how can splitting a tiny piece of an even tinier atom create such a vast explosion?

Question

how can splitting a tiny piece of an even tinier atom create such a vast explosion?

In: Physics

Answer 1

It doesn’t. Splitting an atom releases some energy and some free neutrons. Those free neutrons can then go and split more atoms. This is what powers a nuclear power plant. You have a slow, controlled reaction to produce heat. The nuclear fuel is slowly used up over a period of years.

A bomb tries to split as many atoms as it can at once. The combined energy of the fission of all of those atoms at once is what produces such a massive explosion.