Ever since the dawn of time man has found new ways of killing
             each other. The most destructive way of killing people known to man
             would have to be the atomic bomb. The reason why the atomic bomb is so
             destructive is that when it is detonated, it has more than one effect.
             The effects of the atomic bomb are so great that Nikita Khrushchev
             said that the survivors would envy the dead (International Physicians
             for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 1982). These devastating physical
             effects come from the atomic bomb's blast, the atomic bomb's thermal
             radiation, and the atomic bomb's nuclear radiation.
             An atomic bomb is any weapon that gets its destructive power
             from an atom. This power comes when the matter inside of the atoms is
             transformed into energy. The process by which this is done is known
             as fission. The only two atoms suitable for fissioning are the
             uranium isotope U-235 and the plutonium isotope Pu-239 (Outlaw
             Labs). Fission occurs when a neutron, a subatomic particle with no
             electrical charge, strikes the nucleus of one of these isotopes and
             causes it to split apart. When the nucleus is split, a large amount
             of energy is produced, and more free neutrons are also released.
             These neutrons then in turn strike other atoms, which causes more
             energy to be released. If this process is repeated, a self-sustaining
             chain reaction will occur, and it is this chain reaction that causes
             the atomic bomb to have its destructive power (World Book, 1990).
             This chain reaction can be attained in two different ways.
             The first type of atomic bomb ever used was a gun-type. In
             this type two subcritical pieces of U-235 are placed in a device
             similar to the barrel of an artillery shell. One piece is placed at
             one end of the barrel and will remain there at rest. The other
             subcritical mass is placed at the other end of the barrel. A
             conven...