Wikijunior:How Things Work/Nuclear Bomb
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[edit] Who invented it?
People had the idea that a nuclear bomb could be made for many years but it took the Second World War to push scientists into turning the idea into reality. The United States of America with British help ran the Manhattan Project, under Robert Oppenheimer, to design and build the first nuclear bomb.
[edit] How does it get power?
A nuclear bomb gets its power from the splitting of Uranium or plutonium atoms. Splitting atoms releases a huge amount of energy (usually heat) that is normally stored inside them, which is the explosion.
[edit] How does it work?
[edit] How dangerous is it?
A nuclear bomb is very dangerous and has the potential to kill thousands of people. The energy released from a nuclear weapon exploded in the air is split four ways:
- Blast—40-50% of total energy
- Thermal radiation—30-50% of total energy
- Ionizing radiation—5% of total energy
- Residual radiation—5-10% of total energy
[edit] What does it do?
It creates a huge explosion, the force of which flattens buildings and kills people. It causes a massive fireball that can burn people to death even if they are miles away from the point of explosion. The bomb releases radiation that can poison and kill people for years afterwards.
The size of the explosion is dependent on the yield of the bomb. It can vary from a fairly small explosion from a "battlefield" nuclear weapon to an explosion big enough to destroy a whole town.
[edit] How has it changed the world?
The nuclear bomb helped to end the Second World War. However, it killed many innocent people and released radiation into the air.
