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When one considers their destructive potential, the relatively small size of these bombs is astonishing—"Little Boy" weighed about 9,700 pounds (4,400 kilograms) and "Fat Man" weighed approximately 10,800 pounds (4,898 kilograms). The bomb's engineering and components are crucial to understanding how such simple designs could yield massive devastation.
Understanding Little Boy's Composition
"Little Boy" was composed of several important components, notably its stabilizing box tail fins and electric gun primers, which were responsible for initiating combustion of the propellant. Other key elements included a tungsten carbide disc and uranium-235 hollow projectile rings.