Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear War. Papers Based on a Symposium of the Forum on Physics and Society of the American Physical Society, (Washington, D.C., April 1982).

Three papers on nuclear weapons and nuclear war, based on talks given by distinguished physicists during an American Physical Society-sponsored symposium, are provided in this booklet. They include "Caught Between Asymptotes" (Philip Morrison), "We are not Inferior to the Soviets" (Hans A. Bethe), and "MAD vs. NUTS" (Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky). Areas addressed in the first paper (whose title is based on a metaphor offered by John von Neumann) include the threat of nuclear war, World War III versus World War II, and others. The major point of the second paper is that United States strategic nuclear forces are not inferior to those of the Soviets. Areas addressed include accuracy/vulnerability, new weapons, madness of nuclear war, SALT I and II, proposed nuclear weapons freeze, and possible U.S. initiatives. The final paper considers the public consciousness of nuclear war, mutually assured destruction (MAD), nuclear utilization target selection (NUTS)- a conceptual approach to nuclear war which pretends that specialized applications of nuclear weapons are possible, and others. In addition, selected discussion questions from the symposium are provided. Since courses on science and society are proliferating in many colleges/universities, it is suggested that this booklet may serve as reading material for such courses. (JN)