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Because of their shapes. In the plutonium bomb the plutonium was in the shape of a sphere and shaped explosive charges were placed around it to drive the sphere into itself and start the nuclear reaction. This configuration gave the bomb a stubby, rounded shape, hence the name Fat Man. In the uranium bomb on the other hand, most of the uranuim was formed into a cylinder with a hole in one end. An additional plug of uranium was fired down a smooth bore cannon barrel into that hole, thus producing critical mass and starting the chain reaction. That bomb looked long and slim in comparison with the other so it was called Little Boy. A third bomb design called Thin Man had been designed using the gun assembly mechanism (like Little Boy used) but with plutonium, it was roughly twice as long as Little Boy and much thinner but the design was found to be unworkable so it was abandoned and work on Fat Man begun to make use of plutonium.

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Related Questions

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