how hydrogen bomb works and how its differ from an atom bomb?

Question

Answer plz!

Answer 1

hydrogen bombs are based on nuclear fusion where light nuclei such as deuterium and tritium (isotopes of hydrogen) combine together into heavier elements and release large amounts of energy. Weapons which have a fusion stage are also referred to as hydrogen bombs or H-bombs because of their primary fuel, or thermonuclear weapons because fusion reactions require extremely high temperatures to occur.


Fusion is the combination of two light nuclei, usually isotopes of hydrogen, to form a more stable heavy nucleus and release excess energy. Nuclear weapons which utilize nuclear fusion can have far greater yields than weapons which use only fission, as fusion releases more energy per kilogram and can also be used as a source of fast neutrons to cause fission in depleted uranium. The light weight of the elements used in fusion make it possible to build extremely high yield weapons which are still portable enough to deliver. Compared with large fission weapons, fusion weapons are cheaper and much less at risk of accidental nuclear explosion. The fusion reaction requires the nuclei involved to have a high thermal energy, which is why the reaction is called thermonuclear. The extreme temperatures and densities necessary for a fusion reaction are generated with energy from a fission explosion. A pure fusion weapon is a hypothetical design that does not need a fission primary, but no weapons of this sort have ever been developed.



Fission bombs derive their power from nuclear fission, where heavy nuclei (uranium or plutonium) are bombarded by neutrons and split into lighter elements, more neutrons and energy. These newly liberated neutrons then bombard other nuclei, which then split and bombard other nuclei, and so on, creating a nuclear chain reaction which releases large amounts of energy.

Answer 2

Hydrogen bombs work very well and they differ from an 'atomic' bomb in that they convert mass into energy by fusing two hydrogen atoms to together rather that splitting a uranium or plutonium atom. The *do*, however, require a fission weapon to generate the temperatures and pressures required to start the hydrogen fusion reaction.


Doug