What makes hydrogen bombs more destructive?
Nuclear weapons are classified into atomic, neutron and hydrogen bombs. Among them, hydrogen bombs, also known as thermonuclear bombs, are known to be the most powerful due to their unique structure that expresses explosive power.
Unlike atomic bombs that derive their energy from nuclear fission -- the splitting of atoms -- hydrogen bombs obtain their explosive power from both nuclear fission and fusion, the process of forming a heavier nucleus from two lighter ones, such as the nuclei of the hydrogen isotopes tritium or deuterium.
While fission bombs can have as small as 1 kiloton of explosive power -- North Korea’s 2013 nuclear test was known to have 6 to 7 kilotons -- hydrogen bombs’ explosive power ranges into the hundreds of kilotons.
The hydrogen bomb’s basic principle is the idea that different parts of a thermonuclear weapon can be chained together in stages. A thermonuclear weapon uses the energy from a nuclear fission reaction to set off another nuclear fusion reaction, binding the nuclei of small atoms and releasing more energy.
The hydrogen bombs can be made small enough to fit in a ballistic missile warhead or an artillery shell that can be carried. The U. S. first developed the hydrogen bombs in 1952 and the former Soviet Union developed them in 1953. But they have never been used outside of testing.
By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
(责任编辑:新闻中心)
- 12 Places that Celebrate Women in Science
- How to understand the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Colorado case.
- Neverneverland
- Trump gets a trial date on the calendar.
- Klarna CEO reveals plan to reduce workforce by 50% and replace it with AI
- This nova is on the verge of exploding. You could see it any day now.
- Katie Porter called her Senate race “rigged.” Was she a little right?
- Neverneverland
- The Future of Tech: The Desktop PC
- Alexei Navalny’s death underlines the horrors of Tucker Carlson’s Putin interview.
- NASA, Nokia’s 4G lunar network could enable historic ice discovery
- Save $50 on the Fitbit Versa 4 Smartwatch
- 雅安市第四人民医院:工娱治疗让患者康复之路充满希望
- 荔枝保果期遇连续强降雨,“大国农匠”分享护荔经验
- 17 Places That Harness the Power of the Sun
- Massive fire seen as Ukraine hits Russian oil depots with a drone strike
- Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot: what was on hours of newly revealed FBI tapes.
- DOJ should probe endemic police failures on sexual assault cases.
- DOJ accuses TikTok of collecting and sharing users' personal views, as the app fights a ban
- Trump immunity case: SCOTUS’ delay is not based on legal procedure. It’s to help Trump.