Overview

The development of nuclear weapons during the Manhattan Project is one of the most significant scientific events of the twentieth century. This book, prepared by a gifted teacher of physics, explores the challenges that faced the members of the Manhattan project. In doing so it gives a clear introduction to fission weapons at the level of an upper-level undergraduate physics student. Details of nuclear reactions, their energy release, the fission process, how critical masses can be estimated, how fissile materials are produced, and what factors complicate bomb design are covered. An extensive list of references and a number of problems for self-study are included. Links are given to several spreadsheets with which users can run many of the calculations for themselves.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bruce Cameron Reed
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Edition:   2nd Revised edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.444kg
ISBN:  

9783642147081

ISBN 10:   3642147089
Pages:   183
Publication Date:   09 October 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Language:   English & English

Table of Contents

Preface Part 1. Energy Release in Nuclear Reactions, Neutrons, Fission, and Characteristics of Fission 1.1 Notational Conventions for Mass Excess and Q-Values 1.2 Rutherford and the Energy Release in Radium Decay 1.3 Rutherford's First Artificial Nuclear Transmutation 1.4 Discovery of the Neutron 1.5 Artificially-Induced Radioactivity and the Path to Fission 1.6 Energy Release in Fission 1.7 The Bohr-Wheeler Theory of Fission: The Z2/A Limit Against Spontaneous Fission 1.8 Energy Spectrum of Fission Neutrons 1.9 Leaping the Fission Barrier 1.10 A Semi-Empirical Look at the Fission Barrier Part 2. Critical Mass and Efficiency 2.1 Neutron Mean Free Path 2.2 Critical Mass: Diffusion Theory 2.3 Effect of Tamper 2.4 Estimating Bomb Efficiency - Analytic 2.5 Estimating Bomb Efficiency - Numerical 2.6 Another Look at Untamped Criticality: Just One Number Part 3. Producing Fissile Material 3.1 Reactor Criticality 3.2 Neutron Thermalization 3.3 Plutonium Production 3.4 Electromagnetic Separation of Isotopes 3.5 Gaseous (Barrier) Diffusion Part 4. Complicating Factors 4.1 Boron Contamination in Graphite 4.2 Spontaneous Fission of 240Pu, Predetonation, and Implosion 4.3 Tolerable Limits for Light-Element Impurities Part 5. Miscellaneous Calculations 5.1 How Warm Is It? 5.2 Brightness of the Trinity Explosion 5.3 A Model for Trace Isotope Production in a Reactor Appendix A Selected i!-Values and Fission Barriers Appendix B Densities, Cross-Sections, and Secondary Neutron Numbers Appendix C Energy and Momentum Conservation in a Two-Body Collision Appendix D Energy and Momentum Conservation in a Two-Body Collision That Produces a Gamma-Ray Appendix E Formal Derivation of the Bohr-Wheeler Spontaneous Fission Limit Appendix F Average Neutron Escape Probability From Within a Sphere Appendix G The Neutron Diffusion Equation Appendix H Questions and Answers Appendix I Further Reading Appendix J Useful Constants and Conversion Factors

Reviews

From the reviews of the second edition: Is it possible to give undergraduate physics students--those who have been introduced to classical mechanics, statistical thermodynamics, and nuclear physics--an understanding of the basic ideas behind nuclear weapons and nuclear power? Sticking exclusively to nuclear fission physics, Reed (Alma College) attempts to do so, relegating much of the physics to a series of appendixes. ! There are ample physics references throughout the book. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. (A. M. Saperstein, Choice, Vol. 48 (9), May, 2011)

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