How exactly does a nuclear bomb work as well as how does it create radiation and destroy so much with such a little action?
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Because splitting uranium 235 releases two or three neutrons that then go on to split two or three more uranium atoms. One atom doesn’t have that much energy but the chain reaction means it will go on to split millions of atoms that make it so dangerous.
It doesn’t always have to cause an explosion either. In power generation the goal is to absorb those extra neutrons so each fission of a uranium atom only splits one other uranium atom. That way you can burn it at a constant rate.
As to the why, it comes down to the fact that the things uranium splits into require less energy to bind together than uranium so when it splits there is some extra energy left over that is released as heat/radiation.
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