Atom Bomb Research Paper

On August 6th, 1945, two pieces of uranium were slammed together 600 meters above Hiroshima, initiating an explosive chain reaction. People near ground zero were instantly vaporized. Simultaneously, a huge cloud of dust and sand was thrown up in the air, which was described by survivors as: “the air turned dark and filled with a yellow cloud like poison gas” (Sheinkin, 357), This was all caused by the most famous - or for that matter infamous - weapon in the world - the atom bomb. The atom bomb is the worst invention in history because of its destructive power, and its ability to kill thousands of innocent people instantly.
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