answersLogoWhite

0

Nuclear bombs use nuclear fission of some heavy element, usually uranium or plutonium. Thermonuclear bombs use the detonation of a fission bomb to ignite the fusion of hydrogen. Such weapons are more powerful than ordinary nuclear weapons because nuclear fusion releases more energy than nuclear fission, and because the process of fusion itself can be used to ignite more fission.

User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

Why are thermonuclear bombs more disastrous than the normal bombs?

much higher yield per bomb.


Why are thermo nuclear bombs more disasterus than nuclear bombs?

Thermonuclear bombs, or hydrogen bombs, are more destructive than nuclear bombs because they involve a two-stage process: a fission reaction triggers a fusion reaction, resulting in a much larger explosion. This fusion reaction releases much more energy and is more efficient at converting material into energy compared to the fission reaction alone. As a result, thermonuclear bombs are typically much more powerful and devastating than traditional nuclear bombs.


What bombs are much more powerful than the atomic bombs?

Thermonuclear or hydrogen bombs are significantly more powerful than atomic bombs. These bombs use a two-stage process that combines nuclear fission and fusion reactions, resulting in a much larger explosive yield.


What is the difference between nuclear and thermonuclear weapons?

Nuclear weapons' yield is derived primarily from fission. Thermonuclear weapon's yield is derived mainly from fusion. Thermonuclear weapons are multistage weapons -- x-rays from a nuclear primary trigger are used to trigger ablation in the pusher of the secondary to compress it, which is responsible for the fusion reaction.


Which is more destructive a nuclear bomb or a hydrogen bomb?

A hydrogen bomb (thermonuclear bomb) is more destructive than a regular nuclear bomb (fission bomb). Hydrogen bombs release much larger amounts of energy and have the potential to create significantly more devastation and damage.


What is a nuclear buildup?

Making more bombs or bigger bombs.


What is better atomic weapons or nuclear weapons?

Often these terms are used interchangeably to describe "nuclear weapons" since an atomic bomb derives it's energy from a nuclear chain reaction. What you may be referring to is that the original test and subsequent bombs dropped on Japan during WWII were fission bombs with the Trinity test bomb and Nagasaki bomb being implosion style fission bombs using Plutonium and the Hiroshima bomb being a gun style fission bomb using Uranium. Subsequently, the United States began testing the early prototypes of the modern style warheads which are called thermonuclear weapons because they use a fission bomb to ignite a nuclear fusion reaction which produces a substantially larger yield than the initial fission bombs. The first test of a thermonuclear weapon was a hydrogen bomb detonated in 1952. So in terms of yield, the modern style thermonuclear weapons are drastically more efficient than the early fission bombs.


What was the largest nuclear bomb?

When people talk about nuclear bombs, they are generally in two categories; atomic and thermonuclear. Atomic bombs are like the ones dropped on Japan in 1945.Thermonuclear bombs have never been used in warfare and involve using an atomic bomb to set off an explosion of a thermonuclear bomb, like a hydrogen bomb.IN ADDITION:The Soviet exploded the largest nuclear bomb to date back in 1961. It was a hydrogen bomb which released energy equivalent to 57 megatons of TNT. Compare that to the 15 kilotons of energy released by the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Japan during WWII ( 3,800 times more energy released). The name of this device was Tsar Bomba, meaning "king of bombs."


What is the comparison of atomic bomb in 1945 to nuclear bombs today?

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 had yields of about 15 and 20 kilotons of TNT, respectively, resulting in immense destruction and loss of life. In contrast, modern nuclear bombs are significantly more powerful, with megaton yields that can cause widespread devastation over much larger areas. Additionally, advancements in delivery systems, precision targeting, and the development of thermonuclear weapons (hydrogen bombs) have greatly increased their destructive capacity and strategic complexity. Overall, while the fundamental principles of nuclear fission remain the same, the scale and implications of nuclear weapons today are far more profound.


Are atomic bombs different from nuclear bombs?

Both basically are the same, they can be fission or fusion bombs like Uranium,Plutonium and Hydrogen bombs. A general description would be that atomic bombs are fission bombs. Nuclear bombs are fusion bombs. Fusion bombs are more powerful weight for weight


Does atomic explosion and nuclear explosion mean the same?

This question could be easily misconstrued. While atomic and nuclear explosion mean the same thing, and all atomic bombs are nuclear bombs, not all nuclear bombs are atomic bombs. The more powerful nuclear bombs are hydrogen bombs, and there is a very important fundamental difference between the two. ============================================================== A bomb is fission - the splitting of an atom H bomb is fusion - the joining together of atoms (and much more powerfull)


What was the nuclear bomb made of?

The first nuclear bombs were fission devices. The fissile materials used are Uranium 235 and Plutonium 239. Later bombs were thermonuclear or fusion weapons. The material used in some early experimental devices was tritium ( kept liquid at very low temperature). Modern thermonuclear devices use lithium 6 deuteride. Fusion weapons contain a small fission bomb to set them off. See the Related question for more information.