As reported by ATP Hausa, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria has distanced itself from allegations of manufacturing a nuclear weapon. In a video clip circulating on social media, it was claimed that a nuclear weapon was being secretly developed at the university.
However, a statement from the university has disassociated itself from the video clip, clarifying that no nuclear weapon is being assembled at the university.
Nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions—either fission (splitting atoms) or fusion (combining atoms). This process releases a tremendous amount of energy from a relatively small amount of matter, making it millions of times more powerful than the largest conventional explosives.
The Core Science: Fission and Fusion
The immense power of nuclear weapons comes from manipulating the nucleus at the center of an atom.
1. Fission Weapons (Atomic Bombs or A-Bombs)
· How it works: A heavy, unstable element (like Plutonium-239 or Uranium-235) is forced to split into lighter elements when struck by a neutron. This splitting releases a massive amount of energy and, crucially, more neutrons.
· Chain Reaction: These newly released neutrons then go on to split other atoms, which release more neutrons, and so on. This creates an exponentially growing chain reaction that occurs in a fraction of a second, releasing a catastrophic amount of energy.
· Example: The bombs dropped on Hiroshima ("Little Boy," a uranium gun-type device) and Nagasaki ("Fat Man," a plutonium implosion device) were fission weapons.
2. Fusion Weapons (Thermonuclear Bombs or H-Bombs)
· How it works: These are even more powerful. A fusion weapon uses the extreme heat and pressure from a fission bomb explosion (as a trigger) to force light elements (like isotopes of hydrogen: Deuterium and Tritium) to fuse together into heavier elements (like Helium).
· The "Hydrogen" Bomb: This fusion process is the same one that powers the sun. It releases an even greater amount of energy per unit of mass than fission.
· Staged Design: Modern thermonuclear weapons are typically "staged" devices: a primary fission bomb compresses a secondary fusion stage, leading to a much more powerful explosion.
Key Characteristics and Effects
A nuclear detonation produces effects far beyond a simple large explosion. The energy is released in several distinct forms, almost simultaneously:
1. Blast Wave (50% of energy): A supersonic shockwave that flattens structures for miles, causing widespread destruction from both the initial overpressure and the following winds.
2. Thermal Radiation (35% of energy): An intense pulse of light and heat (literally a small, man-made sun) that causes severe burns, starts fires, and can ignite firestorms over a vast area.
3. Ionizing Radiation (5% of energy):
· Initial Radiation: A burst of deadly neutrons and gamma rays emitted at the moment of the blast, lethal to unprotected life nearby.
· Residual Radiation (Fallout): Fission products and irradiated debris are carried high into the atmosphere by the mushroom cloud and then fall back to Earth, contaminating a large downwind area with radioactive particles.
4. Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP): A short-lived, intense burst of electromagnetic energy that can damage or destroy electronic equipment and power grids over a wide region.
Why Are They Considered Different from Conventional Weapons?
· Destructive Scale: A single modern thermonuclear warhead can destroy an entire city and kill millions of people.
· Long-Term Effects: The radioactive fallout can render areas uninhabitable for decades, cause long-term health problems like cancer, and lead to genetic damage.
· Global Impact: A large-scale nuclear war could lead to a "nuclear winter"—a climate catastrophe where smoke and soot block sunlight, causing global temperatures to drop and disrupting agriculture worldwide, potentially leading to global famine.
Historical Context and Proliferation
· The first and only use of nuclear weapons in warfare was by the United States against Japan in August 1945.
· The Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, and China developed nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
· The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which came into force in 1970, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and promote disarmament. However, several other countries (India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel) are known or believed to possess them.
In summary, a nuclear weapon is a device of unparalleled destructive power, based on the physics of the atomic nucleus. Its unique and horrific effects—blast, fire, and persistent radiation—make it a category of weapon that poses an existential threat to human civilization.