could u-235 be activated by shooting a bullet at it?

survivorboi · #1 Aug 30, 2009, 01:51 PM

I was reading on fission bombs the other day and it sounds very simple on how to make a nuclear bomb. I just want to know if I'm understanding this or not.

1. Get a sphere of U-235 and mold U-238 around the sphere to create a tamper.
2. Shoot a U-235 bullet at the tamper.
3. Detonates.

That sounds too simple to be true!

Curlyben · Aug 30, 2009, 02:01 PM

Very basically yes.
This is one of the designs they used during WW2, but it produces a very large bomb, in terms of size and mass, for a relatively small detonation.

The modern method is shaped explosives and enrichment with Plutonium.

These are known as Gun and Implosion types.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons - good place to start.



At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you will be able to: Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+ topics. Accept money for answers that you provide. Communicate privately with other members (PM). See fewer ads. Sign Up!