For all kinds of reasons, certain nations have strict and often scary defense policies, including arming themselves with nuclear weapons. With a global nuclear stockpile of over 13,000, it's scary to imagine that most of these are much more powerful than the nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki! But which countries host the most nuclear weapons:
- 9. North Korea - The most politically isolated country in the world, North Korea began developing nuclear weapons in the '80s, in defiance of international agreements and sanctions. Today, North Korea has 20 nuclear warheads, making it the ninth country with the most nuclear weapons in the world.
- 8. Israel - Israel has 90 nuclear warheads, making it the eighth country with the most nuclear weapons in the world. It's widely believed that Israel began to develop nuclear weapons in the '60s, though they have never officially acknowledged them.
- 7. India - Most people would be surprised to learn that India has many powerful nuclear weapons. Ranked at number seven, it actually has 160 nuclear weapons. India developed its own nuclear weapons program in the late '60s and conducted its first nuclear test in 1974.
- 6. Pakistan - The former British colony also holds a massive stockpile of nuclear weapons, with a total of 165 warheads. Pakistan developed its own nuclear weapons program in response to India's nuclear program, conducting its first test in 1998.
- 5. United Kingdom - Ranking fifth when it comes to the most nuclear weapons, the UK has 225 nuclear warheads. The UK developed its nuclear weapons in the '50s, with the help of the US, to maintain its position as a major global power.
- 4. France - France is the fourth country with the most nuclear weapons worldwide, with 290 nuclear weapons. The country started working on nuclear weapons in the '50s, and conducted its first nuclear test in 1960.
- 3. China - China ranks third in terms of the most nuclear weapons worldwide, holding 350 warheads. China developed its nuclear weapons program in the '50s and conducted its first nuclear test in 1964.
- 2. USA - The US actually takes second spot when it comes to nuclear power, with 5,428 nuclear weapons. It became the first country to use nuclear weapons in warfare, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
- 1. Russia - With 5,977 nuclear weapons, Russia claims first place in the nuclear race. During the Cold War, the US and the Soviet Union engaged in a nuclear arms race, resulting in the buildup of a vast nuclear arsenal by both nations.
J. Robert Oppenheimer: Father of the atomic bomb
Julius Robert Oppenheimer born 22 Apr 1904 & died 18 Feb 1967 (aged 62)
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb". Born in New York City, Oppenheimer earned a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1925 and a doctorate in physics from the University of Göttingen in Germany in 1927, where he studied under Max Born.
After research at other institutions, he joined the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley, where he became a full professor in 1936. He made significant contributions to theoretical physics, including achievements in quantum mechanics and nuclear physics such as the Born–Oppenheimer approximation for molecular wave functions, work on the theory of electrons and positrons, the Oppenheimer–Phillips process in nuclear fusion, and early work on quantum tunneling. With his students, he also made contributions to the theory of neutron stars and black holes, quantum field theory, and the interactions of cosmic rays. In 1942, Oppenheimer was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, and in 1943 he was appointed director of the project's Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, tasked with developing the first nuclear weapons. His leadership and scientific expertise were instrumental in the project's success. On July 16, 1945, he was present at the first test of the atomic bomb, Trinity. In August 1945, the weapons were used against Japan in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.
In 1947, Oppenheimer became the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and chaired the influential General Advisory Committee of the newly created U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. He lobbied for international control of nuclear power to avert nuclear proliferation and a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. He opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb during a 1949–1950 governmental debate on the question and subsequently took positions on defense-related issues that provoked the ire of some U.S. government and military factions. During the second Red Scare, Oppenheimer's stances, together with his past associations with the Communist Party USA, led to the revocation of his security clearance following a 1954 security hearing. This effectively ended his access to the government's atomic secrets and thus his career as a nuclear physicist. Stripped also of his direct political influence, Oppenheimer continued to lecture, write, and work in physics. In 1963, he was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of political rehabilitation. He died four years later of throat cancer. In 2022, the federal government vacated the 1954 revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance.
