A Tale of Two Bomb Designs: Why were both Little Boy and Fat Man created?
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Little Boy and Fat Man. Two types of nuclear weapons were developed at the Los Alamos wartime lab in an effort to help end World War II. Both would be released above Japan just days apart in August 1945, and just weeks after the Trinity test in the New Mexico desert. These weapons were, however, as different as their monikers imply. Little Boy was a uranium, gun-type weapon, whereas Fat Man was a plutonium, implosion-style weapon. Two types were needed because there was only enough uranium for one gun-type weapon and the U.S. government knew it would need to make more than one weapon. Also, the unattainable challenges of a plutonium gun-type design prompted the shift to the implosion-style weapon.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- OSTI ID:
- 1875784
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-22-26712
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
How did the world’s first atomic bomb get its name? Looking back on the Trinity test on its 76th anniversary
The atomic bombings: facts, myths and more
The Inglorious Death of Jumbo
Technical Report
·
Thu Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2021
·
OSTI ID:1788412
The atomic bombings: facts, myths and more
Technical Report
·
Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 EDT 2020
·
OSTI ID:1645071
The Inglorious Death of Jumbo
Technical Report
·
Fri Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2017
·
OSTI ID:1356107