CHEMISTRY BLOCK G

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

ISOTOPES IN
NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING
___

By Lazuardi Rinaldi

Nuclear weapons are one of the most dangerous

weapons known to man. They create mass destruction and
emit radiation that will severely harm living creatures, but
many countries own nuclear weapons in case of
emergency attacks in the future. Although these
destructive devices can wipe out an entire society, they are
tested in isolated locations to prevent exposure of
radiation to civilians, such as the Trinity Site and the
Marshall Islands.
Nuclear weapons are created using specific isotopes, such as Plutonium-235. Isotopes
are elements with the same number of protons and electrons, but differs in the number of
neutrons; thus, the atomic mass differs. Isotopes can either be stable or unstable. Stable

isotopes are ones that does not emit radioactive particles nor go through changes, while
unstable isotopes emit alpha, gamma, or beta particles as they go through radioactive decay.
Unstable isotopes, or radioisotopes, continues emitting radioactive particles until they
become stable, where they can be either stable isotope of the same element or a different
one. Each isotope has a natural abundance, which is the amount of occurrence the isotope
has in nature compared to the other isotopes of that element. It is calculated with the
formula below.

Atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs are the two main types of nuclear weapons.
Atomic bombs are created with the either Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239, while hydrogen
bombs are made with Deuterium and Tritium.

Atomic bombs undergoes a process called nuclear fission, where a neutron is shot

into the nucleus of an isotope, splitting it into two smaller fragments, which creates a lot of
energy and radiation. This splitting of the
nucleus free out a couple of neutrons, which
then repeat and create a chain reaction. The
atomic bomb, Little Boy, that was dropped
on Hiroshima used Uranium-235 an explosive
reaction that wiped the entire city, while the
bomb, Fat Man, that was dropped on
Nagasaki used Plutonium-239. Terrifyingly,
around a kilogram of Uranium-235 emit energy
that is the same as 15,000 tons of TNT, while
around a kilogram of Plutonium-239 emit the
same energy as 21,000 tons of TNT.
Hydrogen bombs goes through a process called nuclear

fusion, where two lighter nuclei are combined, or fused, to create a

heavier nucleus. This fusion happen at high temperature and with

high velocity, and as a result, it explodes a massive amount of energy

and radiation. This is known as a thermonuclear explosion, and it

uses the combination of deuterium (hydrogen-2) and tritium (hydrogen-3) to make Helium
and release an extra neutron and energy. Even our sun uses nuclear fusion to create the
energy and light we experience. A hydrogen bomb called Castle Bravo, was tested in Bikini
Atoll, Marshall Islands. The explosion completely destroyed that island plus two others.

~After the Little Boy was dropped

on Hiroshima

~Nagasaki before and after Fat Man was

dropped.

~ Fat Man on the right and Little Boy

on the left.

~The famous mushroom cloud of a hydrogen bomb

The radiation that is emitted by these

bomb are extremely harmful to humans. They
may result to deformation, cell and brain
damage, and even death. Although nuclear
fission and fusion are used as nuclear weapons,
they can also be used to create energy for us to
us, which is why we also have nuclear power
plants all around the world. Nuclear power
plants usually use Uranium fuel through nuclear
fission.
Each of the isotopes mentioned have different half-lives. A half-life is the time it takes
for a radioactivity of an isotope to reduce its amount by half. Plutonium-239 has a half life of

24,100 years, Uranium-235 has a half life of 703,800,000 years, and Tritium has a half life of
12.32 years. Deuterium doesnt have a half-life because it is not radioactive.

References

http://www.cnduk.org/campaigns/global-abolition/hiroshima-a-nagasaki/item/444-ho
w-do-nuclear-weapons-work

https://prezi.com/ueyplgdfdfqs/isotopes-in-nuclear-weapons-testing/

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/NucEne/bomb.html

http://chem.libretexts.org/Core/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry/Nuclear_Chemis
try/Applications_of_Nuclear_Chemistry/Application%3A_Nuclear_Weapons/Nuclear_
Weapons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWAsz59F8gA

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/radiation/radioactiv
erev7.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_hydrogen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-235