Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty summary

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Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, officially Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, Treaty that prohibits all tests of nuclear weapons except those conducted underground. U.S.-Soviet test-ban talks began after concerns arose in the 1940s and ’50s about the dangers of radioactive fallout from above-ground nuclear tests. These talks made little progress until the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. In the following year, Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet Union signed the treaty, and more than 100 other governments soon followed. France and China were notable nonsignatories. In 1996 the treaty was replaced by the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, which will not take effect until it is signed by all 44 countries with nuclear power plants. India refuses to do so on the ground that the treaty lacks disarmament provisions and permits nonexplosive testing. See also Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

A test of a U.S. hydrogen bomb in the Marshall Islands

nuclear weapon Summary

Nuclear weapon, device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two processes. Fission weapons are commonly referred to as atomic bombs. Fusion weapons are also referred to as thermonuclear bombs or, more commonly,

treaty Summary

Treaty, a binding formal agreement, contract, or other written instrument that establishes obligations between two or more subjects of international law (primarily states and international organizations). The rules concerning treaties between states are contained in the Vienna Convention on the Law

Cold War Summary

Cold War, the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. The term was first used by the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1922–91

Soviet Union Summary

Soviet Union, former northern Eurasian empire (1917/22–1991) stretching from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean and, in its final years, consisting of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (S.S.R.’s): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belorussia (now Belarus), Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgiziya (now