This self-sustaining reaction is known as "criticality." Fission bombs. ... (4,670 kg) and used plutonium-239 to set off a chain reaction. It was dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.

Physicists have solved a long-standing puzzle about mercury’s nuclear fission by using a five-dimensional model that ...

The "Fat Man" atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, remains one of the most significant and terrifying examples of the destructive power of nuclear weapons. In this video, we ...

A five-dimensional model has successfully predicted the asymmetric fission of mercury isotopes, offering new insights into ...

Compared to the plutonium still contained in CANDU spent fuel, the plutonium in the fresh fuel intended to be used in Moltex’s reactors would be far more accessible because it is no longer mixed with ...

In a standard light-water reactor (LWR) a few percent of U-235 is used up this way, after which fission products, mostly minor actinides, begin to inhibit the fission process, and fresh fuel is ...

The direct introduction into the lungs of soluble compounds of the carrier-free fission products, and neptunium and plutonium, demonstrated that the radioelements that were not absorbed from the ...