C.+Christie+Nuclear+PowerPoint

=__How an Atomic Bomb Works__= By: Craig Christie

An atomic bomb has an energy source that is basically a mass of radio active material.this radio active material is very unstable, and the atoms are ready to explode, or decay,at the slightest chance it can get, such as an explosion. The atoms release unneeded energy. This process is called fission. Fission is when atoms are constantly falling apart, or decaying. What happens is the nucleus gets rid of unneeded energy as well as neutrons, and they get thrown out in all directions. When this happens with plutonium, which is radio active material inside the bomb, it breaks down and warms up, but can hardly be described as an explosion.

Inside the bomb, fission occurs when TNT explodes. The explosion makes the plutonium compress in size and become very dense. This process is called critical mass. Once the critical mass occurs, the plutonium becomes so dense that the decaying material cannot shoot out with out bumping into another atom. When that decaying material hits another atom, the same thing happens to the atom that was hit, and this process repeats. It's a chain reaction, in simpler terms. This all happens in a very short period of time, a fraction of a second. Massive amounts of energy are released at once to make a huge explosion.

Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The damage was very bad. Tons of property was destroyed and thousands of people died in the explosion. The bomb, however, had after effects. When the bomb exploded, it releases dramatic amounts of radiation. Radiation is very harmful to the human body. People in Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered from many diseases such as leukemia and other forms of cancer. Other effects include cataracts, malformed offspring, and premature aging.

=“The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.”=

- J. Robert Oppenheimer

This is fission occuring inside a bomb. What you see above happens trillions of times and is released as one big explosion.

This is an after effect of radiation.

This is the explosion from an atomic bomb.

Bibliography

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/nuclear/bomb.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/radiation_effects_body_body.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_atomic_bomb_made_the_prospect_of_future_war/211280.html