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
>Why exactly can’t uranium spark the fission of nitrogen?
Two reasons for this:
1. The nitrogen in air is not at all dense. The uranium chain reaction in a nuclear bomb only works because the uranium is compressed under the force of the initial explosion. Not only is air not being compressed like that, it’s a gas. If you somehow had *uranium gas* in the atmosphere, there simply wouldn’t be enough of it to cause a chain reaction.
2. Nitrogen fission doesn’t release energy, it absorbs energy. As a general rule, nuclei that are lighter than iron release energy through fusion, and making them undergo fission costs energy. Nuclei that are heavier than iron release energy through fission, and fusing them with other nuclei costs energy. It is *possible* to split a nitrogen nucleus into smaller nuclei, but you’d need to hit it with a very high speed particle, and the resultant particles would be slower, so there wouldn’t be a chain reaction.
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