On Thermonuclear War

work by Kahn

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Herman Kahn's On Thermonuclear War (1960) controversially proposed that thermonuclear war should be analyzed and planned for like any conventional war, differing only in degree, not kind. Kahn, a physicist and strategist, developed the concept of a "doomsday machine" as an ultimate nuclear deterrent, a hypothetical device that would automatically trigger nuclear destruction in response to an attack. This idea, while satirized in film, influenced the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD) during the Cold War. The book emerged during a period of escalating nuclear arms races and evolving nuclear strategy, where the destructive potential of weapons like the hydrogen bomb raised profound questions about deterrence and the morality of warfare.12345

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

futurology
…Kahn applied this technique in On Thermonuclear War (1960), a book that examines the potential consequences of a nuclear conflict. During the time of Kahn’s first studies, the mathematician Olaf Helmer, also at RAND, proposed a theoretical basis for the use of expert opinion in forecasting.
Read More
…Kahn applied this technique in On Thermonuclear War (1960), a book that examines the potential consequences of a nuclear conflict. During the time of Kahn’s first studies, the mathematician Olaf Helmer, also at RAND, proposed a theoretical basis for the use of expert opinion in forecasting.
Read More

Herman Kahn
…notice with the publication of On Thermonuclear War (1960), in which he presented his proposition that thermonuclear war differs only in degree and not in kind from conventional war and ought to be analyzed and planned in the same way. In 1961 Kahn left RAND and established the Hudson Institute…
Read More
…notice with the publication of On Thermonuclear War (1960), in which he presented his proposition that thermonuclear war differs only in degree and not in kind from conventional war and ought to be analyzed and planned in the same way. In 1961 Kahn left RAND and established the Hudson Institute…
Read More

doomsday machine
… and discussed in his book On Thermonuclear War (1960).
Read More
… and discussed in his book On Thermonuclear War (1960).
Read More