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Nuclear Bombs

Essay by   •  May 18, 2011  •  530 Words (3 Pages)  •  974 Views

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Ever since the beginning of World War II, when theoretical physicist Albert Einstein alerted American president Franklin D. Roosevelt of Nazi German efforts to purify uranimum-235, nuclear weapons have held a threatening position in our society. The development of nuclear bombs started with scientific advances in the 1930s which later lead into the nuclear arms race and continued into nuclear testing during the Cold War. Today the development has brought forward questions of proliferation and possible use for terrorism. Even though nuclear bombs have created unforgettable as well as unforgivable standings in civilization's history, they have also helped in revolutionizing and developing the world of modern physics. The complexity of these radioactive entities is only something that will keep expanding throughout the years. Physics components, operation, production use if the technology by society

The Physics

Nuclear bombs are much more powerful than any explosive known to man. There are two different ways that they can release energy from their atom: nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. Both of these processes are both well known concepts in physics.

Nuclear Fission

Nuclear fission is the process of splitting the nucleus of an atom into two parts by a free neutron. It usually involves isotopes of uranium or plutonium-239. The first nuclear bomb ever made which was tested on July 16, 1945 at Alamogordo, New Mexico was a fission device. The process is not a difficult one for it can be explained as a chain reaction. A neutron is released to hit an unstable nucleus which splits it and releases photons (in form of gamma rays), other neutrons and as well as other subatomic particles. These new neutrons released from the first atom continue on colliding into other unstable nucleus' at high-speed uncontrollable rates until all matter as been activated. The process creates an exothermic reaction, releasing large

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