nuclear weapon

(noun)

A weapon that derives its energy from the nuclear reactions of either fission or fusion.

Related Terms

Examples of nuclear weapon in the following topics:

  • The Hydrogen Bomb

    • The hydrogen bomb is a nuclear weapon that uses a mixture of fission and fusion to produce a massive explosion.
    • A thermonuclear weapon is a nuclear weapon designed to use the heat generated by a fission bomb to compress a nuclear fusion stage.
    • The fusion stage in these types of weapons is required in order to efficiently create the large quantities of fission that are characteristic of most thermonuclear weapons.
    • The only two nuclear weapons that have been used were both fission-based.
    • The basics of the Teller–Ulam design for a thermonuclear weapon.

  • The Atomic Bomb

    • Atomic bombs are nuclear weapons that use the energetic output of nuclear fission to produce massive explosions.
    • Atomic bombs are nuclear weapons that use the energetic output of nuclear fission to produce massive explosions.
    • Only two nuclear weapons have been used in the course of warfare, both by the United States near the end of World War II.
    • The uranium-235 content of "weapons-grade" uranium is generally greater than 85 percent, though inefficient weapons, deemed "weapons-usable," can be made of 20 percent enriched uranium.
    • In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material, either enriched uranium or plutonium, is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction.

  • Genetic Defects from Radiation

    • The medical effects of a nuclear blast upon humans can be put into four categories:
    • No statistically demonstrable increase in congenital malformations was found among the later-conceived children born to survivors of the nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

  • Nuclear Binding Energy and Mass Defect

    • Once mass defect is known, nuclear binding energy can be calculated by converting that mass to energy by using E=mc2.
    • This energy—available as nuclear energy—can be used to produce nuclear power or build nuclear weapons.
    • Nuclear binding energy is also used to determine whether fission or fusion will be a favorable process.
    • As such, there is a peak at iron-56 on the nuclear binding energy curve.
    • Calculate the mass defect and nuclear binding energy of an atom

  • Transuranium Elements

    • Transuranium elements that can be found on Earth now are artificially-generated, synthetic elements made via nuclear reactors or particle accelerators.
    • As of 2008, weapons-grade plutonium cost around $4,000 per gram and californium cost $60,000,000 per gram.

  • Nuclear Reactors

    • A nuclear reactor is a piece of equipment in which nuclear chain reactions can be harnessed to produce energy in a controlled way.
    • The energy released from nuclear fission can be harnessed to make electricity with a nuclear reactor.
    • A nuclear reactor is a piece of equipment where nuclear chain reactions can be controlled and sustained.
    • However, nuclear reactors produce nuclear waste containing radioactive elements.
    • Describe the nuclear chain reaction process utilized in most nuclear reactors

  • Nuclear Fission

    • Nuclear fission occurs when an atom splits into two or more smaller atoms, most often the as the result of neutron bombardment.
    • Nuclear fission is a process by which the nucleus of an atom is split into two or more smaller nuclei, known as fission products.
    • The strong nuclear force is the force between two or more nucleons.
    • In atoms with small nuclei, the strong nuclear force overpowers the electromagnetic force.
    • As the nucleus gets bigger, the electromagnetic force becomes greater than the strong nuclear force.

  • Isotopes in Medicine

    • Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that involves the application of radioactive substances to diagnose or treat disease.
    • In nuclear medicine procedures, radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds.
    • This property of radiopharmaceuticals allows nuclear medicine the ability to image the extent of a disease process in the body.
    • In nuclear medical imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are taken internally, either intravenously or orally.
    • The radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine therapy emit ionizing radiation that travels only a short distance.

  • Nuclear Stability

    • An isotope's nuclear stability depends on the balance of electric and nuclear forces between its protons and neutrons and their arrangement.
    • In nuclear physics, stability of an atom's nucleus depends on the number of protons and neutrons it contains.
    • This force is offset by the nuclear force, which attracts protons and neutrons.
    • This is because, for any constant number of protons, the difference between nuclear force and electrostatic repulsion of protons increases with increasing neutron count.

  • Nuclear Fusion

    • Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together to form a single heavier nucleus and large amounts of energy.
    • Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse," to form a single heavier nucleus.
    • This force, called the strong nuclear force, overcomes electric repulsion in a very close range.
    • At nucleus radii distances, the attractive nuclear force is stronger than the repulsive electrostatic force.
    • Describe the electrostatic and strong nuclear forces and how they act to oppose or promote a fusion reaction