Physicists and the arms race

Sir Sam Edwards ( Physics Bulletin September 1981 p271) brings out once again arguments for continuing the escalation of the arms race, arguments which are out of touch with reality. His 'equilibrium point' of armaments development was achieved in the mid-1960s–when each superpower had sufficient destructive capacity (200–400 megatons) to inflict unacceptable damage on the cities, industry and population of the other.