Line #38 Main/NuclearNullifier


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7	Nuclear weapons are awesome. They are capable of putting out more sheer destructive force than any other weapon made by mankind. They inspire so much fear and awe that no two nuclear-armed nations have ever fought a (direct) war for fear of [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction annihilating each other]].
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9	Now, what if something were to happen so that nukes were all of a sudden much less scary?
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11	This tends to weaken the NuclearWeaponsTaboo and may make the NuclearOption more attractive -- or phase it out entirely, if it can be effectively countered. Compare LensmanArmsRace when nuclear weapons are superseded by even more terrible weaponry. Compare HoldingBackThePhlebotinum for other examples of not using potentially devastating weapons.
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14	!!Examples
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17	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
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19	* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', Japan developed [[{{Nanomachines}} micromachines]] that could clean up radioactive fallout after Tokyo was nuked in WorldWarIII. World powers are a bit less reluctant to deploy nuclear weapons now.
20	* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
21	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', one of the most common uses of [[MinovskyPhysics Minovsky Particles]] is jamming sensors and communications. While nuclear weapons still exist, [=ICBMs=] are no longer practical, and war shifts towards short-range battles between [[TheBattlestar battleship-carrier hybrids]] filled with Minovsky-powered vehicles (specifically [[HumongousMecha Mobile Suits]]).
22	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', [[DecompositeCharacter the role of Minovsky Particles from the original continuity is split]] between Mirage Colloid (for general weird technology) and the Neutron Jammers/N-Jammers, devices spread throughout the Earth sphere which suppress all fission reactions. Eventually, a "Neutron Jammer Canceller" technology is introduced, allowing for both nuclear weapons and [[SuperPrototype nuclear-powered mobile suits]]; however, after the war, its usage is banned by an international treaty. Things are further complicated by the Neutron Stampeder, a weapon which can remotely detonate nuclear warheads, making even Canceller-equipped nuclear missiles [[HoistByHisOwnPetard dangerous to use]].
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25	[[folder:Comic Books]]
26	* In the alternate future of ''ComicBook/Armageddon2001'', ComicBook/{{Superman}} tries to rid the world of nuclear weapons after one blew up Metropolis and killed Lois Lane.
27	* One issue of ''ComicBook/CloakAndDaggerMarvelComics'' has the heroic duo teleport to Latveria, where they discover that Doctor Doom has a device that exploits thunderstorms to render the world's nuclear devices inert. He remains unswayed when informed that radiation treatments for cancer patients are likewise nullified.
28	* At the end of ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'', Doctor Manhattan makes all of the ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' Earth's nuclear weapons disappear. There are then peace marches in every major city demanding that no new ones are made.
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31	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
32	* In ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951'', Klaatu orders humanity to get rid of all its nuclear weapons, or else the rest of the otherwise peaceful aliens of the universe would wipe us out.
33	* In ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'', Superman collects all the world's nuclear bombs and [[HurlItInToTheSun and hurls them into the sun]]. Sadly, Lex Luthor smuggled aboard a piece of modified Superman DNA that grows into his EvilKnockoff Nuclear Man when it absorbs enough sunlight.
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36	[[folder:Literature]]
37	* The central character of "Literature/BreedsThereAMan" is a theoretical physicist whose current project is a forcefield generator that can shield against a nuclear explosion.
38	* ''Literature/EndersGame'' has an offhand mention of shields that "make it so nobody bothers with nuclear weapons anymore". [[spoiler:Within a few years, though, it's demonstrated that the MD Device can [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroy an entire planet]].]] However, Creator/OrsonScottCard seems to have forgotten about this in later books, as Earth going to nuclear war is a major threat in ''Literature/EnderInExile'' and the ''Literature/EndersShadow'' sequels.
39	* In ''Literature/HammersSlammers'', nuclear suppression fields are cited as being one of the technological advancements that made tank columns viable again (the other being effective [[PointDefenseless Point Defenses]]). Of course, since the Slammers are often hired to fight assymetric wars their enemies often can't afford suppressors, and Colonel Hammer has no qualms against nuking insurgent-harboring villages.
40	* In "If the Red Slayer" by Creator/RobertSheckley, everyone expected WWIII to be button pushing, but first the countermissiles and then a nuclear suppressor put a stop to that. By the time of the story, it's trench warfare... with ResurrectiveImmortality for infantry.
41	* In ''Literature/OracleOfTao'', the FantasticNuke named the Brahmastra Sutra has a counter, the Gayatri Mantra. These are based on actual chants, and the latter is basically a WorldHealingWave. When cast after the first spell, it cannot heal any who have been hurt or killed in the blast, but it removes fallout and makes even ice into fertile land. Also, the air smells ''minty'' afterwards, apparently.
42	* In P.J. Plauger's 1974 short story "Wet Blanket", a scientist develops a device that changes the nature of the universe so that nuclear weapons can no longer explode.
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45	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
46	* In ''TabletopGame/{{OGRE}}'', strategic nukes (and the missiles and aircraft that carry them) are easily taken down by air defense lasers. However, tactical nukes are not only still used, but they're also now the only efficient way to breach the ultra-durable Bi-Phase Carbide armor most units use.
47	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', while there have been multiple reactor meltdowns, not a single nuclear bomb has detonated when it was supposed to in the 21st century, even before [[TheMagicComesBack the Awakening]] proper. Europe's had a few new wars since then.
48	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'', nuclear dampers are fairly common starship defenses that reduce damage from nuclear missiles and [[PlasmaCannon fusion guns]]. However, the Third Imperium still reserves nukes for the Imperial Navy and is willing to use them to punish those who violate that law.
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51	[[folder:Video Games]]
52	* The SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' makes the owner of this Wonder invulnerable to nukes.
53	* In ''VideoGame/CivilizationCallToPower'', the Nanite Defuser wonder destroys all nukes in the world.
54	* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries'':
55	** In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'', the Soviets were able to launch [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica a massive attack on the United States]] because Yuri's Psychic Corps utterly neutralized the US's nuclear arsenal by mind-controlling the silos' operators. The Soviets, though, still have ''their'' nuclear missiles, [[spoiler:using one to destroy Chicago before the Allies can retake it in the fourth Allied mission and having several more silos along the border between Germany and Poland to intimidate the European Allies out of trying to help America]].
56	** The Soviets then do this to themselves in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'': after travelling back in time to remove Einstein from history, they discover that in the new timeline, nukes don't exist. In addition, Japan has now become a superpower rivalling them. Oops...
57	* In ''VideoGame/EndWar'', following Saudi Arabia getting crippled in 2016 by a nuclear terrorist attack, the US and EU created the SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield) System, an anti-ballistic missile defense that rendered strategic nuclear warfare obsolete. Unfortunately, it also had the side effect of making large-scale conventional warfare possible again, which would cause a rise in tensions that would eventually lead to WorldWarIII.
58	** The missile shield is also briefly brought up in fellow "Creator/TomClancy's" game ''VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier'', which confirms that the missile shield specifically targets the warheads, but can't do anything about the missile itself, [[spoiler:to London's detriment, as a missile launched by a rogue PMC still ends up trashing several skyscrapers and sending a ton of glass shards down to shred pedestrians.]]
59	* This was part of the BigBad Skull Face's plan in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''. He had possession of "metallic archaea", microscopic organisms which would render uranium un-fissilable, meaning nuclear warheads would not detonate. From there, he would become the world's sole vendor of functional nuclear weapons to a world already destabilized by the language-affecting parasites (which were Part 1 of his plan).
60	* The SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) in ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'' renders the builder unable to be attacked by nukes. However, the Nuclear Winter Counter is set to 1.
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63	[[folder:Real life]]
64	* A nuclear warhead could actually be "nullified" by subjecting it to powerful neutron radiation. The external neutrons, hitting the fissionable fuel in the warhead, would induce a low-grade fission reaction in it and creating a lot of short-lived isotopes, essentially "poisoning" the fuel. So when such "pre-heated" warhead would attempt to detonate, the chain reaction would go faster and become critical before most of the fuel would get involved - and the warhead would fizzle, destroying itself in a weak (subkiloton to low kiloton scale) thermal explosion, throwing the majority of fuel around. While it would not completely "nullify" the weapon, a small - albeit dirty - explosion equivalent to several tons of TNT is much better than a full-power multi-megaton blast. That's also why nuclear-tipped surface-to-air (and even air-to-air) missiles and anti-ballistic missiles were so popular in the 1960s. Even if the target (enemy missile or bomber) would survive the blast, the radiation flux would cause warheads to fizzle.
65	** Modern warheads, though, are usually of a boosted fission design - i.e. they have a very small amount of fusion fuel inside, so when the fission reaction starts, it would ignite a low-level fusion. While the energy from such weak fusion is negligible, it produces a lot of neutrons, which "afterburn" the fission fuel around, thus causing the boosted fission warhead to have much more fuel efficiency than just fission.
66	** Boosted fission warheads are immune to neutron "poisoning", because the fusion reaction in them would still be ignited even if the warhead is "pre-heated" - and the massive neutron flux from fusion would "afterburn" the fission fuel around to full power.
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