Atomic bomb, or nuclear bomb, is a weapon consisting of an explosive projectile launched by planes or missiles.
It works as a result of nuclear fusion and fission processes and has a high destructive power.
Historical Aspects
The "Little Boy" atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945
Fearful of the Nazis' persecution of Jews, several scientists moved to the US. Among them, Albert Einstein stands out, who took up a chair at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.
Along with Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, Einstein warned President Franklin Roosevelt that the Nazis might develop an atomic bomb.
They believed that the United States should anticipate this move and fund the research that would lead to the discovery of the fission of the atom.
As a result, the Manhattan Project, responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb directed by the American physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer.
Scientists used as a basis the research of Albert Einstein that were fundamental to the development of atomic energy.
Before the launch of the atomic bomb, the nuclear weapon was tested on July 16, 1945 in the desert of New Mexico (USA).
Second World War
Until today, the atomic bomb has only been used in two situations during World War II.
At Second war, the countries split. On the side we find an alliance formed by Germany, Italy and Japan; and on the other by Great Britain, the Soviet Union and the USA.
By 1945, Germany and Italy had already surrendered. However, the war continued in the Pacific where Japan and the United States were engaged in a fierce struggle for island-by-island conquest.
war in the pacific
In 1941, Japan had attacked the pearl harbor, a US naval base, without any declaration of war on the US. So the Americans fought the Japanese in the Pacific.
The Americans realized that Japan would not surrender and considered an invasion of the country very costly in human and financial terms. So the military decided to drop the atomic bomb on Japan to force the surrender.
In this way, the Hiroshima Bomb was launched on August 6, 1945 by the American bomber plane enola gay.
The bomb was named little boy and detonated the city of Hiroshima, Japan, at 580 meters high. The city was destroyed and around 140,000 people died.
Many people died at the time of the explosion, while others died from the damage left by the nuclear weapon.
Days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. it was called Fat Man, destroyed a large part of the city and caused the death of around 70,000 people.
THE fat man was more powerful than the little boy, although its damage was minor. This happened because the city is located in a mountainous region.
Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945.
Read too:
- Consequences of World War II
- World War II movies
power of destruction
Aspect of the city of Hiroshima before and after the atomic bomb was dropped
In the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the air became a kind of fireball that expanded rapidly.
Due to the large amount of thermal energy that was released, this ball was as hot as the surface of the Sun. As a result, everything within a radius of 1 km turned to ashes.
The ground has also overheated. The gases expanded causing a shock wave causing 62,000 buildings in Hiroshima to collapse. The city had 90,000 buildings.
The effects caused by radiation were burns, respiratory problems, mental disorders, physical deformities and cancer in thousands of people.
Those who looked at the explosion were blinded and there was radioactive rain that contaminated the water and soil. For years people have suffered from the effects of the bombs.
After the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons continued to be developed.
There are thousands of weapons even more powerful than those that were dropped on Japan in World War II. Most of them belong to the US and Russia.
The UN is responsible for regulating world nuclear policy. Likewise, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (TNP) is an agreement through which the signatory countries commit to using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Chemical Aspects
The bomb dropped in the city of Hiroshima had two composite charges of uranium 235, totaling about 60 kg.
The bomb dropped on Nagasaki was made up of about 6.4 kg of plutonium 239. This element arises from the transformation of uranium 238.
O uranium235 (235U) it's the plutonium239 (239Pu) are elements that have a very high energy potential and, therefore, represent a great danger.
How does the Atomic Bomb work?
The bombs dropped on Japanese cities resulted from the fission process. Another process that results in the functioning of nuclear bombs is fusion.
Fission it is breaking the nucleus of the atom. A neutron hits the nucleus of the atom and breaks apart. In a high-speed process, other neutrons hit other nuclei.
Fusion it is the junction of the nucleus of two or more atoms.
These processes release a high and extremely potent amount of energy. This is why the explosion occurs.
The most powerful bombs that have the greatest destructive power are those that contain hydrogen. They are known as H bombs or bombsinFusion because that's how they work.
read more:
- Nuclear energy
- Radioactive Pollution
- Arms race
- Nuclear waste
Brazilian Nuclear Weapons
Although Brazil has the capacity to produce nuclear weapons, the country has denied the right to have them by signing several international treaties.
In 1979 a secret project called ProgramParallel. This program was intended to develop weapons of mass destruction and was only announced to Brazilians in the 1990s.
It was a project that would be able to produce atomic bombs more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it was dismantled.
