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Why doesn’t a nuclear bomb create a chain reaction that destroys the entire planet?

  Because real life is not Hollywood plus 4 reasons. Fission vs. Fusion : Nuclear bombs work on the principle of nuclear fission – splitting heavy atoms like uranium or plutonium. This releases energy, sure, but to destroy the entire planet? Not enough oomph. What you'd need is a fusion reaction, the kind that fuels stars. That involves lighter atoms like hydrogen fusing, and it's way more powerful. Think of fission as a firecracker, fusion as the sun. We're nowhere near making a fusion bomb as big as our planet. The Limits of Chain Reactions : Even in a fission bomb, the chain reaction doesn't run wild forever. The explosion itself scatters the nuclear fuel, disrupting the critical mass needed to sustain the reaction. It's like trying to keep a bonfire going by throwing the logs across the field. Dissipation of Energy : The colossal energy released by a nuke mostly disperses as heat, light, and a shockwave. Earth is just way too big to absorb all that and go kabloo...
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Does electricity actually travel down a wire or merely vibrate within the wire at some number of cycles per second?

Absolutely, electricity travels down a wire – and it does so at extreme speeds.

Here's the thing, it's not about electrons vibrating back and forth like a little jig within the wire.

That's them old-school misconceptions.

A wire is packed full of electrons.

Think of it like marbles crammed into a pipe. When you apply a voltage, you create an electric field, essentially a super-strong push, along that wire.

Since electrons are negatively charged, they're propelled by this field.

One electron shoves the next, which sends a shockwave of motion down the wire.

This domino effect of jostling electrons travels at a crazy fraction of the speed of light.

Now, individual electrons don't zip from point A to point B like a bullet. It's more of a cascading wave of energy through the swarm of electrons.

Kind of like a ripple in a pond, them water molecules themselves don't surf across the pond – it's the wave of energy that travels.

Here's a fun fact: the speed of this "electricity wave" depends on the type of wire.

The less resistance a wire has, the faster the signal can propagate.

For copper wire, it's anywhere from 50% to almost 100% of the speed of light.

This is why your light bulb flicks on almost instantly after you hit that switch.

Obviously, we're talking about AC circuits, with their back-and-forth cycles.

In a DC circuit, it's more of a steady flow in one direction.

But in both cases, it's definitely a flow of energy, not just vibrations.

Those little electrons might take their sweet time getting anywhere, but the electrical signal itself is blazingly fast.

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