Fat Man

Fat Man was a plutonium implosion-type atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Its detonation helped end World War II and began the nuclear age.

Nuclear fission: The splitting of an atomic nucleus into lighter nuclei, releasing energy and often additional neutrons. Fat Man released energy through a rapid chain reaction of plutonium fission.
Manhattan Project: The United States-led wartime program that developed the first nuclear weapons. Fat Man was produced through the project's plutonium research and weapon-design effort.
Nagasaki: A Japanese port city and industrial center struck by an atomic bomb on August 9, 1945. Fat Man detonated above this city, with terrain shaping the blast's effects.
Surrender of Japan: Japan's acceptance of Allied terms in August 1945, ending its participation in World War II. The Nagasaki bombing preceded Japan's announcement of surrender, alongside other decisive pressures.
Implosion-type nuclear weapon: A nuclear weapon that uses precisely shaped explosives to compress fissile material toward a supercritical state. Fat Man used inward-directed explosive waves to compress its plutonium core.
Los Alamos Laboratory: The New Mexico research laboratory where the Manhattan Project designed and assembled nuclear weapons. Los Alamos scientists developed Fat Man's implosion design.
Bockscar: The B-29 bomber that carried Fat Man from Tinian to Nagasaki. Its crew delivered and released the weapon during the Nagasaki mission.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The U.S. nuclear attacks on two Japanese cities in August 1945. Fat Man was the second weapon used in this paired historical event.
Plutonium-239: A fissile isotope of plutonium used as fuel in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Its plutonium core supplied the fissile material for Fat Man's chain reaction.
Hanford Site: A Washington State complex built during the Manhattan Project to produce plutonium in nuclear reactors. Hanford reactors produced much of the plutonium used in Fat Man.

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