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The Negative Effects Of Nuclear Weapons : The Physics Of Fission Weapons

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Introduction
In August 1945, two atomic bombs ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, and over 200,000 people were killed immediately (ctbot.org, 2013). The principle of atomic bomb is based on the nuclear fission, which is the process that generates huge amount of energy. The modern development of nuclear technology enables fission weapons to be more powerful with a smaller size, and much easier to deliver than earlier types. However, the nuclear radiation produced by fission weapons are highly radioactive and long-lived. This would negative impact humans and the environment. Furthermore, the purposes of the uses of fission weapons in different countries will be considered and discussed.
Physics of Fission
Fission weapon uses the process of nuclear fission to produce large amount of energy. Uranium-235 is a valuable isotope found naturally on the earth (consists of 0.7% U-235) because it can serve as a primary fuel for a weapon. Fission is induced by the capture of a neutron. When a U-235 atom absorbs a neutron, it splits into two lighter nuclei and the process is accompanied with the emission of several neutrons because the heavy nucleus has a higher neutron to proton ratio than the two fragments. There is also the accompanying emission of gamma rays. The released energy is given by where is the mass lost in the reaction and is the speed of light (universal constant ). This energy is in the form of kinetic energy of the product
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