Nuclear
weapons |
The atom is
considered to be the smallest particle of an element. It is composed of
sub-atomic particles known as neutrons, protons and electrons.
The centre of the atom, called
the nucleus, contains the neutrons and protons packed tightly together
by a very strong energy called the nuclear binding energy.
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Nuclear power has
taken two parallel paths. Splitting the uranium atom can inititate a runaway
reaction that releases energy of awesome destruction. This nuclear reaction
can also be slowed down to produce energy in a controlled manner for the
production of electricity and heat.
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August 6, 1945:
The nuclear age had begun with the first military use of atomic weapons.The
United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing over 70,000
civilians instantly.
Little Boy, pictured on the
right, used a hydrogen fusion reaction to release energy.
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| August 9, 1945: The United States
drops another nuclear device on Nagasaki, Japan, killing over 40,000. The
picture on the right shows the rising mushroom cloud above Nagasaki. |
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| The nuclear bomb known as "Fat
Man", pictured on the right, involved a plutonium implosion and was
detonated over Nagasaki. It had a destructive capacity equivalnet to 22
tons of TNT . |
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| The picture on the right shows
Nagasaki on the 10th of August, a day after the nuclear explosion. The awesome
devastation of Fat Man is clearly visible. |
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