Atomic+Bomb-P5



Lily

=The Atomic Bomb=

“I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed.” - Albert Einstein The atomic bomb, a destructive and powerful weapon. Where did it start? Do we still use it today? How does it work?

Making of the Atomic Bomb
Code-named the Manhattan project, government officials wanted a weapon so powerful it would end the war with Japan and the United States, it became the atomic bomb in the end.

How It Works
Atoms, mainly made of plutonium and uranium are split. When these atoms split a burst of energy occurs. This energy is mainly composed of thermal or gamma rays, which causes a chain reaction from one atom to the next. These chain reactions cause an implosion, and implosion is where it bursts inwards instead of explosion which is outward. The implosion causes fissionable material to compress to a smaller size which gives a greater density. This implosion of the atom is equivalent to 17 kilotons of TNT.

Fissionable- being able to split into parts.

The First Atomic Bomb Tested
The first atomic bomb they tested was located in United States far south of Albuquerque, Nevada. For this atom bomb plutonium was used. It was successfully tested in the desert on July 16, 1945. Doing this was said to result in the desert sand turning into glass.

The First Atomic Bomb Used in Warfare
It was World War II, and as stated before the United States wanted a quick way to end their fighting with Japan. They got what they wanted but they didn't know what the result would be after they dropped it. The atom they used this time was uranium; they dropped the bomb on August 6th, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan. What the damage equaled was 15,000 tons of TNT and 66,000 were immediately killed. 69,000 were injured and 67% of the buildings in Hiroshima, Japan were either damaged or destroyed.

The Second Atomic Bomb in Warfare
Even after killing and injuring about 81,000 of Japan's people, the Japanese forces wouldn't give up. This resulted in the dropping of a second atomic bomb in Nagasaki, Japan on August 9th, 1945. Devastatingly it killed or injured 64,000 people, and destroyed or damaged 40% of the buildings. This force from splitting the atom of plutonium was equal to 21,000 tons of TNT.

The Atomic Bomb and Today
Nowadays the atomic bomb has advanced weaponry. An example of this is the Hydrogen Bomb, which is what we use instead of an atomic bomb today. Also, it encouraged the more detailed research of atoms, as in discovering quarks.

=Bibliography= "Atomic Bomb." __Britannica__. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9010127/atomic-bomb "Albert Einstein Quotes." __ThinkExist__. http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i_do_not_believe_that_civilization_will_be_wiped/222805.html Sherrow, Victoria. __Making of the Atomic Bomb__. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2006.