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Atomic Weapons: |
| Atomic weapons are weapons that are based on the concept of utilizing the energy in the nucleus of the atom, as opposed to the utilizing the energy of the outer electrons, as traditional explosives do. The first atomic weapon was tested in Alamagordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. In this plutonium-based weapon, a sample of plutonium the size of a tennis ball, produced about as much energy as 20,000 tons of TNT. Atomic weaponry was first developed in 1942 under the Manhattan Project, which employed such minds as Enrico Fermi and J. Robert Oppenheimer. During,World War II, the U.S. had three bombs. Two were plutonium-based weapons,and one was uranium-based. The two types had two different detonation systems. The uranium bomb, which was detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, was detonated by firing a high velocity sample of uranium into a larger sample. When they melded together, a fission reaction was initiated and the bomb exploded. The bomb tested in Alamagordo and the bomb dropped over Nagasaki on August 9 were of the plutonium variety. Their detonation was more complex than the uranium type. A sphere was lined with explosives designed to direct their energy toward the center of the sphere. In the center was the plutonium core. When the explosives were detonated simultaneously, the energy directed at the core was enough to compress the plutonium sample into a significantly smaller volume, which raised the density enough to make the sample unstable and started a chain reaction in the plutonium core. The atomic weapons used on Japan were undoubtedly the catalyst for the Japanese surrender. However, there are those who argue whether or not the Allies could have won the war without them. While the U.S. military has admitted that it could have been possible to invade the island of Japan using traditional methods, it is estimated that over 2 million Allied troops would have been killed in the attempt. |
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