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 [[Image:MOAB bomb.jpg|250px|thumb|The [[Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb|Massive Ordnance Air Blast]] (MOAB) bomb produced in the [[United States]].]]
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-A '''bomb''' is a device that generates and releases its energy very rapidly. The explosion creates a violent, very destructive [[shock wave]]. Bombs cause destruction and injury to objects and living things within the blast radius by the crushing action of the shockwave (pressure) and by mechanical impact of fragments, including shards of the bomb casing (often called "[[shrapnel]]") or objects from the surrounding area propelled by the blast.  Bombs have been used for centuries in both conventional and [[unconventional warfare]].  Most bombs do not contain more [[energy]] than ordinary [[fuel]], except in the case of a [[nuclear weapon]].
-The word comes from the [[Greek language|Greek word]] ''βόμβος'' (''bombos''), an [[Onomatopoeia|onomatopoetic]] term with approximately the same meaning as "boom" in [[English language|English]].
-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. Many military explosive devices are not called "bombs". The military mostly calls airdropped, unpowered explosive weapons "bombs," and such bombs are normally used by [[air force]]s and [[naval aviation]]. Other military explosive devices are called [[grenade]]s, [[Shell (projectile)|shells]], [[depth charge]]s (used in water), [[warhead]]s when in [[missile]]s, or [[land mine]]s.
-Experts commonly distinguish between civilian and military bombs. The latter are almost always mass-produced weapons, developed and constructed to a standard design out of standard components and intended to be deployed in a standard way each time. 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. For this reason, they are generally referred to as [[improvised explosive device]]s (IEDs).
-==Types==
-[[Image:TimeBombInAPipe.jpg|right|frame|Device originally thought to be a [[pipe bomb]], found to be a [[Time bomb (explosive)|time bomb]]. From a United States government publication.]]
-[[Thermobaric weapon]]s are a type of conventional explosive that draws its [[Oxidizing agent|oxidizer]] from oxygen in the air.
-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 bombs dropped by the [[United States]] to attack [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]]. The most powerful non-nuclear bombs are the [[United States Air Force]]'s [[MOAB]] (officially Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or more commonly known as the "Mother Of All Bombs") and the [[Russia]]n "[[Father of All Bombs]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1155952320070912?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true |title=Russia tests superstrength bomb, military says |last=Solovyov |first=Dmitry |date=2007-09-12 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |accessdate=2008-06-02}}</ref>
-Bombs can also be classified according to the way they are set off and [[radius]] of effect.
-==Delivery==
-<!-- This section is linked from [[A1 road (London)]] -->
-[[Image:USS enterprise-bomb hit-Bat eastern Solomons.jpg|thumb|300px|A Japanese bomb explodes on the flight deck of [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|USS ''Enterprise'']], 24 August 1942, during the [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]], causing minor damage.|left]]
-The [[first air-dropped bomb]]s were used by the Austrians in the 1849 siege of Venice. Two hundred unmanned balloons carried small bombs, few bombs actually hit Venice.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=7pS1QpH8FRgC&pg=PA10&dq=Venice+bombing+1849&lr=&sig=mCN924uCybWfcThJuN2nRryGtNg |title=Military Aircraft, Origins to 1918: An Illustrated History of their Impact |last=Murphy |first=Justin |coauthors=contributed by Tucker, Spencer |year=2005 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=1851094881 |pages=10 |accessdate=2008-05-26}}</ref>
-The first bombing from a fixed wing aircraft was in 1911 by the Italians against Arabs in what is now Libya. The bombs were dropped by hand.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=R-I3Zsdm14wC&pg=PA76&dq=Lindqvist+Bombing+Libya&lr=&sig=BZhmF-8ew2loSKwVQj30Aq9Yu9Y#PPA76,M1 |title=Shock and Awe: War on Words |chapter=Guernica |last=Lindqvist |first=Sven |others=published by Van Eekelen, Bregje |date=2004 |publisher=[[North Atlantic Books]] |isbn=0971254605 |pages=76 |accessdate=2008-05-26}}</ref> Today large bombers usually have an internal [[bomb bay]] while fighter bombers usually carry bombs externally on pylons or bomb racks, or on [[multiple ejection racks]] which enable mounting several bombs on a single pylon. Modern bombs, [[precision-guided munition]]s, may be guided after they leave an aircraft by remote control, or by autonomous guidance. When bombs such as [[nuclear weapon]]s are mounted on a powered platform, they are called [[guided missile]]s.
-Some bombs are equipped with a [[parachute]], such as the [[World War II]] "parafrag", which was an 11 kg fragmentation bomb, the [[Vietnam]]-era [[BLU-82|daisy cutter]]s, and the bomblets of some modern [[cluster bomb]]s. Parachutes slow the bomb's descent, giving the dropping aircraft time to get to a safe distance from the explosion. This is especially important with airburst nuclear weapons, and in situations where the aircraft releases a bomb at low altitude.
-A [[hand grenade]] is delivered by being thrown. Grenades can also be projected by other means using a [[grenade launcher]], such as being launched from the muzzle of a [[rifle]] using the [[M203]] or the [[GP-30]] or by attaching a [[rocket]] to the explosive grenade as in a [[rocket propelled grenade]] (RPG).
-A bomb may also be positioned in advance and concealed.
-A bomb destroying a [[rail track]] just before a [[train]] arrives causes a train to [[derailment|derail]]. Apart from the damage to vehicles and people, a bomb exploding in a [[transport]] network often also damages, and is sometimes mainly intended to damage that network.  This applies for [[railway]]s, [[bridge]]s, [[runway]]s, and [[port]]s, and to a lesser extent, depending on circumstances, to roads.
-In the case of [[suicide bombing]] the bomb is often carried by the attacker on his or her body, or in a vehicle driven to the target.
-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.
-The explosion of a bomb may be triggered by a [[detonator]] or a [[fuse (explosives)|fuse]]. Detonators are triggered by [[clock]]s, [[remote control]]s like [[cell phone]]s or some kind of sensor, such as pressure (altitude), [[radar]], vibration or contact. Detonators vary in ways they work, they can be electrical, fire fuze or blast initiated detonators and others..
-==References==
-{{refimprove|date=April 2007}}
-{{reflist}}
-==External links==
-* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/bombs.htm FAS.org] Bombs for Beginners
-* [http://www.makeitlouder.com/document_bombshockwaveestimation.html  MakeItLouder.com] How a bomb functions and rating their power
-{{Technology-footer}}
-[[Category:Bombs| ]]
-[[ar:قنبلة]]
-[[ca:Bomba (arma)]]
-[[cs:Bomba]]
-[[da:Bombe]]
-[[de:Bombe]]
-[[el:Βόμβα]]
-[[es:Bomba (explosivo)]]
-[[eo:Bombo]]
-[[fa:بمب]]
-[[fr:Bombe (militaire)]]
-[[ko:폭탄]]
-[[hr:Bomba]]
-[[id:Bom]]
-[[it:Bomba (ordigno)]]
-[[he:מטען חבלה]]
-[[ka:ბომბი]]
-[[lt:Bomba]]
-[[hu:Bomba]]
-[[nl:Bom (wapen)]]
-[[ja:爆弾]]
-[[no:Bombe]]
-[[pl:Bomba]]
-[[pt:Bomba]]
-[[ru:Бомба]]
-[[simple:Bomb]]
-[[fi:Pommi]]
-[[sv:Bomb]]
-[[th:ระเบิด]]
-[[vi:Bom]]
-[[tr:Bomba]]
-[[uk:Бомба]]
-[[yi:באמבע]]
-[[zh:炸弹]]