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What is meant by supercritical andhow dose it relate to making a nuclear bomb?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
- subcritical - a mass or arrangement of fissionable or fissile material unable to sustain a neutron chain reaction. It can provide a fixed amount of neutron multiplication from a neutron source, but after removal of the neutron source the chain reaction rate drops exponentially.
- critical - a mass or arrangement of fissionable or fissile material capable of sustaining a constant neutron chain reaction. No increase or decrease. (Nuclear reactors operate at critical)
- supercritical - a mass or arrangement of fissionable or fissile material capable of not only sustaining a neutron chain reaction, but once initiated the chain reaction rate rises exponentially. (Nuclear fission bombs explode when made supercritical)
A nuclear fission bomb must have 2 of these states: subcritical (so that it can't explode until desired) and supercritical (so that it explodes with an effective yield). This requires a rapid "assembly" system using conventional explosives to rearrange the fissile material from subcritical to supercritical in about 1ms. A neutron source starts the chain reaction and the explosion completes in about 1 microsecond.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What is meant by supercritical and how does it relate to making a nuclear bomb?
A subcritical mass cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction, it dies exponentiallyA critical mass can sustain a nuclear chain reaction, but it remains constant neither increasing nor decreasingA supercritical mass not only sustains a nuclear chain reaction but it increases exponentially until the mass explodesA nuclear fission bomb must become supercritical at some time in order to explode.
How do neutrons electrons and protons relate to nuclear energy?
These are the constituents of atoms. Nuclei are made up of protons and neutrons. Useful nuclear energy is only obtained from a few nuclei which can be made to fission and release energy. The two main ones are Uranium235 and Plutonium239.
How do you protect a falling egg from friction?
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Does Thermal energy and nuclear energy relate?
Nuclear energy is released by every fissioning nucleus, about 200 Mev per fission. But as the fission fragments are slowed down and absorbed in the mass of the fuel rods, the nuclear energy is changed to thermal energy (heat) which can then be transferred to the reactor coolant and used for steam raising
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What is meant by supercritical and how does it relate to making a nuclear bomb?
A subcritical mass cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction, it dies exponentiallyA critical mass can sustain a nuclear chain reaction, but it remains constant neither increasing nor decreasingA supercritical mass not only sustains a nuclear chain reaction but it increases exponentially until the mass explodesA nuclear fission bomb must become supercritical at some time in order to explode.
How does the nuclear bomb relate to the atom?
It gets its energy from the atomic nucleus.
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The sun's energy is produced by nuclear ENERGY!!! im in school..lol
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The energy of the Sun is produced by nuclear fusion - the fusion of hydrogen into helium.
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Nuclear fuels is not only bad for us, but for the enviornment. Some nuclear plants dump nuclear waste in rivers, oceans, lakes and ponds. This can kill and injure living organisms including us. It is not even good to bury it in the ground. Nuclear waste has to be specially desposed.
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