Nuclear Weapons

1. Nuclear Weapons By Whitney, John, and Matthew

2. What is a nuclear weapon? • A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that acquires its destruction force from nuclear reactions.

3. What are the main 2 types of nuclear weapons? • although there are many different types of nuclear weapons, they can be categorized into two groups , fission and fusion

4. Type 1: Fission bombs • Fission bombs gain power when a neutron collides with an atoms nucleus, splitting the atom into 2 smaller atoms and releasing a large amount of energy. • This type of bomb is very inefficient, but was the first type used. • The most common types are the Gun-type assembly method and the implosion assembly method. • Most known fission bombs were the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

5. Sample of a fusion reaction

6. Type 2: fusion bombs • Fusion bombs work when the nuclei of 2 atoms combine to make a single heavier atom. This can happen at extremely high temperatures, and is normally used with the hydrogen ions of deuterium and tritium, which fuse together and release extremely large amounts of energy. • Most known Fusion bomb ever dropped was the Tsar Bomba, which was the biggest nuclear device ever dropped.

7. Sample of a fusion reaction

8. What was the most powerful Nuclear weapon ever detonated? • The most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated was the soviet made tsar bomba. • The explosion was equivalent to 58 megatons of tnt. (1570 times as powerful as the weapon dropped on Nagasaki. Mushroom cloud was taller than 7 Mount Everest's ( 40 miles high)

10. How are nuclear weapons made? Where do they get the purified elements they need and where are those elements found? Plutonium, a man-mad element, was used to create the first nuclear explosion When uranium-238 absorbs a neutron it becomes plutonium-239 The neutrons speed needs to be slowed down with pure graphite or heavy water in order to be absorbed by the uranium

11. In what ways can these nuclear weapons be delivered? • The first method to deliver nuclear weapons was to drop the bomb above its target. It was more improvised than a reliable method • More accurate ways to deliver nuclear weapons are ballistic and cruise missiles • Ballistic missiles- launched from submarines or land-based silos • Cruise missile- shorter rangers and smaller warheads than ballistic missiles

12. What countries are currently know to possess nuclear weapons? • The nines countries that currently possess nuclear weapons are Russia, the United States, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, and North Korea.

13. Nuclear Weapons in Warfare • Infamously used in bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to force Japanese surrender in WWII (August 6/August 9, 1945) • After the war the Soviet Union and the United States began stockpiling nuclear weapons trying gain power over the other • October 16-19, 1962 Soviet Union sends missiles to Cuba • Stopped by US blockade and brings the two countries to the brink of nuclear war • Nuclear weapons on soviet submarines • United States, North Korea, India, China, Pakistan, France, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union have all tested nuclear weapons

14. Nike Missile Sites

15. Protection against Nuclear Warfare • Anti-missile defense system • Hit the plane before it drops its bomb • Example: Project Nike • Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is an international treaty that prevents the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually complete disarmament

16. First word that comes to mind when you think of nuclear weapons….