User:Coolerboy55/sandbox

You have probably heard of a nuclear bomb, but do you know how it works? A nuclear bomb is a weapon that uses a chemical reaction to release huge amounts of energy in explosive form.{} Since nuclear weapons were created in the late 1940s, they have been the most destructive manmade weapon on earth. Most modern nuclear bombs weigh around 2400 lb. but can equal the explosive force of millions of tons of TNT. There are currently thousands of nukes but most of them fall into one of two categories; atomic and thermonuclear. The atomic bomb uses nuclear fission to power its explosion. The thermonuclear uses nuclear fission as well as nuclear fusion to fuel a much larger explosion. Another type of nuclear bomb is the multi-stage thermonuclear bomb, which the range of the explosion is too dangerous to serve purpose or even test. Either way all nuclear weapons use uranium or plutonium to power the blast.{} The intense range and damage of the nuclear bomb is all due to how it works. The nuclear bomb obtains this power from a process that can be accurately compared to the domino effect. The process begins when a uranium (or plutonium) atom comes in contact with a neutron; the uranium then splits in two. The two uranium atoms continue to collide with other neutron atoms and splitting over and over again. This process repeats its’ self until there is so much split uranium atoms that the bombs casing bursts. This is called the “splitting the atom” method.{} The idea of splitting the atom began in 1939 when Albert Einstein wrote a letter to president Roosevelt that the