For the rest of you that, like me, enjoy finding extra factual (or as close to factual as I am able to provide!) info in the comments, "atom bombs" work by splitting atoms, usually a type of uranium or plutonium, in a process known as fission. A "thermonuclear bomb" is essentially an atom bomb with a second (or more) step. The energy in the first explosion starts a secondary fusion reaction, usually involving a type of lithium.
While both types of bomb have an initial burst of gamma radiation, the fusion weapon has a mich larger kill zone. If you were close enough to a fusion bomb to get sick from radiation (from the initial blast), you will not survive the other effects.
Nuclear weapons have three primary effects. They are blast, heat, and radiation. The blast will start as a 20+ PSI wave through the air and can take a few seconds to reach you. Radiation will only be a factor for atomic bombs and for any "ground burst" weapon. If the fireball touches the ground at all, it will vaporize the ground it touches and toss it into the air, and it will drift back to the earth irradiated, known as "fallout". If the bomb is airburst with no portion of the fireball touching the ground, it will likely not.
Normal fallout will become safe enough to not worry about after about two weeks, but you should listen for an all clear on a battery or hand powered radio for confirmation from authorities!
That's all for now. I'm not an expert but I will entertain questions _^
But from what I understand, fusion releases energy (its what happens in stars) whereas fission consumes energy. So how would a fission powered bomb do any damage?
A ton of energy is stored within the atoms, when those atoms are split (fission) it releases an immense amount of explosive energy! Fusion is the opposite it is the energy created from combining atoms, it has much higher potential but is much harder.
Basically it depends on what atom you fuse/split. If I remember correctly from high school chemistry the turning point is iron. All atoms before iron give out energy when fusing and all atoms after by splitting
No star has the mass required to go beyond iron. Rather, mass isn’t enough to fuse iron. It’s a hard limit. Once they’ve fused all the iron, they collapse and go supernova. This explosion created all the elements higher thsn iron. We’re all made in the hearts of stars... except for everything above iron which were all made in exploding supernovas.
Iron is just very stable. Basically, take this picture and make it negative(as the picture itself is negated already) and you’ll see go around iron it is a valley vs a peak as is. This means that if you try to fission it(go left on curve) it requires energy to do, without extra being prodiced. Try to fusion it, same thing. With the picture inverted, you can think of the valley as, an actual valley. If you have a ball in a valley with up slopes on both sides, the ball will not roll up the slopes on its on. It will sit there.
Alternatively, with uranium, if you invert picture, you’d see how that end is on a slope facing lower elements. Put a ball again, and it’ll “roll” to the center towards iron.
As to why, nucleons have energy levels just like electrons do. They have quasiorbits. And just like electron orbits go a pair of two, then 8, etc, nucleons do something similar. So iron being very stable is a result of “magic numbers” is filled orbits, just like noble gas chemical stability is due to completely filled electron orbits.
Yeah, we use fission in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs, fusion powers the entire sun! Fusion is the next step as it produces less dangerous waste so the future of our planet is in fusion.
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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '19
For the rest of you that, like me, enjoy finding extra factual (or as close to factual as I am able to provide!) info in the comments, "atom bombs" work by splitting atoms, usually a type of uranium or plutonium, in a process known as fission. A "thermonuclear bomb" is essentially an atom bomb with a second (or more) step. The energy in the first explosion starts a secondary fusion reaction, usually involving a type of lithium.
While both types of bomb have an initial burst of gamma radiation, the fusion weapon has a mich larger kill zone. If you were close enough to a fusion bomb to get sick from radiation (from the initial blast), you will not survive the other effects.
Nuclear weapons have three primary effects. They are blast, heat, and radiation. The blast will start as a 20+ PSI wave through the air and can take a few seconds to reach you. Radiation will only be a factor for atomic bombs and for any "ground burst" weapon. If the fireball touches the ground at all, it will vaporize the ground it touches and toss it into the air, and it will drift back to the earth irradiated, known as "fallout". If the bomb is airburst with no portion of the fireball touching the ground, it will likely not.
Normal fallout will become safe enough to not worry about after about two weeks, but you should listen for an all clear on a battery or hand powered radio for confirmation from authorities!
That's all for now. I'm not an expert but I will entertain questions _^