I just got to thinking about the idea that matter has potential energy (Einstein) lead in some way to the formation of a belief that a fission weapon was possible during WWII. However, what made scientists think that uranium and plutonium would be good choices for fissile fuel?
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energy is released because the split products after radioactive disintegration have less mass than the total before E +MC^2 and C is a huge number, C^2 is much much much bigger
that alone did not make a weapon. the we, , germans and Japanese thought of using it to make a "dirty bomb" just spreading radioactive junk around
the fact the a stray neutron could initiate the radioactive decay meant you could cause more energy IF you had a source of neutrons
the OMG moment was in the 1930s when Fermi and others realized that U and P also gave off neutrons which in turn would set off their neighbor atoms.
a process that would have taken hundreds of millions of years in nature would happen in less than 1/000 of 1/000,000 of a second
BLAM!
an atomic uranium power plant "dances with devil" and tries to keep the reaction controlled.
that alone did not make a weapon. the we, , germans and Japanese thought of using it to make a "dirty bomb" just spreading radioactive junk around
the fact the a stray neutron could initiate the radioactive decay meant you could cause more energy IF you had a source of neutrons
the OMG moment was in the 1930s when Fermi and others realized that U and P also gave off neutrons which in turn would set off their neighbor atoms.
a process that would have taken hundreds of millions of years in nature would happen in less than 1/000 of 1/000,000 of a second
BLAM!
an atomic uranium power plant "dances with devil" and tries to keep the reaction controlled.