World War I

World War I (WWI or WW1), also known as the First World War, or the Great War, was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. Over 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war (including the victims of a number of genocides), a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and the tactical stalemate caused by trench warfare, a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.

The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom/British Empire, France and the Russian Empire) versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive, against the terms of the alliance. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers.

World War III

World War III (WWIII, WW3 or the Third World War) is a hypothetical worldwide military conflict subsequent to World War II. Because of the development and use of nuclear weapons near the end of World War II and their subsequent acquisition and deployment by several countries, it is feared that a third world war could cause the end of human civilization and most or all human life on Earth. A common hypothesis is that a small number of people could survive such an Armageddon, possibly in deep underground blast shelters or away from Earth, such as on the Moon or Mars or in space vehicles. Another major concern is that biological warfare could cause a very large number of casualties, either intentionally or inadvertently by an accidental release of a biological agent, the unexpected mutation of an agent, or its adaptation to other species after use.

One of the first imagined scenarios, hypothesized shortly after or even during World War II, was a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union, which emerged as superpowers following World War II. This has been widely used as a premise or plot device in books, films, television productions, and video games. A few writers have instead applied the term "World War III" to the Cold War, arguing that it met the definition of a world war even though there was no direct armed conflict between the superpowers.

World

World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth or pertaining to anywhere on Earth.

In a philosophical context it may refer to:

In a theological context, world usually refers to the material or the profane sphere, as opposed to the celestial, spiritual, transcendent or sacred. The "end of the world" refers to scenarios of the final end of human history, often in religious contexts.

World history is commonly understood as spanning the major geopolitical developments of about five millennia, from the first civilizations to the present.

World population is the sum of all human populations at any time; similarly, world economy is the sum of the economies of all societies (all countries), especially in the context of globalization. Terms like world championship, gross world product, world flags etc. also imply the sum or combination of all current-day sovereign states.

First World

The concept of the First World originated during the Cold War and included countries that were generally aligned with or on friendly terms with the United States (including all NATO countries) and were generally identified as non-theocratic democracies with primarily market-based economies. While there is no current consensus on an exact definition of the term, in modern usage, "First World country" generally implies a relatively wealthy, stable and functional non-theocratic democracy with a reasonably well educated population, or just any developed country.

During the Cold War, relationships between the First World and the Second World of Communist states were typically competitive, ideological, and occasionally hostile. Relationships of both these "Worlds" with "Third World" countries (i.e. all the rest) were normally positive in theory, while some were quite negative in practice (such as proxy war between client states). Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and advances in communication technology, relations amongst the "Worlds" are not as rigid, although there are still marked disparities, with the First World generally having more influence, wealth, and access to information and technological innovations than the Second and Third Worlds.

National Geographic

National Geographic or NatGeo may refer to:

See also