Nuclear Bombs

     A very cool example of an exothermic reaction is a nuclear bomb. An exothermic reaction is a reaction in which heat comes from the reaction and goes out into the surrounding air.  Nuclear bombs require enriched Uranium, or Uranium 235. Seven out of every thousand of Uranium atoms are Uranium 235. Uranium 235 is very unstable, and when its atoms split a massive reaction takes place. In a nuclear bomb there is a little bit of Uranium in the front and in the back to the bomb shell. The Uranium is the front is pushed into the Uranium in the back by a little explosion. When the two clumps of Uranium combine their atoms separate, and this makes the explosion. Nuclear bombs were developed during World War 2 in a mission known as the Manhattan Project. The world's top scientists were sent to a little town in New Mexico to build the bomb in complete secrecy. The materials needed to make an atomic bomb are extremely hard to get. In fact, the hardest part of making a nuclear bomb is gathering the materials. The United States has spent a lot of money building facilities to enrich the Uranium needed for a bomb, but even in these facilities the Uranium is still very hard to enrich. Nuclear bombs are used today in warfare. They bring massive casualties to a large area, and their target. 

Here is the great video that taught me about Nuclear Bombs. Check it out!

http://youtu.be/E-Ks-Bs0MPM

YouTube. "How Nuclear Weapon Works." Online video clip. YouTube, 18 December 2013. Web. 19 April 2015.