Survival tips: nuclear attacks (VII).
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3.6.2.4.7.1.4)- Fission devices:
These were the first to be developed among the nuclear family. The atomic bombs dropped by U.S forces in Japan were of this kind.
A fission bomb produces an uncontrolled reaction of the same kind. Nuclear fission or chain reaction is a phenomenon that occurs naturally among the nucleii of radioactive atoms.
All heavy chemical elements which are radioactive, be them natural or produced in a laboratory, tend to degrade and transform themselves into lead (Pb) isotopes, a fact that makes their nucleii stable and ends the radioactive degradation process which is know as fission.
During this reaction, in essence, nucleii are giving up or acquiring sub-nuclear particles in order to equilibrate their internal structures. These interchangeable particles travel thorough subatomic 'space', crashing other particles and nuclei. These crashed end with the annihilation of such particles and that, in turn, produces or radiates energy.
This reaction occurs naturally, albeit slowly, among minerals containing elements such as uranium. If the reaction is maintained at such a level and the intervening masses are low, the reaction is defined as of sub-critical mass.
If this process is accelerated somehow with the introduction of additional mass (i.e. you put more radioactive material in touch), the reaction accelerates and thus, more heat is generated. This is what happens inside nuclear reactors in a controlled way, and the mass of nuclear combustibles necessary to produce such a thing is known as critical mass.
