How does a nuclear bomb detonate?

Answer 1

A nuclear fuel has to be compressed into a very tiny space in an instant. This requires charges around the fuel that all go off at exactly the same time to force the material into a super critical mass. If one of the charges goes off a fraction of a second early or late, the material will blow out sideways and not achieve the critical mass it needs.

When it works, the fuel compresses , the atoms from one molecule interact with other molecules of fuel and in a chain reaction enormous amounts of energy are released causing the typical atomic blast.

The hardest part is to trigger all of the explosives necessary to compress the fuel.




g-day!

Answer 2

Uranium Detonator
Comprised of 2 parts. Larger mass is spherical and concave. Smaller mass is precisely the size and shape of the `missing' section of the larger mass. Upon detonation of conventional explosive, the smaller mass is violently injected and welded to the larger mass. Supercritical mass is reached, chain reaction follows in one millionth of a second.
Plutonium Detonator
Comprised of 32 individual 45-degree pie-shaped sections of Plutonium surrounding a Beryllium/Polonium mixture. These 32 sections together form a sphere. All of these sections must have the precisely equal mass (and shape) of the others. The shape of the detonator resembles a soccerball. Upon detonation of conventional explosives, all 32 sections must merge with the B/P mixture within 1 ten-millionths of a second.

You can find anything on the internet!

Answer 3

Depends on what kind of nuclear bomb it is.

In Fission bombs, like those used in WW ll

You basically shoot a neutron at a mass of fissionable material, Uranium U-235.

This neutron splits the U-235 atoms, and in breaking it apart, free neutrons from the U-235 to go hit more U-235 atoms.

So you get a chain reaction, and since most of the split atoms, release more than one free neutron, the reaction expands and splits more and more atoms.

When atoms are split, they create heat and energy.

So when billions and trillions of atoms are spit into very short period of time, you have a massive amount of heat and energy.

In fusion bombs, it is just the opposite.

Instead of splitting atoms, you are joining atoms of different materials together.

Usually deuterium and tritium to form a certain type of helium.

The energy released when the two materials join together are what causes the heat and energy of a hydrogen bomb.

They call it a hydrogen bomb, because deuterium and tritium are types of hydrogen.

Hydrogen bombs, actually use a fission bomb to create the pressure necessary to force the deuterium and tritium to combine to form helium-3

Answer 4

with the implosion type bomb, the charge is surrounded by explosives which are all detonated simultaneously triggering critical mass in the nuclear material. with the 'gun type' one piece of nuclear material is fired down a barrel at another piece of nuclear material triggering critical mass. Dont try this at home!!

Answer 5

It might require a 1 MegaTon device delivered by ground. Airburst would mean we were at war with Russia or China and be detectable upon launch. Play around with the software at the link. Read the 2nd carefully, it explains the overkill propoganda of the danger of a dirty bomb. Your safe kid....very safe. The crap that terrorist might set off would only effect a few city blocks. Spent 2 years at Lawrence Livermore National Labs and do not glow in the dark.....perhaps a little if the light hits my head just so.....that's just lack of hair though! edit: The guy above mentioning the 1kt device does not know that W33 warheads were standing by to be fired at Soviet Armored units if they tried to invade western Europe. 1kt would take out a 1.7 mile area....about the area a Squadron of tanks might be spread over. Unless those dial a yield warheads were cranked up to 40 kt the FA was not in to much danger of dieing from the round they fired. The 40 kt setting required volunteers as the 17 miles the round could be shot was not enough to keep them out of the blast area.

Answer 6

Bombarding uranium atoms with neutrons,caused them to 'fissile' (split). A self-sustaining chain reaction could occur if more unstable (or as they say, enriched) uranium was brought into the same location. To achieve a chain reaction, a 'critical mass' of uranium was needed. A trigger mechanism had to be engineered to begin the fissile process within a small warhead. Then there's the fusion process, joining certain atoms. How much more do you want to know?

Answer 7

By setting up the condition for "critical mass" to occur.

Answer 8

a trigger system forces a tube of another element into the core of uranium which creates critical mass.

Answer 9

Doing some DIY, are you? Go to B&Q and ask the old man on the fixture section. I think they have brochures about it

Answer 10

Very loudly I think.
I've never whitnessed It myself.
Has anyone else.