# Would an atomic bomb detonate a uranium stockpile? Tags: nuclear-physics, estimation, explosions - Score: 20 - Views: 6476 - Answers: 2 - Answered: yes - Asked by: Lorry Laurence mcLarry (677 rep) - Asked: 2020-09-08 - Edited: 2020-09-08 - Site: physics - Closed: closed ## Question If a uranium atomic bomb directly hit a stockpile of weapons grade uranium, would the chain reaction also detonate the stockpile? what about a stockpile of nuclear reactor fuel rods? what about a stockpile of various nuclear weapons? what about a plutonium bomb or a hydrogen bomb? what about all possible permutations of these? ## Answers ### Answer by Schwern (score: 51) To supplement niels's answer, the hardest part about a nuclear bomb is to prevent it from blowing itself apart before it has completed fission (or fusion). If a nuclear bomb does detonate, any nearby potential fission/fusion fuel will simply be blown away and not fizz. To understand why we need to understand how nuclear bombs work. An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and energy causing high pressure, usually due to gas rapidly expanding. A bomb is basically a device which uses extreme heat to vaporize material turning it