The development of the atomic bomb
The atomic bomb is the most powerful and most terrible weapon. With all the atomic weapons in the world, it's possible to destroy the world three times.
During the Second World War, the scientists found out, that it's possible to win this war in one go, with the help of a bomb, that functions with nuclear power. It was a new challenge to build such a bomb for the engineers and physicists, because the nuclear power was just newly discovered.
From this time a big competition began between Germany and the United States to invent and build such a bomb. Both nations knew, that the faster will win the war.
In summer 1945 the United States built and tested an atomic bomb as the first nation. But Germany was beaten earlier, so the Americans used their new weapon against the Japanese.
The uses of the atomic bomb
The atomic bomb has exist already over 50 years, but it's fortunately only used twice. 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb over the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So an American aircraft flew over Hiroshima in the morning of August 6 1945, and dropped the 4 tons heaviness atomic bomb at the height of 10 kilometres. Before they dropped the bomb, when the aircraft flew to Hiroshima, they gave a short alarm in the city, but otherwise, the aircraft doesn't make a bad impression, because it looked as if it was unarmed. But a short time away, the atomic bomb detonated 600 metres over Hiroshima. This bomb killed 200,000 people. The shock wave, with the maximum speed of 1200 km/h, destroyed all the buildings within a radius of 1,5 kilometre. The windows smashed even in a distance of 12 kilometres. The head wave and the radioactive radiation killed all the people within a radius of several kilometres. The radioactive radiation in the first minutes after the detonation, and the fallout in the first day after the detonation contaminated all the city. 3 days after this, on 9 August 1945, the terrible disaster repated itself with the same course and the same result like in Hiroshima in the second nuclear attack on Nagasaki. And with them another 74,000 people died and again many people were contaminate.
The results of an atomic bomb
After the detonation of an atomic bomb, they are 5 different primary results:
- The radioactive radiation
- The fallout
- The head wave
- The shock wave
- The nuclear electromagnetic pulse
These are the results of an atomic bomb with the size of the Hiroshima- bomb:
- The radioactive radiation contaminated the city with a strong radiation. This radiation killed all the people there.
- The detonation whirl up a lot of dust or water, this dust or water is contaminate radioactive and fly several kilometres up. Then in the first day after the detonation, this radioactive dust or water rain down, back on the earth and contaminate a big floorspace. This rain is the fallout.
- The head wave come about the gigantic energy, they develop by the detonation. In the detonation centre reach the temperature of several millions degrees centigrade. The head wave takes only a few seconds, but it kill all the people within a radius of 1 or 2 kilometres. Even in a distance of several kilometres get the people unprotected burns.
- The shock wave destroy all the buildings in a distance of 2 kilometres. Like the head wave, the shock wave takes only a few seconds. The shock wave makes winds with maximum speeds to 1200 km/h.
- The nuclear electromagnetic pulse is made of extreme strong magnetic fields. The nuclear electromagnetic pulse disturb the radio contacts and destroy the electric devices.
The dimension of the atomic bombs
The size of the atomic bombs is calculate with the power of the dynamite TNT, it is indicate in kilotons and megatons. An atomic bomb with the marking 1 kiloton, so it has the energy of 1000 tons TNT. An atomic bomb with the marking 1 megaton, so it has the energy of 1 million tons TNT.
The atomic bombs, witch the Americans dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a 12 kilotons and a 22 kilotons atomic bombs. Even this bombs killed some hundred thousand people and destroyed two cities. But today atomic bombs with this size are small atomic bombs, because today the biggest atomic bomb is a 20 megatons bomb. This bomb has the some size like 1500 Hiroshima-bombs, or 750 Nagasaki-bombs.
By the detonation of a 20 megatons atomic bomb, the head wave take 20 seconds, and even the people in the distance of 45 kilometres get second- degree burns. The shock wave destroy all the buildings within a radius of 20 kilometres. With a 20 megatons atomic bomb is it possible to kill some millions people in one go.
The nations with atomic weapons
Today it's clear that Russia, the United States, Great Britain, China, France and India have the atomic weapons. But it's possible that Israel, South Africa, Pakistan and another nations have the atomic weapons. With the non-proliferation treaty want the atomic nation to stop the spread of atomic weapons.
