Building Nuclear Bombs for
Dummies
Siu Ping Chin Feman, Stuart Tomko
Terms
Fission - The splitting of an atom into
two particles of smaller total mass
• http://people.howstuffworks.com/nucle
ar-bomb3.htm
Fusion – The brining together of two
smaller particles to form a larger one
• Ask the swimmers
Einstein’s famous formula: E=mc2
Terms
k factor – the average number of
neutrons from each fission that goes
on to start another fission
Critical mass – the minimum mass of
fissionable material required to
sustain a nuclear fission reaction (k
> 1)
• supercrititcal and subcritical
Types of Nuclear Bombs
Fission Bombs
• Based on nuclear fission
Fusion Bombs
• Based on nuclear fusion
• “at the heart of every good fusion bomb
is a good fission bomb”
We’re going to build a fission bomb
• Easier
• necessary for a fusion bomb
Detonating devices
Gun-triggered
• Fires one subcritical mass of nuclear material
at another, forming a critical mass
Implosion-triggered
• Fires an even blast behind two subcritical
masses bringing them together with extreme
pressure
• The explosion must be completely even
Explosive lens
Explosive lenses are very complicated so
we’re building a gun-triggered bomb
Neutron source
The Initiator
• Need a source of neutrons to start the
fission
• Most common is a polonium-
210/beryllium initiator
Polonium-210 is radioactive and emits alpha
particles
Alpha particles cause beryllium to emit
neutrons
Containment device
Tamper/Reflector
• A thick shell of neutron reflecting
material to contain the explosion and
make sure the bomb doesn’t fizzle out
• We’re using uranium-238, which is
decent and readily available
The Nuclear material
Must use a material that can be
supercritical and that can undergo induced
fusion
Plutonium-239
• The more powerful, but harder to obtain and
cannot be detonated with a gun-triggered
device
Uranium-235
• Not as powerful,
• easier to get and detonate
We’re using U-235
Were to get everything
Gun-triggering device
• you can buy C-4 on the black market for
relatively cheap.
• Other explosive can easily be made (talk to me
after class).
Neutron source
• You can buy beryllium or steal it from the
chem department here.
• Buy Po-210 at www.unitednuclear.com
Containment device/Tamper
• You can buy U-238 from Canadians
Where to get the rest
The nuclear material
• Can be stolen from a conversion facilities in Erwin, TN
and Lynchburg, VA
• U-238 can also be enriched to U-235
1. Pour a few gallons of HF over the uranium oxide you
legally purchased
2. Bubble fluorine gas into the container
3. Transform gas into liquid (can be done with a simple
bicycle pump)
4. Put the liquid in a bucket and swing in a circle to
centrifuge (can also be done in a commercially available
centrifuge)
5. DO NOT PUT ALL ENRICHED URANIUM TOGETHER OR
YOU MAY EXPLODE
6. Put Ca tablets into each bucket (available at any CVS)
7. The Ca will separate the hexafluoride out of the uranium
and you will be left with weapons grade U-238
Assembly
First build initiator
• Get a small amount of your Po-210 and
wrap it in metal foil. Next wrap that in
Be and then wrap the whole thing in
another layer of foil.
Nuclear material
• Take just under 10 lbs of U-235 and
wrap it around the initiator. This is
what you are going to fire the rest of
the U-235 into.
Assembly
Build the gun-trigger
• Take whatever explosive you settled on for the
gun-trigger and place it at the back of a small
mass of U-235. Rig up some detonating
device to set off the explosive.
Putting it all together
• At one end of your tamper place the bulk of
the uranium wrapped around the initiator
• At the other end, place the gun trigger
• Seal everything nice and tight
Congratulations, you have a nuclear bomb
What it should look like
http://people.howstuffworks.com/nu
clear-bomb5.htm
Why it matters
Consequences of a nuclear explosion
• A wave of intense heat and pressure
• Radiation
• Radioactive fallout
Health Risks
• Getting blown up
• Emotional distress
• Cancer
• Infertility
• Birth defects
Sources
people.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-
bomb1.htm
www.subterrane.com
www.barryrudolph.con
Weapons of Tomorrow. Brian
Beckett. 1983
Physics. 5th ed. Giancoli