Nuclear Fission

The discovery of fission occurred during a time of great turmoil. Two German physicists then later verified by two Jewish refugee physicists discovered it. Italian Physicists Enrico Fermi later discovered the unique quality of fission that was induced by neutrons but also produced neutrons. This created the idea of a self-sustaining chain reaction, and the large amount of energy found within a nucleus was now accessible at a large scale (Nuclear weapons section, para 1).

Nuclear weapons are categorized into two types of weapons, which are nuclear fission, and fission induced reactions that trigger a fusion reaction. A nuclear fission bomb is also referred as an Atomic Bomb, a fission-induced nuclear weapon is referred to as a thermonuclear weapons and a hydrogen bomb (Union of Concerned Scientists [UCSUSA], 2009, p. 1). Thermonuclear weapons are able to create larger explosions than fission weapons by using fission and fusion instead of deriving their energy solely from fission (UCSUSA, 2009, p. 2). In the “Physics of Nuclear Weapons” the design of thermonuclear weapons is explained by two basic components, which are the “primary” and the “secondary” (“The Physics of Nuclear Weapons, p. 6). These two basic components are also called the Teller-Ulam design, which is a “two-stage bomb”, the basic design for all thermonuclear weapons (Fusion Weapon Physics 2.0 section, para. 1). This report will examine the beginning and development of thermonuclear weapons. Which involves the first thermonuclear weapon detonation in 1952 (“Race for the Superbomb”, para. 1). Also the development from the first thermonuclear weapon to the present day “Boosted” (UCSUSA, 2009, p. 2) and “Neutron” thermonuclear bombs (Nuclear Weapons section, para. 1...

... middle of paper ...

...nt. This innovation also leads to the possibility of never fully understanding the nuclear weapon. The second is reducing the environmental burden. This will help in longer causing long term inhabitable locations. The third is designing warheads that can be safely manufactured. This allows the lives of scientists and other workers to not be endangered during the production of warheads. (pg. 16-30).

Conclusion

Thermonuclear weapons have the enormous power of performing different tasks. Such as destroying infrastructure, destroying or modifying agriculture, releasing radiation and thermal energy at timed pulses, and killing mass amount of humans. This machine of advanced engineering have lead to many advances into harnessing nuclear energy and our understanding of radiation. It plays a vital role in modern society politically, environmentally, and in our future.