The Manhattan Project :a very brief introduction to the physics of nuclear weapons /

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"Version: 20170501"--Title page verso."A Morgan & Claypool publication as part of IOP Concise Physics"--Title page verso.Includes bibliographical references.Preface -- 1. The background -- 1.1. The physics -- 1.2. The Manhattan Project2. Nuclear fission -- 2.1. Energy release in fission -- 2.2. Chain reaction timescale -- 2.3. Temperature equivalent of fission fragments -- 2.4. A first glimpse of the efficiency issue -- 2.5. Neutron pairing energy, the fission barrier, and plutonium -- 2.6. Decay mechanisms and the ([alpha], n) problem -- 2.7. Spontaneous fission3. Criticality and efficiency -- 3.1. Bare criticality -- 3.2. Supercriticality and the radius-density effect -- 3.3. Tamped criticality -- 3.4. Efficiency4. Obtaining fissile material -- 4.1. U-235 : the electromagnetic method -- 4.2. U-235 : the gaseous diffusion method -- 4.3. Pu-239 : the Hanford reactors5. Los Alamos, Little Boy, Fat Man, Trinity, Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- 5.1. Predetonation probability -- 5.2. Little Boy -- 5.3. Implosion and Fat Man -- 5.4. Yield probability -- 5.5. Trinity -- 5.6. Hiroshima and Nagasaki6. Effects of nuclear weapons -- 6.1. Brightness and thermal radiation -- 6.2. Shock wave -- 6.3. Neutron scattering -- 6.4. A brief tutorial on radioactivity and radiation exposure units -- 6.5. Prompt radioactivity from a nuclear weapon7. Legacy -- 7.1. Postwar proliferation, tests, and deployments -- 7.2. Nuclear arms treaties and the baggage of the Cold War -- 7.3. Final thoughts.The development of nuclear weapons by the Manhattan Project during World War II was one of the most dramatic scientific/technological episodes in human history. This book, prepared by a recognized expert on the Manhattan Project, offers a concise survey of the essential physics concepts underlying fission weapons. The text describes the energetics and timescales of fast-neutron chain reactions, why only certain isotopes of uranium and plutonium are suitable for use in fission weapons, how critical mass and bomb yield can be estimated, how the efficiency of nuclear weapons can be enhanced, how the fissile forms of uranium and plutonium were obtained, some of the design details of the 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' bombs, and some of the thermal, shock, and radiation effects of nuclear weapons. Calculation exercises are provided, and a Bibliography lists authoritative print and online sources of information for readers who wish to pursue more detailed study of this fascinating topic.Also available in print.Mode of access: World Wide Web.System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader, EPUB reader, or Kindle reader.Bruce Cameron Reed is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics at Alma College, Alma, Michigan. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Waterloo in Canada. In addition to a quantum mechanics text and three other books on the Manhattan Project (including the IOP Concise Physics volume Atomic Bomb: The Story of the Manhattan Project), he has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals on research in the fields of astronomy, data analysis, quantum physics, mathematics, nuclear physics, the history of physics, and the physics of nuclear weapons. In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society 'For his contributions to the history of both the physics and the development of nuclear weapons in the Manhattan Project.' In 2016 he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Physics. He lives in Michigan with his wife Laurie.Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 12, 2017).

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Call Number

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Publisher

: .,

Collation

1 online resource (various pagings) :illustrations (some color), maps.

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781681746050

Classification

539.762

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Edition

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Subject(s)

Nuclear physics.
Nuclear weapons.
Nuclear fission.

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Statement of Responsibility

B. Cameron Reed.

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