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Introduction
Types of nuclear weapons
The effects of nuclear weapons
Conclusion
Glossary
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Nuclear weapons have been a major problem in our society. They were brought about by the need of bigger and more destructive weapons during war. Well, human beings have created the biggest and most destructive weapon to this date. These weapons destroy by disrupting the natural balance of certain atoms, resulting in a massive surge of energy. This surge of energy is strong enough to destroy cities, states and life as we know it. |
Types of nuclear weapons:
There are two main categories
of nuclear weapons. They are pure fission weapons and combined fission/fusion
weapons. Pure fission weapons use only fission as
a source of energy. These weapons are based on a rapid assembly of critical
material (molecules) to cause a surge of energy. The more common nuclear
weapons are combined fission/fusion weapons. These weapons rely on fusion
reactions for their outward surge of energy. However to start the fusion
reaction, a fission reaction must occur first. So in actuality the bomb
is a fission bomb, but not pure fission, for it uses fusion to enhance
it. Combined fission/fusion weapons can be divided into more specific categories:
Boosted Fission Weapons, Staged Radiation Implosion Weapons, Alarm Clock/Sloika
Design, Neutron bombs, and Cobalt bombs.
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- Boosted Fission Weapons - when the core of this bomb undergoes enough fission, it is hot enough to ignite an outside fusion reaction. The fusion reaction produces an intense burst of high-energy neutrons, which in turn causes an intense burst of fusion back in the core. By applying a burst of fusion in the core, the initial fission reaction react with more material (molecules) before they are all blown apart. The final end result is an increase in a bomb's yield by 100 percent (double the regular effect of the bomb).
- Staged Radiation Implosion Weapons - these weapons use fusion reactions of light elements to remove yield limits of fission and boosted design weapons, reduce the weight of the bomb, and reduce the cost to build the bomb. Also the fission reaction of the bomb is physically separate from the fusion fuel. The fusion fuel is ignited by X-rays emitted from the fission reaction, instead of direct contact and heat.
- Alarm Clock/Sloika Design - a spherical design with layers of fission and fusion reactions. The center of the bomb is a fission reaction that ignites an outer fusion layer and the implosion can ignite another layer. This form is inefficient on fuel and only increases the yield by a max of 20 percent.
- Neutron Bombs - also called thermonuclear weapons where a burst of neutrons generated by fusion is allowed to escape the weapon. The release of high-energy neutron is the destructive part of the bomb. Neutrons are more penetrating than other types of radiation.
- Cobalt bombs - these weapons are the same as Staged Radiation Implosion Weapons, except the physical material that separates the fission and fusion reactions is not fissionable. This allows escaping neutrons to be captured to create a radioactive isotope that maximizes fallout. The best radioactive isotope known for this is Cobalt (Co-60), hence the name.
The effects of nuclear weapons:
There are many effects of nuclear
weapons. Some are immediate and some are long term. The more dangerous
ones are the long term effects for they not only effect the recipients
of the bombing, but the whole world too. Immediate effects consist of thermal
radiation, blast wave, and radiation. Thermal radiation causes exposed
surfaces to be damaged by rapid heating. A blast wave deposits energy into
everything it passes through, including air. This energy is strong enough
to break apart solid materials such as glass, brick and steel. A blast
wave is also a shock wave faster than the speed of sound, that causes an
instantaneous jump in pressure.
Long term effects consist of
radioactive contamination, depletion of the ozone layer and a nuclear winter.
- Radioactive contamination is when there are radioactive material left, after a nuclear bomb explodes, with al long half-life. The radioactive material are most hazardous when they settle to the ground as fallout. The closer to the ground the nuclear explosion occurs, the faster fallout becomes. This material can be carried downwind thousands of kilometers away, as a result spreading the radiation.
- Depletion of the ozone layer is caused by deposits of nitrogen oxides (same as car exhaust) into the stratosphere. High temperatures of a nuclear fireball, followed by rapid expansion and cooling causes large amounts of nitrogen oxides to form. The rising fireball of a high range warhead, will carry the nitrogen oxides well into the stratosphere, where they can reach the ozone layer.
- Nuclear winter is when all light is blocked off from the world as a result of nuclear bombing. Widespread bombing and burning of cities and petroleum, produce large amounts of soot that is kicked up into the atmosphere. Soot is very efficient in absorbing light and is very hard to settle or wash out. Since soot is so hard to settle, continuous rising of it can spread across the world and block off all light. Such absorption of light can cause immediate drops in temperature of 10 to 30 degrees Celsius, with a result of freezing the Earth.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, nuclear weapons
can cause a great deal of damage to life on Earth. There are some effect
that we are able to survive and some that are catastrophic. Only those
organisms that are able to survive in extreme environments can have a chance
for survival. Nuclear weapons can practically destroy the Earth.