If I had foreseen Hiroshima and Nagasaki , I would have torn my formula in 1905.—Albert Einstein
An explosion that killed 2 lakh people. When the human mind starts feeling that it has no option left, it finds a way to commit crime.
“I am talking about the explosion that happened in Japan in 1945 which shook everyone. “In a civil war or a world war, only one country wins. But the common people have to suffer its consequences.”
During the Second World War, atomic bombs were used by America on two Japanese cities, “Hiroshima” and “Nagasaki.
On August 6, 1945, people saw an American Boeing B-29 plane flying in the sky, nobody had any information about that plane till then. For them it was a normal plane, they did not know that this plane was carrying a nuclear bomb.
The Boeing B-29 aircraft flew over the city of Hiroshima carrying the “Little Boy” atomic bomb. This was the world’s first atomic bomb. This bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and with this America became the first and only country in the world to use nuclear weapons. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, another Boeing B-29 aircraft “Fat Man” flew over Nagasaki carrying the atomic bomb. America dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
What happened after the giant explosion?
- 200,000 people were killed in this bombing.
- First there was a blinding light that temporarily blinded people Immediately.
- there was such a powerful explosion that many people lost their hearing ability forever.
- A temperature of 4000 degrees Celsius fell on the ground, that instantly vaporised people in the radius.
- People’s skin was peeling off, they were so dehydrated they were in agony.
- Those who did not die immediately, that is, died a few days, weeks or months later. The sunny sky that day was covered with black toxic fumes.
Who developed the Atomic Bomb?
American physicist, “J. Robert Oppenheimer” considered the “Father of the Atomic Bomb”, led the Manhattan Project. Under this project, he developed the atomic bomb.
How did “J. Robert Oppenheimer “develop the atomic bomb?
Before understanding the mechanism of an atomic bomb, let us understand some important points :
What is nuclear fission??
The process in which a larger nucleus splits into two or more smaller nuclei releasing particles. Such as, neutrons and energy in the form of radiations, alpha beta and gamma.
For example:
When a neutron strikes a larger nucleus such as Uranium, it’s nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei.
What is Alpha, Beta and Gamma radiation?
Alpha particle is a positively charged particle which contains two neutrons and protons, with weakest penetrating power and high ionization power. Produced in the process of alpha decay. Beta particle is high energy electron and positron emitted during beta decay, with moderate penetrating power and lower ionizing power than alpha. Gamma particle is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation, with highest penetrating power and least ionizing power.
What is Radioactive decay?
Atoms are made up of subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons reside in the nucleus, while electrons orbit around the nucleus. The nucleus of a radioactive element like uranium contains large amounts of protons and neutrons. As a result, nucleus of radioactive elements become unstable due to high repulsion. To make it stable, radioactive elements like uranium undergo radioactive decay and emit particles and energy in the form of radiations like alpha, beta and gamma. This process is known as radioactive decay.
Now, let us come to the point and understand the mechanism behind how the atomic bomb was developed???
As I have already discussed above that if a large nucleus like Uranium collides with a particle (usually a neutron) then it splits into two smaller nuclei. If the total mass of the two small nuclei is less than the mass of uranium then the missing mass is converted into energy.
By the equation:
The greatest scientist of all time, “Albert Einstein”, proposed this equation, it is a fundamental part of his theory of special relativity proposed in 1905. This equation simply says that, “the energy is equals to mass multiplied by the speed of light squared.” Showing that even a little bit of mass can release tremendous amount of energy. This means, “energy and mass are related.
In the case of Uranium-235 and Plutonium 239, when these are bombarded with a neutron they split into two less massive nuclei with the emission of particles and huge amounts of energy in the form of radiations. If there is enough fissionable nuclei, in high enough concentration, then it is possible for released neutron to hit three more nuclei. As a result, there will be three more fission. This will further leads to 9 then 27 more fission. This will cause chain reaction. At last, this chain reaction ends up creating nuclear bomb, which releases massive amount of energy. As a result there will be three more fission.
Why only Uranium-235 (U-235) and Plutonium-239 (Pu-239) are used in atomic bombs?
Uranium- 235 is an isotope of Uranium and is naturally occurring while Plutonium-239 is an artificially created isotope usually obtained by bombarding U-238 with a neutron. Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239, fissions easily releasing immense energy making them more suitable for atomic bombs.
Is nature destructive??
You might be thinking that, since Uranium-235 is naturally present in nature. That means nature is destructive. Before you jump to any conclusions and before I answer this question. let me tell you what half-life is.
Half-life:
Ernest Rutherford introduced the concept of half-life. Half-life refers to the time required for half of the atoms in a radioactive substance to undergo radioactive decay.
Let’s discuss the half-life of uranium and plutonium:
The half-life is as I mentioned above. So the half-life of Uranium-235 is 703.8 million years. This means that it takes about 703.8 million years for half of a given amount of uranium 235 to undergo radioactive decay. Similarly, the half-life of plutonium-239 is about 24,100 years. This means that it takes 24,100 years for half of a given amount of Plutonium-239 to undergo radioactive decay.
Nature also knew how dangerous these radioactive elements can be for our lives, that is why their half-life is so high. Therefore, it is not nature but the human mind that is destructive. It is man who triggers the decay of dangerous radioactive elements like uranium and plutonium and develops atomic bombs with the help of chain reaction.”
I hope now all your doubts are cleared, if not then please leave a comment and let me know where you are feeling difficulty and what you felt after reading this article. I will come up with a new article soon, till then take care.
“Stay connected and keep smiling!”
