Atomic Bomb (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what the atomic bomb is, its types, invention and how it works. Also, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.

nagasaki atomic bomb — When detonated, the atomic bomb generates a mushroom cloud of smoke.

What is the atomic bomb?

The atomic bomb, also called nuclear weapons, is a type of explosive device that operates based on nuclear chain reactions. It is used, like all weapons of this magnitude, for strictly war purposes.

This type of bombs are the most destructive and lethal devices ever invented for humanity. They are classified as weapons of mass destruction, whose use is today subject to strict international conventions and protocols.

An atomic bomb can vary both in destructive capacity and in the materials from which it is made, which are subjected to a very violent exothermic reaction inside, but when it detonates it usually generates a gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke, very recognizable.

Only two atomic bombs have been dropped on civilian targets in history. Its outcome was catastrophic in terms of death, destruction and residual effects.

The latter are due to the fact that this type of bombs not only produce an immediate impact, but also spread unstable atomic elements (that is, radioactive material) everywhere. So, permanently alter the biochemistry of living beings around due to radioactive poisoning.

According to their components and their mode of operation, atomic bombs can be of the following types:

Uranium bomb The first type of atomic bomb invented, during World War II, is composed of fissile isotopes (that is, breakable through specific physical procedures) of a chemical element called uranium (U), such as U²³⁵. Of this type were the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, equivalent to hundreds of tons of TNT exploding in unison.
Plutonium bomb Equipped with a more complex design than the uranium one, this version of the bomb uses an amount of plutonium (Pu) the size of a tennis ball, surrounded by powerful plastic explosives that, when detonated, compress the metal to the size of a marble. , thus producing an uncontrolled nuclear fission reaction that destroys everything around and releases enormous amounts of ionizing radiation.
Hydrogen bomb Also called H bomb, fusion bomb or thermonuclear bomb, it differs from the others in that it uses the opposite physical principle: instead of fissioning heavy elements, it fuses light elements such as hydrogen (H). To do this, it is necessary to have specific isotopes of this element, such as deuterium (²H) or tritium (³H), which are subjected to the initial energy of a smaller atomic fission bomb, thus producing the chain reaction that fuses the hydrogen nuclei, releasing large portions of energy and heat. With this type of bombs, temperatures as high as those of the core of the Sun (15 million degrees Celsius) can be achieved for an instant.
Neutron bomb Neutron bombs, known as N bombs or increased direct radiation bombs, are derived from the same H or hydrogen bomb, promoting a lower initial fission reaction (the primary reaction) and a greater fusion of the elements (the secondary reaction). ). This results in a bomb that produces low physical destruction, but up to seven times more radioactivity in a short period of time, than the most powerful hydrogen bomb. This means that it is much more lethal to living beings.

How does an atomic bomb work?

Atomic bombs are governed by the principles of the atomic reaction, that is, by the laws of physics regarding the behavior of atomic nuclei.

Its general meaning is that of trigger a chain reaction that affects all the atoms of the fuel material thus releasing in just a few seconds an enormous amount of energy, the product of the transformation of one atom into another.

This can happen in two ways, which we already mentioned at the beginning:

Nuclear fission It is, simply put, breaking the nucleus of the atom, especially those of heavy materials, which have voluminous nuclei full of energy. This is achieved by bombarding them with free neutrons, to destabilize the nuclear composition and promote the breakdown of the nucleus, generating unstable atoms that begin a long process of decay, until they become stable elements such as lead.
Nuclear fusion In this case we are talking about the opposite process to fission, which therefore consists of the union of two atomic nuclei to form a new one, larger and heavier, from two light elements. This process releases much more energy than fission, and is the same that occurs inside stars, which are, seen in this way, enormous nuclear explosions in space. It should be noted, however, that nuclear fusion has not been managed with the same capacity as fission, neither in bombs nor in atomic reactors, so that fusion bombs are actually fission/fusion bombs, since they require an initial explosion as a trigger for fusion.

In any case, atomic bombs depend on a chain reaction, in which one atom reacts and releases energy and loose neutrons that can make the neighboring atom react, which repeats the operation and so on, increasingly faster and faster. mass.

Who invented the atomic bomb?

atomic bomb creators Oppenheimer — Robert Oppenheimer led the Manhattan Project.

Like many other great (and terrible) inventions of humanity, the atomic bomb does not have a single author, but It is the result of a diverse series of efforts and research. Many of them occurred within the framework of the Second World War (1939-1945).

However, two theoretical physicists, one German and one American, are often named as its intellectual authors: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967).

Famous author of relativistic physics, Einstein laid the theoretical foundations of what later led to the atomic bomb with his Theory of Special Relativity, published in 1905, and especially with his well-known formula of E = mc²that is, energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared.

This formula allowed the feat of converting mass into energy and energy into mass, which is basically what happens in nuclear bomb reactions: an atom is “broken” and a part of itself is converted into free energy.

Later in the 20th century, in Nazi Germany, different physicists cultivated their knowledge of atomic nuclei. Among them were the physicist Niels Bohr, who theoretically devised nuclear fission and also Otto Hans and Lise Meitner, who developed the bombardment of atomic nuclei with neutrons, seeking to discover elements heavier than uranium.

Many of these scientists had to flee their country, being Jewish by descent. Thus this knowledge reached the United States, where other scientists such as Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman and John von Neumann, were also able to contribute to the so-called Manhattan Project: the American attempt to develop an atomic bomb before the Nazis.

You may be interested: Application (software)

The Mahattan Project was led, precisely, by one of the most privileged scientific minds in the United States: Robert Oppenheimer. It was located in the Los Alamos desert, in New Mexico, where On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb in human history was detonated under the code name gadget (“artifact”).

It is said that Oppenheimer himself, upon seeing what they had achieved, remembered the verses from the sacred book of Hinduism, the Bhagavad-gita: “Now I become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

Atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

hiroshima genbaku atomic bomb — In Hiroshima, the Genbaku Dome is preserved in ruins as a monument.

The only atomic bombs dropped on civilian populations were those that the government of The United States dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 respectively.

Nicknamed “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” these pumps instantly liquidated 140,000 and 80,000 people in each city of which 15% to 20% were due to radioactive poisoning, which also left hereditary genetic consequences in the population.

The bombing was intended to force the Japanese government to surrender unconditionally, after the defeat of its German and Italian allies.

The US government decided to attack civilian populations, to save the cost in human lives that would mean fighting Japan on the Pacific front, in what had already been a cruel and costly war for the entire world. Justified or not, the US is to date the only country that has dropped a nuclear weapon on enemy populations.

Continue with: Geothermal energy