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The atomic bombs used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ''fission'' weapons, which detonate with a massive explosion due to the release of the binding energy in within the nucleus of the atom.  Specifically, neutrons in a rapid chain reaction split the nuclei of a heavy chemical element, such as plutonium or uranium, to cause the massive release of energy.

The atomic bombs used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ''fission'' weapons, which detonate with a massive explosion due to the release of the binding energy in within the nucleus of the atom.  Specifically, neutrons in a rapid chain reaction split the nuclei of a heavy chemical element, such as plutonium or uranium, to cause the massive release of energy.

After [[World War II]], atomic bomb research was converted to the production of clean and efficient [[nuclear energy]]. The threat of the use nuclear bombs was a major issue in the [[Cold War]]. Today, American nuclear weapons have been credited with helping avoid another world war.

After [[World War II]], nuclear weapon research continued with the development of the [[fusion]] or [[thermonuclear weapon]].  Many tests of these weapons were conducted during the [[Cold War]], but most of these tests took place on remote Pacific islands that were US territories or in the upper atmosphere.    These weapons massively exceeded the power of the [[fission]] bombs dropped on Japan.  Simultaneously, and as a civilian spinoff from the military program, there were developments in the production of clean and efficient [[nuclear energy]] for civilian electrical generation. The threat of the use nuclear bombs was a major issue in the [[Cold War]]. Today, the thirty-year threat of the use of nuclear weapons to prevent international aggression have been credited by many with helping avoid another world war.

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