Protons and neutrons can be further broken down: they’re both made up of things called “quarks.” As far as we can tell, quarks can’t be broken down into smaller components, making them the smallest things we know of.

You can never know for certain where it is. Also weird: Thanks to quantum theory, scientists have shown how pairs of particles can be linked — even if they’re on different sides of the room or opposite sides of the universe. Particles connected in this way are said to be entangled.

Quantum mechanics suggests that we perceive at most a tiny sliver of reality. Of course we already knew that! We knew that the visible spectrum is only a small part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. We knew that the universe is much, much larger than our ancestors believed.

Laser beams travel at the speed of light, more than 670 million miles per hour, making them the fastest thing in the universe.

In particle physics, preons are point particles, conceived of as sub-components of quarks and leptons. Each of the preon models postulates a set of fewer fundamental particles than those of the Standard Model, together with the rules governing how those fundamental particles combine and interact.

A neutron contains two down quarks with charge −​1⁄3 e and one up quark with charge +​2⁄3 e. Like protons, the quarks of the neutron are held together by the strong force, mediated by gluons. The nuclear force results from secondary effects of the more fundamental strong force.

The next available cooling mechanisms are “modified” Urca processes, which, at these temperatures, are a million times slower than the direct nucleon Urca process. As a consequence, after the first few minutes, most neutron stars cool relatively slowly and remain visible as x-ray sources for up to a million years.

Neutron stars produce no new heat. However, they are incredibly hot when they form and cool slowly. The neutron stars we can observe average about 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit, compared to about 9,900 degrees Fahrenheit for the Sun.

A neutron bomb is actually a small thermonuclear bomb in which a few kilograms of plutonium or uranium, ignited by a conventional explosive, would serve as a fission “trigger” to ignite a fusion explosion in a capsule containing several grams of deuterium-tritium.

Neutron bombs are purposely designed with explosive yields lower than other nuclear weapons. The intense pulse of high-energy neutrons generated by a neutron bomb is the principal killing mechanism, not the fallout, heat or blast.

In a 2-part episode of the TV show The Bionic Woman, Doomsday Is Tomorrow a cobalt bomb, dubbed by its creator as “the most diabolical instrument of destruction ever conceived by man” is used as a trigger for a more powerful weapon that can render the world lifeless.

Although the United States has manufactured and stockpiled neutron bombs, in order to mollify public opposition in Europe it announced in 1981 that these weapons would not be deployed overseas at that time.

Countries with the most nuclear weapons | US is not number 1, China adds 30 warheads within a year

• No 3 | Country: China | Number of nuclear weapons: 320 (Image: Reuters)
• No 2 | Country: US | Number of nuclear weapons: 5,800 (Image: Reuters)
• No 1 | Country: Russia | Number of nuclear weapons: 6,375 (Image: Reuters)

5,800 nuclear warheads

A super-powered neutrino generator could in theory be used to instantly destroy nuclear weapons anywhere on the planet, according to a team of Japanese scientists. If it was ever built, a state could use the device to obliterate the nuclear arsenal of its enemy by firing a beam of neutrinos straight through the Earth.

Edward Teller

All nuclear explosions produce fission products, un-fissioned nuclear material, and weapon residues vaporized by the heat of the fireball. These materials are limited to the original mass of the device, but include radioisotopes with long lives.

In a nuclear explosion, the human body can be irradiated by at least three processes. The first, and most significant, cause of burns is thermal radiation and not caused by ionizing radiation. Thermal burns from infrared heat radiation, these would be the most common burn type experienced by personnel.

EFFECTS ON HUMANS Blast. Nuclear explosions produce air-blast effects similar to those produced by conventional explosives. The shock wave can directly injure humans by rupturing eardrums or lungs or by hurling people at high speed, but most casualties occur because of collapsing structures and flying debris.

Death is highly likely and radiation poisoning is almost certain if one is caught in the open with no terrain or building masking effects within a radius of 0–3 km from a 1 megaton airburst, and the 50% chance of death from the blast extends out to ~8 km from the same 1 megaton atmospheric explosion.

Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous weapons on earth. One can destroy a whole city, potentially killing millions, and jeopardizing the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects. The dangers from such weapons arise from their very existence.

Why do we need to ban nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons should be banned because they have unacceptable humanitarian consequences and pose a threat to humanity. The simple reality is that the international community could never hope to deal with the impact of nuclear weapons use.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is entering into force. On 7 July 2017, an overwhelming majority of States (122) adopted the TPNW. By 24 October 2020, 50 countries signed and ratified it which ensured the Treaty enters into force 90 days later. So today, 22 January 2021, nuclear weapons become illegal!

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