NUCLEAR WEAPONS |
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There are four types of nuclear weapons hydrogen bombs, ballistic missiles, atomic bombs, and neutron bombs. I will tell you about two types. The two weapons I will talk about are the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb. The atomic bomb is a fission weapon. The core of an atomic bomb is like a nuclear reactor. The center core contains a sphere of uranium, and when the detonator shoots a small neutron into this sphere it starts nuclear fission. The explosion of one atomic bomb is equal to the explosion of thousands of tons of TNT.
The more powerful hydrogen bomb needs an atomic bomb to get it started. The explosive outer shell of a hydrogen bomb depletes the uranium trigger causing a very high temperature. This high temperature is needed to fuse the nuclei of the two fuels, tritium and deuterium. The fusion of these two fuels creates an explosion equal to 1 million tons of TNT.
If the world went into a nuclear war not only would cities be reduced to ruins, the land would be covered with lethal amounts or radiation. The only safe place to be would be deep underground. People that survived the explosion would catch radiation sickness. For many generations after a nuclear explosion newborn babies would have bizarre birth defects because of their parent’s contamination with radioactivity. For these reasons our president is making treaties with the worlds powers to cut back on the production of weapons of mass destruction.
