Fission Bomb (Noun)
Meaning
A nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (splitting the nuclei of a heavy element like uranium 235 or plutonium 239).
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- The first nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, was a fission bomb that used plutonium as its fissile material.
- A fission bomb works by rapidly assembling a critical mass of fissile material, causing a chain reaction that releases a massive amount of energy.
- The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II were fission bombs that used uranium and plutonium, respectively.
- The development of the hydrogen bomb in the 1950s led to a shift away from fission bombs as the primary nuclear weapon.
- The fission bomb is considered a relatively simple type of nuclear weapon compared to more advanced designs, but it is still capable of causing widespread destruction.