Manhattan Project
Use of the nuclear bomb

A few months before the completion of the first nuclear bomb Germany surrendered. Although the war in Europe was over, the war in the Pacific raged. In July of 1945 the bomb was complete and politicians argued its use in bringing a swift end to the bloody war against Japan.

 

On the morning of August 6, 1945 the first nuclear weapon, named Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima and triggered to explode 550 m above the ground for maximum devastation. Little Boy was a uranium fission bomb and used a sphere of the isotope U235 about the size of a grapefruit.

A mass of less than 1 kilogram of uranium released an amount of energy equivalent to 20 kilotonnes of high explosives in just under one microsecond.

At least 70,000 people died instantly and 70,000 died later of radiation related causes.

Click for more information on uranium fission bombs.

 

The mushroom cloud billowing up over Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945

Science Worksheet

What is an isotope? Help
What is meant by the term critical mass? Help
Describe the structure of the atom. Label the following Help
-neutron
-proton
-electron
-nucleus.
What is the purpose of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom?
What is the nuclear binding energy or nuclear force? Help
Why do nuclear fusion reactions occur at temperatures in excess of a million degrees? Help
What is the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission reaction?
Help with fission
Help with fusion
Large uranium deposits are found in Australia. Isotopes of U235 readily split to produce two lighter nuclei and three neutrons which may split other U235 isotopes. Why is it extremely rare for a uranium deposit to spontaneously produce a nuclear explosion?

Note-Some of the links offer more information than is required to answer the questions above.

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