How Nuclear Weapons Work

If you would like the presentation from this video for a school report, the Power Point can be found here:

All isotopes exist in two forms: stable and unstable. These unstable isotopes are considered "radioactive" because they have too many neutrons compared with their protons. Nature abhors this imbalance and resolves it in a number of ways. It can turn a neutron into a proton, releasing a few protons and neutrons as "alpha particles" (which are basically helium without the electrons.) Or shed a neutron.

If shed neutrons are captured by other nearby isotopes and made unstable, the result can become a "chain reaction" where more neutrons are released by nearby atoms than absorbed. Under the right conditions, this can power cities. Left uncontrolled, it can destroy them.

Note: the final segment of this video is President Truman's address to the United States after the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

This video covers:
Types of Radiation
How a nuclear weapon works
Weapons effects,
Tactical and strategic warheads
Employment and delivery
Electromagnetic pulse.

Find Ryan McBeth merchandise here:

Watch all of my long form videos:

Connect with me on
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Ryan McBeth Productions LLC
8705 Colesville Rd.
Suite 249
Silver Spring, MD 20910
USA

References:

Types of radiation.

How Fuel is made:

How neutrons make things radioactive

The Gun-type design.

Where does the plutonium come from?

Plutonium-240

The Devastating Effects of Nuclear Weapons

Irradiated food

Why Gamma rays are dangerous:

Why are there so many different ways to measure radiation exposure?

REM Chart

Don’t use conditioner

US Power Grid

Diethylenetriamene pentaacetate (DTPA),

Pictures and rights:
"Dad awaiting an MRI prior to radiation therapy" by SilverStack is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

The Day After ABC (1993)

"Plutonium Puck" by Savannah River Site is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

"Datacenter" by e53 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

"Whale and Dolphin Flying The Enola Gay" by asmith62378 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

"Miata" by gibsonsgolfer is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN TALKS ON ATOMIC BOMBS
Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer.
8/6/1945

[RyanMcBethProgramming]

If you would like the presentation from this video for a school report, the Power Point can be found here:

All isotopes exist in two forms: stable and unstable. These unstable isotopes are considered "radioactive" because they have too many neutrons compared with their protons. Nature abhors this imbalance and resolves it in a number of ways. It can turn a neutron into a proton, releasing a few protons and neutrons as "alpha particles" (which are basically helium without the electrons.) Or shed a neutron.

If shed neutrons are captured by other nearby isotopes and made unstable, the result can become a "chain reaction" where more neutrons are released by nearby atoms than absorbed. Under the right conditions, this can power cities. Left uncontrolled, it can destroy them.

Note: the final segment of this video is President Truman's address to the United States after the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

This video covers:
Types of Radiation
How a nuclear weapon works
Weapons effects,
Tactical and strategic warheads
Employment and delivery
Electromagnetic pulse.

Watch all of my long form videos:

Connect with me on
Twitter:

I don’t have a Patreon account. If you want to give me money, give it to:
HelpIsOnTheWayUA.com
Or
WCK.org
Or
Gsmsg.org

Join the conversation:

Want to send me something?
Ryan McBeth Productions LLC
8705 Colesville Rd.
Suite 249
Silver Spring, MD 20910
USA

References:

Types of radiation.

How Fuel is made:

How neutrons make things radioactive

The Gun-type design.

Where does the plutonium come from?


Plutonium-240

The Devastating Effects of Nuclear Weapons


Irradiated food

Why Gamma rays are dangerous:

Why are there so many different ways to measure radiation exposure?

REM Chart

Don’t use conditioner

US Power Grid

Diethylenetriamene pentaacetate (DTPA),

Pictures and rights:
"Dad awaiting an MRI prior to radiation therapy" by SilverStack is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

The Day After ABC (1993)

"Plutonium Puck" by Savannah River Site is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

"destruction" by monkeyc.net is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

"death" by monkeyc.net is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

"160913-F-BP133-163.jpg" by AirmanMagazine is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

"Datacenter" by e53 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

"Whale and Dolphin Flying The Enola Gay" by asmith62378 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

"Miata" by gibsonsgolfer is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN TALKS ON ATOMIC BOMBS
Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer.
8/6/1945

[ocheeva]

As someone who has worked in the nuclear weapons industry for 10 years, I can say that I'm impressed with your work here. Incredibly concise yet detailed.

[bburrett]

You're an amazing educator. You just packed something that should take hours to explain into a 45 minute video and did a better job of explaining things than my high school teachers ever could.

[AlmightyDude]

I have no words to explain how well done this presentation is. Absolutely incredible.
I have never learned so much information so quickly before, and it blows my mind how straightforward and easy to learn that Ryan makes it. So absolutely clear and concise for everyone to understand, and FLAWLESSLY put together in a logical way.

This is so far beyond any educational video I've ever seen on youtube. Completely impressive

[thedigitalrealm]

Honestly Ryan, you should seriously consider making many more of these educational, longer format videos. You have a real talent for breaking down processes and functions and explaining them in a way that's incredibly simple to follow. Honestly you do a lot of good for a lot of kids, and adults, with more videos like this

[thumper]

I'm a nuclear history buff from way back, and I never seen all the bits pulled together and presented so well.
Appreciate your work.

[Schizniit]

Also, let's take a second to appreciate Marie Currie who gave her life to study these phenomenon. Such an underrated and underappreciated scientist, as well as one of my favorite scientists.

[allangibson]

The Manhattan Project didn’t use gas centrifuges for enrichment, that came post war.
The Manhattan Project used gas diffusion and mass spectrometry using particle beam accelerators and really big magnets (calutron). The Germans also used calutron’s for Uranium enrichment during WW2. Two tons of low enriched (reactor grade) uranium was intercepted on route to Japan in May 1945.

[irishseaswimmer]

"Quantum mechanics is kinda weird" damn straight Ryan 😂😂👍

[tony]

This isn't just informative and educational. It's straight up impressive to see a subject like this presented so well. You can tell you're in your element when talking about how weapons work, but this is next level, and I don't think anyone has ever managed it this well before.
Well done!

[VernShurtz]

I was a Navy Nuclear Propulsion Plant Operator and Radiological Controls Technician for 13 years. According to my radiation exposure records my total exposure after 13 years was exactly 1 REM. I am also a historian of sorts when it comes to Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons, and Radiation/Contamination exposure. This video was the "Bomb"! I mean it was really well done and very factual. There is one thing I'd like to bring up though. Nuclear weapon Yields are NOT proportional in that a 1 megaton weapon will not cause 10 times the destruction that a 100 kiloton weapon will.

First understand that a ground burst is the least efficient use of a nuclear weapon, unless you want to destroy a complex deep underground. The majority of the blast wave will be reflected up towards the atmosphere. For optimal surface destruction an airburst is needed at a particular height above the ground. What determines this height is the Incident Wave, direct blast from the explosion, and Reflective Wave, blast being reflected off the surface. There is a point were incident wave and the reflective wave meet and the combined wave causes the most damage but only for a certain distance. This is called Mach Stem. An airburst will create a ring of higher destruction where the Mach Stem was present because both waves cause a combined overpressure.

The higher the yield, the higher the altitude for the most efficient blast. The higher the altitude the thinner the atmosphere, thus minimizing thermal effects and blast, and more of the explosive yield will escape towards space. A 1 Megaton weapon is about 5-6 times the destruction of a 100 Kiloton weapon. The bigger the yield the less effective it is considering the cost in materials, energy, and money to create the weapon. Then there is the question of delivery. Megaton weapons have a HUGE amount of Uranium Tamper which is really heavy. Either a large expensive missile for one warhead or a big bomber to drop the bomb. Both threats are easier to take out than multiple independent re-entry vehicles (MIRVs). This is why there are no "Megaton" weapons in an operational (deployable) status in any countries arsenal. Literally, the bigger the bomb "Less Bang for the Buck".

I am glad you did not say there was enough Nuclear Weapons to devastate the earth several times over. That is very misleading.

If you calculate the average yield of these "deployable" weapons, weapons that have an active delivery platform available, then Russia's average yield per weapon is about 340kt and the US average yield per weapon is about 215kt. If Russia was to carpet bomb an area with all of their deployable nukes to a height that would maximize the blast destruction, then they could only devastate approximately 45, 893 km². An area halfway between the size of Maryland (32, 131 km²) and West Virginia(63, 000 km²). If the US was to carpet bomb an area with all of their deployable nukes to a height that would maximize blast destruction, then they could only devastate approximately 30, 088 km². An area smaller then the size of Maryland (32, 131 km²).

Now that's not to say that life wouldn't suck hard after a full exchange. It certainly would and could bring about the full collapse of a country. Just wanted to add some clarity on certain aspects of Nuclear War.

Comments welcome.

[timothy-bf]

I’ve been working in this field for years. I can’t believe how clearly and concisely you covered so many different aspects of this complex topic. Nicely done sir.

[jhur]

This video, like the preflight safety presentation, are again important to drill into ones subconscious. It’s not that we all need to become preppers, but it’s worth considering wherever you are to have a quick blink and think “what would I do if...”. I for one do this on planes as well as other public places. Don’t dwell on it, just have a quick think. This video has tons of useful information to help, thanks so much Ryan McBeth, this your delivery is perfect. Serious but not scary, illuminating but not insisting, well done again!

[russellmoore]

20 years ago I would've made fun of Ryan for owning a 1# dumbbell. But after those 20 years of sports injuries and physical therapy, I get it.

[jakedouglas]

Went thru 4 yrs university (BS) and 2 yrs grad school with (MS), and never seen or heard a general overview lecture this concise and comprehensive on man-made radiation. I have heard most of this on in snippets. But not in one discussion. Well done.

[colinmottram]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write and deliver this fantastically comprehensive yet concise report, Ryan!

[mhmghb]

Best video I've ever seen on the subject. I've researched the subject off and on for decades and what I've learned has been stated here. One hell of a concise video Ryan, excellent job Sergeant!

[chonpincher]

A minor nitpick: Copper is used for underground electric cables. However, the cables used for the long-distance overhead electric grid, which are exposed to EMP radiation and may focus it to damaging effect, are made of aluminium-sheathed high-tensile steel. While copper is an excellent conductor, its density and inadequate tensile strength would make it snap under its own weight if suspended over the required span between the supporting pylons.

[DaCoSaNa]

Simply outstanding. With my ADHD I can struggle to watch long form content, especially educational, but you kept my undivided attention through exceptional structuring, pacing and overall content delivery. Know that you are doing in incredibly valued work that is both impactful and appreciated.

[kamakalakakoa]

This is really well edited and really easy to follow along. Thanks for the visuals. This is a really good video.