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It was thought that if a plutonium gun-type bomb could be created, then the uranium gun-type bomb would be very easy to make by comparison. However, it was discovered in April 1944 that reactor -bred plutonium ( Pu-239 ) is contaminated with another isotope of plutonium, Pu-240 , which increases the material's spontaneous neutron-release rate ...
Plutonium-240, in addition to being a neutron emitter after fission, is a gamma emitter, and so is responsible for a large fraction of the radiation from stored nuclear weapons. Whether out on patrol or in port, submarine crew members routinely live and work in very close proximity to nuclear weapons stored in torpedo rooms and missile tubes ...
For both the Trinity device and the Fat Man (Nagasaki) bomb, nearly identical plutonium fission through implosion designs were used. The Fat Man device specifically used 6.2 kg (14 lb), about 350 ml or 12 US fl oz in volume, of Pu-239 , which is only 41% of bare-sphere critical mass (see Fat Man article for a detailed drawing) .
Weapons-grade plutonium is defined as being predominantly Pu-239, ... Pu-240 has a high rate of spontaneous fission, which can cause a nuclear weapon to pre-detonate.
The pits of the first nuclear weapons were solid, with an urchin neutron initiator in their center. The Gadget and Fat Man used pits made of 6.2 kg of solid hot pressed plutonium-gallium alloy (at 400 °C and 200 MPa in steel dies – 750 °F and 29,000 psi) half-spheres of 9.2 cm (3.6 in) diameter, with a 2.5 cm (1 in) internal cavity for the initiator.
A nuclear weapon [a] is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion.
Fission product yields by mass for thermal neutron fission of U-235 and Pu-239 (the two typical of current nuclear power reactors) and U-233 (used in the thorium cycle). This page discusses each of the main elements in the mixture of fission products produced by nuclear fission of the common nuclear fuels uranium and plutonium.
Fat Man Replica of the original Fat Man bomb Type Nuclear fission gravity bomb Place of origin United States Production history Designer Los Alamos Laboratory Produced 1945–1949 No. built 120 Specifications Mass 10,300 pounds (4,670 kg) Length 128 inches (3.3 m) Diameter 60 inches (1.5 m) Filling Plutonium Filling weight 6.2 kg Blast yield 21 kt (88 TJ) "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was ...