Nuclear Weapons and EnergyNuclear energy refers to the part of the nucleus of an atom which when released by fusion, fission or radioactive delay causes the production of energy. Production of this kind of energy is very expensive as well as dangerous to the people carrying out the procedure. Nuclear energy may be used in various fields such as in technology and in the generation of electricity. Nuclear is the process of using sustained nuclear fission in order to generate electricity and heat. Nuclear technology on the other hand refers to the use of nuclear energy in various disciplines such as medicine. Nuclear power plants in the world provide about 6% of the energy in the world and about 13% of the electricity used in the world. Nuclear energy and weaponry has several advantages and disadvantages.The countries that rely the most on the generation of electricity from nuclear energy include The United States of America, Japan and France. These three countries together account for about 50% of the electricity generated from nuclear power. However, these three countries are not the only countries operating nuclear reactors, the IAEA reported in 2007 that another 29 countries in addition to the three operate nuclear reactors though in small scale. There has also been the building of naval vessels that use nuclear propulsion for example the USS Bainbridge belonging to the United States. As much as some countries use nuclear power, its use is shrouded in controversy. The origin of this controversy is because nuclear energy is a dangerous method of producing energy.This is proven by the numerous fatal accidents that have occurred that are caused by nuclear energy. Nuclear power plant energy accidents that have occurred in the past include the Three Mile Island accident of 1979, the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 an the most recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011 (Eerkens, 61). However even with the magnitude of these accidents, their occurrences are not common. Despite the recorded accidents, it has been proven that the safety record of this kind of power is quite high. This is particularly in the case of the number of deaths per the electricity units produced is considered. This proves that the output of nuclear energy is much higher than all the other sources of energy in the world. This is the most important advantage of nuclear energy. This is because the energy produced during the breaking of the atom is very high.Another advantage is that this kind of energy does not pollute the environment compared to the other energy sources. This makes it the most suitable source of energy especially because the world is trying to stop global warming which is caused by pollution to the environment. Another advantage of their form of energy is that it is very reliable as opposed to the other sources, which are prone to many unnecessary interruptions (Angelo, 85). These advantages are the reasons why some countries have preferred to use this kind of energy. As much as nuclear power has numerous advantages, it also has a significant number of disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage of this kind of energy is that it is very expensive in its initial sages. It requires state of the art equipment in order to run, as it should.The acquisition of this equipment is very costly, they are complex, and it, therefore, requires specialists to run the power plant. This makes its use be limited only to the wealthy and affluent nations with enough money to finance this venture. As much as developing countries may want to use this source of energy, their financial situation does not permit them to and they have to keep using the other unreliable sources of energy. Another disadvantage of this method of energy is that it is a dangerous method of electricity production. However rare the power plant accidents occur, they are of a large magnitude and cause a lot of destruction to the country in question.This is why most developed countries prefer to avoid using this source of energy. Nuclear energy affects the health of the people who expose themselves to it. During the process of nuclear fission or fusion, some harmful radiations may be produced and absorbed into their bodies. This increases their prevalence to terminal diseases such as cancer. Most of the employees in such plants are required to dress in protective gear but some rays like gamma rays can penetrate their protective clothing. As much as this source of energy has some disadvantages, it is the best source of energy for the countries that can afford it because it is the most reliable source of energyNuclear weapons are explosive devices that acquire their energy from nuclear reactions such as fission or fusion or a combination of the two. These weapons are the most destructive because of the amount of energy produced from the weapon. This is where they obtain the name weapons of mass destruction. The use of nuclear weapons has been stopped by several international policies that forbid the manufacture of this kind of weaponry. The only use of nuclear weapons in the course of war occurred in 1945 during the Second World War. This is the most prominent display of the use of nuclear weapons.Two nuclear bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the United States. The fatalities recorded from these two attacks were recorded to exceed 200, 000 people and scores of others injured. These bombings made the Japanese to surrender and ensured that the U.S.A. obtained victory in the war. However, since then, the only nuclear detonations that have taken place are only for testing purposes as opposed to their use in warfare. The number of nations suspected of owning or manufacturing these weapons is minimal due to the intense policies that surround the manufacture of nuclear weapons. The only countries known to possess nuclear weapons include Russia, The United states, The United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea and the peoples republic of China (Jones, 47).Israel is also believed to have weapons it these nature though it is not completely proven. South Africa also had some nuclear weapons but it disassembled it in order to conform to the international standards of safety. Generally, there are two types of nuclear weapons based on the origins of their sources of energy. The fist type is formed from these deriving their energy from the process of nuclear fission, which is the breaking of the nucleus. The other type is the one that uses nuclear fission reactions in order to initiate nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear fusion reactions are known to produce more amounts of energy as compared to the other reactions. This is the reason why the latter type is preferred during warfare by the countries manufacturing them. These weapons are deployed as either missiles, which can be dropped on the target like in the case of the two Japanese cities, or a self-directed missile that requires computer control to guide it. Nuclear weapons have very few advantages. One such advantage is that they save on the cost of warfare for the country involved. This is because one bomb is the equivalent of about 10, 000 grenades and 1, 000 bombs. The country will save a lot of money by using the nuclear weapons as opposed to the use of conventional bombs. Another advantage is that the country will not require a large army for the war because they can just use the nuclear bombs to launch attacks on their enemies. This will ensure that there will be fewer casualties from the battleground from the country in question.The disadvantages of these weapons on the other hand are immense. One fatal disadvantage is the effect of the nuclear weapons on the health of the people attacked with them. Apart from death, which is the most obvious effect, there are some other permanent effects caused by these weapons. The survivors of these attacks are prone to blood disorders, infertility, genetic defects birth anomalies and higher risk of acquiring cancer. These effects are attributed to the effects of the ionizing radiation from the nuclear weapons. Another effect of these weapons is on the environment. The blasts associated with the detonation of these bombs cause grievous effects on the environment of the affected area. Examples of these effects include pollution of the air around the area involved and the formation of craters that make the land susceptible to earth movements, which result in earthquakes and landslides.Nuclear weapons should not be used because they do more harm than good. The policies in place should remain in order to prevent another occurrence like the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki disaster. This is because its effects are genetic and are still being felt in these two cities in Japan by the descendants of the victims of the actual bombing. Nuclear energy and power is both harmful and useful in the society. In the case of nuclear energy, it can keep being used as long as the countries ensure the safety of the workers in the various plants. Nuclear weapons on the other hand should not be used by any country and the countries producing them should disassemble them like South Africa.Work citedAngelo, Joseph A. . Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 24 Nov. 2004.Web. 25 Sept. 2012.Eerkens, Jeff W. Dordrecht: Springer. , 18 Oct. 2006. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.Jones, Matthew. . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 5 Feb. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.