_________ ___ _______ \~=._ _.=~/ / _____/ | | \ \ \~=._ _.=~/ \ ~=__=~ / \_____ \ | | / | \ \ ~=__=~ / \_.=~ ~=._/ / \ | |/ | \ \_.=~ ~=._/ _.=~ \ / ~=._ /_______ / |___|\____|__ / .=~ \ / ~=. L------\------/------7 \/ \/ L------\------/------7 \ / \ / \ / http://www.sinnerz.com \ / \/ \/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- All You Ever Wanted To Know About Nuclear Weapons - Scud-O - 11/15/97 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- All You Ever Wanted To Know About Nuclear Weapons ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ 1. Helpful Definitions 2. The Basics of Bomb Detonation 3. The Manhattan Project 4. The Detination Timeline of the 'Fat Man' Bomb 5. Blast Zones 6. End. ------------------------------------------------ Helpful Definitions ------------------- Uranium 235 Uranium 235 is the Uranium metal used in an atomic bomb that uses fission to explode. It is absolutely identical in its chemical compound to U 238, which makes up most of the composition of Uranium metal. Uranium is not only radioactive, it is the last naturally made element on the periodic table of elements. Uranium 238 Uranium 238 is what over 99% of Uranium metal is made up with. It has the same exact chemical makeup as U 235, but U 238 is useless in a reaction for an atomic fission bomb, but if it is placed in a nuclear reactor, over time it will change into Plutonium 239, which can be used for a fusion bomb. Uranium is not only radioactive, it is the last naturally made element on the periodic table of elements. Plutonium 239 Plutonium 239 is a man made element that is used in the fusion of an atomic weapon. It is 2 elements 'up' from Uranium on the periodic table, and is more stable than other man made elements, since it is so close in its makeup to Uranium. Plutonium 239 can be made in particle accelerators, but it is more commonly made by placing Uranium 238 inside of a nuclear reactor for an unspecified time. ( This is secret NSA government stuff, thus I can not report this, since I dont have a security clearance! ) . Over this time the Uranium turns into Plutonium, and is ready to be made into a nuclear weapon. Fission Fission is basically the splitting of an atom into 2 atoms, and thus producing heat and energy as the atom is split. Fusion Fusion is the fusing of two or more atoms together, thus producing heat and energy as the atoms are united. Chain Reaction A chain reaction is when one reaction causes another, and that causes another, and so on. This can be in order or exponentually ( as is the case with an atomic bomb. ) The Manhattan Project The Manhattan project was a project started by President FDR and several scientists in 1939, shortly before World War II, to test the viablity of making atomic weapons. And as we can all see, they were successful. You will find out more about the Manhattan Project in a few minutes. 'Little Boy' 'Little Boy' was the name given to the Uranium fission bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. It released 10 kilotons of an atomic explosion ( the equivalent to 10,000 tons of dynamite ), however, this was only 1/10th of 1 percent of its potential power. From the sucess of this bomb, 'Fat Man' was then sent in by the US Government. This bomb was dropped from the now infamous Enola Gay B-17 bomber. 'Fat Man' 'Fat Man' was the name given to the Plutonium bomb dropped over Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. This blast was also under 10 kilotons in force ( again, using less than 1/10th of 1 percent of its potential power). Even though this bomb was a mile and a half off of target, it still managed to level half of Nagasaki. Ground Zero Ground Zero is the term used to describe where the bomb is dropped, and where the explosion starts, since the blast zones flow out of ground zero. Blast Zones Blast Zones are a set of clearly defined rings of damage that center out from ground zero. A Fission Nuclear Bomb: ----------------------- Basically, the core is cut into 2 pieces. The separate part is the 'bullet' projectile, which is shot into the main core to start the chain reaction. A Fusion Nuclear Bomb: ---------------------- Basically, the core is cut into 12 or more identical pieces that MUST be the same exact size, and have the same exact weight and mass. These pieces are then compressed together, and they start off a chain reaction. This type of core is usually in the shape of a soccer ball, and is very hard to produce. The Basics of Bomb Detonation ----------------------------- 'How Bombs like 'Fat Man' are detonated' There are 2 types of atomic explosions that can be facilitated by U-235; fission and fusion. Fission, simply put, is a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus splits into fragments, usually two fragments of comparable mass, with the evolution of approximately 100 million to several hundred million volts of energy. This energy is expelled explosively and violently in the atomic bomb. A fusion reaction is invariably started with a fission reaction, but unlike the fission reaction, the fusion (Hydrogen) bomb derives its power from the fusing of nuclei of various hydrogen isotopes in the formation of helium nuclei. Being that the bomb in this project is strictly atomic, the other aspects of the Hydrogen Bomb will not be discussed further. The massive power behind the reaction in an atomic bomb arises from the forces that hold the atom together. These forces are akin to, but not quite the same as, magnetism. Atoms are comprised of three sub-atomic particles. Protons and neutrons cluster together to form the nucleus (central mass) of the atom while the electrons orbit the nucleus much like planets around a sun. It is these particles that determine the stability of the atom. Most natural elements have very stable atoms which are impossible to split except by bombardment by particle accelerators. For all practical purposes, the one true element whose atoms can be split comparatively easily is the metal Uranium. Uranium's atoms are unusually large, henceforth, it is hard for them to hold together firmly. This makes Uranium-235 an exceptional candidate for nuclear fission. Uranium is a heavy metal, heavier than gold, and not only does it have the largest atoms of any natural element, the atoms that comprise Uranium have far more neutrons than protons. This does not enhance their capacity to split, but it does have an important bearing on their capacity to facilitate an explosion. There are two isotopes of Uranium. Natural Uranium consists mostly of isotope U-238, which has 92 protons and 146 neutrons (92+146=238). Mixed with this isotope, one will find a 0.6% accumulation of U-235, which has only 143 neutrons. This isotope, unlike U-238, has atoms that can be split, thus it is termed "fissionable" and useful in making atomic bombs. Being that U-238 is neutron-heavy, it reflects neutrons, rather than absorbing them like its brother isotope, U-235. (U-238 serves no function in an atomic reaction, but its properties provide an excellent shield for the U-235 in a constructed bomb as a neutron reflector. This helps prevent an accidental chain reaction between the larger U-235 mass and its 'bullet' counterpart within the bomb. Also note that while U-238 cannot facilitate a chain-reaction, it can be neutron-saturated to produce Plutonium (Pu-239). Plutonium is fissionable and can be used in place of Uranium-235 (albeit, with a different model of detonator) in an atomic bomb.) Both isotopes of Uranium are naturally radioactive. Their bulky atoms disintegrate over a period of time. Given enough time, (over 100,000 years or more) Uranium will eventually lose so many particles that it will turn into the metal lead. However, this process can be accelerated. This process is k nown as the chain reaction. Instead of disintegrating slowly, the atoms are forcibly split by neutrons forcing their way into the nucleus. A U-235 atom is so unstable that a blow from a single neutron is enough to split it and henceforth bring on a chain reaction. This can happen even when a critical mass is present. When this chain reaction occurs, the Uranium atom splits into two smaller atoms of different elements, such as Barium and Krypton. When a U-235 atom splits, it gives off energy in the form of heat and Gamma radiation, which is the most powerful form of radioactivity and the most lethal. When this reaction occurs, the split atom will also give off two or three of its 'spare' neutrons, which are not needed to make either Barium or Krypton. These spare neutrons fly out with sufficient force to split other atoms they come in contact with. In theory, it is necessary to split only one U-235 atom, and the neutrons from this will split other atoms, which will split more...so on and so forth. This progression does not take place arithmetically, but geometrically. All of this will happen within a millionth of a second. ( as i said in the definitions, not in order ( arithmetically) but exponentually ( geometrically ) So, thats why im taking Alegbra II G/T! ) The minimum amount to start a chain reaction as described above is known as Super Critical Mass. The actual mass needed to facilitate this chain reaction depends upon the purity of the material, but for pure U-235, it is 110 pounds (50 kilograms), but no Uranium is never quite pure, so in reality more will be needed. Uranium is not the only material used for making atomic bombs. Another material is the element Plutonium, in its isotope Pu-239. Plutonium is not found naturally (except in minute traces) and is always made from Uranium. The only way to produce Plutonium from Uranium is to process U-238 through a nuclear reactor. After a period of time, the intense radioactivity causes the metal to pick up extra particles, so that more and more of its atoms turn into Plutonium. Plutonium will not start a fast chain reaction by itself, but this difficulty is overcome by having a neutron source, a highly radioactive material that gives off neutrons faster than the Plutonium itself. In certain types of bombs, a mixture of the elements Beryllium and Polonium is used to bring about this reaction. Only a small piece is needed. The material is not fissionable in and of itself, but merely acts as a catalyst to the greater reaction. To explode, the bomb must first be imploded, compressed to a subcritical spherical fissionable mass (a ball of normal density uranium and other metals) with specially designed explosives. Implosion is the detonation of explosives on the outer surface, instead of the inner surface, which causes the detonation/shock wave to move inward. The engineers working on bombs like 'Fat Man' or 'Little Boy' had to carefully design a smooth, symmetrical implosion setup so that the shock waves would reach each part of the core at the same time; a very difficult task. Once the shock wave is transmitted to the fissionable core it compresses the core and raises the density to the point of superciticality. This leads to a great explosion, which in the case of 'Fat Man' is equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT. Essentially, the fissionable mass is crushed to a great density, and once the mass has reached that supercritical density it goes "boom!" Next, we will go on to find out how we now know how nuclear bombs work, thanks to the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project --------------------- Shortly before the beginning of World War II, on August 2nd 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, about news that Einstein and several other scientists had heard. They told Roosevelt of efforts in Nazi Germany to purify U-235 with which might in turn be used to build an atomic bomb. It was shortly thereafter that the United States Government began the serious undertaking known only then as the Manhattan Project, to progress the research and production of nuclear weapons, such as an atomic bomb. The first ( and most complicated ) issue to be addressed was the production of ample amounts of 'enriched' uranium to sustain a chain reaction. At the time, Uranium-235 was very hard to extract. First off, Uranium ore must be converted to Uranium metal, which is a long process, and which produces more waste then metal. ( The exact ratio is around 500:1, with 500 being waste ore, and one being usable Uranium metal ). Once you have that Uranium metal, over 99% of that is Uranium-238 , which is useless for an atomic bomb ( unless, that is you change it to Plutonium, which I will get to later). To add on to that, Uranium-235 ( which is what is needed to have a nuclear reaction) has the same exact chemical makeup as U-238. Many of the Manhattan Project's scientists called this challence as hard as 'separating a solution of sucrose from a solution of glucose.' No ordinary chemical extraction could separate the two isotopes. Only mechanical methods could effectively separate U-235 from U-238. Howeve, several scientists at Columbia University managed to solve this dilemma. A massive enrichment laboratory and plant was constructed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. H.C. Urey, along with his associates and colleagues at Columbia University, devised a system that worked on the principle of gaseous diffusion. Following this process, Ernest O. Lawrence (inventor of the Cyclotron) at the University of California in Berkeley implemented a process involving magnetic separation of the two isotopes. Following the first two processes, a gas centrifuge was used to further separate the lighter U-235 from the heavier non-fissionable U-238 by their mass. Once all of these procedures had been completed, all that needed to be done was to put to the test the entire concept behind atomic fission. Over the course of six years, ranging from 1939 to 1945, more than 2 billion dollars were spent on the Manhattan Project. ( However, from recent reports, the real hidden costs of this project are just being seen, and that the real cost is in the 100 Billions to Trillions of dollars.) The formulas for refining Uranium and putting together a working bomb were created and seen to their logical ends by some of the greatest minds of our time. Among these people who unleashed the power of the atomic bomb was J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was the major force behind the Manhattan Project. He literally ran the show and saw to it that all of the great minds working on this project made their brainstorms work. He oversaw the entire project from its conception to its completion. Finally, it came time to test this new weapon ( 'The Gadget' as they called it), to see if it was either the 2 billion dollar dud, of a new weapon, with which we could end the war. This all came to a head on Jully 16th, 1945. On that day, at 5:29:45 AM ( Mountain War Time), a test bomb was set off in the hot basin of the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. A white blaze filled everything from the basin to the still dark skies. 'The Gadget' had rushed in the Atomic Age. The explosion suddenly turned a fiery orange as the atomic fireball shot up into the sky at 360 feet per second, changing red as it cooled. The mushroom cloud that is so characterised in the movies, formed for radioactive material, and materialized at 30,000 feet. Beneath the cloud, all that remained of the soil was a huge hole in the sand, and radioactive shards of green jade, which was caused by the super heating of the sand when the bomb had gone off. The brilliant light from the detonation pierced the early morning skies with such intensity that residents from a faraway neighboring community would swear that the sun came up twice that day. Even more astonishing is that a blind girl saw the flash 120 miles away. Upon witnessing the explosion, reactions among the people who created it were mixed. Isidor Rabi felt that the equilibrium in nature had been upset -- as if humankind had become a threat to the world it inhabited. J. Robert Oppenheimer, though ecstatic about the success of the project, quoted a remembered fragment from Bhagavad Gita. "I am become Death," he said, "the destroyer of worlds." Ken Bainbridge, the test director, told Oppenheimer, "Now we're all sons of bitches." Several participants, shortly after viewing the results, signed petitions against loosing the monster they had created, but their protests fell on deaf ears. The government was already planing Military targets. As it later turned out, the Jornada del Muerto of New Mexico was not the last site on planet Earth to experience an atomic explosion. As many know, atomic bombs have been used only twice in warfare. The first and foremost blast site of the atomic bomb is Hiroshima. A Uranium bomb (which weighed in at over 4.5 tons) nicknamed "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima August 6th, 1945. The Aioi Bridge, one of 81 bridges connecting the seven-branched delta of the Ota River, was the aiming point of the bomb. Ground Zero was set at 1,980 feet. At 0815 hours, the bomb was dropped from the Enola Gay. It missed its mark by only 800 feet ( Which, for military strikes, especially in 1945, was great aim.). At 0816 hours, in the flash of an instant, 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were injured by a 10 kiloton atomic explosion. The point of total vaporization from the blast measured one half of a mile in diameter. Total destruction ranged at one mile in diameter. Severe blast damage carried as far as two miles in diameter. At two and a half miles, everything flammable in the area burned. The remaining area of the blast zone was riddled with serious blazes that stretched out to the final edge at a little over three miles in diameter. On August 9th 1945, Nagasaki fell to the same treatment as Hiroshima. Only this time, a Plutonium bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" was dropped on the city. Even though the "Fat Man" missed by over a mile and a half, it still leveled nearly half the city. Nagasaki's population dropped in one split-second from 422,000 to 383,000. 39,000 were killed, over 25,000 were injured. That blast was less than 10 kilotons as well. Estimates from physicists who have studied each atomic explosion state that the bombs that were used had utilized only 1/10th of 1 percent of their respective explosive capabilities. While the mere explosion from an atomic bomb is deadly enough, its destructive ability doesn't stop there. Atomic fallout creates another hazard as well. The rain that follows any atomic detonation is laden with radioactive particles. Many survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts succumbed to radiation poisoning due to this occurance. The atomic detonation also has the hidden lethal surprise of affecting the future generations of those who live through it. Leukemia is among the greatest of afflictions that are passed on to the offspring of survivors. The Detination Timeline of the 'Fat Man' Bomb --------------------------------------------- The Fat Man bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan the morning of August 8, 1945, went through the following steps as it reached ground zero ( the point of detination ) : 1.The bomb is dropped out of the plane at an altitude of 20,000 feet. 2.Once the bomb reaches its detonation altitude (1,900 feet), otherwise known as ground zero, the altimeter sets off specially designed explosives. 3.The explosives all detonate at the same time, causing the core of the bomb (uranium, plutonium, etc.) to implode. 4.As the core is imploding, its fissionable mass (material) becomes supercritical, at which point a fission chain reaction begins. 5.As the fission chain reaction continues, more and more energy is released by fission, and eventually the walls of the bomb disintegrate and the bomb explodes at full force. Blast Zones ----------- The blast zone is the area in which the bomb does the most damage. You can categorize the blast zone into five (circular) areas depending on their distance from the point of explosion and the power of the bomb. The chart below is the blast zone for the "Fat Man" bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 8th, 1945. Fat Man unleashed just 10 kilotons of energy, which is equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT; nothing compared to the 10 megatons than can be released by a Hydrogen Bomb. Area # Distance Effect 1 0.5 mi. Vaporization Point Everything is vaporized by the atomic blast. Fatalities: 98%, Overpress: 25 psi., Wind velocity: 320 mph. 2 1 mi. Total Destruction All structures above ground are destroyed. Fatalities: 90%, Overpress: 17 psi., Wind Velocity: 290 mph. 3 1.75 mi. Severe Blast Damage Factories and other large-scale buildings collapse. Fatalities: 65%, Overpress: 9 psi., Wind Velocity: 260mph. 4 2.5 mi. Severe Heat Damage: Everything flammable burns. Fatalities: 50%, Overpress: 6 psi., Wind Velocity: 140 mph. 5. 3 mi. Severe Fire & Wind Damage Residency structures are severely damaged. Fatalities: 15%, Overpress: 3 psi., Wind Velocity: 98 mph. End. ---- Well you now know all there is to know about Nuclear weapons and their design. Go have a ball. Build a bomb and go set it off -- somewhere away from me that is. And dont get caught. If you do, dont metion my name, I never said anything to you!