A world war is an international conflict in which most of the countries in the world fight or help.
There have been two World Wars so far, World War I (1914-1918), Interwar period, and World War II (1939-1945). The long Cold War between the Soviet Union and NATO has sometimes been considered to be World War III, as has the Ukraine War that started in 2022. Several earlier wars such as the Seven Years' War were fought in many places around the world, but they were wars among European countries.
After World War II, many people were scared that a World War III might start from the Cold War between the United States and Western Europe on one side and the Soviet Union and maybe China on the other. After World War II, countries had many powerful weapons, including jetbomberairplanes, which could carry nuclear weapons to destroy many buildings and kill many people instantly, far away; and much faster missiles which could also carry nuclear weapons.
German physicist Albert Einstein is supposed to have said, "I don't know what weapons countries might use to fight World War 3, but wars after that will be fought with sticks and stones".[1] That is because World War III would probably be so large that it would destroy civilization. After the end of the Soviet Union, people were less afraid that World War III would begin. However, many countries still have powerful weapons and can still use them.
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