I understand that an atomic bomb works by detonating fuel (uranium or plutonium) that sparks a chain reaction of fission so every atom causes the fission of more atoms until the fuel is used up. But I don’t understand 2 parts of this process:
1. Why does the fuel (uranium atoms) blow up? I see some sources saying the atoms are being split, but other sources say atoms are being smashed into each other. Which is it? And why does performing that action cause an atom to violently explode?
2. Once the fission is happening and growing exponentially through the fuel, why doesn’t it set off a chain reaction with the atmosphere? Why exactly can’t uranium spark the fission of nitrogen? Why does the chain reaction stop when the uranium is gone?
I know other atomic bomb questions have been asked, but in my research I couldn’t find these answers. Thanks so much!
In: Chemistry
Splitting atoms is hard, the cores are unbelievable small compared to the space they take due to the electrons maintaining their distance to any other cores. Uranium is used specifically because it can be split by a neutron **and** that it releases **two more neutrons** plus a huge amount of energy i the process. The extreme vast majority of atoms cant be split this way. And even for uranium it needs to be very tightly packed and surrounded by “mirrors” that bounces the neturons back for it to work.
As for why they blow up. The two isotopes we have left after the split has less total bound up energy than the uranium had to start with so the leftover energy is released.
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