Bombs and Explosive Materials

Okay, you asked. A neutron bomb is a weapon designed and constructed specifically to deliver a large(r) dose of radiation over a broad area to increase the lethality of the weapon without an increase in blast damage. Be clear that there will be A LOT of blast damage; it's a nuclear weapon. But the bomb is designed and constructed to produce more radiation. It's called a neutron bomb for the reason that there is a gross generation of "extra" neutrons. Because neutrons have no charge, they penetrate matter better than a hot knife through butter. Neutrons only minimally react with electrons (once in a very great while a neutron will slam into one), so that leaves collision with an atomic nucleus as their primary means of slowing down. The collisions (skip all the scattering and recoil stuff) directly ionize materials and/or create radiation which will in turn ionize stuff. The neutrons do direct damage to things when colliding, but the secondary effects do a tremendous amount of damage, too. Organic molecules (the stuff people are mostly made out of) take heavy damage from the effects of ionizing radiation. The radiation breaks the covalent bonds of biochemical substances (that make up living things) in a wholesale manner. Radiation is the bull in the china shop. The bomb is actually a fission fusion device. There is a primary stage in which a conventional chemical explosive is set off. The specially shaped charges (explosive lenses) are placed precisely around the fissionable material to drive it together. The shock wave compresses the heck out of the subcritical masses of, say, plutonium-239. Begin secondary stage: the fission of the plutonium. The fissile material goes critical. The chain of fission, neutron release and further fissions becomes self sustaining. But hold the phone. Everything is still moving "in" here. Recall the explosive lenses? The chain goes instantly through criticality to supercriticality. Neutron production goes through the roof and the nuclear burn is ramped up. Something like deuterium is added to the center, and when the fission stage lights up, the heat initiates a tertiary stage that is fusion. Neutron flux is extremely high, but materials have been selected for composition and given a geometry (contour) to allow a whole bunch of the neutrons to escape instead of building the chain further. That makes for the "enhanced radiation" part of the "enhanced radiation weapon" as the bomb is sometimes called. There is a blast like you have never seen. (Again, it's a nuc; there will be a lot of blast damage.) But radiation production is maximized. The extra radiation is designed to slam through things like tank armor. Kill or disable the crew and you've put the tank out of action. And this radiation is very lethal to tank crews that may think they've survived the blast because of the armor of the vehicle. The lethality of the weapon to those buttoned up inside a tank was the primary thinking behind development of the bomb. Back in the day, the USSR had NATO way outgunned in the tank department. The number disadvantage was severe. We needed an edge. But times have changed. The weapons have been stricken from the US inventory and are (probably) no longer a part of strategic planning.

Hydrogen Bombs, Commonly reffered to as H-Bomb's are Thermonuclear bombs. Thermo because it requires very intense heat to cause a reaction in which the bomb explodes violently. These bombs are stronger than the one used on Hiroshima. Basically a hydrogen bomb is mean't to cause a lot of damage. It would completely ibliterate anything within 1 mile, Within 2 minutes heavy particles of radiation would be falling to the ground with 1 - 2 miles. Within 10 miles you would have 30 minutes to prepare for the radiation by going into basements and taping up windows with duct tape and any other holes in the house. Fallout shelters are designed for scenarios like this. Anyways, Hope I helped.

Bombs do not inherently contain toxic substances, but depending on the materials used to create the bomb, there may be toxic chemicals released upon explosion. These chemicals can pose significant health risks to individuals in the vicinity of the explosion or to those involved in cleanup and disposal efforts.

Smoke bombs can be harmful to the environment as they release chemicals and toxins into the air and surrounding area. The chemicals in smoke bombs can contribute to air pollution and may have negative effects on plant and animal life. It's important to use smoke bombs responsibly and properly dispose of them to minimize their environmental impact.

A dust explosion occurs when a flammable substance in powder form suspended in the air ignites and burns rapidly. When a substance is pulverized, the surface area that is directly exposed to the air increases dramatically. This large surface area allows the combustion reaction to occur much more rapdily than would normally be possible, causing an explosion. Substances that can produce dust explosions include sawdust, grain dust, coal dust, starch, flour, and even some metals.

This looks like a 7th grade homework problem...

9.75 dollar/meter * 12.35 meters = $120.41

Gunpowder is considered one of the earliest explosives and was invented in ancient China around the 9th century. Its exact inventor is unknown, but it is believed to have been discovered by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality.

The hydrogen bomb was first successfully tested in 1952 by the United States.

A hydrogen bomb is approximately 4.87 times more powerful than an atom bomb. What makes these bombs so powerful is that hydrogen is an extremely inflammable and explosive gas. When the bomb is released, the special coating used on its shell captures tons of friction, which heats the bomb. Then the detonator button is pressed, and the bomb blows up. Also, if the bomb comes in contact with the ground, before the button is pressed, then the heat absorbed by the bomb will set fire to the hydrogen inside and blow the bomb up.

In July 1999, India officially announced that it had successfully mastered the technology to develop a neutron bomb.

When anything sufficiently heavy presses down on a raised trigger (or plate), it sets off a chemical or electrical trigger, and the buried explosive detonates. Some mines explode when the trigger is depressed, while others explode when the weight is removed again.

The term "mine" comes from when miners would tunnel beneath fixed enemy positions and set off large quantities of explosives under them.

Metals in general were not discovered by scientists. No-one knows who discovered the first piece of metal. It may have been part of a meteor which fell to earth, or it may have been found in the remains of a very hot camp fire, or it may have been simply found as a nugget lying on the ground. Either way, it was almost certainly in pre-historic times. On the periodic table of elements, some metals we know today are single elements, such as aluminium, iron, tungsten, or titanium. Other metals are combinations of elements, such as steel (iron + carbon), bronze (copper + tin), etc. More than 2 or 3 scientists have worked on the periodic table of elements over the years. Some of the more exotic metallic elements (such as radium) have been discovered by individual scientists (Madam Curie in that case).

Dynamite can be misused for illegal activities such as terrorism, sabotage, and illegal mining. Improper handling or storage of dynamite can also lead to accidents causing injuries or fatalities. Environmental damage can occur if dynamite is used irresponsibly, such as in illegal fishing practices or wildlife poaching.

Yes, the first was detonated by the U.S. in 1952.Codename Mike as part of Operation Ivy, it had a yield of 10.4 megatons(450 times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Nagasaki)and was detonated at Eniwetok atoll in the Marshall islands.

One gram of hydrogen bomb material can release the explosive energy equivalent to about 20,000 tons of TNT.

Ash, cinders and bombs only come from explosive eruptions because quiet eruptions really only spew thin lava, not thick and sticky lava like explosive ones. The thick lava can get caught inside the pipe leading to the vent, which can cause more and more pressure to build up. When the volcano's side gives in, or when the lava finally gets to the vent, it ends up exploding, making ash, cinders and bombs.

The most powerful hydrogen bomb ever built had a 50 megaton yield (USSR "Tsar Bomba" 1961), the most powerful hydrogen bomb ever built by the U.S. had a 20 megaton yield ("dirty" high yield warhead for the Titan ICBM, only tested in reduced yield 9 megaton "clean" version).

The typical hydrogen bomb in stockpile today is only about 100 kiloton to 300 kiloton as it had been demonstrated that yields higher than this really have little practical military value and actually produce less damage than lower total yield in multiple weapons detonated at multiple locations across the target area.

Ethanol, due to it's inherent properties as a fuel. Brazil produces alot of Ethanol and is about to become energy independent because of it. But check this out: Crops such as corn, Sugar cane, beets, etc.. are converted to alcohol. In the case of corn to ethanol, it is energy negative. It takes 71% more energy to produce ethanol than is obtained from the ethanol. Also, using grain such as corn for fuel precludes it from being used as food for humans or livestock. It is also hard on the land. In United States corn production, soil erodes some 20-times faster than soil is formed. Ethanol has less energy per volume than does gasoline, so more gasoline has to be purchased to make up the difference. Also, ethanol is not environmentally friendly, as advocates would like to believe. Pimentel (1998) states: "Ethanol produces less carbon monoxide than gasoline, but it produces just as much nitrous oxides as gasoline. In addition, ethanol adds aldehydes and alcohol to the atmosphere, all of which are carcinogenic. When all air pollutants associated with the entire ethanol system are measured, ethanol production is found to contribute to major air pollution problems." With a lower energy density than gasoline, and adding the petroleum energy used to plow, plant, cultivate, and transport the corn for ethanol production, ethanol does not save gasoline nor does it's use reduce atmospheric pollution. A comprehensive study of converting biomass to liquid fuels by Giampietro and others (1997) concludes: "Large-scale biofuel production is not an alternative to the current use of oil, and is not even an advisable option to cover a significant fraction of it." Solar Energy is the only way to fly ;-)

Sounds like a description of a Molotov cocktail.

A dirty bomb is an explosive device designed to eject or spray radioactive material over a small area. It does not produce mass amounts of fallout compared to a traditional nuclear device, since there is no fission involved. A conventional explosive such as those used on Oklahoma City, Beirut or the first World Trade Center attack, if packed with powdered or pelleted radioactive material (strontium, plutonium, etc.) would eject that material into buildings, parks, streets and people in the surrounding area. While the immediate death count would be low, many people would suffer from radiation sickness. Cleanup would be massively expensive and time-consuming. An area of several square miles would likely be uninhabitable for years.

Potential terrorists would buy the material on the black market from sources such as former Soviet Union countries, North Korea or the Middle East. Getting it refined in secret would be somewhat difficult. Transporting it to the target area would also be hard but not impossible.

*** I agree with the first part of the above answer, however anyone who is even fairly determined can get radioactive material. it is found is some medical equiptment, and other sources. The radio active material can be put in a regular pipe, or car bomb. If exploded in a populated area it would spread the radioactive materiel over a large area. Large numbers of people would have increased rates of cancer and other radation sicknesses. Other people would likely be injured by the direct blast and first responders would be in danger when going into rescue the wounded. The history (discovery, one of them) did a show on what would happen if a terrorist attacked with either a dirty bomb or a full atomic bomb. They did a good job and it is worth watching.

No, it was actually the heat from the fires that weakened the steel in the structures. The resulting "pancake" collapse was a result of the same thing that happens when you knock over a row of dominoes - the failure of the floor where the planes hit (due to the above weakened steel supports) caused it to fall directly down on the floor below, which could not withstand such an impact, and it failed, hitting the floor below, etc.

Yes, making a bomb threat, even as a joke, is a serious offense that can lead to legal consequences. Authorities treat such threats as credible until proven otherwise, and individuals making them can face criminal charges, fines, and potential jail time. It is important to take the implications and consequences of making such threats seriously.