atomic bomb
Fission-powered explosive device
An atomic bomb is a weapon of mass destruction that releases energy through nuclear fission—the splitting of uranium or plutonium atoms.
The only wartime use was the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which killed over 100,000 people and prompted Japan's surrender.
Often shortened to A-bomb.
Figuratively, to drop an atomic bomb is to deliver shocking news.
First nuclear-struck city
- NagasakiSecond city bombed atomically
- Manhattan ProjectClandestine atomic weapons program
- Trinity testInitial nuclear weapon explosion
- Little BoyCodename for Hiroshima bomb
Fat Man · Oppenheimer · Enola Gay · Los Alamos · Cold War · arms race · V-J Day · Albert Einstein
Sudden forceful burst
- shockwavePropagating pressure disturbance
- fireballLuminous meteor or explosion
- mushroom cloudDistinctive nuclear blast formation
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
radiation · destruction · vaporization · firestorm · ground zero · crater · devastation · casualties
Nuclear breakup releasing energy
- chain reactionSelf-sustaining causal sequence
- critical massThreshold for self-sustaining reaction
- uraniumElement ninety-two
- plutoniumActinide, atomic number 94
enrichment · isotopes · neutrons · nucleus · implosion · yield · kiloton · megaton
Highest-frequency electromagnetic radiation
- alpha particlesEmitted helium nuclei
- beta particlesElectrons from radioactive decay
- radioactivitySpontaneous nuclear decay
- half-lifePeriod for fifty-percent reduction
decay · contamination · radiation sickness · Geiger counter · dosimeter · cesium · strontium · iodine-131
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- apocalypseTotal civilizational collapse
- existential threatPeril to survival itself
mutually assured destruction · Armageddon · holocaust · obliteration · catastrophe · mass destruction · extinction
Munition's explosive section
- payloadCarried freight or charge
- bomberExplosive-delivery aircraft or saboteur
- delivery systemMeans of conveying goods
- arsenalStockpile of munitions
stockpile · silo · deployment · first strike · retaliation · target · air burst · yield
Hiroshima
First nuclear-struck city
- NagasakiSecond city bombed atomically
- Manhattan ProjectClandestine atomic weapons program
- Trinity testInitial nuclear weapon explosion
Little Boy · Fat Man · Oppenheimer · Enola Gay · Los Alamos · Cold War · arms race · V-J Day · Albert Einstein · postwar era
blast
Sudden forceful burst
- shockwavePropagating pressure disturbance
- fireballLuminous meteor or explosion
- mushroom cloudDistinctive nuclear blast formation
fallout · radiation · destruction · vaporization · firestorm · ground zero · crater · devastation · casualties · burns
fission
Nuclear breakup releasing energy
- chain reactionSelf-sustaining causal sequence
- critical massThreshold for self-sustaining reaction
- uraniumElement ninety-two
plutonium · enrichment · isotopes · neutrons · nucleus · implosion · yield · kiloton · megaton · subcritical
gamma rays
Highest-frequency electromagnetic radiation
- alpha particlesEmitted helium nuclei
- beta particlesElectrons from radioactive decay
- radioactivitySpontaneous nuclear decay
half-life · decay · contamination · radiation sickness · Geiger counter · dosimeter · cesium · strontium · iodine-131 · black rain
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- apocalypseTotal civilizational collapse
existential threat · mutually assured destruction · Armageddon · holocaust · obliteration · catastrophe · mass destruction · extinction
warhead
Munition's explosive section
- payloadCarried freight or charge
- bomberExplosive-delivery aircraft or saboteur
- delivery systemMeans of conveying goods
arsenal · stockpile · silo · deployment · first strike · retaliation · target · air burst · yield · detonation
- 1940sWWII, D-Day, Pearl Harbor, Normandy, VE Day
- 20th CenturyWorld War I aftermath, Cuban Missile Crisis, New Deal, Nazi Germany, Spanish Civil War
- 20th Century HistoryWorld War I, WWI, Great Depression, Russian Revolution, Bolshevik Revolution
- WWIID-Day, Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Hiroshima, Holocaust
- Nuclearnuclear reactor, nuclear energy, uranium, nuclear fusion, nuclear power
- nuclear warnuclear holocaust, nuclear arsenal, ICBM, mushroom cloud, nuclear triad
atomic bombconventional weapon
Non-WMD military armament
hand grenade · rifle · sword · bow and arrow · slingshot
atomic bombfirecracker
Small celebratory explosive device
peashooter · popgun · cap gun · pea shooter · BB gun
atomic bombpeace treaty
Formal end to hostilities
olive branch · white flag · disarmament · nuclear disarmament · diplomatic solution
bomb, atom, atomic, atoms, subatomic, atomism, atomically, atomic energy, atomic structure