To fully appreciate the power of the atom bomb, one must first understand how it works. There are two different ways to unleash the power of atoms by splitting them: the implosion assembly, in which the core is compressed, and the gun-type assembly, where two pieces of uranium are fired at each other. Each of these ways is based off of nuclear binding energy, a fancy term for the energy that holds the nucleus. The nucleus is the center of …show more content…
Although two to three neutrons are released for every atom that is split, not all of these are available to split more atoms. If the number of neutrons lost is greater than the number of neutrons gained, then the reaction cannot be self-sustaining. To make the reaction self-sustaining, in which more neutrons need to be produced than lost, a critical mass must be achieved (“Critical Mass”, 3). Little Boy, a gun-type bomb achieved a critical mass by firing a subcritical donut shaped piece of uranium at a (subcritical) spike shaped piece. When these two pieces meet, a critical mass forms and hence a self-sustaining chain reaction ensues. Similarly, Fat Man, the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, used explosives to compress a subcritical core into a critical mass, achieving a self-sustaining chain