why splitting a tiny particle can cause such a devastating blast
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Just to add to all the excellent explanations already posted (apologies if someone else has posted it):
Einstein’s most famous equation is “E=mc^2”. This tells you how much energy (E) is contained in a given amount of mass (m). Let’s say you have a very teeny tiny bit of mass (a tiny particle). In the equation, to find out how much energy it has, you multiply that tiny amount of mass by…..the speed of light “c” (which is itself a huge number), *squared* (which makes it a staggeringly huge number.) So in other words, even tiny particles have huge amounts of energy. That is what makes nuclear power (and nuclear bombs) so potent–small amounts of mass can be used to generate incredible amounts of energy.
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