Bomb facts for kids
A bomb is an explosive device that makes and lets out its energy very quickly and has a big shock wave. They have been used for centuries. Some bombs also throw out dangerous metal fragments, and some are firebombs.
Most bombs do not contain more energy than ordinary fuel, except in the case of a nuclear weapon. However, they release their energy more quickly, thus are more powerful.
A bomb is usually some kind of container filled with explosive material that is designed to destroy things when it is set off. The word bomb comes from the Greek word βόμβος (bombas), an onomatopoeic term with almost the same meaning as "boom" in English.
Air forces send bombers to destroy enemy targets. Terrorists use bombs in suicide attacks. Explosive materials used in mining work the same way, but are usually not called bombs.
Related pages
Images for kids
-
A "wind-and-dust" bomb depicted in the Ming Dynasty book Huolongjing. The pot contains a tube of gunpowder, and was thrown at invaders.
-
An illustration depicting bombs thrown at Manchu assault ladders during the siege of Ningyuan, from the book Thai Tsu Shih Lu Thu (Veritable Records of the Great Ancestor) written in 1635. The bombs are known as "thunder-crash bombs."
-
Thunder crash bombs from the Mongol invasions of Japan (13th century) that were excavated from a shipwreck near Takashim, Japan.
-
An illustration of a fragmentation bomb from the 14th century Ming Dynasty text Huolongjing. The black dots represent iron pellets.
-
An American B61 nuclear bomb on its loading carriage
-
A B-2 Spirit drops forty-seven 500 lb (230 kg) class Mark 82 bombs (little more than half a B-2's maximum total ordnance payload) in a 1994 live fire exercise in California
-
An F-15E Strike Eagle releasing 1 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" during a test
-
Soviet's bombing destruction during the Continuation War in Helsinki, Finland, the night of February 6-7, 1944.
See also
In Spanish: Bomba (explosivo) para niños
