What is Bomb: Definition and 163 Discussions

A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanical stress, the impact and penetration of pressure-driven projectiles, pressure damage, and explosion-generated effects. Bombs have been utilized since the 11th century starting in East Asia.The term bomb is not usually applied to explosive devices used for civilian purposes such as construction or mining, although the people using the devices may sometimes refer to them as a "bomb". The military use of the term "bomb", or more specifically aerial bomb action, typically refers to airdropped, unpowered explosive weapons most commonly used by air forces and naval aviation. Other military explosive weapons not classified as "bombs" include shells, depth charges (used in water), or land mines. In unconventional warfare, other names can refer to a range of offensive weaponry. For instance, in recent Middle Eastern conflicts, homemade bombs called "improvised explosive devices" (IEDs) have been employed by insurgent fighters to great effectiveness.
The word comes from the Latin bombus, which in turn comes from the Greek βόμβος (bombos), an onomatopoetic term meaning "booming", "buzzing".

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  1. S

    Atom bomb nearly exploded over North Carolina in 1961

    What's one state when you got 50? http://news.yahoo.com/atom-bomb-nearly-exploded-over-north-carolina-1961-230654850.html
  2. Tesladude

    Making an Oscillator Bomb with a 555 for Left4Dead

    Hi i use the 555 a lot and I am also a gamer. in the game "left4dead" they have a bomb that has an occilator to tell you when the bomb is going to go off bu blinking slowly at first, like 1hz then slowely increasing frequency up to maybe 10hz over somthing like a 10 second span. Does anyone...
  3. heycoa

    Conservation of Momentum of a bomb shell

    I must be thinking way to hard about this problem. Can someone please give me a nudge in the right direction? Homework Statement A shell traveling with speed v0 exactly horizontally and due north explodes into two equal mass fragments. It is observed that just after the explosion one...
  4. E

    How in the bomb calorimeter the water is recondensed?

    1. In the bomb calorimeter used for the test the water is recondensed after it is vaporized In the bomb calorimeter we measure the HHV as the steam formed there is condensed. What I want to know is how the steam is re condensed? In the wikipedia it says In more recent calorimeter designs, the...
  5. N

    Max Impact of Free-Falling Bomb on Target

    Homework Statement I have got a nice problem about free fall. Consider a free-falling bomb vertically down at the target. The movement starts from rest. Bomb is giving sound - speed c= 340 m/s (from friction of air). What is the maximum impact of the bombs to her target (people) to hear...
  6. K

    Exploring the Possibility of Dark Matter Bombs: Fact or Fiction?

    I've seen "dark matter bombs" portrayed in some science fiction movies, but is this actually scientifically plausible? Could dark matter be used as a destructive weapon? What would it do, exactly? Open up a black hole? Anti-Matter could definitely be used as a weapon, but it would take...
  7. C

    Can a nuclear bomb detonated from orbit actually destroy the Earth?

    Suppose there is a nuclear bomb orbiting around the Earth at speed close to c. Some Bad Guy tries to set off the bomb by some remote control device? Wil he successfully destroy the Earth in this way? From the perspective of the bomb, it seems it is possible. But from the earth, it seems the...
  8. E

    Conservation of energy, A bomb explodes into three pieces

    Homework Statement A bomb explodes into three pieces, two have an equal mass and fly off at 60 degress to one another with the speed of 100 m/s. The third piece has three times the mass of each of the other pieces. Find the direction and magnitude of the third piece immediatly after the...
  9. S

    Solving the Bomb Explosion Problem

    1. The Problem: A bomb at rest explodes, breaking into three pieces. Two of the pieces hace equal mass and fly off at 80° of each other with a speed of 100m/s. The tird piece has three times the mass of the other pieces. What is the magnitude and the direction of the third piece? 2...
  10. C

    Calculating enthelpies of combustion from a bomb calorimeter?

    Homework Statement A sample of K (s) of mass 2.740g undergoes combustion in a constant volume calorimeter at 298.15K . The calorimeter constant is 1849 J/K , and the measured temperature rise in the inner water bath containing 1450 of water is 1.60K Calculate the enthalpy of formation for...
  11. L

    A plane releases a water bomb after reaching a certain altitude. Find Angle

    1. A plane has a velocity of 280 m/s at an angle θ below the horizontal. When the altitude of the aircraft is 2.15km, it releases a water bomb, which subsequently hits a target on the ground. The magnitude of the displacement from the point of release of the bomb to the target is 3.25km. Find...
  12. J

    Using length contraction to push a bomb trigger

    Inspired by Aziza's question i came up with a similar, seemingly puzzling question. Imagine a space-platform with a big cylinder on it. The cylinder has a hole drilled in, with a bomb-button at the end of the hole, which would trigger a bomb destroying the whole galaxy. A terrorist is on that...
  13. L

    Finding the angle of a dive bomber droping a bomb.

    Homework Statement A dive bomber has a velocity of 275 m/s at an angle θ below the horizontal. When the altitude of the aircraft is 2.15 km, it releases a bomb, which subsequently hits a target on the ground. The magnitude of the displacement from the point of release of the bomb to the target...
  14. A

    News Full bomb alarm in Oslo today at the US Embassy

    The great drama here in Oslo started when security guards at the US Embassy spotted a suspicious object fixed underneath a car seeking entry at the embassy premises. Full bomb alarm was sounded, and the Norwegian authorities ordered full evacuation in half a kilometre's radius from the Embassy...
  15. T

    Bomb explodes at rest, conservation of motion problem

    Homework Statement A bomb at rest with 1.0x10^4 J explodes into three pieces. The first piece is 1.0 kg and travels in the positive y direction with a velocity of 60 m/s. The second piece is 4.0 kg and travels in the positive x direction at 40 m/s. Find the third piece's mass, velocity, and...
  16. P

    What pressure can a steel pipe bomb whitstand

    Hello everyone! Chemistry is my hobby and I want to try a new method of synthesizing some compounds. It requires a use of a pipe bomb filled up to 3/4 of it's volume with an aqueous solution of reagents and heated to about 300 C. I'm a bit scared thou. Can a 1" steel pipe, about 2mm thick and...
  17. E

    Information on Teller–Ulam hydrogen bomb design

    Hi there, I have a question about the Teller–Ulam hydrogen bomb design. This will be a long post , but I hope someone can answer it for me. When the first bombs were created, uranium device was simple enough to to figure out. Two sub critical masses of u-235 joined at... I...
  18. E

    Hiroshima Little Boy Atomic Bomb Physics Help

    Hiroshima "Little Boy" Atomic Bomb Physics Help I just wanted some feedback on a paper I just finished. Did I do everything correctly and does it make sense? It seems my data supports information I found online: "It contained 64 kg (140 lb) of uranium, of which less than a kilogram underwent...
  19. P

    Anatomy of Fat man: implosion-critical bomb

    Hi, I am tasked with constructing a scale model of Fat Man that can be broken down. Would anyone happen to know of any particular components, visible structures of the device, and any other necessary details. It is a long term project yet I can find no clear picture.
  20. nukeman

    Why is a Hydrogen bomb called a hydrogen bomb?

    I know that a teller-ulam device uses lithium deuteride as its nuclear fuel. I know very little about chemistry, but why is a hydrogen bomb called a hydrogen bomb, if its nuclear fuel is lithium deuteride? Is it the hydrogen atom in the lithium deuteride that creates the fusion process?
  21. M

    Find the ΔE of the combustion of octane in a bomb calorimeter

    Homework Statement Consider the combustion of octane that is burned in a bomb calorimter in the presence of 10.00kg of water. When burning 8.10mL of octane (.703g/ml=d) the temp. of the surrounding water increase by 5.66°C. The heat capacity of the bomb calorimter is 6.656Kj/ °C and the...
  22. L

    Detonate a 150 Kilotons nuclear bomb 77M underground

    If I detonate a 150 Kilotons nuclear bomb 77M underground what would be the radius of the E.M.P. effect above ground ? If the nature of the soil change the result than give me a couple of soil example like rock, granite, etc... I was assuming that there would be no E.M.P. effect or very short...
  23. D

    Medical Health affects due to aboveground nuclear bomb explosions

    From 1945 until the US put a ban on aboveground nuclear explosions in the US, there were some 300 nuclear devices exploded aboveground in the US. These explosions lead to an eventual nuclear fallout. Anyone have resources like books or internet sites that detail the medical research and overall...
  24. K

    Calculating Highway Truck Length for Nuclear Bomb Yield

    Homework Statement The energy released by nuclear bombs is measured in kiloton (kt) or megaton (Mt) units. One kiloton is a unit of energy released by 1000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). One kiloton is 4.2×1012 joules. The yield of fission bombs is typically between 10 and 500 kilotons, the...
  25. G

    Bomb calorimeter and coffee cup calorimeter

    What is different between a bomb calorimeter and a coffee cup calorimeter that makes one only constant volume and the other only constant pressure? to me, it seems that both of them should have constant volume because they are both closed containers... and why is the pressure in a coffee...
  26. A

    News Bomb blast in Oslo; PM's office building targeted.

    Terror has struck the Norwegian capital today. At 15.26 local time (roughly two hours ago), what appears to have been a car bomb blasted off in the governmental quarters in Oslo. Several have been confirmed dead; although none of our political leasers/ministers seem to be missing/hurt. This a...
  27. S

    Is the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb problem based on incorrect assumptions?

    Are the following assumptions about this thought experiment correct?... If an interference pattern is detected the bomb is defective because there was never any possibility of a photon being observed and collapsing the wave function. In the case that no interference pattern is detected and...
  28. B

    Understanding the Speed of Bullet and Bomb Blasts

    Could someone please clarify if my understanding of the following is correct or not? When a bullet is fired from a gun or a bomb explodes, I thought I had read somewhere that, in the first few microseconds, the speed of the bullet or bomb blast is slow at first then increases to a maximum...
  29. M

    Calculate total destruction OF NUCLEAR BOMB

    i need to calculate the volume of total destruction of a nuclear bomb its like here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tsar_Bomba_Paris.png what formula i need to use to calculate area of total destruction zar bomb already has some infos : 50MT tnt = 35km total destruction (detonation...
  30. C

    Can bomb sitll ignite in vacuum?

    Hello, Chitose here. First, I don't know which group should I post this but I put it here just in case. ........ As topic says, Can bomb still explode in vacuum area such as space? I heard that fire cannot lit without oxygen. but a lot of sci-fi movie show explosion scene in space...
  31. P

    Projectile Motion Bomb Question

    Homework Statement (b) A power hungry megalomaniac obtains mortar bomb capability. The device could fire 120.5kg mortar shells a maximum distance of 5321m when projected at 45° to the horizontal. What would the velocity of the shell be as it left the muzzle of the device? (c) What was the...
  32. B

    Nuclear Bomb Explosions: Speed & Energy Release

    hey guys just a simple question, I think. How fast does the nuclear fusion/fission reactions n explosion occur? Is it at the speed of light? Will there be any energy release b4 the explosion, Or should only b after the explosion? I always thought the fission/fusion reaction cause it to...
  33. Z

    News Why is Atom Bomb limited to certain countries?

    Why can't every country make an 'Atom Bomb' ? Everyone knows that we require a fissionable material and an explosive. What else is required that is to be invented (rather discovered) by other countries? All comments are welcome.
  34. H

    Calculating the explosive yield of an atomic bomb

    Homework Statement I'm writing a paper on the Manhattan Project, and as part of this paper I am asked to show: "... calculations that can help illustrate the explosive power of an atomic bomb compared to ordinary explosives."Homework Equations Released energy per fission: Q = \Deltam * c2 The...
  35. E

    Exploring the Legacy of the Atomic Bomb: Told Science

    "Told science" Hi guys! I am going to take part in a literature project, which is called "told science". You have to write a scientific eassy such as a story. For this year I was wondering to write down something about the atomic bomb. My idea was to write the best quotation on atomic bomb in...
  36. J

    Suicide bomber - a breathing, moving bomb among you

    I have seen many people both on TV and newspaper articles say that religion has much to do in pushing, motivating someone toward the idea of suicide bombing. I won't go into details to support my thesis but I believe a human doesn't really follow, adhere to any particular religion. They choose...
  37. I

    Length contraction, light speed and a bomb

    This was probably asked some time ago. It involves a paradox of relativity and I hope someone can answer it for me: Imagine a solid cylinder (call this the plunger) with a bar welded to one end making a T. The plunger fits just perfectly into a hollowed cylinder of the same length, and the...
  38. L

    What is responsible for the extreme force in a nuclear bomb?

    What I always thought is that the strong force in each atom, when the nucleus is impacted and is separated, some of the nuclear force is let out. Multiply this by billions, and voila.
  39. M

    What is the difference between internal energy and enthalpy?

    I am going to define these things as I understand them. Please correct/refine them as necessary. A bomb calorimeter is a small volume capsule within a tank of water. A reaction is carried out within this small capsule and the heat evolved is transferred to the water and the heat change of the...
  40. K

    Is it possible: Supernova Bomb

    Here, tell me if this will work. A chamber made of thick lead is taken and a vacuum is put on it. There are electromagnets between the lead. A ball of unstable uranium and osmium that is plated with iron is put in the chamber and suspended by the magnets. Then protons and neutrons are...
  41. H

    Can a Bomb Hit the Plane Below?

    Homework Statement Two bombers are flying 100m apart at the same speed. One is directly below the other. If the bomber above releases its bomb, will it hit the bomber below it? Homework Equations y - yo = -1/2gt2 x = vot The Attempt at a Solution I set the initial velocity to...
  42. Andre

    Allergy bomb ragweed banned in Holland

    It appears that common ragweed is the major cause of pollen allergy, for instance this study. The Netherlands has taken initiative to eradicate the American intruder in the local plant community. For instance (Dutch) Google translation of the first paragraph: So everybody is urged to...
  43. K

    Exploring the Feasibility of an Ion Bomb: Fact or Fiction?

    I design weapons for fun and have just heard of an ion bomb. First off is It even possible to use ions to make a destructive device?
  44. P

    Exploring Moderate Use in Nuclear Bomb

    Sorry for silly question but I can't find the answer anywhere. Is any kind of moderator used in nuclear bomb (or the mass of the uranium is so big that neutrons speed need not to be reduced). Thanks.
  45. M

    Bomb Calorimeter with warm water and dry ice - Mass loss?

    In bomb calorimeter, when dry ice is added to warm water, the final mass of the inner cup and remaining water is less than the initial mass of the inner cup and water. The calorimeter did not decrease in mass so it means water is lost but not gone it just changes it state. The water was in...
  46. C

    Adiabatic Process of uranium fission bomb

    Homework Statement The fireball of a uranium fission bomb consists of a sphere of radius = 15m and temperature 300,000K shortly after detonation. Assuming that the expansion is adiabatic and that the fireball remains spherical, estimate the radius of the ball when the temperature is 3000K...
  47. jtbell

    News Who Planted the Car Bomb in Times Square?

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/02/times.square.closure/index.html?hpt=T1 Fortunately it started to smoke early, so it was noticed in time to tip off the police, who cleared the area and defused it. No indication yet of who planted it.
  48. L

    Revolutionary Electron Bomb Concept: A High-Energy Weapon for the Future

    had this idea a while back, but its basically like a large penning trap. its just a basic concept so bare with me. you construct a penning trap, but in a spherical shape instead of the classic penning design, which is similar to a magnetron. having each containing magnet positioned in series on...
  49. danihel

    Antimatter Bombs: Can They Be Made With H-Bombs & PET Scanners?

    hi, not that I'm going to make one, I'm asking just out of curiosity Would it be possible to make an antimatter bomb by using regular h-bomb and radioisotopes like those used in pet scanners?
  50. S

    News The Electoral College: A Threat to Democracy?

    The Electoral College (and the Supreme Court) gave the 2000 US presidential election to GW Bush over Al Gore despite that fact that Mr Gore won the popular vote. It wasn't the first time this happened. In 1876 the Electoral College, based on an electoral margin of one vote (181 to 180), gave the...
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