So, nuclear weapons—how do they work? At their core, they rely on two big ideas: fission and fusion. Fission is when you split atoms apart, and fusion is when you smash them together. Either way, both release insane amounts of energy.

Step 1: Getting the Right Material
You can’t just make a nuke out of random metal—you need fissile material, and that means one of two things:

Uranium-235 (U-235) – This is found in natural uranium but in tiny amounts. To use it in a bomb, you have to go through a long process called enrichment, which basically separates the useful U-235 from the useless U-238. You need about 90% pure U-235 to make a bomb.

Plutonium-239 (Pu-239) – This doesn’t occur naturally in large amounts; it has to be made inside a nuclear reactor. You start with uranium, expose it to radiation, and eventually, you get plutonium. It’s easier to make a bomb with plutonium because you need less of it.

If you don’t have either of these, you’re not making a nuke. Period.

Step 2: The Bomb Design
There are two main ways to actually make the bomb explode:

A. The Simple "Gun-Type" Design (Used in Hiroshima)
Picture a gun inside a bomb.
One piece of uranium is literally shot into another to create a big enough mass to go boom.
This design is pretty simple but only works with uranium, not plutonium.
B. The More Advanced "Implosion" Design (Used in Nagasaki)
Instead of firing two pieces together, you take a core of plutonium and surround it with high-powered explosives.
When these go off, they crush the plutonium inward, making it super dense and forcing it into an explosive chain reaction.
It’s trickier to build but much more effective.
Then there’s the hydrogen bomb, which is next-level.
A hydrogen bomb starts with a regular nuclear bomb (fission) but uses that explosion to ignite fusion—the same process the Sun uses to make heat.
This creates a much, much bigger explosion than just fission alone.
Step 3: Setting It Off
Once the bomb is put together, it needs to be triggered just right. This is done with a neutron initiator, a small device that releases a burst of neutrons at the perfect moment to start the chain reaction. If this happens too soon or too late, the bomb fizzles (which means a dud explosion, not the big boom).

Step 4: Delivering It to the Target
A nuclear weapon is only useful if you can actually get it to its target. That’s why there are different ways to launch them:

Missiles (ICBMs & SLBMs) – These can fly across continents in minutes.
Bombers – Planes like the B-2 can carry nukes.
Tactical Weapons – Small, battlefield-use nukes (which are still ridiculously powerful).
Once it's in place and armed, it can be detonated at just the right altitude for maximum destruction.

Step 5: What Happens When It Explodes?
When a nuke goes off, here’s what happens:

The Initial Fireball – Instantly vaporizes everything nearby.
The Shockwave – Flattens buildings for miles.
Blinding Light & Heat – Can cause third-degree burns from miles away.
Radiation & Fallout – Lingers for years, causing cancer and mutations.
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) – Fries electronics, which is why people worry about nukes knocking out power grids.
It’s not just one thing—it’s all of these at once, which is why nuclear weapons are so feared.

Why This is Highly Controlled
The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) makes sure only a few countries (like the U.S., Russia, China, etc.) have nukes.
You can’t just go out and buy uranium or plutonium—they’re heavily guarded.
Even if you had the material, you’d need a team of top scientists and engineers to build the bomb correctly.
It’s not like in the movies where someone makes a nuke in their garage—it takes government-level resources to pull off.