Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength.

Jan 29, 2025 · The talk of testing comes at a time when nuclear weapons are resurgent: Russia is designing nuclear weapons to attack satellites and obliterate seaports; China is dramatically expanding its ...

Nuclear weapons testing is the act of experimentally and deliberately firing one or more nuclear devices in a controlled manner pursuant to a military, scientific or technological goal.

The nuclear weapons tests of the United States were performed from 1945 to 1992 as part of the nuclear arms race. The United States conducted around 1,054 nuclear tests by official count, including 216 atmospheric, underwater, and space tests.

Jan 15, 2025 · China is the fastest growing nuclear power on the planet—on track to become a nuclear peer of the United States within a decade. Nuclear explosive testing may be necessary to convince America’s...

2 days ago · Since the 1990s, the United States has used science to verify its nuclear weapons are working properly. NPR was granted a rare look at how they do it. NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel reports. This segment ...

Sep 22, 2022 · The United States conducted 1,054 atomic tests—costing more than $100 billion and taking an incalculable toll on humans and the environment.

Jul 11, 2023 · Nuclear testing raises the perceived importance of nuclear weapons to security, increases the risk of conflict between countries with nuclear weapons, and allows countries to develop new types of nuclear weapons. Nuclear testing would also damage already fragile international nuclear arms control efforts, including the Comprehensive Test Ban ...

Limits on U.S. Nuclear Tests By its own count, the United States conducted 1,054 explosive nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992. Of these, NNSS hosted 928 tests, including 100 atmospheric tests. In 1990, Congress created a program to compensate some individuals whose health may have been affected by this testing.

Through nuclear test explosions, the nuclear testing nations have been able to proof-test new warhead designs and create increasingly sophisticated nuclear weapons. The overwhelming majority of the nuclear weapon test detonations were for "weapons development" and "weapons effects" purposes.