TheATOM C

B MB
Unboxing the Atomic B mb
• Atomic Bomb – explosive device that derives its destructive force
from nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and
fusion (thermonuclear weapon)
• Fission – radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom
splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei)
• Fusion – nuclei of light atoms join to form nuclei of heavier atoms
• “Uranium Problem” – what isotope of uranium yields the greatest
energy amount
Invention and Discovery
• Leo Szilard filed a patent application for the atomic bomb describing
the basic concept of using induced chain reactions to create
explosions in July 1934.
• His motive was to prevent its harmful use and immediately turn the
idea over to the British Government to be protected under British
secrecy laws.
• Was rejected by British War Office but later accepted by the British
Admiralty.
• His efforts were the earliest case of nuclear arms control.
Invention and Discovery
• Since 1934 several scientists and researchers have worked on solving
the “Uranium Problem” including Enrico Fermi of Rome, Ida Noddack
of Germany, Otto Hahn and Lise Meirtner of Germany, Otto Frisch,
Williard Arnold, Niels Bohr, Robert Oppenheimer and Herbert
Anderson.
• Otto Frisch coined the term “fission”.
• In September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland that begun the World
War II.
Einstein’s Letter to President Roosevelt
• Leo Szilard urged Einstein to send a letter to President
Roosevelt and helped him draft it.
• August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt telling Roosevelt of efforts in Nazi Germany to
purify uranium-235, which could be used to build an atomic
bomb.
The Manhattan Project
• was a secret military project created in 1942 to produce the first US
nuclear weapon.
• triggered by fears that Nazi Germany would build and use a nuclear
weapon during World War II
• US physicist Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie R. Groves served
as directors of this project, which recruited some of the best US
scientists, engineers and mathematicians. A number of European
scientists, including Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and Leo Szilard, also
participated in the Manhattan Project.
How does nuclear bomb works?
• Nuclear fission - the nucleus of an atom is split into two
smaller fragments by a neutron. This method usually involves
isotopes of uranium (uranium-235, uranium-233) or
plutonium (plutonium-239).
• ATOMIC BOMB
• Nuclear fusion - two smaller atoms are brought together,
usually hydrogen or hydrogen isotopes (deuterium, tritium),
to form a larger one (helium isotopes).
• HYDROGEN BOMB
NUCLEAR FISSION
• Nucleus splits into
several smaller
fragments. These
fragments, or fission
products, are about
equal to half the
original mass. Two or
three neutrons are
also emitted.
Nuclear Chain
Reaction
• process in w/c
neutrons released in
fission produce an
additional fission in at
least one further
nucleus
• the nucleus in turn
produces neutrons,
and the process
repeats
“LITTLE BOY” AND “FAT MAN”
• On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb
dropped by the United States.
• Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of
Nagasaki.
• Five days after that, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the United
States, bringing an end to World War II.
“LITTLE BOY” AND “FAT MAN”
• On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb
dropped by the United States.
• 3 days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
• 5 days after that, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the US, end of
World War II.
• killed several hundred thousand people, many instantly in the nuclear
fire, many later with burns, injuries and radiation sickness, and still many
others, over the years, with cancers and birth defects. Like most of the
cities bombed in World War II, the majority of the inhabitants were
women, children and the elderly.
BEF0RE BOMBING
AFTER BOMBING
HI!
Woe is me."—Albert Einstein, upon hearing
the news of the Hiroshima bombing.

• Although he never worked directly on the atomic bomb, Einstein is

often incorrectly associated with the advent of nuclear weapons.
• His famous equation E=mc2 explains the energy released in an atomic
bomb but doesn't explain how to build one.
• "I do not consider myself the father of the release of atomic energy.
My part in it was quite indirect."
• "Why did you cooperate in the production of atomic bombs, knowing
full well their...destructive power?"
Woe is me."—Albert Einstein, upon hearing
the news of the Hiroshima bombing.
• Einstein's answer was always that his only act had been to write to
President Roosevelt suggesting that the United States research atomic
weapons before the Germans harnessed this deadly technology.
• He came to regret taking even this step.
• "had I known that the Germans would not succeed in developing an
atomic bomb, I would have done nothing.“ – Newsweek Magazine