Nuclear Glossary
Key terms in nuclear security, arms control, and nonproliferation.
A
- Arms Control
- Agreements between nations to limit the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, particularly weapons of mass destruction.
- Related: nonproliferation, new start
B
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- An academic journal and nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by former Manhattan Project scientists. They maintain the Doomsday Clock and publish on nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies.
- Related: doomsday clock
D
- Doomsday Clock
- A symbol created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947 that represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe, with midnight symbolizing the end of civilization.
- Related: bulletin of the atomic scientists
- Deterrence
- A military strategy in which one nation uses the threat of nuclear retaliation to discourage an attack by an adversary. Based on the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD).
- Related: mutual assured destruction, first strike
F
- First Strike
- A preemptive nuclear attack intended to destroy an adversary's nuclear arsenal before it can be used. The fear of first strikes is a driver of nuclear arms races.
- Related: deterrence, second strike
I
- ICBM
- Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. A long-range (over 5,500 km) ballistic missile typically designed to deliver nuclear warheads. Part of the nuclear triad alongside SLBMs and strategic bombers.
- Related: nuclear triad
M
- Mutual Assured Destruction
- A doctrine of military strategy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker would result in the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. Often abbreviated as MAD.
- Related: deterrence, first strike
N
- NEW START
- The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the US and Russia, signed in 2010, limiting each country to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed delivery systems.
- Related: arms control, nonproliferation
- Nonproliferation
- Efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology to nations that do not already possess them. The cornerstone is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
- Related: arms control, npt
- NPT
- The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, an international treaty with the objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting disarmament, and facilitating peaceful nuclear energy use.
- Related: nonproliferation, arms control
- Nuclear Triad
- A three-pronged military force structure consisting of land-launched ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic aircraft carrying nuclear bombs or cruise missiles.
- Related: icbm, deterrence
S
- Second Strike
- The assured ability of a country to respond to a nuclear attack with nuclear weapons of its own. Second-strike capability is considered essential for stable deterrence.
- Related: first strike, deterrence