The Nuclear Weapon Archive

A Guide to Nuclear Weapons

The Past is Prologue

History - Postwar Weapons Development
The links below take you to pages describing the nuclear weapons tests series conducted since World War II. The ever popular nuclear test images are accessed through these links.
United States	Soviet Union/Russia	United Kingdom	France
China	India	Pakistan	North Korea

The Present

Arsenals of the Declared Nuclear States
United States	Russia	United Kingdom	France
China	India	Pakistan	North Korea

Nuclear States in the Shadows
South Africa	Israel	Iraq

Reference Library

Nuclear Weapons Frequently Asked Questions (NWFAQ) by Carey Sublette
Last modified: 13 March 2019	Inactive links are for section that have not been completed or released
0.0 Introduction 1.0 Types of Nuclear Weapons 2.0 Introduction to Nuclear Weapon Physics and Design 3.0 Matter, Energy, and Radiation Hydrodynamics 4.0 Engineering and Design of Nuclear Weapons 5.0 Effects of Nuclear Explosions 6.0 Nuclear Materials 7.0 Nuclear Weapon Nations and Arsenals 8.0 The First Nuclear Weapons 9.0 Hiroshima and Nagasaki 10.0 Chronology For The Origin Of Atomic Weapons 11.0 Questions and Answers 12.0 Useful Tables 13.0 Bibliography 14.0 Nuclear Weapons FAQ Change History

Major Reference Articles and Links

Repository of Nuclear Effects Computer Simulations and Models Illustrated Effects of Nuclear Weapons Plutonium Manufacture and Fabrication (illustrated) The Smyth Report: Atomic Energy for Military Purposes; the first public description of atomic technology, released in 1945 and still an excellent introduction Nuclear Tests Comprehensive List of All Nuclear Explosions by Jim Lawson [8/1996] Official List of Underground Nuclear Explosions in Nevada [1995] Bibliographic Material Some References [1995] The Big List of Nuclear Weapons Publications [1995] Links to Important Information Sites. Maintaining links to web resources is a challenge. The links listed here all work as of the beginning of 2020. The Department of Energy home page is an excellent place to start. Several pages of excellent links to other DOE information sites are accessible from here. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Excellent link for accessing millions of pages of on-line information. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has shut down its library search portal and LLNL reports can be found here. Government Accounting Office Report Page. A valuable resource. Go to GAO Access Search Page, use keyword search (like "nuclear"). Many FY 95 and later reports are available online Complete Archive Site for the late lamented U.S. Office of Technolgy Assessment (OTA). Hosted by Princeton Univ. Federation of American Scientists: Nuclear resources Lots of stuff here, browse around. Stephen Schwartz's list of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Facilities Brookings Institute Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Home Page Gregory Walker's Trinity Site The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, this site now hosts the text of many valuable articles, with on-line search capability. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). Excellent repository of on-line materials British American Security Information Council (BASIC). An independent research organization that analyzes government policies. Project On Government Oversight (POGO): Center for Defense Information (CDI) An independent military policy research and analysis organization, has many on-line resources. Medical Management of Radiological Casualties Good resource on biological and chemical weapons. FM 8-9: Nato Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations Plutonium: The First Fifty Years from the US DOE Drawing Back the Curtain of Secrecy: Restricted Data Declassification Decisions, 1946 to the Present (January 1, 2001). Version RDD-7. Lots of interesting bits of information about nuclear weapons. T-2 Nuclear Information Service. Located at Los Alamos, this is the site to go to first for nuclear physics data. Nuclear Data Center of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). This is an excellent source of nuclear physics data also. Archived Greenpeace Report on dual capable technology (check out Figs 4, 5, 6 and 7) Sandia Lab News Nevada National Security Site United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (Rev 16, September 2015) CIA Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room hosts downloadable declassified documents. Places to visit National Atomic Testing Museum National Museum of Nuclear Science & History Bradbury Science Museum: "Your Window into Los Alamos National Laboratory"

Other Archive Materials

• Richard K. Brown's Warhead Diagrams
• Pulse Power Switching Technology [10/96]

• Historical Links and Articles

• Eyewitness accounts of Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors

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