 million liters of defoliants. American chemical weapons contained mixtures of dioxin that caused blood, liver and neonatal malformations. About five million people suffered from chemical weapons used by the United States in this war. Complications and he alth problems remained even after its completion.
Laser weapons
It was first tested by the United States in 2010 at California test sites. Using a laser gunthe power of which was 32 megawatts, the Americans managed to shoot down four drones from a distance of 3 thousand meters. The advantages of laser weapons include:
- The ability to strike at the speed of light.
- Ability to attack multiple targets at the same time.
Biological
This weapon was known as early as 1500 BC. His strength has been used by many armies. Often, warriors filled up enemy fortresses with infected corpses. There is an opinion that the ulcers mentioned in the Bible are nothing more than the consequences of the use of biological weapons.
One of its modern varieties is the use of various viruses. In 2001, the most dangerous of them was the anthrax virus, which is extracted from the spores of the deadly bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Infection of a person occurs as a result of touching this spore or inhaling it. To date, 22 cases of human infection with anthrax are known. Five infected people have died.
Neutron bomb
Compared to other types of weapons of mass destruction, this weapon, invented by American scientists, is considered by many experts to be one of the most "moral". The destruction of only living organisms is a characteristic feature of the neutron bomb. This is explained by the fact that as a result of an explosion, only 20% of the energy falls on the shock wave. While in atomic weapons 50% is allocated to the shock wave. Despite the proposal of the leadership of the USSR to consider such weapons prohibited, among the heads of Western countriesthis call fell on deaf ears. Neutron charges began to be created in America in 1981.
Scientific progress has given humanity many weapons of powerful destructive power. Among them, a special place is occupied by nuclear as the most powerful weapon in the world.
Top 10 countries with large nuclear stocks
In the ranking of countries with nuclear potential:
- Tenth place is occupied by Canada. No official statements have been made by its government about the level of the country's nuclear stockpile. This indicates that Canada is not a full blown nuclear power. Her stockpiles of weapons are used primarily in trade.
- In ninth place in terms of nuclear potential is Israel. Although officially the state is not considered nuclear, in case of danger, according to rough estimates, it can use at least two hundred warheads.
- Eighth place is occupied by North Korea. Due to the repeated high-profile statements made by the head of state over the past few years, it may be believed that this country has the most powerful nuclear weapon in the world. However, it is not. North Korea is new to this area. According to rough estimates, the number of its nuclear warheads does not exceed a few dozen.
- Seventh place belongs to Pakistan. In terms of its nuclear potential, this state is almost the strongest in the world. The country's weapons (the nuclear potential that it has) are represented by one hundred and ten warheads. At the moment, they are in an active state and are being replenished intensively.
- India ranks sixth in terms of nuclear weapons. The state began to develop in this area to maintain peace. Today, there are over a hundred nuclear warheads.
- China is in fifth place. The decision to acquire the most powerful weapon in the world was made by the government of this country in 1964. Today, the state owns two hundred and forty nuclear warheads.
- Fourth place belongs to France. Despite the fact that for many this country is associated with romance, military issues were taken seriously here. Nuclear weapons first appeared in France in 1960. It currently has three hundred warheads.
- England. The country began buying nuclear warheads back in 1952. Other powers called for the same. In the UK, the warheads are active. Their number is 225 pieces.
- The Russian Federation ranks second. Experimentation in the nuclear sphere began in 1949 and continues to this day. According to rough estimates, the number of nuclear warheads has already exceeded eight thousand.
- America has become the leader in nuclear weapons. In this area, this state is the strongest in the world. US weapons, as is known, are not used for peaceful purposes. America uses its nuclear potential to interfere in the lives of weaker states.
Russian Tornadoes
According to many military experts and scientists, the Smerch multiple launch rocket system is Russia's second most powerful weapon after the nuclear bomb. To bring into combatcondition of this MLRS, no more than three minutes is enough.
A full salvo will take half a minute. The 12-barrel "Smerch" is capable of hitting modern tanks and any other armored vehicles. The Tornado is controlled in two ways:
- From the cockpit of the MLRS.
- Using remote control.
RK "Topol-M"
The Topol-M missile system (modernized) became the core of the group of strategic missile forces. The weapon is a three-stage monoblock solid-propellant rocket, which is contained in a special transport and launch container. She can stay in it for up to twenty years. A characteristic feature of this missile system is the theoretical possibility of replacing its integral warhead with a warhead that can be divided into three independent parts. Due to this, Topol-M becomes invulnerable to many air defense systems.
According to the current agreements, military engineers of the Russian Federation are not allowed to make such a replacement. However, in the light of recent events, it is possible that these agreements will be revised.
Russia is a country in which huge funds are allocated for the modernization of strategic and tactical nuclear forces. The Russian possession of conventional nuclear weapons and systems with nuclear components in recent years is an effective counterbalance to NATO countries.
