What is the difference between a nuclear explosion and a thermonuclear explosion? What are the differences between nuclear reactions and chemical reactions? What is a hydrogen bomb

To answer the question accurately, you will have to delve seriously into such a branch of human knowledge as nuclear physics— and deal with nuclear/thermonuclear reactions.

Isotopes

From the course general chemistry we remember that the matter around us consists of atoms of different “sorts”, and their “sort” determines exactly how they will behave in chemical reactions. Physics adds that this happens due to the fine structure of the atomic nucleus: inside the nucleus there are protons and neutrons that form it - and electrons constantly “rush” around in “orbits”. Protons provide a positive charge to the nucleus, and electrons provide a negative charge, compensating for it, which is why the atom is usually electrically neutral.

From a chemical point of view, the “function” of neutrons boils down to “dilute” the uniformity of nuclei of the same “type” with nuclei with slightly different masses, since Chemical properties Only the charge of the nucleus will affect (through the number of electrons, due to which the atom can form chemical bonds with other atoms). From the point of view of physics, neutrons (like protons) participate in the preservation of atomic nuclei due to special and very powerful nuclear forces - otherwise the atomic nucleus would instantly fly apart due to the Coulomb repulsion of like-charged protons. It is neutrons that allow the existence of isotopes: nuclei with identical charges (that is, identical chemical properties), but different in mass.

It is important that it is impossible to create nuclei from protons/neutrons in an arbitrary manner: there are their “magic” combinations (in fact, there is no magic here, physicists have just agreed to call especially energetically favorable ensembles of neutrons/protons that way), which are incredibly stable - but “departing “From them, you can get radioactive nuclei that “fall apart” on their own (the further they are from the “magic” combinations, the more likely they are to decay over time).

Nucleosynthesis

A little higher it turned out that according to certain rules it is possible to “design” atomic nuclei, creating increasingly heavier protons/neutrons. The subtlety is that this process is energetically favorable (that is, it proceeds with the release of energy) only up to a certain limit, after which it is necessary to spend more energy to create increasingly heavier nuclei than is released during their synthesis, and they themselves become very unstable. In nature, this process (nucleosynthesis) occurs in stars, where monstrous pressures and temperatures “compact” the nuclei so tightly that some of them merge, forming heavier ones and releasing energy due to which the star shines.

The conventional “efficiency limit” passes through the synthesis of iron nuclei: the synthesis of heavier nuclei is energy-consuming and iron ultimately “kills” the star, and heavier nuclei are formed either in trace quantities due to the capture of protons/neutrons, or en masse at the time of the death of the star in the form a catastrophic supernova explosion, when the fluxes of radiation reach truly monstrous values ​​(at the moment of the explosion, a typical supernova emits as much light energy as our Sun over about a billion years of its existence!)

Nuclear/thermonuclear reactions

So, now we can give the necessary definitions:

Thermonuclear reaction (also known as fusion reaction or in English nuclear fusion) is a type of nuclear reaction in which lighter atomic nuclei, due to the energy of their kinetic motion (heat), merge into heavier ones.

Nuclear fission reaction (also known as decay reaction or in English nuclear fission) is a type of nuclear reaction where the nuclei of atoms spontaneously or under the influence of particles “outside” disintegrate into fragments (usually two or three lighter particles or nuclei).

In principle, in both types of reactions energy is released: in the first case, due to the direct energetic benefit of the process, and in the second, the energy that was spent during the “death” of the star on the emergence of atoms heavier than iron is released.

The essential difference between nuclear and thermonuclear bombs

A nuclear (atomic) bomb is usually called an explosive device where the main share of the energy released during the explosion is released due to the nuclear fission reaction, and a hydrogen (thermonuclear) bomb is one where the main share of energy is produced through a thermonuclear fusion reaction. An atomic bomb is a synonym for a nuclear bomb, a hydrogen bomb is a synonym for a thermonuclear bomb.

According to news reports, North Korea is threatening to test hydrogen bomb above Pacific Ocean. In response, President Trump is imposing new sanctions on individuals, companies and banks that do business with the country.

“I think this could be a hydrogen bomb test at an unprecedented level, perhaps over the Pacific region,” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said this week during a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Rhee added that “it depends on our leader.”

Atomic and hydrogen bomb: differences

Hydrogen bombs or thermonuclear bombs are more powerful than atomic or fission bombs. The differences between hydrogen bombs and atomic bombs start at the atomic level.

Atomic bombs, like those used to devastate Japanese cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II, work by splitting the nucleus of an atom. When neutrons, or neutral particles, in a nucleus split, some enter the nuclei of neighboring atoms, splitting them apart as well. The result is a highly explosive chain reaction. According to the Union of Scientists, bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a yield of 15 kilotons and 20 kilotons.

In contrast, the first test of a thermonuclear weapon or hydrogen bomb in the United States in November 1952 resulted in an explosion of about 10,000 kilotons of TNT. Fusion bombs start with the same fission reaction that powers atomic bombs—but most of the uranium or plutonium in atomic bombs is not actually used. In a thermonuclear bomb, the extra step means more explosive power from the bomb.

First, the flammable explosion compresses a sphere of plutonium-239, a material that will then fission. Inside this pit of plutonium-239 is a chamber of hydrogen gas. The high temperatures and pressures created by the fission of plutonium-239 cause the hydrogen atoms to fuse together. This fusion process releases neutrons that return to plutonium-239, splitting more atoms and enhancing chain reaction division.

Watch the video: Atomic and hydrogen bombs, which is more powerful? And what is their difference?

Nuclear tests

Governments around the world use global monitoring systems to detect nuclear tests as part of efforts to enforce the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. There are 183 parties to this treaty, but it is inoperative because key countries, including the United States, have not ratified it.

Since 1996, Pakistan, India and North Korea have conducted nuclear tests. However, the treaty introduced a seismic monitoring system that can distinguish nuclear explosion from an earthquake. International system monitoring also includes stations that detect infrasound, a sound whose frequency is too low for human ears to detect explosions. Eighty radionuclide monitoring stations around the world measure fallout, which can prove that an explosion detected by other monitoring systems was in fact nuclear.

As you know, the main engine of progress of human civilization is war. And many “hawks” justify the mass extermination of their own kind precisely by this. The issue has always been controversial, and the advent of nuclear weapons irrevocably turned the plus sign into a minus sign. Indeed, why do we need progress that will ultimately destroy us? Moreover, even in this suicidal matter, the man showed his characteristic energy and ingenuity. Not only did he come up with a weapon of mass destruction (the atomic bomb) - he continued to improve it in order to kill himself quickly, efficiently and reliably. An example of such active activity can be a very quick leap to the next stage in the development of atomic military technologies - the creation of thermonuclear weapons ( H-bomb). But let’s leave aside the moral aspect of these suicidal tendencies and move on to the question posed in the title of the article - what is the difference between an atomic bomb and a hydrogen one?

A little history

There, beyond the ocean

As you know, Americans are the most enterprising people in the world. They have a great flair for everything new. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the first atomic bomb appeared in this part of the world. Let's give a little historical background.

• The first step on the path to creating atomic bomb can be considered the experiment of two German scientists O. Hahn and F. Strassmann on splitting the uranium atom into two parts. This, so to speak, still unconscious step was taken in 1938.

• French Nobel laureate F. Joliot-Curie proved in 1939 that atomic fission leads to a chain reaction accompanied by a powerful release of energy.

• Genius theoretical physics A. Einstein put his signature on a letter (in 1939) addressed to the President of the United States, the initiator of which was another nuclear physicist L. Szilard. As a result, even before the start of World War II, the United States decided to begin developing atomic weapons.

• The first test of the new weapon was carried out on July 16, 1945 in northern New Mexico.

• Less than a month later, two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945). Humanity had entered a new era - now it was capable of destroying itself in a few hours.

The Americans fell into real euphoria from the results of the total and lightning destruction of peaceful cities. Staff theorists of the US Armed Forces immediately began to draw up grandiose plans consisting in completely erasing 1/6 of the world - the Soviet Union - from the face of the Earth.

Caught up and overtook

The Soviet Union also did not sit idly by. True, there was some lag caused by the resolution of more urgent matters - the Second World War, the main burden of which lay on the country of the Soviets. However, the Americans did not wear the leader's yellow jersey for long. Already on August 29, 1949, at a test site near the city of Semipalatinsk, a Soviet-style atomic charge was tested for the first time, created at the right time by Russian nuclear scientists under the leadership of Academician Kurchatov.

And while the frustrated “hawks” from the Pentagon were revising their ambitious plans to destroy the “stronghold of the world revolution,” the Kremlin launched a preemptive strike - in 1953, on August 12, tests of a new type of nuclear weapon were carried out. There, in the area of ​​Semipalatinsk, the world’s first hydrogen bomb, codenamed “Product RDS-6s”, was detonated. This event caused real hysteria and panic not only on Capitol Hill, but also in all 50 states of the “stronghold of world democracy.” Why? What is the difference between an atomic bomb and a hydrogen bomb that horrified the world's superpower? We will answer immediately. The hydrogen bomb is much more powerful than the atomic bomb. Moreover, it costs significantly less than an equivalent atomic sample. Let's look at these differences in more detail.

What is an atomic bomb?

The principle of operation of an atomic bomb is based on the use of energy resulting from an increasing chain reaction caused by the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei of plutonium or uranium-235 with the subsequent formation of lighter nuclei.

The process itself is called single-phase, and it proceeds as follows:

• After the charge detonates, the substance inside the bomb (isotopes of uranium or plutonium) enters the decay stage and begins to capture neutrons.

• The process of decay is growing like an avalanche. The splitting of one atom leads to the decay of several. A chain reaction occurs, leading to the destruction of all the atoms in the bomb.

• A nuclear reaction begins. The entire bomb charge turns into a single whole, and its mass passes its critical mark. Moreover, all this bacchanalia does not last very long and is accompanied by the instant release of a huge amount of energy, which ultimately leads to a grand explosion.

By the way, this feature of a single-phase atomic charge - quickly gaining a critical mass - does not allow an infinite increase in the power of this type of ammunition. The charge can be hundreds of kilotons in power, but the closer it is to the megaton level, the less effective it is. It simply will not have time to completely split: an explosion will occur and part of the charge will remain unused - it will be scattered by the explosion. This problem was solved in the next type of atomic weapon - a hydrogen bomb, which is also called a thermonuclear bomb.

What is a hydrogen bomb?

In a hydrogen bomb, a slightly different process of energy release occurs. It is based on working with hydrogen isotopes - deuterium (heavy hydrogen) and tritium. The process itself is divided into two parts or, as they say, is two-phase.

• The first phase is when the main energy supplier is the fission reaction of heavy lithium deuteride nuclei into helium and tritium.

• The second phase - thermonuclear fusion based on helium and tritium is launched, which leads to instant heating inside the warhead and, as a result, causes a powerful explosion.

Thanks to the two-phase system, the thermonuclear charge can be of any power.

Note. The description of the processes occurring in an atomic and hydrogen bomb is far from complete and the most primitive. It is provided only to provide a general understanding of the differences between these two weapons.

Comparison

What's in the bottom line?

Any schoolchild knows about the damaging factors of an atomic explosion:

• light radiation;
• shock wave;
• electromagnetic pulse (EMP);
• penetrating radiation;
• radioactive contamination.

The same can be said about a thermonuclear explosion. But!!! The power and consequences of a thermonuclear explosion are much stronger than an atomic one. Let us give two well-known examples.

“Baby”: black humor or cynicism of Uncle Sam?

The atomic bomb (codenamed “Little Boy”) dropped on Hiroshima by the Americans is still considered the “benchmark” for atomic charges. Its power was approximately 13 to 18 kilotons, and the explosion was ideal in all respects. Later, more powerful charges were tested more than once, but not much (20-23 kilotons). However, they showed results that were little higher than the achievements of “Kid”, and then stopped altogether. A cheaper and stronger “hydrogen sister” appeared, and there was no longer any point in improving atomic charges. This is what happened “at the exit” after the explosion of “Malysh”:

• The nuclear mushroom reached a height of 12 km, the diameter of the “cap” was about 5 km.
• The instantaneous release of energy during a nuclear reaction caused a temperature at the epicenter of the explosion of 4000 ° C.
• Fireball: diameter about 300 meters.
• The shock wave knocked out glass at a distance of up to 19 km, and was felt much further.
• About 140 thousand people died at once.

Queen of all queens

The consequences of the explosion of the most powerful hydrogen bomb tested to date, the so-called Tsar Bomb (code name AN602), exceeded all previous explosions of atomic charges (not thermonuclear ones) combined. The bomb was Soviet, with a yield of 50 megatons. Its tests were carried out on October 30, 1961 in the Novaya Zemlya region.

• The nuclear mushroom grew 67 km in height and the diameter of the upper “cap” was approximately 95 km.
• The light radiation hit a distance of up to 100 km, causing third-degree burns.
• The ball of fire, or ball, grew to 4.6 km (radius).
• The sound wave was recorded at a distance of 800 km.
• The seismic wave circled the planet three times.
• The shock wave was felt at a distance of up to 1000 km.
• The electromagnetic pulse created powerful interference for 40 minutes several hundred kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion.

One can only imagine what would have happened to Hiroshima if such a monster had been dropped on it. Most likely, not only the city, but also the Land of the Rising Sun itself would disappear. Well, now let’s bring everything we’ve said to common denominator, that is, we will compose comparison table.

Table

So, we found out what the difference is between an atomic and a hydrogen bomb. Unfortunately, our little analysis only confirmed the thesis expressed at the beginning of the article: progress associated with the war took a disastrous path. Humanity has come to the brink of self-destruction. All that remains is to press the button. But let's not end the article on such a tragic note. We really hope that reason and the instinct of self-preservation will ultimately win and a peaceful future awaits us.