Preface
A note on units
Acknowledgements
Author biography
1 The background
1.1 The physics
1.2 The Manhattan Project
References
2 Nuclear fission
2.1 Energy release in fission
2.2 Chain reaction timescale
2.3 Temperature equivalent of fission fragments
2.4 A first glimpse of the efficiency issue
2.5 Neutron pairing energy,the fission barrier,and plutonium
2.6 Decay mechanisms and the (α,n) problem
2.7 Spontaneous fission
References
3 Criticality and efficiency
3.1 Bare criticality
3.2 Supercriticality and the radius-density effect
3.3 Tamped criticality
3.4 Efficiency
References
4 Obtaining fissile material
4.1 U-235:the electromagnetic method
4.2 U-235:the gaseous diffusion method
4.3 Pu-239:the Hanford reactors
References
5 Los Alamos,Little Boy,Fat Man,Trinity,Hiroshima and Nagasaki
5.1 Predetonation probability
5.2 Little Boy
5.3 Implosion and Fat Man
5.4 Yield probability
5.5 Trinity
5.6 Hiroshima and Nagasaki
References
6 Effects of nuclear weapons
6.1 Brightness and thermal radiation
6.2 Shock wave
6.3 Neutron scattering
6.4 A brief tutorial on radioactivity and radiation exposure units
6.5 Prompt radioactivity from a nuclear weapon
References
7 Legacy
7.1 Postwar proliferation,tests,and deployments
7.2 Nuclear arms treaties and the baggage of the Cold War
7.3 Final thoughts
References
8 Bibliography
Glossary of Symbols
编辑手记
