Nuclear Weapons

[Keven]

To my understanding a nuclear bomb/missle works this way;

one particle is split, then they move of rapidly hitting other particles and causing a chain reaction so on and so forth causing a giant explosion.

Is there a chance that the split particle could fraction off and miss all of the other particles causing nothing to happen? It would be a extremely small chance of this occuring but I was just thinking about it one day.

All particles are moving, so what if they bounced off of each other at the right moments and they all stopped moving?

Every action has an equal or opposite reaction, so what if all of the reactions were both equal and opposite would they all cease moving?

 

[persephone8]

Greetings Keven,

Imagine the effect nuclear chain reactions have on everything about us, if we are interconnected at the particular level. Doesn't sound like a sound idea in that respect, does it.

The Appropriateness of Chance is Astounding
Persephone

"There are great ideas undiscovered, breakthroughs available to those who can remove one of truth's protective layers" by Neil Armstrong

 

[Keven]

good point I forgot that even air has particles

 

[Darby]

Is there a chance that the split particle could fraction off and miss all of the other particles causing nothing to happen? It would be a extremely small chance of this occuring but I was just thinking about it one day.

Yes, absolutely. That's why you need a "critical mass" for a sustained chain reaction. You have to have the fissle material at critical density so that when a neutron is kicked out of one nucleus and strikes the next nucleus, splitting it and kicking out yet another neutron that it hits another nucleus. If the material isn't at the correct density the probability of the neutrons striking other nuclei and sustaining the chain reaction is too low to get the desired high energy detonation. The neutrons fracture the nuclei but its the release of the nuclear binding energy (the Strong Force that binds protons and neutrons), 1000 times greater than the electric force, that is the vast majority of the energy released in a nuclear explosion.

The mass chain reaction has to occur in about 8-10 billionths of a second otherwise the mass simply blows apart much like a normal chemical explosion without a substantial chain reaction and the fission shuts down. We call that a "fizzler" or "dirty bomb" if the reaction only continues for 3-5 billionths of a second. The secret behind how to do this was the difference between whether the US, Germany or Japan accomplished making the first atomic bomb. Germany and Japan were close but couldn't get a sustained chain reaction. In fact, most of the material for the Nagasaki bomb came from Germany and was "hijacked" by the Allies as it was being transported to Japan for their nuclear bomb program.

Even with a critical mass there's a vanishingly small statistical probability that the neutrons never strike another nucleus. But if the mass is critical I wouldn't want to be the bean counter who stands next to the uranium or plutonium ball and monitors the neutrons to see if they actually miss.

 

[Darby]

All particles are moving, so what if they bounced off of each other at the right moments and they all stopped moving?

If they all stopped with respect to what?