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That is both hard and simple to answer.

The hard part is based on the fact that it depends on how much of the fuel is converted and on whether it is converted by fission or by fusion. Very few nuclear detonations use anywhere near close to 100% of the fuel. Also, some of the energy goes to subsequent reaction such as to continue the fission reaction in an A-Bomb, and to initiate the fusion reaction in an H-Bomb.

The simple part is based on Einstein's famous equation e = mc2. In this formula, Einstein clarified mass-energy equivalence by stating that a certain amount of mass could be described as the equivalent energy by multiplying it by the speed of light squared. So, in the case of a nuclear detonation, if one kilogram of mass was lost in the reaction, then about 8.99 x 1016 kg m2 s-2 (joules) of energy (or about 21.5 megatons of TNT equivalent energy) would be released, some of which would be lost in sustaining the reaction, most of which would be actually released.

The detonation over Hiroshima, Japan was estimated to represent about one gram of mass loss, which translates to about 1 one thousandth of that, or about 21.5 kilotons of equivalent TNT energy.

To put that into perspective, it is estimated that the Sun loses 0.7% of the mass of 6.2 x 1011 kg s-1 during fusion of hydrogen into helium, producing about 9.192 x 1010 megatons of TNT equivalent energy per second. Our reactors and bombs are just "playthings" in comparison to the Sun - and our Sun is small in comparison with many others!

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