Where does hydrogen for bomb making come from?

Answer 1

There are 2 isotopes of hydrogen needed to make a hydrogen bomb: deuterium and tritium. Deuterium occurs naturally in small amounts mixed with ordinary hydrogen (just like uranium-235 occurs naturally in small amounts in natural uranium), it is obtained by a heavy water enrichment cascade using ordinary water as the input feed. Tritium does not occur naturally and must be manufactured by irradiating lithium with neutrons. Lithium is mined from the ground. The easiest way to manufacture the tritium for a hydrogen bomb is the in situ processwhere the bomb does it itself. The fuel for such a hydrogen bomb is lithium deuteride, fission generated neutrons irradiate the lithium deuteride, manufacturing tritium which mixes with the deuterium and the bomb is now ready to explode!

Using a mixture of deuterium and tritium isotopes of hydrogen in the fusion bomb makes it practical as this mixture has the lowest ignition temperature.

So to sum up your answer:

• deuterium is taken from water
• tritium is manufactured in the bomb from lithium, which is mined from the ground

Answer 2

Hydrogen for bomb making typically comes from the process of electrolysis, which separates hydrogen gas from water. It can also be obtained from industrial sources such as chemical plants or through the purification of natural gas.