QiFeng/Wen
Ever since the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, nuclear weapons have become a nightmare for mankind. We know very well that with enough atomic bombs, it will not be very difficult to destroy the world and bring humanity to the end of the world.
After the United States, the Soviet Union (Russia), Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, and even North Korea became nuclear powers. In addition, Israel is considered to possess nuclear weapons; non-nuclear NATO members enjoy "shared nuclear weapons" treatment with allies such as the United States because they are protected by the treaty.
The United States now has about 5,550 nuclear warheads
The United States and the Soviet Union have the most nuclear weapons in the world, and during the Cold War, the role of nuclear weapons was usually to warn hostile countries not to take the lead in using nuclear weapons, otherwise we would retaliate with nuclear weapons, and the jade would be burned, and no one would be able to get a bargain.
From the end of World War II in 1945 to the end of the Cold War in 1991, human society (including animals, of course) was shrouded in the shadow of nuclear war that could erupt at any time. Now, only thirty years after human beings have soothed their nerves, they have once again experienced the nuclear threat in reality.
A few days ago, Putin summoned the defense minister and the chief of the general staff and ordered Russia's nuclear forces to enter a "special state of combat readiness." This means that once Russia falls into a very disadvantageous situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, it will not rule out the use of nuclear weapons to "preemptively strike".
So far, there has been no indication that Putin is actually intending to press the nuclear button or intend to launch some kind of tactical nuclear weapon.
The reason why Putin mentioned nuclear weapons at this time is nothing more than because the development of the Russo-Ukrainian war has completely exceeded his expectations. There is nothing to do on the battlefield, and the battlefield is embattled, and if Putin wants to end the war as soon as possible, he may only have the trick of nuclear blackmail.
The first thing he wants to achieve is to make the United States and Europe afraid, to warn them that dogs will jump the wall in a hurry, not to force people too much; at the same time, they are also threatening Ukraine to quickly accept the armistice conditions proposed by Russia, otherwise it will not rule out the creation of one or two Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Ukraine.
We don't know if Putin is aware of the consequences of nuclear war, whether he really regards nuclear war as an option in his heart, or whether Russian officers and men will obey orders and really prepare for the launch of missiles with nuclear warheads – after all, the Russian-Ukrainian war is taking place, Russia is invading other countries, and Russia's national security has not been fatally harmed.
Pictured: An apartment building in Kiev that was shelled
Even so, people have begun to worry about nuclear war. People who have not really experienced the "Cold War", such as me, for the first time in their lives, seriously think about what will happen to mankind and what will happen to the world in the event of a nuclear war?
The American popular science writer Paul Doherty wrote a book "If You Jump into a Black Hole", assuming that a person may encounter various extreme situations, such as falling into a black hole, being buried alive, interstellar travel, and "you have experienced a nuclear war".
Doherty writes in the book, "Once a hundred nuclear bombs explode in a war, nearly one-third of the world's population will die of explosions, starvation, or cancer, but humanity will not become extinct" "Once a nuclear war begins, within 2 weeks, 180 million tons of smoke, soot, and dust will cover the world like black paint and will not dissipate." ”
Figure: Schematic diagram of nuclear war
By then, as global temperatures drop and crop yields drop dramatically, humans may have to make heavy use of a snack rich in vitamin C, protein and fat, the cockroach. Doherty said seriously that in order to supplement with enough nutrients, we eat about 144 cockroaches a day.
No one wants to live in the shadow of nuclear war, no one wants to die in nuclear war, no one wants to eat cockroaches alive, so we hope someone can stop him.