On October 27, a conference was held at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei to mark the eightieth anniversary of the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945).
The speakers included:
- Luciano Maiani and Alberto Quadrio Curzio: Introduction
- Ugo Amaldi (CERN): From Via Panisperna to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Paolo Cotta Ramusino: Progress and Disappointments in Nuclear Disarmament
- Massimo Luciani (Sapienza University of Rome): From Just War to Legal War?
- Raul Caruso (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore): Wars and Reconstructions: Economic Profiles
- Giorgio Parisi: Conclusions
The tragic events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki opened a wide discussion within the scientific community regarding the potential effects of nuclear war. In 1955, the manifesto published by Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, and other scientists warned that a war fought with nuclear fusion-based devices could jeopardize the very existence of humanity on our planet.
Scientific research conducted to date has confirmed this prediction, indicating more precisely what the effects of a nuclear conflict would be, both globally and locally. A global nuclear war would destroy the population of the continents involved. Furthermore, it would affect populations not directly implicated in the conflict for an extended period.
This is due both to the radioactivity produced by nuclear explosions and the subsequent so-called 'nuclear winter.' The dust raised by the explosions would reach the stratosphere, distributing itself globally and reducing solar radiation. The resulting effects would be similar to those that led to the mass extinction of dinosaurs and numerous other animal and plant species at the end of the Cretaceous period.
The Conference highlighted how the danger of a nuclear conflict has grown worryingly in recent years, especially following the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, where the possibility of nuclear retaliation has been mentioned several times. The gravity of the international situation must lead us to forcefully request that Political Authorities resume the path of dialogue, by drafting treaties that move towards a world free from nuclear weapons.”