practice
- Write something.
- Write something.
- Write something.
- Write something.
statistical
- yield-to-weight.txt
The efficiency of a nuclear weapon is often stated as a yield-to-weight ratio
— the energy released after the weapon detonated divided by the mass of all its
parts (nuclear fuel, conventional explosive, triggers, casing, etc.) before it
detonated. The practical limit for all forms of nuclear weapon is thought to
be 6 kt/kg (kilotons per kilogram). Identify the weapon that comes
closest to this limit and state its yield-to-weight ratio. The accompanying
tab-delimited-text file provides
the following information for all publicly known weapons designed and built in
the United States from 1945-1991:
- Designation (the "make and model" of the device)
- Type of device (bomb, warhead, artillery shell, or demolition munition)
- Weight in english pounds (1 kg = 2.2 lbs)
- Maximum explosive yield in kilotons of TNT
Source: Sublette, Carey. Complete
List of All US Nuclear Weapons. Nuclear Weapon Archive. 14 October 2006.
investigative
- Hey you! Read this.
The ultimate secret of the W-88 warhead, as with all nuclear bombs,
is the mere fact that one kilogram of uranium, when completely fissioned, releases
the energy equivalent of 18 thousand tons (18 kilotons) of TNT. Six kilograms
of uranium would fit inside a can of soda pop. If the published descriptions
are correct, the W-88 will fully fission about 26 kilograms of uranium, a liter
and a half, or two wine bottles' worth. A softball bat made of uranium would
weigh about 26 kilograms. The Hiroshima bomb reportedly had twice that much
uranium-235, but it was only 2% efficient
Source: Morland, Howard. The Holocaust Bomb: a Question of Time. Federation of American Scientists. 15 November 1999.
Verify (in whatever order you wish) that …
- "[O]ne kilogram of uranium, when completely fissioned, releases the energy equivalent of 18 thousand tons (18 kilotons) of TNT."
- "Six kilograms of uranium would fit inside a can of soda pop."
- "[T]he W-88 will fully fission about 26 kilograms of uranium, a liter and a half, or two wine bottles' worth."
- "A softball bat made of uranium would weigh about 26 kilograms."