The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
In this “Nuclear 101” session, Professor of Practice Matthew Bunn will provide a basic overview of the how to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium—the key ingredients for nuclear weapons. Prior to the session, please watch thisvideo lecture by Prof. Bunn on this topic.
For those also interested in nuclear weapons physics—how nuclear bombs work—please watch this video.