A). Fission (A-Bomb) & Fusion (H-Bomb)
B). U-235, U-238 and Plutonium
III. The Mechanism of The Bomb
-------------------------
A). Altimeter
B). Air Pressure Detonator
C). Detonating Head(s)
D). Explosive Charge(s)
E). Neutron Deflector
F). Uranium & Plutonium
G). Lead Shield
H). Fuses
IV. The Diagram of The Bomb
-----------------------
A). The Uranium Bomb
B). The Plutonium Bomb
============================================================================
--------------------------------
File courtesy of Outlaw Labs
--------------------------------
I. The History of the Atomic Bomb
------------------------------
On August 2nd 1939, just before the beginning of World War II, Albert
Einstein wrote to then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Einstein and several
other scientists told Roosevelt of efforts in Nazi Germany to purify U-235
with which might in turn be used to build an atomic bomb. It was shortly
thereafter that the United States Government began the serious undertaking
known only then as the Manhattan Project. Simply put, the Manhattan Project
was committed to expedient research and production that would produce a viable
atomic bomb.
The most complicated issue to be addressed was the production of ample
amounts of `enriched' uranium to sustain a chain reaction. At the time,
Uranium-235 was very hard to extract. In fact, the ratio of conversion from
Uranium ore to Uranium metal is 500:1. An additional drawback is that the 1
part of Uranium that is finally refined from the ore consists of over 99%
Uranium-238, which is practically useless for an atomic bomb. To make it even
more difficult, U-235 and U-238 are precisely similar in their chemical
makeup. This proved to be as much of a challenge as separating a solution of
sucrose from a solution of glucose. No ordinary chemical extraction could
separate the two isotopes. Only mechanical methods could effectively separate
U-235 from U-238. Several scientists at Columbia University managed to solve
this dilemma.
A massive enrichment laboratory/plant was constructed at Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. H.C. Urey, along with his associates and colleagues at Columbia
University, devised a system that worked on the principle of gaseous
diffusion. Following this process, Ernest O. Lawrence (inventor of the
Cyclotron) at the University of California in Berkeley implemented a process
involving magnetic separation of the two isotopes.
Following the first two processes, a gas centrifuge was used to further
separate the lighter U-235 from the heavier non-fissionable U-238 by their
mass. Once all of these procedures had been completed, all that needed to be
done was to put to the test the entire concept behind atomic fission. [For
more information on these procedures of refining Uranium, see Section 3.]
Over the course of six years, ranging from 1939 to 1945, more than 2
billion dollars were spent on the Manhattan Project. The formulas for
refining Uranium and putting together a working bomb were created and seen to
their logical ends by some of the greatest minds of our time. Among these
people who unleashed the power of the atomic bomb was J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer was the major force behind the Manhattan Project. He
literally ran the show and saw to it that all of the great minds working on
this project made their brainstorms work. He oversaw the entire project from
its conception to its completion.
Finally the day came when all at Los Alamos would find out whether or not
The Gadget (code-named as such during its development) was either going to be
the colossal dud of the century or perhaps end the war. It all came down to
a fateful morning of midsummer, 1945.
At 5:29:45 (Mountain War Time) on July 16th, 1945, in a white blaze that
stretched from the basin of the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico to the
still-dark skies, The Gadget ushered in the Atomic Age. The light of the
explosion then turned orange as the atomic fireball began shooting upwards at
360 feet per second, reddening and pulsing as it cooled. The characteristic
mushroom cloud of radioactive vapor materialized at 30,000 feet. Beneath the
cloud, all that remained of the soil at the blast site were fragments of jade
green radioactive glass. ...All of this caused by the heat of the reaction.
The brilliant light from the detonation pierced the early morning skies
with such intensity that residents from a faraway neighboring community would
swear that the sun came up twice that day. Even more astonishing is that a
blind girl saw the flash 120 miles away.
Upon witnessing the explosion, reactions among the people who created
it were mixed. Isidor Rabi felt that the equilibrium in nature had been
upset -- as if humankind had become a threat to the world it inhabited.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, though ecstatic about the success of the project,
quoted a remembered fragment from Bhagavad Gita. "I am become Death," he
said, "the destroyer of worlds." Ken Bainbridge, the test director, told
Oppenheimer, "Now we're all sons of bitches."
Several participants, shortly after viewing the results, signed petitions
against loosing the monster they had created, but their protests fell on deaf
ears. As it later turned out, the Jornada del Muerto of New Mexico was not
the last site on planet Earth to experience an atomic explosion.
As many know, atomic bombs have been used only twice in warfare. The
first and foremost blast site of the atomic bomb is Hiroshima. A Uranium
bomb (which weighed in at over 4 & 1/2 tons) nicknamed "Little Boy" was
dropped on Hiroshima August 6th, 1945. The Aioi Bridge, one of 81 bridges
connecting the seven-branched delta of the Ota River, was the aiming point of
the bomb. Ground Zero was set at 1,980 feet. At 0815 hours, the bomb was
dropped from the Enola Gay. It missed by only 800 feet. At 0816 hours, in
the flash of an instant, 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were
injured by a 10 kiloton atomic explosion.
The point of total vaporization from the blast measured one half of a
mile in diameter. Total destruction ranged at one mile in diameter. Severe
blast damage carried as far as two miles in diameter. At two and a half
miles, everything flammable in the area burned. The remaining area of the
blast zone was riddled with serious blazes that stretched out to the final
edge at a little over three miles in diameter. [See diagram below for blast
ranges from the atomic blast.]
On August 9th 1945, Nagasaki fell to the same treatment as Hiroshima.
Only this time, a Plutonium bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" was dropped on the city.
Even though the "Fat Man" missed by over a mile and a half, it still leveled
nearly half the city. Nagasaki's population dropped in one split-second from
422,000 to 383,000. 39,000 were killed, over 25,000 were injured. That
blast was less than 10 kilotons as well. Estimates from physicists who have
studied each atomic explosion state that the bombs that were used had utilized
only 1/10th of 1 percent of their respective explosive capabilities.
While the mere explosion from an atomic bomb is deadly enough, its
destructive ability doesn't stop there. Atomic fallout creates another hazard
as well. The rain that follows any atomic detonation is laden with
radioactive particles. Many survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts
succumbed to radiation poisoning due to this occurance.
The atomic detonation also has the hidden lethal surprise of affecting
the future generations of those who live through it. Leukemia is among the
greatest of afflictions that are passed on to the offspring of survivors.
While the main purpose behind the atomic bomb is obvious, there are many
by-products that have been brought into consideration in the use of all
weapons atomic. With one small atomic bomb, a massive area's communications,
travel and machinery will grind to a dead halt due to the EMP (Electro-
Magnetic Pulse) that is radiated from a high-altitude atomic detonation.
These high-level detonations are hardly lethal, yet they deliver a serious
enough EMP to scramble any and all things electronic ranging from copper wires
all the way up to a computer's CPU within a 50 mile radius.
At one time, during the early days of The Atomic Age, it was a popular
notion that one day atomic bombs would one day be used in mining operations
and perhaps aid in the construction of another Panama Canal. Needless to say,
it never came about. Instead, the military applications of atomic destruction
increased. Atomic tests off of the Bikini Atoll and several other sites were
common up until the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was introduced. Photos of nuclear
test sites here in the United States can be obtained through the Freedom of
Information Act.
============================================================================
- Breakdown of the Atomic Bomb's Blast Zones -
----------------------------------------------
.
. .
. . .
. .
[5] [4] [5]
.
. . . .
. . . .
. [3] _ [3] .
. . [2] . .
. _._ .
. .~ ~. .
. . [4] . .[2]. [1] .[2]. . [4] . .
. . . .
. ~-.-~ .
. . [2] . .
. [3] - [3] .
. . . .
. ~ ~ .
~
[5] . [4] . [5]
.
. .
. .
.
============================================================================
- Diagram Outline -
---------------------
[1] Vaporization Point
------------------
Everything is vaporized by the atomic blast. 98% fatalities.
Overpress=25 psi. Wind velocity=320 mph.
[2] Total Destruction
-----------------
All structures above ground are destroyed. 90% fatalities.
Overpress=17 psi. Wind velocity=290 mph.
[3] Severe Blast Damage
-------------------
Factories and other large-scale building collapse. Severe damage
to highway bridges. Rivers sometimes flow countercurrent.
65% fatalities, 30% injured.
Overpress=9 psi. Wind velocity=260 mph.
[4] Severe Heat Damage
------------------
Everything flammable burns. People in the area suffocate due to
the fact that most available oxygen is consumed by the fires.
50% fatalities, 45% injured.
