developed to produce i -+ Lic the critical material for». The process of the sr. i ttior "2 ° - 7 impossible to imagine, under: tan:, of « 6: in the is capable of flattening buildings anc potential energy which, bomb, of square miles; when released "mited States, "Fas. er," 15 nearly Troms, smell, touch, or hear because they are hs previ te tick we cannot see, save a fantastic amount of © r- of an explosion of a single © corching earth over hundreds of killing and maiming millicns of reople immediately, and more millions in the near and distant future. In effect, however, the basic power of the atomic homb comes from two things: the force which binds the atom together and a chain reaction, Even though atoms are very tiny, the amount of force binding the atom and its parts together is very great for its size, When a neutron strikes a fissionable atom, the atom may split, and following the splitting, may produce additional neutrons, In turn, these neutrons may produce splitting of nearly fissionable atoms, A chain reaction is said to exist when the which in turn set off still more, until all have been sprung. When this chain controlled, it can be used for electricity-generating atomic power plants. The reaction heats water and turns it into steam, which The tremendous relative energy contained by fissionahle material a ,. 4 ee the t tL —- as opposed to regular sources of energy might be illustrated this way: 10 — explosion, & When, however, this reaction is "uncontrolled," it results in an atomic Sena! drives turbines connected to generators, which produce electricity. » h reaction is slow and ae The ball trips one mouse trap, which in turn sets off its neighbors, , balls. perce into a room in which the floor is covered by mouse traps set with ping pong i beh g 1 An example of a "chain reaction" is where a hall is tossed Som——Fath—— nearby atom. so! + splitting of one atom produces on an average the splitting of more than one