What's the Difference Between an A-Bomb and an H-Bomb? - by Danny Lewis/ Smart News: Keeping You Current/ SmithsonianMag.com
"Why North Korea’s alleged nuclear test is drawing skepticism and fear alike.
North Korea’s new claims that it has tested a hydrogen bomb is drawing both fears and skepticism from politicians and experts. While North Korea isn’t a nuclear superpower by any means, it’s been generally accepted that the tiny dictatorship probably has a few nuclear warheads in its possession, albeit lacking the missile technology necessary to launch them. So why are people so worried by North Korea claiming it tested an H-bomb?
Like other weapons, not all nukes are made equally. And while atomic bombs like the two dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II are extremely destructive, hydrogen bombs can be at least 1,000 times stronger than their predecessors, The Globe and Mail reports.
Although the atomic bombs of World War II, which went by the code names Little Boy and Fat Man, used different fuels and triggering mechanisms, they were both fission bombs. This means that they harnessed the energy released by splitting either uranium or plutonium atoms. Hydrogen bombs, on the other hand, are fusion devices. Instead of blasting atoms apart, H-bombs slam isotopes of hydrogen together that sets off a chain reaction, making for much more energy-efficient and destructive explosions..."
The first hydrogen bomb was detonated by the United States in a test over the Marshall Islands in 1952. (SuperStock/Corbis)
Richard
"Why North Korea’s alleged nuclear test is drawing skepticism and fear alike.
North Korea’s new claims that it has tested a hydrogen bomb is drawing both fears and skepticism from politicians and experts. While North Korea isn’t a nuclear superpower by any means, it’s been generally accepted that the tiny dictatorship probably has a few nuclear warheads in its possession, albeit lacking the missile technology necessary to launch them. So why are people so worried by North Korea claiming it tested an H-bomb?
Like other weapons, not all nukes are made equally. And while atomic bombs like the two dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II are extremely destructive, hydrogen bombs can be at least 1,000 times stronger than their predecessors, The Globe and Mail reports.
Although the atomic bombs of World War II, which went by the code names Little Boy and Fat Man, used different fuels and triggering mechanisms, they were both fission bombs. This means that they harnessed the energy released by splitting either uranium or plutonium atoms. Hydrogen bombs, on the other hand, are fusion devices. Instead of blasting atoms apart, H-bombs slam isotopes of hydrogen together that sets off a chain reaction, making for much more energy-efficient and destructive explosions..."
The first hydrogen bomb was detonated by the United States in a test over the Marshall Islands in 1952. (SuperStock/Corbis)
Richard
What's the Difference Between an A-Bomb and an H-Bomb?
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