Nuclear Weapons

1. Nuclear Weapons By: Spencer Buxton- Biologist Steven Crawford- Historian Maddie Gray- General Supervisor Hunter Hibler- Equipment Technician Sam James- Biologist Ben O’Connor- Chemist

2. Overview: Nuclear Weapons • How Atomic Bombs Work • Biological Effects • History of Atomic Bombs • Countries with Nuclear Weapons • Dirty Bombs • Hydrogen Bombs vs. Atomic Bombs • Fusion Maddie Gray

3. U.S. Pioneers in Nuclear Weapons Enrico Fermi Neils Bohr Joseph C. Carter Richard Feyman J. Robert Oppenheimer Maddie Gray

4. Fission • The whole model represents an atom of the isotope Uranium 235. • When bombarded by a stray neutron the atom splits typically into 2 new elements: • Krypton • Barium • Energy is released Maddie Gray

5. Fusion • The two individual pieces of clay represent the isotopes of hydrogen involved in fusion. • When the clay is combined together it demonstrates the fusion. • Helium or isotopes of helium are created as a result, along with the release of energy. • This is how the sun produces energy. Maddie Gray

6. Atomic Bomb! • To make a nuclear bomb energy must first be released from an atom. • There are two different ways this energy can be obtained. • Fission • Fusion http://discover.edventures.com/images/termlib/n/nuclear_fission/support.gif Ben O’Connor www.lancs.ac.uk/ug/hussainw/nuclear_fusion.htm

7. Fission • Fission is splitting the atoms with the use of a neutron • Often uses Uranium 235 or 233 for this Ben O’Connor

8. Fission Bombs • Sub critical masses- kept apart as to prevent detonation before desired • Sub critical masses are then brought together, which forms a supercritical mass • Helps maintain the fission reaction by adding neutrons • Bringing the two sub critical masses together uses two methods Ben O’Connor

9. Fission Bomb cont. the tamper • The reaction is contained in closed confines using a tamper (U-238) • When the tamper heats, it grows outward to impede the core’s process of expansion • Sends neutrons back to the core, helping increase the efficiency of the bomb Ben O’Connor

10. Gun Triggered/ Implosion Bombs • Gun-triggered bomb- works by first firing a bullet of U-235 down a barrel • Bullet strikes and starts the fission reaction • After first reaction a chain occurs • The explosion occurs after this series of events Ben O’Connor

11. Gun Triggered/ Implosion Bombs cont. • Implosion-triggered bomb- fires explosives to start a shock wave • Core compresses shock wave which starts the fission reaction • After the fission reaction… • Explosion! Ben O’Connor

12. Fusion bombs • Fusion is when two atoms are brought together to form a bigger one (like how the sun gets energy) • Uses deuterium and tritium as the fuel (lithium deuteride) • Following= sequence of events happen when a fusion bomb goes off Ben O’Connor

13. The Explosion • Fission bomb inside of the fusion bomb implodes, which releases x-rays • X-rays heat the inside of the bomb • Heat cases the tamper in the bomb to grow and expand and makes pressure on the deuterium • Lithium deuterideis pushed against itself “30 fold” • Shock waves starts fission in the plutonium rods • Fission from the rod gives off neutrons heat and radiation which goes to the deuterium and tritium • All this heat causes even more radiation and neutrons • Then……. Ben O’Connor

14. Ben O’Connor

15. Biological Effects • Damage caused to an area depends on how far the area is from the detonation site, known as the “hypocenter”. The closer to the hypocenter, the more severe the damage. • The four main factors that damage an area near the hypocenter are: • Wave of heat • Pressure from the shockwave of the explosion • Radiation • Radiation Fallout (clouds that carry radioactive material) Spencer Buxton

16. How Bombs Kill • At the exact hypocenter, EVERYTHING is destroyed by the heat of the explosion. Temperatures from the blast can reach up to 500 million degrees Fahrenheit. • Moving out from the hypocenter, people are killed from burns, injuries from debris falling off buildings that collapse from the shockwave, and radiation exposure. • Outside the blast zone, deaths are caused by radiation, heat, and fires. Fallout is carried by the wind to places outside the blast zone. Radioactive material can also enter the water supply and be carried to places far from the explosion, causing many casualties. Spencer Buxton

17. Radiation Exposure • If a person is exposed to a certain amount of radioactive material, they may experience symptoms such as: • Vomiting • Hair loss • Cataracts • Loss of blood cells • Exposure to radiation is in most cases fatal. Spencer Buxton

18. Nuclear Winter • Scientists have proposed a new theory known as “Nuclear Winter” • It states that, if enough bombs detonate around the world, multiple clouds of radioactive material would enter the Earth’s atmosphere and block out most to all sunlight. • This would not only cause a drastic change in climate, but also stop photosynthesis in plants, which would cause a massive extinction (including humans). Spencer Buxton

19. The Race for the Atomic Bomb • In 1938, German scientists discovered uranium fission, which meant making an atomic bomb was becoming a reality. • One year later, World War II began. • The race for the atomic bomb was an extremely important event for the future of planet Earth. Fortunately, the United States was the first country to develop and use the bomb, because if another country had, then today’s world would be completely different. Steven Crawford

20. The Manhattan Project • On December 6, 1941, President Roosevelt donated 2 million dollars towards the creation of the atomic bomb. • Years later, General Leslie Groves was put in charge of the Manhattan Project, who assigned Robert Oppenheimer to coordinate it. • On July 16, 1945, the nuclear bomb was successfully tested at the Trinity test site, with an explosion equivalent to 15 kilotons tons of TNT. Steven Crawford

21. The Use of the Bombs • The uranium-based bomb called Little Boy exploded over Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, killing around 100,000 people. • Three days later, the plutonium-based bomb called Fat Man exploded over Nagasaki, Japan, killing around 75,000 people. • Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. Steven Crawford

22. Countries With Nukes • There are five countries with globally recognized nuclear arsenals: the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France. These countries are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. • Three countries who have successfully detonated nuclear bombs but are not part of the NNPT are North Korea, Pakistan, and India. • Israel is highly suspected to have nuclear weapons, although they deny it. Steven Crawford

23. Radiological “Dirty Bomb” A dirty bomb is also known as an RDD which stands for radiological dispersal device. The radioactive material in the bomb is “dispersed” by being combined with conventional modern day explosives, or dynamite. These RDD’s are not as powerful as a nuclear bomb, because their effects max out at a five mile radius. Hunter Hibler http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/dirtybomb/images/chro-199511.jpg

24. Effects of Dirty Bombs Hunter Hibler The dirty bomb generally does not destroy, but rather disrupts. There are only minor effects of radiation on the people, and it depends on how far away they were and how long they were there. The one effect that stands out would be the costly clean up to follow an explosion.

25. Hydrogen/Atomic Bombs Hydrogen Bomb Atomic Bomb Both Nuclear fission- uranium 235 or plutonium 239 are split to form a chain reaction. A-Bomb Nuclear Fusion amongst hydrogen isotopes into the formation of helium nuclei. H-Bomb Create enormous reaction of power, heat, and radiation. Hunter Hibler http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1201/Morrissey/Morrissey03.jpg http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t039/T039873A.jpg

26. Hunter Hibler http://universe-review.ca/I14-06-abomb.jpg

27. http://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/Picturesc/hydrogenbomb.jpghttp://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/Picturesc/hydrogenbomb.jpg Hunter Hibler

28. Fusion • Nuclear fusion is the joining (or fusing) of the nuclei of two atoms to form a single heavier atom. • Nuclear fusion occurs at extremely high temperatures between the isotopes of hydrogen which make a helium atom. • Energy in the form of heat is released. Sam James

29. Fusion and the Sun • The sun produces energy by fusion. • It takes small amounts of the hydrogen isotope to create large amounts of energy. • The sun is able to produce so much energy because the nuclei are forced together from the sun’s internal temperatures that reach about 40 million degrees at the center. Sam James

30. Sun’s Fusion Sam James

31. Aftermath • People receive many types of radiation • The explosion causes temperature to rise greatly and create a big ball of heat and radiation • Fallout is an explosion in the atmosphere also causes a shock wave of compressed air that travels at about one-half mile in two seconds. This causes over-pressure. Sam James

32. Aftermath • Damage is caused from the thermal radiation to buildings, people and, animals • People are killed or injured by 3 problems: over-pressure, building collapse, and radiation all caused by the explosion of a nuclear bomb Sam James

33. To Sum it Up… • There are two main types of nuclear weapons • Atomic Bombs (fission) • Hydrogen Bombs (fusion) • Atomic bombs are very destructive to the world vs. dirty bombs which just cause commotion and a mess • There are other countries with nuclear weapons. Maddie Gray

34. Any Questions?... Maddie Gray