For my english class, I have to make a speech about whatever I want. As an expert of quantum physic, I decided to talk about how a nuke works.
The idea of the message is that that making a nuclear bomb is not as difficult as it is. Moreover, it is made to show how a so little thing can be as powerful as it is. In only a few word, the message can be "Destroying Earth, with a simple bomb.".
WARNING : I DO NOT PLAN TO DO A NUCLEAR BOMB, ALL THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE IS PURELY EDUCATIVE AND AVAIBLE IN ANY SCIENTIFIC WEBSITE? AS WIKIPEDIA. So please CIA, do not arrest me.
In the world, nine countries have their own nuclear bomb excluding NATO countries storing US nuclears bombs, within 3 having it illegaly. The word "nuclear bomb" can be scaring, but its consequences are ways more scaring. Its only use against population happened during the end of WW2, against the two cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where 110k peoples instantly died. Moreover, some modern bomb are 1000 times more poweful than Hiroshima's one. However, this weapon may as saved humanity during cold war. It is so a complicated question.
However, we can wonder how a so little bomb can be as destructive as far as thousand tons of TNT ?
We will firstly see how works a well called atomic bomb. Then, we will se how works an also famous kind of bomb, an hydrogen bomb. There is some differents between this two bombs.
The first kind of bomb we will see is the atomic bomb.
To understand how an atomic bomb works, we have to understand how an atom works. As you know an atom is made of two parts : the electrons and the nucleus. The nucleus is made of two differents particules : the protons and the neutrons. Even if a nucleus is generally stable, some are not, and may be broken. This it's called radioactivity. For example, the most famous radioactive element is the uranium 235 or the also famous plutonium. If you send a neutron in one of thoses atoms, it will break in two parts.
When the nucleus is broken, the two parts of the nucleus will make two news atoms, and some neutrons are also freed. Moreover, Einstein proved with his relativity theory than a broken nucleus also creates energy, and even a lot of energy. For one atom, it is not really visible. However, if you break a lot of billions of atoms, the energy can become pretty powerful. However, as we seen, a broken nucleus creates neutrons, which can go break others nucleus, which will re make the process until no more nucleus can be broken. This event is called critical mass. If the amount of nucleus is big enough, you can generate a lot of energy, and even an atomic bomb. In the Hiroshima bomb, there was 700 grams of uranium which been broken, generating the equivalent of 15k tons of TNT in energy.
As we know now how a bomb works, we have to know how to assemble all that to do a bomb. To make a critical mass, we should strongly compress a bloc of uranium, until the mass is reached. In the Hiroshima bomb, it was with a kind of gun. But the recents bombs use a system of explosive around the uranium. This compression allows the bomb to explode, and to be as powerful as we want.