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• HYDROGEN BOMB VS FISSION BOMB HOW TO

When a neutron is fired into the nucleus of a fissile atom like uranium-235, the uranium atom splits into two smaller atoms known as “fissile fragments” in addition to more neutrons and energy. Nuclear fission-the process used by nuclear reactors-produces large amounts of energy by breaking apart a heavier unstable atom into two smaller atoms, starting a nuclear chain reaction. So, what exactly is the difference between fission and fusion reactions? Splitting Atoms: Nuclear Fission Hydrogen Bombs: These rely on a combination of fission and fusion using uranium or plutonium, with the help of lighter elements like the isotopes of hydrogen.Atomic Bombs: These rely on a domino effect of multiple fission reactions to produce an explosion, using either uranium or plutonium.This energy is where nuclear weapons get their explosivity from.

When fissile isotopes attempt to become stable, they shed excess neutrons and energy.

But when a chemical element has too many neutrons, it becomes unstable or fissile. Stable isotopes have a relatively static or unchanging number of neutrons. These isotopes can be stable or unstable. As a result, there are multiple “species” of some elements, known as isotopes.įor example, here are some isotopes of uranium: While the number of protons is unique to each element in the periodic table, the number of neutrons can vary. Nuclear weapons work by capitalizing on the interactions of protons and neutrons to create an explosive chain reaction.Īt the center of every atom is a core called the nucleus, which is composed of closely-bound protons and neutrons. Most H-bombs are measured in "megatons" (equivalent to the explosive power of MILLIONS of tons of TNT - hundreds of times, or even a thousand times more powerful than a fission bomb).All matter is composed of atoms, which host different combinations of three particles-protons, electrons, and neutrons. Unlike fission bombs, which rely only on nuclear fission, and which can achieve explosions equivalent to thousands of tons of TNT ("kilotons"), the power of an H-bomb or thermonuclear weapon has no practical limit - it can be made as powerful as you want, by adding more deuterium/tritium to the second stage.

This third stage more than doubles the power of the explosion, and produces most of the radioactive fallout from the weapon. The fusion reaction gives off an incredible burst of extremely powerful neutrons - so powerful that they can split or "fission" atoms of uranium-238 (called " depleted uranium") - which is impossible at lower energy levels. This is the "H" or "thermonuclear" part of the bomb. When this hydrogen-rich mix is heated to 100 million degrees, the deuterium and tritium atoms "fuse" together, releasing enormous amounts of energy. The main fusion reaction involves concentrated deuterium and tritium (both heavy isotopes of hydrogen) - which become spontaneously available when neutrons from the first stage explosion bombard a solid material called "lithium deuteride" located in the central column. The second stage explosion is due to nuclear fusion in the central column. Boosted or not, however, the only importance of this first-stage explosion is to irradiate and heat the material in the central column to 100 million degrees celsius so that a much more powerful fusion reaction can be started there.

Tritium is often added to the centre of the plutonium core to "boost" the fission explosion with some additional fusion energy. The energy release at this stage is mainly due to nuclear fission - because the atoms of plutonium are split. The first stage, called the "trigger" (the black ball at the top), is a small plutonium bomb similar to the one dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. In the photo, he is standing on the steps of the US Supreme Court holding a cut-away model of the H-bomb.Īn H-bomb is a three-stage weapon: fission, fusion, and then fission again. Howard Morland wrote a magazine article explaining how an "H-Bomb" - or "thermonuclear bomb" - is made, using only publicly available information.

HYDROGEN BOMB VS FISSION BOMB HOW TO

How To Make an H-Bomb (or Thermonuclear bomb) How To Make an H-Bomb (or Thermonuclear bomb)