Perspective

The turn of this time goes to nuclear jargon as the world is wholly turning to nuclear!.Hope you will enjoy.

Atom: The smallest particle of matter that can have the properties of a chemical element. Atoms are composed of protons (positively charged particles), electrons (negatively charged particles), and neutrons (uncharged particles). Protons and neutrons are heavy particles that are found in an atom’s nucleus (the core). Electrons, which are much smaller and lighter, orbit the nucleus.

Atom Bomb: A nuclear bomb whose energy comes from the fission of uranium or plutonium

Fission: The splitting of the nucleus of an element into fragments. Heavy elements such as uranium or plutonium release energy when fissioned.

Fusion: The combining of two nuclei to form a heavier one. Fusion of the isotopes of light elements such as hydrogen or lithium gives a large release of energy.

Radiation: Radiation is any energy that is emitted from some source and travels through space. This includes things such as light, sound, and heat. The radiation typically referred to when discussing nuclear weapons or nuclear energy is ionizing radiation, which comes from unstable atoms. To become stable, unstable atoms emit radiation in the form of particles, such as alpha and beta radiation, or in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as gamma radiation and X-rays.

Alpha Radiation: Radiation consisting of helium nuclei (atomic wt. 4, atomic number 2) that are discharged by radioactive disintegration of some heavy elements, including uranium-238, radium-226, and plutonium-239.

Beta Radiation: Radiation consisting of electrons or positrons emitted from atoms at speeds approaching the speed of light.

Gamma Radiation: Electromagnetic waves released during radioactive decay that can ionize atoms and split chemical bonds.

Hydrogen Bomb: A nuclear weapon that derives its energy from the fusion of hydrogen. Also known as a thermonuclear weapon.

Operational”, “Active” and “Deployed” nuclear weapons: Fully functional nuclear weapons which are either mated to delivery systems or available for immediate combat use. There are about 11,800 operational/active/deployed nuclear weapons in the global nuclear arsenal (mostly U.S. and Russian).

“Reserve” or “Inactive/Responsive” nuclear weapons: Nuclear weapons not immediately available for combat. They are kept in long-term storage as spares, as a source of parts for remanufacture or the manufacture of other weapons, or held in reserve as a responsive force that may augment deployed forces.These weapons can lack some component which renders them inoperable unless that component is replaced. There are 13,500 reserve nuclear weapons in the U.S. and Russian arsenals. Should they choose to do so, the U.S. and Russia could use these reserves to essentially double the number of operational nuclear weapons in their arsenals within a relatively short period of time.

“Low-yield” nuclear weapons: Generally refers to simple fission weapons, first described as “atomic bombs”, which have a nominal explosive power of about 15 kilotons, roughly the size of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These are the type of weapons which would be made by emerging nuclear weapon states such as India and Pakistan or by terrorists (using Highly Enriched Uranium).

“Tactical” nuclear weapons:This is an older term which is no longer useful in describing the explosive size of nuclear weapons (many modern versions of these weapons can have large yields). “Tactical” now infers that the weapon is used for limited, or “theater” military operations, but not long-range intercontinental missions. Thus, the term “non-strategic weapon” is more appropriate.

“Strategic” nuclear weapons:Often referred to as “high-yield” or “thermonuclear” nuclear weapons. The first generations of these weapons were called “hydrogen bombs” because they used (and still use) atomic bombs as triggers to generate enough heat to cause the nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms (fusion is the same process which powers the Sun).Most modern thermonuclear weapons are 20 to 50 times more powerful than the Hiroshima-size bombs, although weapons more than 1000 times as powerful still exist in the global nuclear arsenal. Strategic nuclear weapons generally have an explosive power of at least 100 kilotons yield, i.e. 100,000 tons of TNT. There are 7200 strategic nuclear weapons in the global nuclear arsenal.

Launch-on-Warning (LoW) capability: Early Warning Systems (EWS), high-alert nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, and nuclear command and control systems, all working together, provide the U.S. and Russia the capability to Launch-on-Warning.

Launch-on-Warning (Low) status: The combination of Launch-on-Warning capability with Launch-on-Warning policy has created what is commonly referred to as Launch-on-Warning status. Low capability + Low policy = Low status.

“Hair-trigger alert”:“Hair-trigger alert” is a figurative term sometimes used to describe strategic nuclear weapons at Launch-on-Warning status and in particular the condition of U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals,

Fission bombs: There are two main types of nuclear weapons-atom bombs which use fission as the main reaction, i.e. the atoms are split; hydrogen bombs which use fusion as the main reaction, i.e. the atoms are fused together.

Materials: The core of a fission bomb is either plutonium or highly enriched uranium. These are the only materials that can achieve a self-sustaining chain reaction.

Plutonium occurs naturally only in minute quantities. Most plutonium is produced in reactors through the fission of uranium. It must then be extracted in a reprocessing facility if it is to be useable.
Naturally occurring uranium is mostly Ur238, which is not suitable for nuclear weapons. Ur235, which is better at sustaining a chain reaction, comprises about 0.7% of natural uranium. An enrichment facility is used to increase the proportion of Ur235 to about 90%, although lower grades can be used. Uranium which is composed of more than 20% Ur235 is known as highly enriched uranium and can be used in a nuclear weapon. Low enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power reactors.

Mechanics: Plutonium and uranium atoms are both heavy, meaning they have a large number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Fission of a heavy nucleus can be spontaneous or induced by the absorption of a neutron. During fission, when the heavy nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei, extra neutrons are released. If these neutrons are absorbed by other nuclei, they in turn could split, also releasing neutrons. Generally, the neutrons released by an atom splitting spontaneously “miss” other atoms and so do not stimulate further fission. However, if the atoms are brought together under high pressure, the “hit rate” of neutrons is increased and a chain reaction can occur. In nuclear power plants this chain reaction is controlled by absorbing extra neutrons. In nuclear weapons this chain reaction becomes critical, i.e. uncontrolled.

Achieving criticality in an atom bomb: In order to achieve criticality and thus create an explosion from the fission of atoms, an uncontrolled chain reaction must be generated by compressing the fissile material so that the atoms are close enough for the released neutrons to continue to hit. Such compression can be obtained through a gun method or an implosion method.

Gun method: One mass of uranium is fired down a barrel into another mass of uranium. This is the simplest design and was used for the Hiroshima bomb. However, it is not as efficient as the implosion method.

Implosion method: A sphere of fissile material – plutonium or highly-enriched uranium – is surrounded by conventional high explosives, which are detonated simultaneously. Timing of the detonation is crucial for the material to be compressed sufficiently and uniformly.

Fusion bombs:In fusion bombs, deuterium and tritium – two isotopes of hydrogen – are fused together to create heavier atoms. This is the same reaction as occurs in the centre of the sun. Fusion can only happen at very high temperatures and pressures. In a nuclear weapon these are created through using a fission explosion (i.e. an atom bomb) to trigger the fusion reaction. There is no theoretical limit to the explosive force of a fusion weapon. Typically, fusion weapons are 10 – 100 times as explosive as the fission bombs which nearly destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Mechanics: In fusion bombs, deuterium and tritium are fused together to create heavier atoms. This is the same reaction as occurs in the centre of the sun. Fusion can only happen at very high temperatures and pressures. In a nuclear weapon, these temperature and pressure levels are created by using a fission explosion (i.e. an atom bomb) to trigger the fusion reaction. There is no theoretical limit to the explosive force of a fusion weapon. Typically, fusion weapons are 10 – 100 times as explosive as the fission bombs that nearly destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Weapons materials: The core of a fission bomb is either plutonium or highly enriched uranium. These are the only materials that can achieve a self-sustaining chain reaction. Plutonium occurs naturally only in minute quantities. Most plutonium is produced in reactors through the fission of Uranium. If it is to be useable it must then be extracted in a reprocessing facility. Naturally occurring uranium is mostly Ur238, which is not suitable for nuclear weapons. Ur235, which is better at sustaining a chain reaction, comprises about 0.7%. An enrichment facility is used to increase the proportion of Ur235 to about 90%, although lower grades could be used. Uranium which comprises more than 20% Ur235 is known as highly enriched uranium and can be used in a nuclear weapon. Low enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power reactors. Deuterium (H2) and tritium (H3) are isotopes of hydrogen which are used in fusion weapons. Tritium is also used in a fission bomb as a source of additional neutrons to assist the fission process.