 |
|
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|
atomic bomb
A weapon of mass destruction deriving its energy from nuclear fission. The first atomic bomb was exploded at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. As in the bomb dropped over Hiroshima, Japan a few weeks later (August 6), the fissionable material was uranium-235, but when Nagasaki was destroyed by another bomb three days after that plutonium-239 was used. Together the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs killed more than 100,000 people. Since the early 1950s, the power of the fission bomb (equivalent to some 20,000 tons of TNT in the case of the Hiroshima bomb) has been vastly exceeded by that of the hydrogen bomb which depends on nuclear fusion.
Related category
• ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR PHYSICS
Also on this site:
Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living
Encyclopedia of History
Transport Concepts & Designs (partner site)