• Question: why are nuclear bombs so powerful ?

    Asked by danjolley3 to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Hello Dan,

      According to Einstein’s equation E=MC2 energy and matter are inter-convertible i.e. energy can become matter and matter can become energy. There is a huge amount of energy trapped within the nuclei of atoms (they can be considered as matter). When these atoms break down then all the huge energy from within their nuclei is released, more atoms break down and more energy is released and so on in a chain reaction until all the atoms in the bomb break down to release an unbelievable amount of energy making nuclear bonds devastating. The sun for example is continually exploding with a continuous thermonuclear explosion. Have you ever thought how powerful the sun is? There are other suns in the universe with even bigger energy and power.

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Sorry, I am no big expert on this! I think there are a number of types of nuclear bomb, but all are based upon the fact that when particular atomic reactions take place- either fission (where nuclei of atoms break apart) or fusion (atoms nucelus fuse together)- an absolute load of energy is released. This is what causes the explosion.

      Am sorry I couldn’t give a better answer!

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      You will get a better answer from a Physicist I guess, but I’ll give it a try.
      Nuclear energy is stored in the bonds that hold the nucleus (core) of an atom together. These bonds contain enormous amounts of energy, it’s what Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2 is all about. If an atom is split into smaller pieces (a process called nuclear fission), huge amounts of this energy is released. Compared to a conventional explosive like TNT, 1 gram of a nuclear bomb can release millions or billions of times more energy when it goes bang. Normal explosives are just the result of a simple chemical reaction, no atoms are split.
      In the first nuclear bombs two lumps of uranium or plutonium were smashed together very quickly. Those elements are radioactive and very unstable, just the act of bringing them together instantaneously causes their atoms to split apart and Boom!
      Modern bombs work by firing small particles (neutrons) at lumps of uranium or plutonium, this sets off the nuclear chain reaction and again, Boom!
      Another type of big bomb is the Hydrogen bomb, that uses the same reaction as the sun, hydrogen atoms are forced to stick together (nuclear fusion), which releases even more energy than splitting Plutonium and Uranium. Bigger Boom!

    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      It is because the amount of energy released by even small amounts of matter is huge and can devaste large areas and for many years. There are nuclear fission and nuclear fusion bombs which work slightly differently. Nuclear fission compresses enriched uranium forming atomic bombs (A-bombs) and nuclear fusion is like the Hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) and is based on the fusion of different types of hydrogen. I am afraid that is where my knowledge ends, you need to ask a physicist on that one!

    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      I guess they need to be to act as any kind of threat against people….if you mean in a physics way
      here is a youtube explanation
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7qQWjHhi64

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