Little Boy Atomic Bomb in World War II

Little Boy was the first atomic bomb used against Japan in World War II and was detonated over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The design was the work of a team led by Lieutenant Commander Francis Birch at the Los Alamos Laboratory. A gun-type fission weapon, the Little Boy design utilized uranium-235 to create its nuclear reaction. Delivered to Tinian in the Marianas, the first Little Boy was carried to its target by the B-29 Superfortresses Enola Gay flown by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. of the 509th Composite Group. The Little Boy design was briefly retained in the years after World War II but was quickly eclipsed by newer weapons. The Manhattan Project Overseen by Major General Leslie Groves and scientist Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project was the name given to the United States efforts to build nuclear weapons during World War II. The first approach pursued by the project was the use of enriched uranium to create a weapon, as this material was known to be fissionable. To meet the projects needs, enriched uranium production began at a new facility in Oak Ridge, TN in early 1943. Around the same time, scientists began experimenting with various bomb prototypes at the Los Alamos Design Laboratory in New Mexico. Uranium Designs Early work focused on gun-type designs which fired one piece of uranium into another to create a nuclear chain reaction. While this approach proved promising for uranium-based bombs, it was less so for those utilizing plutonium. As a result, the scientists at Los Alamos began developing an implosion design for a plutonium-based bomb as this material was relatively more plentiful. By July 1944, the bulk of the research was focused on the plutonium designs and the uranium gun-type bomb was less of a priority. Leading the design team for the gun-type weapon, Lieutenant Commander Francis Birch succeeded in convincing his superiors that the design was worth pursuing if only as a back-up in case the plutonium bomb design failed. Pushing forward, Birchs team produced specifications for the bomb design in February 1945. Moving into production, the weapon, minus its uranium payload, was completed in early May. Dubbed the Mark I (Model 1850) and code-named Little Boy, the bombs uranium was not available until July. The final design measured 10 feet long and 28 inches in diameter. Little Boy Design A gun-type nuclear weapon, Little Boy relied on one mass of uranium-235 hitting another to create a nuclear reaction. As a result, the core component of the bomb was a smoothbore gun barrel through which the uranium projectile would be fired. The final design specified the use of 64 kilograms of uranium-235. Approximately 60% of this was formed into the projectile, which was a cylinder with a four-inch hole through the middle. The remaining 40% comprised the target which was a solid spike measuring seven inches long with a diameter of four inches. Commander A. Francis Birch (left) assembles the bomb while physicist Norman Ramsey watches. Public Domain When detonated, the projectile would be propelled down the barrel by a tungsten carbide and steel plug and would create a super-critical mass of uranium at impact. This mass was to be contained by a tungsten carbide and steel tamper and neutron reflector. Due to a lack of uranium-235, no full-scale test of the design occurred prior to the bombs construction. Also, due to its relatively simplistic design, Birchs team felt that only smaller-scale, laboratory tests were necessary to prove the concept. Though a design that virtually ensured success, Little Boy was relatively unsafe by modern standards, as several scenarios, such as a crash or electrical short circuit, could lead to a fizzle or accidental detonation. For detonation, Little Boy employed a three-stage fuse system which ensured that the bomber could escape and that it would explode at a preset altitude. This system employed a timer, barometric stage, and a set of doubly-redundant radar altimeters. "Little Boy" Atomic Bomb Type: Nuclear weaponNation: United StatesDesigner: Los Alamos LabratoryLength: 10 feetWeight: 9,700 poundsDiameter: 28 inchesFilling: Uranium-235Yield: 15 kilotons of TNT Delivery Use On July 14, several completed bomb units and the uranium projectile were shipped by train from Los Alamos to San Francisco. Here they were embarked aboard the cruiser USS Indianapolis. Steaming at high speed, the cruiser delivered the bomb components to Tinian on July 26. That same day, the uranium target was flown to the island in three C-54 Skymasters from the 509th Composite Group. With all of the pieces on hand, bomb unit L11 was chosen and Little Boy assembled. Due to the danger of handling the bomb, the weaponeer assigned to it, Captain William S. Parsons, made the decision to delay inserting the cordite bags into the gun mechanism until the bomb was airborne. With the decision to use the weapon against the Japanese, Hiroshima was selected as the target and Little Boy was loaded aboard the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay. Commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets, Enola Gay took off on August 6 and rendezvoused with two additional B-29s, which had been loaded with instrumentation and photographic equipment, over Iwo Jima. Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay landing after the atomic bombing mission on Hiroshima, Japan, 1945. U.S. Air Force Proceeding to Hiroshima, Enola Gay released Little Boy over the city at 8:15 AM. Falling for fifty-seven seconds, it detonated at the predetermined height of 1,900 feet with a blast equivalent to about 13-15 kilotons of TNT. Creating an area of complete devastation approximately two miles in diameter, the bomb, with its resulting shock wave and firestorm, effectively destroyed around 4.7 square miles of the city, killing 70,000-80,000 and injuring another 70,000. The first nuclear weapon used in wartime, it was quickly followed three days later by the use of Fat Man, a plutonium bomb, on Nagasaki. Postwar As it was not expected that the Little Boy design would be used again, many of the plans for the weapon were destroyed. This caused a problem in 1946 when a shortage of plutonium for new weapons led to the need to construct several uranium-based bombs as a stopgap. This resulted in a successful effort to recreate the original design and produced six assemblies. In 1947, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance built 25 Little Boy assemblies though by the following year there was only enough fissionable material to arm ten. The last of the Little Boy units were removed from the inventory in January 1951.

Rehabilitation Of Addiction And Addictive Behaviors Essay

There always been much debate over the topic of treatment modalities, especially as it relates to addiction. Many treatments, models, and theories have claimed success individually when applied to the rehabilitation of addiction and addictive behaviors. In the field of counseling, there are numerous methods that have demonstrated positive results, all with their own benefits and limitations. As time progresses and the field of clinical mental health and addictions counseling matures, it appears that more and professional are adopting a holistic approach to treatment. Some leading approaches to addiction counseling integrate the long debated concept of â€Å"Nature vs Nurture†, or more descriptively put, the interplay of biological factor versus the influences of social factors. Other approaches to treatment incorporate religion and spiritual practices as a means to aid in rehabilitation. Despite the specific treatments which are currently being utilized, it is safe to say that a more holistic ideation is gaining prominence in treatment for those who struggle with addiction. One of the holistic models of treatment is the Biopsychosocial (BPS) model. The following paper will discuss the foundational ideals behind the effectiveness of the model, possible vulnerabilities of the model, the author’s personal reaction to the topic, and other information which might demonstrate a need for ongoing research. The Biopsychosocial Model The Biopsychosocial Model as it applies toShow MoreRelatedThe Use Of Mind Altering Substances Has Been About Since1040 Words   |  5 Pagesgives its users a rush. Most mind altering substances are highly addictive, leaving province level users wanting more. Substances are abused daily and many who do, do   not know the effects of the drugs they use. Furthermore, once consumed these drugs begin to become an addiction for the user. 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Poetic Sound Devices Essay Example For Students

Poetic Sound Devices Essay Buzz and hum they cry, And so do we Rage, rage, against the dying of the light. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight, Toss the glass, boss. The zoo was amazing, especially the lizards and chimpanzees I wish you would mash potatoes in this dish. Examples of Assonance in Literature Assonance is primarily used in poetry in order to add rhythm and music, by adding an internal rhyme to a poem. Let us look at some examples of assonance from literature. Example #1 Try to notice the use of assonance in Robert Frosts poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sounds the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dare and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. The underlined bold letters in the above extract are vowels that are repeated to create assonance. Example #2 Assonance sets the mood of a passage in Carl Sandburg Early Moon: Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came. Notice how the long vowel o in the above extract helps emphasize the idea of something being old and mysterious. Example #3 The sound of long vowels slows down the pace of a passage and sets an atmosphere that is grave and serious. Look at the following example taken from Corm McCarthy Outer Dark: And stepping softly with her air of blooded ruin about the glade in a frail agony of grace she trailed her rags through dust and ashes, circling the dead fire, the charred billets and chalk bones, the little calcimined ribcage. The repetition of the long vowel in the above passage lays emphasis on the frightening atmosphere that the writer wants to depict. Example #4 Similarly, we notice the use of long vowels in a passage from Dylan Thomas famous poem Do Not Go Gentle into the Good Night: Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. The poet deliberately uses assonance in the above lines to slow down the pace of the lines and create a sombreros, as the subject of the poem is death.