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Nuclear Weapons
This category is for questions about weapons that use nuclear fission or fusion to gain explosive power.
3,869 Questions
Why America used atom bomb in World War 2?
Because Japan had attacked U.S. territory, destroyed U.S. Navy ships, killed U.S. military personnel, attempted to take over all of the Pacific Islands, and when the Japanese military was obviously loosing the war they refused to surrender. They wanted to keep their military together so that they could make another run on the Pacific, and they wanted the Emperor of Japan to remain in power. After the Japanese military had been driven back to Japan and Japan was completely surrounded, the Japanese people were starving and lacking in many basic necessities, but the Emperor refused to surrender and believed that further military action would result in a better outcome for Japan. They were continuing to fight in hopes of better "terms", but the U.S. and other Allies demanded that Japan surrender unconditionally after their agression in the Pacific. It was estimated that 750,000 U.S. and other Allied military personnel would die if Japan was invaded. And that was before more of the Japanese military was moved to the proposed landing area. Conventional bombing of Japan caused incredible fires and loss of life. The atomic bombs used on Japan were the only way to quickly end the war and save lives of Allied personnel. It was understood that if the public ever found out that the U.S. had such a weapon and didn't use it and subsequently 750,000 to perhaps over 1,000,000 U.S. soldiers died, the U.S. population would be outraged, and justifiably so. People today often think that they can see a better outcome to the war with Japan. Unfortunately there were no good options, just options that weren't as bad as others. It was a terrible time and the U.S. and the other Allies just wanted it to end so that life could get back to normal... whatever that is.
What's more dangerous nukes or atomic bomb?
Both bombs use nuclear reaction, the hydrogen bomb is more powerful because it uses the most abundant substance in the universe.
Why does the treat of the atom bomb not see so bad at the beginning of the video?
because they used animations and songs
What is the term used by survivors of atomic bombing of hiroshima to descibe nuclear fallout?
Se e atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki black rain is the answer to 21 down weekend telegraph general knowledge crossword.
Why does President Truman authorize work on the Hydrogen bomb?
The Soviet Union was working on nuclear weapons and a weapons race begun. They were terrified of each other.
What were the atomic bombs called in hiroshima?
Two nuclear weapons were used by the US against Japanese cities at the end of World War 2 :
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM Tokyo time, a B-29 bomber, the "Enola Gay", piloted by Paul W. Tibbets, dropped a uranium atomic bomb, code named "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan's seventh largest city. In the blast, thousands died instantly. The city was unbelievably devastated. In the aftermath, a firestorm of winds followed the blast as air was drawn back to the center of the burning area. Winds of over 40 mph uprooted large trees around the city.
Nagasaki
That same day, August 6, the only other A-bomb on the planet was assembled at Tinian Island. Confusion among the Japanese leadership meant that despite the destruction of Hiroshima, no surrender agreement was reached. On August 8, Field Order No.17 issued from the 20th Air Force Headquarters on Guam called for its use the following day on either Kokura, the primary target, or Nagasaki, the secondary target.
On August 9, another B-29 bomber, "Bockscar", piloted by Col. Charles Sweeney, reached the sky over Kokura, but the city was obscured from view. The plane turned toward Nagasaki.
Nagasaki was an industrialized city with a natural harbor in Western Kyushu, Japan. At 11:02 a.m., this bomb, a plutonium bomb known as "Fat Man" , exploded over the north factory district at 1,800 feet above the city, an airburst like Hiroshima to achieve maximum blast effect. The hills around Nagasaki spared most of the city from the worst effects of the blast, which still did incredible damage. Flash burns from primary heat waves caused most of the casualties to inhabitants. Others were burned when their homes burst into flame. Flying debris caused many injuries. The bomb took the lives of 42,000 persons and injured 40,000 more. It destroyed 39 percent of all the buildings standing in Nagasaki. According to U.S. estimates, 40,000 people were killed or missing as a result of the second bomb.
When did the Soviets test their first hydrogen bomb?
The only nuclear weapons ever used in war were the "Little Boy" a single stage 80% enriched uranium fission gun bomb and "Fat Man" a single-stage plutonium fission implosion bomb dropped by the USA on Japan at the end of WWII. A "hydrogen bomb" uses that same first plutonium and/or uranium fission explosion to then trigger hydrogen fusion, for 1000 times as powerful an explosion.
They were first tested on Nov 1, 1952 at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific. There has never been a hydrogen bomb used in war.
Nuclear warheads are pretty flexible, and can be set to detonate in several ways, and in all mediums:
1. Underwater (e.g., ASROC)
2. Atmospheric (high altitude (EMP burst) or low altitude air burst over target
3. Contact / Terminal coordinates (e.g., GPS) detonation on land or at sea
4. Underground penetration and detonation
5. Timer set on device placed in any location
First Soviet Union hydrogen bomb test?
The first Soviet thermonuclear detonation took place on August 12, 1953 at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in the Khazak SSR (now Khazakstan). It was designated Joe-4 in the United States.
The warhead was designated RDS-6 (Reaktivnyi Dvigatel Specialnyi-6), and featured a yield of 400 kilotons (15-20% fusion yield, the rest was fission boosted by fast neutrons). The warhead design utilized a single-stage "layer cake" or Sloika design, so was incapable of being scaled up to a larger weapon like a Teller-Ullam style warhead would be.
How fast does a nuclear missile goes?
Missiles travel at different speed depending on purpose . An average Tomahawk cruise missile will travel at about 550 mph- but in that case stealth and accuracy are paramount to speed. -Common anti aircraft missiles like Sidewinder travel about 2,100 mph above launch speed. The latest ASRAAM, as used by Australian and Royal Air Forces flies at about 2,800 above launch speed. Russia is reputed to have developed a ground based AAM that can fly over 10,000 mph
Who was in charge of japan during World War 2 when a nuclear bomb dropped on Japan?
i think it was Hirohito (and it was two bombs)
Which computer was used to design the first H-Bomb?
ENIAC was first used in calculations for the hydrogen bomb
The USA Were The First People To Develop The 'H' Bomb And USSR (russia) Were The People Who Developed The Atom Bomb... x
Who flew the first plane that droped the nuke?
The name of the pilot who flew the first plane to drop an atomic bomb is Colonel Paul Tibbets. He was the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb.
Which is more powerful an atomic bomb or a nuclear bomb?
They are the same kind of bomb: bombs that derive their energy from the atomic nucleus. It just depends on design and how much of the design yield is from fission or from fusion. Pure fission bombs cannot be built with yields above 1 megaton, but including some fusion the theoretical yield is unlimited.
However considering mission, construction costs, size limits, etc. it is usually more practical to build low yield bombs that are part fission part fusion than to try to build high yield bombs of either type.
The lowest yield nuclear bomb tested was the US Davy Crocket at 10 tons yield, the highest yield nuclear bomb tested was the USSR Tsar Bomba at 52 to 58 megatons yield (depending on method of measurement). Both were part fission part fusion designs, although the designs were obviously very different: the Davy Crocket was almost entirely fission yield, the Tsar Bomba was over 95% fusion yield and generated the least fallout per kiloton yield of any nuclear bomb detonated in the atmosphere.
Why did scientists Albert Einstein and J Robert oppose development of a hydrogen bomb?
He thought it was immoral to use it. Quotes from Einstein about the bomb:
"We must not condemn man because his inventiveness and patient conquest of the forces of nature are exploited for false and destructive purposes.
"The line of demarcation doesn't lie between scientists and non-scientists; it lies between responsible, honest people, and the others.
"In our time, scientists and engineers carry a particularly heavy burden of moral responsibility, because the development of military means of mass destruction is dependent on their work.
"When men are engaged in war and conquest, the tools of science become as dangerous as a razor in the hands of a child."
How is the atomic bomb deadlier than the conventional bomb?
Conventional bombs use conventional explosives or incendiary materials, e.g. TNT, RDX, C-4, Semtex, Magnesium, Napalm. They cause localised damage with fairly consistent and predictable effects. They are usually cheap and leave little ongoing damage once detonated.
Nuclear bombs use the power of either nuclear fission or nuclear fusion or both. The result is enormous amounts of energy released in microseconds, with wholesale destruction over a large area, and leave radioactive fallout all around.
When did you drop 2 nuclear bombs?
When the Americans dropped the first bomb, the Japanese wasnt intimidated into submission. However, then the U.S.S.R declared war on Japan as agreed in the Yalta Conference. Faced with a two front war, the Japanese government realised that they simply could not continue the war. On the 15 August 1945, the Japanese Government surrendered.
Gerald Ford
How did the us prepare for a nuclear war in the 1950s?
- Duck and cover
- Building public fallout shelters
- Civl Defense alert system
Is there any possibility that a nuclear war will ever happen?
I'm not sure but heres a good quote from Albert Einstein that pretty much sums up the situation.
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones"
Why didn't the us use nuclear weapons during the Vietnam war?
Because while we were supporting the south, the north were supported by the USSR, who also had nuclear missiles, and we didn't want to start a nuclear holocaust
When was the first nuclear bomb discovered?
- In 1896 Becquerel discovered the phenomenon of natural radioactivity.
- In 1933 Szilard in London invented the concept of nuclear chain reactions, necessary for both bombs and reactors. However no material was known that could support this reaction.
- In 1934 Szilard patented the concept of the chain reaction, including claims covering both atomic bombs and atomic reactors.
- In 1936 Szilard signed his patent over to the British Admiralty, to keep it out of the hands of Nazi Germany. It became a classified secret.
- In 1938 Otto Frisch, in Berlin discovered the phenomenonof nuclear fission in Uranium-235. This provided a material that finally made Szilard's patent practical.
- In 1942 the US began the Manhattan Project, with the goal of beating the Germans to the bomb.
- In 1945, the first 3 atomic bombs were detonated, one in New Mexico as a test and two over Japan in combat.
Total time span 1896 to 1945 = 49 years.
How did atom bombs change everyday lives?
It changed America in several ways- first, it ended WW 2. The end of the war found the US as the largest, most powerful undamaged nation in the world- and the only nation (for a few years) to possess atomic weapons. The US became the first "superpower" in the world. However, rather than use that unequaled power to rule the rest of the world, the US formed the United Nations, and spent the next several years helping rebuild countries that had been devastated by WW 2, including their former enemies- Japan, Germany, and Italy. It was also a peak time of economic prosperity for the US- the wartime production systems for military equipment was converted to peacetime production of civilian goods.
