Mell What is a Nuke made up of?
Atomic bombs are made up of a fissile element, such as uranium, that is enriched in the isotope that can sustain a fission nuclear chain reaction. When a free neutron hits the nucleus of a fissile atom like uranium-235 (235U), the uranium splits into two smaller atoms called fission fragments, plus more neutrons.
What ID are nuclear bombs made?
While a number of elements are fissionable (meaning they can undergo fission), only a few are used in nuclear weapons. Most common are the isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 (reminder: isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ only in their number of neutrons).
What kind of material do you need to make a nuclear bomb?
“You cannot make a nuclear bomb without fissile material,” says Andrew Furlong, of the Institute of Chemical Engineers. And for an average thermonuclear device, the necessary material is plutonium or enriched uranium. Uranium, a naturally-occurring heavy metal, comes as uranium 238 or 235.
How are nuclear bombs made and how do they work?
1 Atomic Structure and Radioactivity. An atom, in the simplest model, consists of a nucleus and orbiting electrons. 2 Nuclear Fission. 3 Nuclear Fuel. 4 Fission Bomb Design. 5 Fission Bomb Triggers. 6 Fusion Bombs. 7 Nuclear Bomb Delivery. 8 Consequences and Health Risks of Nuclear Bombs. …
What are the radioactive products of a nuclear bomb?
In reactors, the radioactive products are the nuclear waste in spent fuel. In bombs, they become radioactive fallout, both local and global. Meanwhile, inside the exploding bomb, the free neutrons released by fission carry away about 3% of the initial fission energy.
How are atomic bombs different from hydrogen bombs?
Atomic bombs are nuclear weapons that use the energetic output of nuclear fission to produce massive explosions. These bombs are in contrast to hydrogen bombs, which use both fission and fusion to power their greater explosive potential.