An atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction.
An atomic bomb is an explosive that suddenly releases an enormous amount of energy from the fission of plutonium or uranium atoms or the fusion of hydrogen isotopes . Before moving forward with the meaning, it is important to know the etymological origin of the two words that give shape to the concept:
- Bomba is a term that comes from the Latin bombus , which can be translated as "loud noise."
- Atomic derives from a Greek word that means "relative to a very small matter that cannot be divided" and is the result of the addition of the prefix a- , which refers to "without" ; the word tome , which is synonymous with "cut" ; and the suffix -ico , which can be translated as "relative to" .
The concept
The term bomb has several meanings: in this case we are interested in its meaning as the explosive element that has a mechanism that allows us to define when the explosion will occur.
Atomic , for its part, is an adjective that qualifies that linked to atoms : particles composed of a nucleus that is surrounded by electrons and that cannot be divided through chemical procedures.
The energy for atomic bombs comes from nuclear reactions . In these processes , in which atomic nuclei and sub-atomic particles are transformed and combined, a lot of energy can be released.
An atomic bomb releases a large amount of energy suddenly.
Example of atomic bomb
An atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction . The only nation that used these bombs in a war and against the civilian population was the United States in 1945 , when it attacked two cities in Japan : Hiroshima and Nagasaki .
It is estimated that, with the attack carried out with these two atomic bombs, the US military caused nearly 246,000 deaths at the time and in the following weeks.
It should be noted that the operation of an atomic bomb consists of the bombardment of neutrons against a heavy fissile or fissile nucleus, which can be plutonium -239 or uranium-235 . The impact of neutrons against the nucleus generates a nuclear chain reaction .
The Manhattan Project
It should not be overlooked that historically there existed what was known as the Manhattan Project , a scientific undertaking that the United States carried out together with Canada and the United Kingdom during World War II .
The objective of that initiative was to develop an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany achieved it. In numerous research centers, such as the Manhattan Engineering District , the initiative was carried out, led by important figures such as General Leslie Richard Groves and the physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer . Not forgetting other figures who participated in one way or another such as Ernest Lawrence and Niels Böhr .
The first atomic test to be carried out was called Trinity and was carried out in the Alamogordo Desert ( New Mexico ).