Why does a bomb exploded

What happens when a bomb explodes and how can this information save lives? Now, IEDs are used throughout the world with devastating consequences. But at the University of Sheffield we're working with the Ministry of Defence to conduct truly life-saving research in this area.

This new atomic age was expected to change the face of warfare. But since then, battlefield explosives have moved in a different direction. They've become smaller and much more targeted. One of the big reasons IEDs are so hard to defend against is that we don't actually really understand how explosions interact with targets at very close distances. But if we can decipher what's going on, we have the potential to save lives, all over the world.

I've come to the University of Sheffield unique blast laboratory to meet civil engineering researchers Sam Clarke and Sam Rigby, who are attempting to solve this problem. But things have changed.

Now the threat is IEDs, small explosives, very, very close in, and that's where the scientific challenge is. So within the first microseconds after detonation, that's what the Ministry of Defence are really interested in as well because if we understand that better, we can help save lives. They're essentially limited in their use because we couldn't guarantee their reliability. So what Sam and Sam were able to do is start collecting data to look at what was very, very important when we do those explosive tests and then they could start developing test methods that allowed us to explore this in a lot more detail.

But the critical thing with the high explosive is it's how quickly it gives out the energy and it's how that energy then dissipates into the environment that we're really interested in. We don't quite kind of exactly know what's going on. However most of these will suffer from fatal burns, will be blinded, bleeding and suffering massive internal injuries. Survivors will be affected within a matter of days by radioactive fall-out. Radiation-induced cancers will affect many, often over twenty years later.

Nuclear weapons cause severe damage to the climate and environment on a scale incomparable to any other weapon: the Red Cross estimates that a billion people around the world could face starvation as a result of nuclear war.

Taking into account the effects a nuclear bomb would have, it is no surprise that CND campaigns against nuclear weapons. They are immoral and expensive weapons of mass destruction, which have no military or strategic function in the face of 21st century threats.

Your support goes a long way! Get the latest updates on our campaign. If you are advised to evacuate: Monitor the radio or TV and follow the recommendations about evacuation routes, temporary shelters and other emergency procedures. Before you leave home, close windows, doors and fireplace dampers. Take important items with you, such as prescription medicines, personal toiletry items, emergency food and water, first aid kit, flashlight, cash, credit cards and personal identification.

If you are traveling in a vehicle, close all windows and vents to prevent radioactive material from entering the car. Planning is the key to being prepared to protect yourself and your family during any emergency. Develop a family emergency plan, know how your community will respond, and consider whether relatives or neighbors with special needs may need assistance.

Can people take potassium iodine KI or other drugs to protect themselves from radiation? Drugs are not available to protect a person from most radioactive materials. Potassium iodide, also called KI, only protects the thyroid gland from exposure to radioactive iodine, which could lead to thyroid cancer years after exposure.

KI is not likely to be helpful after a nuclear bomb blast but may be recommended after a nuclear power plant accident. More information about nuclear blasts and radiation can be found through the Virginia Department of Health at www.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www. Request an amendment to a birth certificate? Fission can be self-sustaining because it produces more neutrons with the speed required to cause new fissions. This creates the chain reaction. The very first uranium bomb, Little Boy, dropped on Hiroshima in , used 64 kilograms of 80 percent enriched uranium.

In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material, either enriched uranium or plutonium, is assembled into a supercritical mass—the amount of material needed to start an exponentially growing nuclear chain reaction. The implosion method is considered more sophisticated than the gun method and only can be used if the fissile material is plutonium. The inherent radioactivity of uranium will then release a neutron, which will bombard another atom of U to produce the unstable uranium, which undergoes fission, releases further neutrons, and continues the process.

The uranium atom can split any one of dozens of different ways, as long as the atomic weights add up to uranium plus the extra neutron. The following equation shows one possible split, namely into strontium 95 Sr , xenon Xe , and two neutrons n , plus energy:.