Nuclear Fission Research Paper

Technology has allowed for the furtherance of warfare, from the invention of gun powder to the splitting of the atom. These findings have propelled the leap of numerous nations’ in the ability to wage war against each other. Of these discoveries, the splitting atom spawned an invention that would hurl the world from conventional warfare into the nuclear age. These ideals were the brainstorming of some of the greatest minds in America and abroad. These scientists began to formulate the creation of the atomic bomb, a device that would change the world in ways that had never been imagined before.

Before the Manhattan Project, in the beginning there were many advancements in understanding made in the world of physics. These resulted in the recognition of nuclear fission and its potential as an energy source and as a potential weapon. Of these advancements none was more central and important than the development of the nuclear model of the atom, which by the year of 1932 contained a nucleus containing most of the mass of an atom in the form of two particles, protons and neutrons. This nucleus was surrounded by an electron shell. Previously it was thought that atoms were the smallest form of matter therefore ultimately stable and indivisible. However, in 1919 Ernest Rutherford was able to break apart the nucleus of nitrogen with

The research for a weapon which could end the world’s most devastating war World War II started almost immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor got sneak attacked by Japan which entered the United States to the allied side of World War II. In 1938 some german scientists discovered that if you bombard Uranium with neutrons you could split the Nucleus of an atom. When the war started scientists thought about military uses of this new discovery. When the atoms split it releases energy and if you put billions of these atoms together it could start a chain reaction and make a massive explosion. Three physicists leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller, believed that a

Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. This title, masterfully written by Steve Sheinkin, says it all and sets the tone for the entire book. In 1938 Otto Hahn discovered fission, the ability to split uranium atoms; it then became very clear to scientists that a new bomb, called an atomic bomb, could be created. This weapon would have massive powers of destruction, and it would be like nothing ever seen before. The race was on between the United States, Russia, and Germany to see who could create and detonate the first atomic bomb. Although they are minor events when compared to the big picture, the destruction of the heavy water plant Vemork in Norway and Paul Tibbets’ journey to drop the atomic bomb had a major

On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing 66,000 people. The dropping of the bomb also had broader circumstances as it forced the surrender of Japan, officially ending World War II. However, the end of World War II marked the beginning of the political conflict and military tension between Russia and the United States known as the cold war. The “war” became global as it as it transformed from the U.S.S.R. vs. the United States to NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact. The Cold War ended in 1991, and now about twelve countries are confirmed or suspected to possess nuclear weapons. Globalization has advanced both the spread of nuclear weapons, and their disarmament. Non-proliferation efforts

During the events of WWII, the world’s scientific community learned that German physicists had unlocked the secrets of splitting a uranium atom. The world quickly came to fear the idea of Nazi scientists finding a way to harness that energy and create a weapon of mass destruction the likes of which had never been seen before.

To create a nuclear bomb, nuclear fission must occur. The process of nuclear fission was splitting the nucleus of an atom. Splitting an atom was caused by neutrons firing through one atom and then that atom’s neutrons shoot off into other atoms, starting a chain reaction. In October of 1934, Enrico Fermi, and

Because of increase in regulation for nuclear reactors, the demand of substitutes for nuclear energy increase. As a result, the demand of nuclear reactors has begun to decline. An increase in demand for other green energy like solar, geothermal, and wind are now being looked at as possible alternatives. The article “Nuclear crossroad” starts off by explain its wish to elongate the life of reactors in the Diablo Canyon area. The issue of new environmental laws being passed has forced the nuclear plant to make changes to meet the new standards, in order renew operating

Bomb is a nonfiction book that focuses on the competition between Germany, America, and the Soviet Union to build the atomic bomb. This book takes place during World War II. One day, a scientist named Otto Hahn accidentally discovered atomic fission while experimenting in his lab. News that Uranium atoms could be split and form a weapon spread like wildfire. Once this discovery had reached the ears of many important leaders, the race was on.

The creation of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan were not originally intended as a War-Ending weapon, far from that. Regardless of the reason for its creation, it has left a profound mark on humanity as a whole. While in its infancy the fission weapons were able to destroy small cities, but only after a decade a tested fusion bomb was 750 times more powerful. These weapons of mass destruction ended the war, but not without consequences.

In 1938, German scientists discovered nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is the process of radioactive atoms splitting into lighter atoms causing a sudden burst of energy. When America later learned of this new discovery, it brought alarm and fear that the Germans could possibly turn what they learned into a deadly weapon, thus the race for nuclear technology began. On Dec 28 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project. They brought in various scientists, mathematicians, and military

These include radiological, nuclear, biological as well as chemical weapons. They pose the greatest threat to large populations of people. The nuclear bombs that were detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 for instance, were based on nuclear fission. Each of the bombs had an explosive force that is equivalent to about 15, 000 tons of TNT. The explosion killed and fatally wounded approximately 100,000 people. An additional number of people were also injured from the heat and radiation causing different illnesses. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union and the United States developed hydrogen bombs, also thermonuclear weapons that were similarly based on nuclear fission. These had an explosive capability that is similar to twenty million tons and more of TNT. An analysis of the medical consequences of these new weapons by medical organizations like the Physicians for Social Responsibility demonstrated that using them would cause millions of catastrophic global health problems similar to the worldwide radioactive fallout that caused numerous casualties from cancer deaths, as well as respiratory tract infections from the massive clouds of smoke that hang in the air. The debris also blocked and absorbed the sun’s rays and hence causing a ‘nuclear winter” that led to a consequent loss of crops and hence starvation (Barry & Victor, 1988).

Page 551 states, “The process of splitting a nucleus into several smaller nuclei is nuclear fission.” Not only that, but according to page 551, nuclear fissions occur whenever the nuclei is so distorted that whenever the neutron strikes it, the nucleus divides up into two smaller nuclei, which is the process of nuclear fission. Based on the website duke-energy.com, nuclear fission produces “steam, which is used by a turbine generator to generate electricity.” According to turbinegenerator.org, turbine generators can use various things to produce electricity, and one of the things they use is the steam that was created by nuclear fissions. Nuclear fissions occur only in large nuclei, some examples of large nuclei can be the nuclei of uranium

Exactly, how destructive are the infamous nuclear weapons? In 1945, powers were created with the purpose and intent to kill thousands of humans and animals, destroy buildings, geographic structures, and poison the very air we breathe. These powers, are Nuclear Weapons. The very first Nuclear Weapon that was used, was the A-Bomb, created and tested by the US to drop on Japanese Cities; specifically Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The difference between the A-Bomb and the modern day Hydrogen Bomb, is that the Hydrogen Bomb, is 1000 times more destructive compared to the A-Bomb. When the US dropped the A-Bomb on Hiroshima, it killed over 100,000 people from the blast, with another 90,000 dying between 3-6 months from acute radiation exposure. The pure destruction of the initial blast was so devastating, that the Japanese simply did not know how to respond. Witnesses called it, “An explosion in the distance, followed by a bright flash, a huge cloud, then death”. The Japanese Council was split 3-3 on surrender, not knowing if the US had another one of these bombs. The US did have another, they and dropped it on the city of Nagasaki. The initial blast killed over 50,000 people, with another 40,000 dying from acute radiation exposure. After this bomb was dropped, Japan was forced to give up, and surrendered to the US and the Soviet Union. Shortly after these events, many foreign countries have began to develop their own Nuclear Weapons. To this day, foreign countries are developing nuclear

On the other hand, the problem is that nuclear fission has the consequence of producing radioactive waste, which in some cases will still emit radioactivity in several thousand years, and radioactivity is after all very hazardous and a permanent disposal site for this waste hasn’t been found till today, despite decades of searching for one. Another disadvantage is that the material for the fuel rods is finite, so it will be also just a temporary solution although possibly for some decades. The third disadvantage is the cost as all nuclear power plants, which I know of, needed substantial subventions to be build and to operate them. This will also not change, or just to the worse, as the material for the fuel rods gets scarcer.