atomic bomb

(noun)

A nuclear weapon that derives its their explosive energy from nuclear fission reactions.

Related Terms

Examples of atomic bomb in the following topics:

  • The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    • On 6 August 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in the first nuclear attack in history and three days later, on 9 August, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the last nuclear attack in history.
    • On July 16, 1945, the Allied Manhattan Project successfully detonated an atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert and by August had produced atomic weapons based on two alternate designs.
    • On August 6, the U.S. dropped a uranium gun-type atomic bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima.
    • Army Corps of Engineers, designed and built the first atomic bombs.
    • They then went back to Tokyo and told the cabinet that Hiroshima was indeed destroyed by an atomic bomb.

  • The Atomic Bomb

    • After Japan did not respond to a threat of destruction, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
    • Two types of atomic bomb were developed during the war.
    • On August 6, the U.S. dropped a uranium gun-type atomic bomb (Little Boy) on the city of Hiroshima.
    • Estimates vary greatly but within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000–146,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki.
    • Assess the damages of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and summarize the production of the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project

  • Nuclear Weapons

    • ., "atomic") bomb test released the same amount of energy as approximately 20,000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT).
    • Thus, even a small nuclear device no larger than traditional bombs can devastate an entire city by blast, fire and radiation.
    • The first nuclear weapons were gravity bombs, such as this "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
    • The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan (August 9,1945) rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the bomb's hypocenter.
    • Explain the difference between an "atomic" bomb and a "hydrogen" bomb, discussing their history

  • The Atomic Bomb

    • These bombs are in contrast to hydrogen bombs, which use both fission and fusion to power their greater explosive potential.
    • When a free neutron hits the nucleus of a fissile atom like uranium-235 (235U), the uranium splits into two smaller atoms called fission fragments, plus more neutrons.
    • The inherent radioactivity of uranium will then release a neutron, which will bombard another atom of 235U to produce the unstable uranium-236, which undergoes fission, releases further neutrons, and continues the process.The uranium atom can split any one of dozens of different ways, as long as the atomic weights add up to 236 (uranium plus the extra neutron).
    • The immediate energy release per atom is about 180 million electron volts (Me).
    • Two methods have been applied to induce the nuclear chain reaction that produces the explosion of an atomic bomb.

  • The Defeat of Japan

    • After the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, Emperor Hirohito surrendered.
    • Japan was given an ultimatum to surrender (in the name of the United States, Great Britain and China) or meet "prompt and utter destruction" but the atomic bomb was not mentioned.
    • The "prompt and utter destruction" clause has been interpreted as a veiled warning about American possession of the atomic bomb which had been successfully tested in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, the day before the Potsdam Conference opened.
    • On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.
    • Later that day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

  • Increased Cancer Risk from Radiation

    • This association is based largely on studies of Japanese atomic bomb survivors.
    • One example of this connection is shown here for Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb.

  • The Truman Presidency

    • He was president during the final months of World War II, making the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
    • After Japan refused surrender, Truman authorized the use of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
    • Truman approved the use of atomic weapons to end the fighting and to spare the thousands of American lives that would inevitably be lost in the planned invasion of Japan and Japanese-held islands in the Pacific.
    • (under Truman's direction) dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.

  • The Potsdam Conference

    • Towards the end of the conference, Japan was given an ultimatum to surrender or meet "prompt and utter destruction," which did not mention the new bomb.
    • Therefore, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
    • Notably, when Truman informed Stalin of the atomic bomb, he did not explicitly mention its atomic nature, just vaguely saying that the United States “had a new weapon of unusual destructive force.”
    • Stalin, though, had full knowledge of the atomic bomb's development due to Soviet spy networks inside the Manhattan Project, and told Truman at the conference to "make good use of this new addition to the Allied arsenal."

  • Other Forms of Energy

    • Chemical Energy: This is energy due to the way that atoms are arranged in molecules and various other collections of matter.
    • For example, mass is converted into energy when a nuclear bomb explodes .

  • The Nuclear Arms Race

    • In August 1945, on Truman's orders, two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
    • The United States presented their solution, called the Baruch Plan, which proposed that there should be an international authority that controls all dangerous atomic activities.
    • The Soviet government was also working on building its own atomic weapons.
    • The bomb, named "Joe One" by the West, was more or less a copy of "Fat Man," one of the bombs the United States had dropped on Japan in 1945.
    • After this test, both governments spent massive amounts to increase the quality and quantity of their nuclear arsenals, and quickly began the development of a hydrogen bomb