A device used to cause an explosion, usually consisting of a container, an explosive substance (eg TNT, RDX), and a fuse. Generally bombs are distinguished from other explosive devices by means of delivery, in that they are not propelled towards their target. They normally use gravity (when dropped from aircraft) or are placed in position (as in the case of car bombs). Common types include blast, fragmentation, general purpose, anti-armour, and incendiary bombs. They can vary in size from the World War 2 grand slam bombs (10 000 kg of explosive) to car bombs (as little as 1 kg of explosive). Gravity and release speed determine an ordinary aircraft bomb's flightpath, although so-called smart bombs have a target-seeking guidance package in the nose which can pick up signals from targets on the ground (illuminated by laser energy, for example), and generate steering commands to guide the bomb onto a target.
Most bombs do not contain more energy than ordinary fuel, except in the case of a nuclear weapon.
A bomb is usually some kind of container filled with explosive material, designed to cause destruction when set off.
Bombs have been used for centuries in both conventional and unconventional warfare.
Terminology
Bombs are first and foremost weapons; the term "bomb" is not usually applied to explosive devices used for civilian purposes, such as construction or mining, although the people using the devices may sometimes refer to them as bombs. The military mostly calls airdropped, unpowered explosive weapons "bombs," and such bombs are normally used by air forces and naval aviation.
Experts commonly distinguish between civilian and military bombs. By contrast, civilian bombs are usually custom-made, developed to any number of designs, use a wide range of explosives of varying levels of power and chemical stability, and are used in many different ways.
Types
Bombs fall into three distinct categories: conventional if filled with chemical explosives, dispersive if filled with submunitions, chemicals or other disruptive agents which are spread on or shortly before impact, or nuclear if relying on nuclear fission or nuclear fusion for their effect.
The most powerful kind of bomb in existence is the hydrogen bomb, a nuclear weapon with destructive power measured in megatons of TNT (Mt). The most powerful bombs ever used in combat were the two nuclear fission bombs dropped by the United States to attack Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The most powerful bomb ever was Tsar Bomba: ca.
The first hydrogen bomb prototype, Ivy Mike (10.4 Mt), was even heavier in mass, 82 tons.
Another type of bomb utilizes an electromagnetic pulse.
Delivery
The usual method of delivering military bombs to their target is by bombing, i.e. Modern bombs, precision-guided munitions, may be guided after they leave an aircraft by remote control, by autonomous guidance or (in the case of nuclear weapons) mounted on a guided missile.
Some bombs are equipped with a parachute, such as the World War II "parafrag", which was an 11kg fragmentation bomb, the Vietnam-era daisy cutters, and the bomblets of some modern cluster bombs. Variations on this are the drag-producing fins of the "Snakeye" version of the Mark 81 bomb and the ballute devices that can be fitted to a variety of air-dropped bombs.
A bomb may also be positioned in advance and concealed, for example in a garbage container, car or truck as a car bomb, or by the roadside in a roadside bomb, in a building as a booby trap, or in lugguage and in a vehicle.
A bomb destroying a rail track just before a train arrives causes a train to derail.
In the case of suicide bombing the bomb is often carried by the attacker on his or her body, or a in a vehicle driven to the target.
One unique method of weapon delivery was used in World War II specifically from the Avro Lancaster bombers. A type of bomb was developed called the "skipper" bomb, which literally bounced over the water before crashing into its target. The bomb was cylindrical in shape, and was spun by electric motors in the bomb bay of the Lancaster before being released. The method of delivery allowed the bombs to be released quite a distance furthur from the dams than conventional bombs, allowing the bombers to turn away before advancing into enemy flak range.
The Blue Peacock nuclear mines, which were also termed "bombs", were planned to be positioned during wartime and be constructed such that, if they were disturbed, they would explode within ten seconds.
ss The explosion of the bomb has to be triggered by a detonator or a fuse.
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