What keeps unarmed nuclear bombs from getting hot, since the nuclear rods in a nuclear reactor with a purity of 5% Uranium produce 5000 degrees of heat and the core of a nuclear bomb contains 93% pure Uranium 235?
How does nuclear bomb work
by 
James Hartman
ANSWERS: 2
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The rods in a reactor are very different from weapons grade Uranium, kiddo.
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It's because the nuke hasn't had the nuclear reaction started yet, while the fuel in the reactor you are describing is in the process of undergoing a nuclear reaction. *** Fissionable material (uranium, plutonium) doesn't explode if it's just sitting there, in much the same way that a log does not burst into flame if it's just sitting there. In both cases you have to INITIATE the reaction. The nuclear reactor is a CONTROLLED reaction, INTENTIONALLY using up the fuel at a controlled and relatively slow rate. The nuclear bomb is a much more uncontrolled reaction, a reaction that attempts to use up as much of the fuel as possible as quickly as possible.
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