gun-type
Hiroshima bomb design
Gun-type describes a nuclear weapon design where one mass of fissile material is fired into another to achieve critical mass and trigger detonation.
The first atomic bomb used on a city—dropped on Hiroshima—was a gun-type device.
The design is simpler than implosion weapons but requires more fissile material: a gun-type uranium bomb.
Nuclear breakup releasing energy
- uranium-235Fissile nuclear isotope
- Little BoyCodename for Hiroshima bomb
- HiroshimaFirst nuclear-struck city
- critical massThreshold for self-sustaining reaction
subcritical · projectile · target · assembly · Manhattan Project · simplicity · reliability · inefficiency
fission
Nuclear breakup releasing energy
- uranium-235Fissile nuclear isotope
- Little BoyCodename for Hiroshima bomb
- HiroshimaFirst nuclear-struck city
critical mass · subcritical · projectile · target · assembly · Manhattan Project · simplicity · reliability · inefficiency · South Africa
firing mechanism
Device initiating weapon discharge
breech · striker · hammer · discharge · muzzle · chamber · cartridge · recoil · automatic · semi-automatic
category
A class of things
- designationFormal name or title
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- taxonomyScience of categorical arrangement
model · variant · military · civilian · sporting · combat · hunting · defense · handgun · rifle