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For uranium fueled atomic bombs ordinary gunpowders are adequate to assemble a critical mass without a fizzle.
For plutonium fueled atomic bombs high explosives must be used to assemble a critical mass without a fizzle. The first such bombs used Composition B (a predecessor of modern C-4) and Baritol. Modern bombs use shock and fire resistant plastic bonded explosives.
What else can I help you with?
Can nuclear weapon explode if nuclear tipped missile is intercepted in air by the anti ballistic missile?
Maybe. If ABM was nuclear itself, it will probably cause fratricide in the warhead causing it to dud. If ABM is conventional it might detonate conventional explosives in warhead. Whether this produces yield or not depends on how safe the warhead was designed against one point detonation nuclear yield.
What is inside of a nuke?
A nuclear weapon typically contains a fissile material such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239, high explosives to trigger the nuclear chain reaction, and various components to control the explosion and enhance the weapon's efficiency.
What are some of the things in nuclear weapons?
The subcritical masses of fissile material are in there, obviously. And there will be the conventional chemical explosives that drive the fissile material together and hold it there for a split second. The triggering mechanism is included with the sensor and control package. Some shielding and reflectors will be in there, and so will some materials that "lock out" the subcritical masses to prevent them "engaging" in the event of an accident. There are a few "security" features within the case of the weapon as well. As security concerns color all aspects of nuclear weapon design and construction, we can only speak to this subject matter in general terms.
The difference between a nuclear weapon detonation and a conventional explosion is?
The source of the energy. In nuclear weapons it comes from the nucleus of the atoms, in conventional weapons it comes from the electrons orbiting the atoms. Or, another way to say it is that nuclear weapons depend on release of sub-atomic energy while conventional explosives rely on chemical energy. In a conventional explosive, the energy comes from breaking the bonds of complex multi-atom molecules, taking one complex molecule and turning it into several smaller, simple molecules. In a nuclear weapon, the bonds holding individual neutrons and protons together inside a single atom's nucleus are broken or changed, resulting in a whole new atom (or several new atoms). Nuclear fission takes a single, large atom and breaks it into two smaller atoms (plus several neutrons). Nuclear fusion takes two very small atoms and creates a slightly larger atom (plus a free neutron or proton). The differences is that the bonds between atoms in a molecule are much, much weaker than the bonds between subatomic particles. Several thousand times, in fact, so breaking just one sub-atomic bond results in the same amount of energy released as from breaking thousands of molecular bonds. Besides the difference in energy source, a chemical weapon really only produces two effects: a blast wave and a thermal wave. A nuclear weapon, however, produces four effects: blast wave, thermal wave, "pure" radiation (gamma/X-Rays, etc., plus the associated EMP), and radioactive by-products.
What is the difference between a conventional bomb and an atomic bomb?
A standard bomb relies on the explosive power of chemical energy, like TNT for example. The size of the blast will depend on the amount of explosives packed into the bomb. After the blast, there will be the "usual" damage, which will be proportionate to the size of the bomb. Destruction and casualties will present as they always have from the blast of a weapon. With a nuclear weapon, the energy is derived from the nuclei of atoms (using either fission or fusion). It is nuclear energy, and nuclear weapons are, by tapping into this type of energy, able to deliver a much larger blast and broader blast effects than conventional weapons. The blast can be thousands or millions of times more devastating than any conventional bomb blast. And in addition to killing in the way chemical explosives do, it can also severely burn and can irradiate victims, and they can die weeks, months or even years after surviving the initial blast. There is also the element of nuclear "residue" from the nuclear blast. Radioactive contaminants will be found on the ground and in the air. And the airborne ones will circulate according to local weather patterns. This will create what is called fallout, and the radioactive materials can be deposited many miles from ground zero. This ends up creating health damaging effects far from the site of the blast.
Is fusion the difference between a nuclear weapon detonation and a conventional explosion?
Yes, the conventional explosives would trigger an explosion of the conventional explosives inside the nuclear bomb which would blow apart the nuclear components of the nuclear bomb, causing significant alpha emitter radiological contamination but no nuclear yield.
Is a dirty bomb a nuclear weapon?
No, a dirty bomb is a radiological weapon. It simply uses conventional explosives to scatter radioisotopes over an area.
What is the power of a nuclear weapon?
The weapons used in World War II had a power of 20,000 kilotons - that means they are equivalent to an explosion of 20,000 tons of conventional explosives (TNT is used for comparison). More recent nuclear weapons have a power measured in megatons (millions of tons of conventional explosives).
What is nuclear weapon?
An explosive device that uses massive conventional explosives to split radioactive atoms and cause a MASSIVE release of energy by nuclear fission or fusion. A BIG BOOM!!!!
Is an bomb or a nuclear weapon more powerful?
If by "bomb" you mean a conventional explosive weapon, then the nuclear weapon is more powerful.
What are the elements of nuke?
The elements of a nuke (nuclear weapon) typically include a fissile material like uranium or plutonium, conventional explosives to trigger the nuclear reaction, and a mechanism to control the detonation. Additionally, nukes may have various components such as a neutron initiator, tamper, and reflector to optimize the explosion.
What element is needed to make a nuclear weapon?
A nuclear weapon requires enriched uranium or plutonium as the fissile material to sustain a chain reaction and create a nuclear explosion. Additionally, a conventional chemical explosive is needed to trigger the nuclear reaction.
What is a precision nuclear weapon?
The term precision nuclear weapon may be a misnomer, but it is generally used to describe a low yield nuclear weapon (perhaps a few kilotons) that can be delivered with great accuracy on a specific target.The idea is to use this device, which is very small compared to an equivalent conventional weapon, in applications like busting deeply buried bunkers or other large below ground installations. Using a nuclear weapon in this type of application would gain a more assured result than the use of conventional explosives. The catch is that if you have this wonderfully effective weapon with all these superior characteristics, you may be tempted to use it.It may or may not be helpful to compare the precision nuclear weapon to what we call a tactical nuclear weapon. This nuclear device has a low yield (about a kiloton or so) that was designed to be delivered by conventional large-bore cannon or a small missile. The limited blast could be directed in a way that it could destroy something like a concentration of armored vehicles or troops that it would be difficult to do with conventional explosives. Consider that a small tactical nuclear weapon that could fit inside a 155 mm cannon shell would do damage that a thousand tons of TNT would be needed to accomplish.
Can nuclear weapon explode if nuclear tipped missile is intercepted in air by the anti ballistic missile?
Maybe. If ABM was nuclear itself, it will probably cause fratricide in the warhead causing it to dud. If ABM is conventional it might detonate conventional explosives in warhead. Whether this produces yield or not depends on how safe the warhead was designed against one point detonation nuclear yield.
What is inside of a nuke?
A nuclear weapon typically contains a fissile material such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239, high explosives to trigger the nuclear chain reaction, and various components to control the explosion and enhance the weapon's efficiency.
Could nuclear weapon be demolish without explode?
I'm not quite sure how to answer your question, it is a bit ambiguous:If your concern is disassembly of old or unwanted weapons, this is relatively easy, all they do is take them apart roughly the inverse of the way they were assembled. Nuclear weapons are not boobytrapped to prevent disassembly (although some missile warheads may be designed to self destruct with no nuclear yield by single point detonation of their conventional explosives if the PAL unit receives too many incorrect authorization codes).If your concern is safety in accidents, modern nuclear weapons can survive airplane crashes, accidental releases, falls, fires, and many other accidents intact. At the worst the conventional explosives could burn or explode, contaminating the area with alpha emitting material, but there will be no nuclear yield.If your concern is external conventional explosives being used to detonate a nuclear weapon, this is much like accidents, it might cause the conventional explosives to explode but there will be no nuclear yield.JUST CHIMING IN TO ADD: A nuclear bomb has to have exactly the right amount of regular explosives rigged and timed to go off just the right way in the exact correct position to make the fissionable material explode with a nuclear blast. If you abuse the bomb by smashing it, burning it and melting the insides, shooting it, blowing it up with explosives applied to the outside, you'll probably mess up the way the internal explosive charges are supposed to work. So you get a small conventional explosion that might blow up a house, but not a nuclear explosion that would blow up an entire city.
How dangerous nuclear weapon are?
About as dangerous as conventional weapons of the same yield, plus the radiation effects.
