Atom Bomb

It is nuclear war-weapon and is based upon the uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction. The atomic bomb works by a physical phenomenon known as fission. In this case, particles, specifically nuclei, are split and great amounts of energy are released. This energy is expelled explosively and violently in the atomic bomb. The massive power behind the reaction in an atomic bomb arises from the forces that hold the atom together called the strong nuclear force.

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 The element used in atomic bombs is Uranium-235. Uranium's atoms are unusually large, and 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 and has many 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.

Uranium is not the only material used for making atomic bombs. Another material is the element Plutonium, in its isotope Pu-239. However, Plutonium will not start a fast chain reaction by itself. The material is not fissionable in and of itself, but may act as a catalyst to the greater reaction. The bomb basically works with a detonating head starting off the explosive chain reaction.

The Chain Reaction

When a uranium or other suitable nucleus fission's, it breaks up into a pair of nuclear fragments and releases energy. At the same time, the nucleus emits very quickly a number of fast neutrons, the same type of particle that initiated the fission of the uranium nucleus. This makes it possible to achieve a self-sustaining series of nuclear fission's; the neutrons that are emitted in fission produce a chain reaction, with continuous release of energy.

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                     Fission of uranium 235 nucleus. 

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 of the parts after splitting. 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.