Nuclear proliferation can be seen as occurring in two stages, the development of a nuclear weapons production program and the actual possession of weapons. The first stage, the presence of nuclear weapon programs, is (or at least has been) a de facto precondition for the manufacture and possession

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strategies, fails against nuclear terrorism simply because there are no welldefined targets against which to retaliate. Proliferation among Nations Any determined nation could develop and start stockpiling reasonably efficient and reliable nuclear weapons within ten years and, in many cases, in a much

that more of the others are joining. Some general ways of acquiring prestige are discussed. Compared to achieving social progress, building and testing nuclear weapons is better at bearing prestige because it has distinct borders separating success and failure, because it is salient and because it involves

Letʼs face it, nuclear weapons are the elephant in the room that no one likes to talk about. So letʼs approach the issue from the less threatening perspective of the awesome picture below.1 Figure 1: A glider executing a high speed low pass. The glider looks like itʼs suspended above the runway

Most laboratory data on simulated nuclear weapon thermal pulses can be compared only indirectly with the results from field studies. To over-come this handicap, data of the type which could be obtained in field ex-periments were sought. Burns from the following radiant exposure-simulated nuclear

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of nuclear weapons is well known, and all radioactive materials pose hazards if not properly controlled. Nuclear systems require special handling and other protective measures to prevent accidents, unautho-rized use, or dangerous exposure. This directive provides policies for managing nuclear

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