Atomic Bomb, it’s Physics and Politics
“Mankind invented the atomic bomb, but no mouse would ever construct a mousetrap.” — -Albert Einstein.
Atomic Bomb is a nuclear weapon that produces immense destructive energy through nuclear reactions. After the first encounter of its power in WW2, it has become a benchmark of the military strength of any country. A powerful atomic weapon can whitewash the entire human race in a blink of an eye. So, today we will talk about its principles and history. Based on nuclear reactions, atomic bombs are produced in two ways — (a) fission bombs (Atom Bombs) that are produced by fission alone, and (b) thermonuclear bombs (Hydrogen Bombs) that use fission to ignite fusion.
So, Let’s dive into its deep physics.
❖ Fission Bombs: -
As the name suggests, it creates energy through the nuclear fission process. I had discussed nuclear fission in my last article (link). However, in brief, when neutrons bombard an isotope of Uranium or Plutonium (or other heavy elements), massive amounts of energy with some neutrons are produced, further shooting other isotopes to continue the chain. The main difference between a nuclear reactor and a fission bomb is that inside a nuclear reactor, there are control rods to restrict the chain reaction carefully. However, there are no such rods in the case of a Bomb. That’s why an exponential growth in the number of fissions is observed. The minimum amount of fuel material used to sustain the chain reaction is called the Critical mass. One of the most straightforward weapon designs for fission bombs is the fission gun-assembly device, where an explosive propellant is used to fire one subcritical mass down a “gun barrel” into another subcritical mass. Gun-assembly weapons are generally constructed with highly enriched uranium atoms (mostly U-235). Since it’s a pretty slow assembly method, plutonium will not be a good choice.
A fission bomb can derive energy almost of 20K tons of TNT.
❖ Thermonuclear bombs: -
Nuclear fusion fuses two nuclei of two atoms and forms a single comparatively heavier core. Because of the electrostatic repulsive force between the two nuclei, it takes exceptionally high temperatures (millions of degrees) to fuse them. In return, a massive amount of energy is produced. Nuclear fission is performed to create such an extreme environment, and the produced energy is utilized for fusion. In this temperature range, the nuclei of isotopes of hydrogen combine, and heavier elements like helium are formed with a considerable amount of energy. That’s why it’s called a hydrogen bomb.
The emitted x-rays and gamma rays compress the fusion fuel and heat it to the required temperature in the fission process. The fusion creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons, which further induce material fission. The fission bomb is known as “Primary” and the fusion process as the “Second” stage. Today, most thermonuclear weapons are deployed to use the “Two-stage” design.
A thermonuclear bomb can produce 10millions tons of TNT energy.
❖ Impact of Atomic Bombs: -
What if a nuclear weapon is detonated in the middle of a city where the people are working, playing with their friends and kids, busy in their daily thoughts? Let’s try to picture the impact–
Phase 1: — It will occur within a second. The heart of the nuclear explosion reaches a temperature level equal to the sun’s center. The initial blast creates a massive fireball composed of most explosive energy produced air (shock) and thermal radiation, grows more than 2 Km, and whoever is inside that range will completely be vaporized. First, there will be a flash, and then an intense tsunami of light washes over the city in an instant. The thermal radiation emitted from it will burn everything inside the 13 Km range. So, you are on the way to work, and you are on fire the next moment.
Phase 2: — It occurs in a few seconds. Then come massive shockwaves. With speed faster than sound, these shockwaves create winds stronger than tornadoes in front of which human infrastructure is nothing. About 175 square km of houses will collapse like they are made of cards trapping ten thousand people. A mushroom cloud will be shown from the dust, ashes, and fireball remains. It will cast a dark shadow over the city-destroying more buildings.
Phase 3: — The third phase begins within a few hours or days. Thousands of people will die in the first two phases, and many people will continue to die in the third phase because of serious injuries (lacerations, broken bones, or severe burns). Most hospitals will be levelled with other buildings and doctors, and nurses will be dead or injured. Depending upon the weather and situation, an awful rain will begin with radioactive ash and dust, covering everything and everyone. The people who receive the highest dose of radiation will die. Any communication system will be cut down. There will be no help until the surrounding cities take their risks from the radioactive contamination to rescue the people. Those who survive will face cancers like leukemia.
So, the nuclear explosion is not a hurricane, wildfire, or earthquake but all it once but worse.
Now here comes the question. Why would these scientists, who believed themselves to be members of a peaceful and intellectual society, want to build a weapon for mass destruction? Let’s go back in time and dive into its history and politics to know the answer to this question.
❖ History of Atomic Bomb: -
It all started in 1933 when the Nazis came to power in Germany and started torturing Jews. Many Jewish scientists like Leó Szilárd chose to fly to London. In 1934, Leó Szilárd introduced nuclear chain reaction via neutrons, including the notion of critical mass, and patented it to the British Admiralty. So, academically speaking, he was the father of the atomic Bomb. He then started working on a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi. He also mentioned the neutron inducted chain reaction, but he was unsure about the isotope to use as a fuel. So, he mistakenly took the idea of Beryllium. But in 1939, after discovering the fission of atoms by two German physicists, Szilárd concluded that Uranium would be the best element for the chain reaction.
Meanwhile, the wind of WW2 has started blowing. The scientists realized the possibility of using nuclear weapons using fission techniques. But no one could develop the engineering of it by then. On the other side, none but Albert Einstein signed a letter to U.S. President Roosevelt to make him aware of Germany’s project on nuclear weapons. At the University of California, Glenn Seaborg discovered that irradiated Uranium produces a tiny amount of plutonium which is radioactive and can trigger a chain reaction. In Chicago, Enrico Fermi created the first atomic pile and managed to control the chain reaction of the fission of uranium atoms. In1939, the United States secretly launched the Manhattan Project in collaboration with Canada and the U.K. Top scientists led by J.Robert Oppenheimer were hired with advanced laboratories to create the atomic Bomb before Germany.
On 16th July of 1945, the first successful nuclear test took place in the desert of Mexico. By this point, Germany had already surrendered. Only Japan was still at war. After Japan refused to indulge in battle, the U.S. dropped two bombs on Japan. The first one was in Hiroshima (6th August), and the second was in Nagasaki (9th August). These two bombs caused about 200,000 civilian casualties, and as a result, Japan had to surrender. Russia was not informed or invited for this secret project despite being an allied power. So, they started their nuclear program to catch up to the U.S. They conducted their first nuclear test during the cold war. Each country tried to gain technological superiority. While the U.K. tested their first atomic Bomb, the U.S. tested their first Hydrogen bomb.
So that’s how nuclear weapons entered into the page of human civilization.
Government consoles its citizens that it’s good to have nuclear weapons, but it’s terrible when others get them. So, it’s crucial to threaten others using atomic weapons to save us. But if we think deeply, it only takes a small group of people with power to go crazy or a simple misunderstanding to destroy civilization and its entire achievements.
But we have to think beyond this if we want to live in peace and harmony with others. The only solution is eliminating nuclear weapons. It’s not about who has nuclear weapons and who doesn’t. The nuclear weapons themselves are the problem. They are an existential threat to us. So, no matter what country, religion, or political party we belong to, we have to eliminate them forever.
