atomic bomb

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to atomic bomb: hydrogen bomb

atomic bomb

An explosive weapon of great destructive power derived from the rapid release of energy in the fission of heavy atomic nuclei, especially of uranium-235 or plutonium-239. Also called A-bomb, atom bomb, fission bomb.

atomic bomb

atom bomb

1. (Atomic Physics) a type of bomb in which the energy is provided by nuclear fission. Uranium-235 and plutonium-239 are the isotopes most commonly used in atomic bombs. Also called: A-bomb or fission bomb Compare fusion bomb

2. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) a type of bomb in which the energy is provided by nuclear fission. Uranium-235 and plutonium-239 are the isotopes most commonly used in atomic bombs. Also called: A-bomb or fission bomb Compare fusion bomb

atom′ic bomb′

1. a bomb whose potency is derived from nuclear fission of atoms of fissionable material with the consequent conversion of part of their mass into energy.

2. a bomb whose explosive force comes from a chain reaction based on nuclear fission in U-235 or plutonium.

Also called A-bomb, atom bomb.

[1910–15]

atomic bomb

A very destructive bomb that derives its explosive power from the fission of atomic nuclei, usually plutonium or uranium 235 (an isotope of uranium). Also called atom bomb.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

atomic bomb - a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (splitting the nuclei of a heavy element like uranium 235 or plutonium 239)

A-bomb, atom bomb, fission bomb, plutonium bomb

bomb - an explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions

clean bomb - an atom bomb leaving little or no radioactive contamination

dirty bomb - an atom bomb that leaves considerable radioactive contamination

neutron bomb - atom bomb that produces lethal neutrons with less blast

atomic weapon, nuclear weapon - a weapon of mass destruction whose explosive power derives from a nuclear reaction

plutonium pit, plutonium trigger - a steel or beryllium sphere containing plutonium 239 that triggers nuclear fission when compressed by explosives

Translations

atomová bomba

atombombe

Atombombe

ατομική βόμβα

atomipommi

bombe atomique

atomska bomba

atombomba

原子爆弾

atombomb

atomic bomb

atom bomb n → bomba atomica

References in periodicals archive ?

However, as Lifton and Mitchell point out, the publicity for the report was overshadowed by the atomic bomb tests at Bikini atoll in early July (83).

From Yellow Peril to Japanese Wasteland: John Hersey's "Hiroshima"

Henriksen follows the trajectory of the atomic bomb across the landscape of American cultural life by tracing the shadow the bomb cast: the magnitude of America's atomic angst appears most clearly in the artifacts of American popular culture.

Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age

Eisenhower (then Supreme Commander in Europe) wrote that he told the Secretary of War that he thought it would be wrong "to drop an atomic bomb on Japan .

Harry Truman as Baptist president

So you can see that it would be extremely difficult to make an atomic bomb out of this plutonium.

Plutonium's happy face

Recently, the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, New Mexico, unveiled their new Little Boy atomic bomb replica, the work of master fabricators Damian Andrus and Rob Pfaff.

60th Anniversary of World War II Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan; Atomic Bomb Replica on Display at Los Alamos Bradbury Science Museum

Nevertheless, those hibakusha, atomic bomb survivors, whose bodies were eaten away by radiation, and who continue to suffer from the aftereffects, can never forget that day.

Full Text of Nagasaki Peace Declaration

Sadako was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima.

(CUL) TURKEY'S CULTURE MINISTER ATTENDS AN EVENT MARKING 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIROSHIMA ATOMIC BOMB

Nevertheless, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan immediately after the American use of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and continued to plan and implement invasions against Japanese-held territories in the Pacific, including Korea, Manchuria, and the Kuril Islands, despite the American use of another atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan

The advent of World War II had made the quest for the atomic bomb into a nail-biting, if highly secretive, race against time.

1945: dropping the bomb: sixty years ago this August, the nuclear age began with U.S. attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

had only one more atomic bomb ready for use, and then it would have had to invade the Home Islands with horrific casualties on both sides.

Smith, Jim & McConnell, Malcolm. The last mission; the secret history of World War II's final battle

In Special Tasks, Sudoplatov disclosed that he bad headed "the Soviet espionage effort to obtain the secrets of the atomic bomb from America and Great Britain.

McCarthy's "witches". (Cover Story: History)

Never much of a ballplayer, Berg was recruited as a spy and dispatched to hear Nobel Prize-winning physicist Werner Heisenberg and speculate about the chances of Germany and the United States getting and using the atomic bomb during World War II.