The term “cold war,” coined by George Orwell in 1945, was used to describe nuclear tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Although the Cold War has ended, today new countries are developing nuclear weapons.

Development of Nuclear Weapons

The U.S. Manhattan Project produced the first atomic bomb during WWII. After a test bombing in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, President Harry S. Truman decided to drop two bombs on Japan. “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 and “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, killing more than 200,000 people combined. The world would never be the same.

According to HowStuffWorks, atomic bombs use either fission, splitting the nucleus of an atom into two smaller portions with a neutron, or fusion, bringing two smaller atoms together to form a larger one. The first nuclear weapons used fission to detonate.

Nuclear weapons have placed a fear in the hearts of many due to the massive amounts of destruction they are capable of. But sometimes the biggest threat is not the weapons themselves, but who possesses them.

Key Nuclear Weapons Treaties

Less than 20 years after the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb, treaties began forming to limit the use of nuclear weapons. The Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed Aug. 5, 1963 by the U.S., Britain and the U.S.S.R. It was the first treaty to ban testing nuclear weapons in space, above ground or underwater.

One of the most important treaties to date is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed July 1, 1968 and extended indefinitely in 1995. The aim of the NPT is to limit the spread of nuclear weapons and nuclear technology. It also promotes peaceful uses of nuclear energy with the hope of complete nuclear disarmament.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, signed Sept. 24, 1996, has yet to be put into force. Countries that sign the treaty are prohibited from conducting any sort of nuclear explosions or tests. In order for the treaty to be implemented, the 44 countries that possessed nuclear data or power reactors in 1996 must sign and ratify it. Of the needed 44, 41 countries have signed the treaty and 34 have ratified it; North Korea, India and Pakistan have yet to sign the CTBT.

Nuclear Threats of Today

In the past, the threat of retaliation against a nuclear attack has kept powerful nations in check. But today, nations under totalitarian leadership and terrorist regimes operate on different terms, said FBI Special Agent Joe Armstrong, who focuses on international terrorism.

“The enemy now follows an ideology of mass murder,” Armstrong said. “They use operatives that indoctrinate a set of religious ideals that glorify martyrdom.”

The biggest fear is when a government with nuclear technology aligns with terrorists, he said. Besides North Korea and Iran, Armstrong said China may also be a threat.

“China certainly possesses the capability to manufacture atomic weapons,” Armstrong said.