Difference between revisions of "Bomb" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:MOAB bomb.jpg|250px|thumb|The [[Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb|Massive Ordnance Air Blast]] (MOAB) bomb produced in the [[United States]].]]
 
 
A '''bomb''' is an explosive device that generates and releases its energy very rapidly. The explosion creates a violent, destructive [[shock wave]]. Bombs cause destruction and injury to objects and living things within the blast radius by the crushing action of the shockwave (pressure) and by mechanical impact of fragments, including shards of the bomb casing (often called "[[shrapnel]]") or objects from the surrounding area propelled by the blast. Also, bombs have been known to kill by the sound of the blast, by the sound waves causing pressure on the body in such a way that may wound and/or kill a human. Bombs have been used for centuries in both conventional and [[unconventional warfare]].  Most bombs do not contain more [[energy]] than ordinary [[fuel]], except in the case of a [[nuclear weapon]].
 
 
The word comes from the [[Greek language|Greek word]] ''βόμβος'' ''(bombos)'', an [[Onomatopoeia|onomatopoetic]] term with approximately the same meaning as "boom" in [[English language|English]].
 
 
Bombs are first and foremost weapons; 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 bombs. Many military explosive devices are not called "bombs." The military mostly calls airdropped, unpowered explosive weapons "bombs," and such bombs are normally used by [[air force]]s and [[naval aviation]]. Other military explosive devices are called [[grenade]]s, [[Shell (projectile)|shells]], [[depth charge]]s, [[warhead]]s when in [[missile]]s, or [[land mine]]s.
 
 
Experts commonly distinguish between civilian and military bombs. The latter are almost always mass-produced weapons, developed and constructed to a standard design out of standard components and intended to be deployed in a standard way each time. By contrast, civilian bombs are usually custom-made, developed to any number of designs, use a wide range of explosives of varying levels of power and chemical stability, and are used in many different ways. For this reason, they are generally referred to as [[improvised explosive device]]s (IEDs).
 
 
==Types==
 
[[Image:TimeBombInAPipe.jpg|right|frame|Device originally thought to be a [[pipe bomb]], found to be a [[Time bomb (explosive)|time bomb]]. From a United States government publication.]]
 
 
Bombs fall into three distinct categories: ''conventional'' if filled with [[chemical reaction|chemical]] explosives, ''dispersive'' if filled with [[submunition]]s, chemicals or other disruptive agents which are spread on or shortly before impact, or ''nuclear'' if relying on [[nuclear fission]] or [[nuclear fusion]] for their effect.
 
 
[[Thermobaric weapon]]s are a type of conventional explosive that draws its [[Oxidizing agent|oxidizer]] from oxygen in the air.
 
 
The most powerful kind of bomb in existence is the [[hydrogen bomb]], a [[nuclear weapon]] with destructive power measured in [[megatons]] of TNT (Mt). The most powerful bombs ever used in combat were the two nuclear fission bombs dropped by the United States to attack [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. The most powerful non-nuclear bombs are the [[United States Air Force]]'s [[MOAB]] (officially Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or more commonly known as the "Mother Of All Bombs") and the [[Russia]]n "[[Father of All Bombs]]," (tested in September 2007, is being claimed as being four times more powerful than MOAB)<ref> [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jixX4YqeeXCrWvmEEv9JMABhXmVw  Russia Tests Powerful 'Dad of All Bombs'] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.</ref>.
 
 
==Delivery==<!-- This section is linked from [[A1 road (London)]] —>
 
[[Image:USS enterprise-bomb hit-Bat eastern Solomons.jpg|thumb|300px|A Japanese bomb explodes on the flight deck of [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|USS Enterprise]], 24 August 1942 during the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]], causing minor damage.]]
 
The usual method of delivering military bombs to their target is by '''bombing''', i.e. dropping them from a [[bomber|bombing]] [[Fixed-wing aircraft|aircraft]]. The [[first air-dropped bomb]]s were used in October 1912 by the [[Bulgarian Air Force]] at the [[Siege of Adrianople]]. <ref>[https://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/histechintel.htm A Brief History of Air Force Scientific and Technical Intelligence] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.</ref> Large bombers are often designed with an internal [[bomb bay]]. Fighter bombers usually carry bombs externally on pylons or bomb racks, or on [[multiple ejection racks]] which enable mounting several bombs on a single pylon. Modern bombs, [[precision-guided munition]]s, may be guided after they leave an aircraft by remote control, or by autonomous guidance. When bombs such as [[nuclear weapon]]s are mounted on a powered platform, they are called [[guided missile]]s.
 
 
Some bombs are equipped with a [[parachute]], such as the [[World War II]] "parafrag," which was an 11 kg fragmentation bomb, the [[Vietnam]]-era [[BLU-82|daisy cutter]]s, and the bomblets of some modern [[cluster bomb]]s. Parachutes slow the bomb's descent, giving the dropping aircraft time to get to a safe distance from the explosion. This is especially important with airburst nuclear weapons, and in situations where the aircraft releases a bomb at low altitude.
 
 
A [[hand grenade]] is delivered by being thrown. Grenades can also be projected by other means using a [[grenade launcher]], such as being launched from the muzzle of a [[rifle]] using the [[M203]] or the [[GP-30]] or by attaching a [[rocket]] to the explosive grenade as in a [[rocket propelled grenade]] (RPG).
 
 
A bomb may also be positioned in advance and concealed.
 
 
A bomb destroying a [[rail track]] just before a [[train]] arrives causes a train to [[derailment|derail]]. Apart from the damage to vehicles and people, a bomb exploding in a [[transport]] network often also damages, and is sometimes mainly intended to damage that network.  This applies for [[railway]]s, [[bridge]]s, [[runway]]s, and [[port]]s, and to a lesser extent, depending on circumstances, to roads.
 
 
In the case of [[suicide bombing]] the bomb is often carried by the attacker on his or her body, or in a vehicle driven to the target.
 
 
The [[Blue Peacock]] nuclear mines, which were also termed "bombs," were planned to be positioned during wartime and be constructed such that, if they were disturbed, they would explode within ten seconds.
 
 
The explosion of a bomb may be triggered by a [[detonator]] or a [[fuse (explosives)|fuse]]. Detonators are triggered by [[clock]]s, [[remote control]]s like [[cell phone]]s or some kind of sensor, such as pressure (altitude), [[radar]], vibration or contact. Detonators vary in ways they work, they can be electrical, fire fuze or blast initiated detonators and others.
 
 
==See also==
 
*[[Bat bomb]]
 
*[[Bomb disposal]]
 
*[[Bomb threat]]
 
*[[Car bomb]]
 
*[[Chlorine bomb]]
 
*[[Cluster bomb]]
 
*[[Collateral damage]]
 
*[[Dirty bomb]]
 
*[[Dry Ice Bomb]]
 
*[[Earthquake bomb]]
 
*[[Electromagnetic bomb]]
 
*[[Firebomb]]
 
*[[General purpose bomb]]
 
*[[Gravity bomb]]
 
*[[Hand grenade]]
 
*[[Ied|Improvised Explosive Device (IED)]]
 
*[[Nail bomb]]
 
*[[Napalm|Napalm bomb]]
 
*[[Neutron bomb]]
 
*[[Nuclear bomb]]
 
*[[Pipe bomb]]
 
*[[Plastic explosive]]
 
*[[Salted bomb]]
 
*[[Shaped charge]]
 
*[[Strategic Bombing]]
 
*[[Suicide bomber]]
 
*[[Time bomb (explosive)|Time bomb]]
 
 
==Notes==
 
{{refimprove|date=April 2007}}
 
{{reflist}}
 
 
==External links==
 
* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/bombs.htm Bombs for Beginners] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.
 
* [http://www.makeitlouder.com/document_bombshockwaveestimation.html  Bomb Shock Wave Estimation] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.
 
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[[category:Physical sciences]]
 
[[category:Military technology]]
 
 
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Revision as of 00:32, 12 February 2009