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A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs , a more compact size, a lower mass, or a combination of these benefits.
The yields of atomic bombs and thermonuclear are typically measured in different amounts. Thermonuclear bombs can be hundreds or thousands of times stronger than their atomic counterparts. Due to this, thermonuclear bombs' yields are usually expressed in megatons which is about the equivalent of 1,000,000 tons of TNT.
Thermonuclear bombs work by using the energy of a fission bomb to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design , which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel ( tritium , deuterium , or lithium deuteride ) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting ...
The Mark 13 nuclear bomb and its variant, the W-13 nuclear warhead for Redstone BM and Snark CM, were experimental nuclear weapons developed by the United States from 1951 to 1954. The Mark 13 design was based on the earlier Mark 6 nuclear bomb design, which was in turn based on the Mark 4 nuclear bomb and the Mark 3 nuclear bomb used at the ...
A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the blast itself.
The Mark 16 nuclear bomb was a large American thermonuclear bomb (hydrogen bomb), based on the design of the Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device ever test fired.The Mark 16 is more properly designated TX-16/EC-16 as it only existed in Experimental/Emergency Capability (EC) versions.
The "Little Boy" and the "Fat Man" devices were large and cumbersome gravity bombs. Historically the first method of nuclear weapons delivery, and the method used in the twin instances of nuclear warfare in history, was a gravity bomb dropped by a plane .
The Mark 39 design was a thermonuclear bomb and had a yield of 3.8 megatons. [1] It weighed 6,500–6,750 pounds (2,950–3,060 kilograms), [2] and was about 11 feet, 8 inches long (3.556 meters) [2] with a diameter of 35 inches (89 cm). [2] The design is an improved Mark 15 nuclear bomb design (the TX-15-X3 design and Mark 39 Mod 0 were the ...