You can often hear big words about nuclear weapons in the media, but the destructive ability of one or another explosive charge is very rarely specified, therefore, as a rule, thermonuclear warheads with a capacity of several megatons and atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II are put in the same row. , whose power was only 15 to 20 kilotons, that is, a thousand times less. What is behind this colossal gap in the destructive capacity of nuclear weapons?

Behind this is a different technology and principle of charge. If the outdated "atomic bombs", like those that were dropped on Japan, operate on pure nuclear fission of heavy metals, then thermonuclear charges are a "bomb within a bomb", the greatest effect of which is created by helium synthesis, and the decay of nuclei heavy elements is only the detonator of this synthesis.

A bit of physics: heavy metals- this is most often either uranium with a high content of the isotope 235 or plutonium 239. They are radioactive and their nuclei are not stable. When the concentration of such materials in one place rises sharply to a certain threshold, a self-sustaining chain reaction occurs, when unstable nuclei, breaking apart, provoke the same decay of neighboring nuclei with their fragments. During this decay, energy is released. Lots of energy. This is how the explosive charges of atomic bombs work, as well as nuclear reactors NPP.

As for the thermonuclear reaction or thermonuclear explosion, a completely different process is given a key place there, namely, the synthesis of helium. At high temperatures and pressure, it happens that when colliding, the hydrogen nuclei stick together, creating a heavier element, helium. At the same time, a huge amount of energy is also released, as evidenced by our Sun, where this synthesis constantly takes place. What are the advantages of thermonuclear reaction:

First, there is no limit to the possible power of the explosion, because it depends solely on the amount of material from which the synthesis is carried out (most often, lithium deuteride is used as such a material).

Secondly, there are no radioactive decay products, that is, those very fragments of the nuclei of heavy elements, which significantly reduces radioactive contamination.

And thirdly, there are no those colossal difficulties in the production of explosive material, as is the case with uranium and plutonium.

There is, however, a minus: a huge temperature and incredible pressure are required to start such a synthesis. Here, to create this pressure and heat, a detonating charge is required, which works on the principle of the ordinary decay of heavy elements.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the creation of an explosive nuclear charge by a country most often means a low-power "atomic bomb", and not a really terrible one that can wipe out a large thermonuclear metropolis from the face of the earth.

The destructive power of which, in the event of an explosion, cannot be stopped by anyone. What is the most powerful bomb in the world? To answer this question, you need to understand the features of certain bombs.

What is a bomb?

Nuclear power plants operate on the principle of releasing and shackling nuclear energy. This process must be controlled. The released energy is converted into electricity. An atomic bomb causes a chain reaction that is completely uncontrollable, and a huge amount of released energy causes monstrous destruction. Uranium and plutonium are not so harmless elements of the periodic table, they lead to global catastrophes.

Atomic bomb

To understand what is the most powerful atomic bomb on the planet, we will learn more about everything. Hydrogen and atomic bombs belong to the nuclear power industry. If you combine two pieces of uranium, but each will have a mass below the critical mass, then this "union" will greatly exceed the critical mass. Each neutron participates in a chain reaction, because it splits the nucleus and releases 2-3 more neutrons, which cause new decay reactions.

Neutron force is completely beyond human control. In less than a second, hundreds of billions of newly formed decays not only release a huge amount of energy, but also become sources of the strongest radiation. This radioactive rain covers the earth, fields, plants and all living things in a thick layer. If we talk about the disasters in Hiroshima, we can see that 1 gram caused the death of 200 thousand people.

Working principle and advantages of vacuum bomb

It is believed that the vacuum bomb, created by the latest technologies, can compete with nuclear. The fact is that instead of TNT, a gas substance is used here, which is several tens of times more powerful. The high-yield aerial bomb is the most powerful non-nuclear vacuum bomb in the world. It can destroy the enemy, but at the same time houses and equipment will not be damaged, and there will be no decay products.

What is the principle of its work? Immediately after dropping from a bomber, a detonator fires at some distance from the ground. The hull collapses and a huge cloud is dispersed. When mixed with oxygen, it begins to penetrate anywhere - into houses, bunkers, shelters. The burning of oxygen forms a vacuum everywhere. When this bomb is dropped, a supersonic wave is produced and a very high temperature is generated.

The difference between an American vacuum bomb and a Russian one

The differences are that the latter can destroy the enemy, even in the bunker, with the help of an appropriate warhead. During the explosion in the air, the warhead falls and hits the ground hard, burrowing to a depth of 30 meters. After the explosion, a cloud is formed, which, increasing in size, can penetrate shelters and explode there. American warheads, on the other hand, are filled with ordinary TNT, which is why they destroy buildings. Vacuum bomb destroys a certain object, as it has a smaller radius. It doesn't matter which bomb is the most powerful - any of them delivers an incomparable destructive blow that affects all living things.

H-bomb

The hydrogen bomb is another scary nuclear weapon. The combination of uranium and plutonium generates not only energy, but also a temperature that rises to a million degrees. Hydrogen isotopes combine into helium nuclei, which creates a source of colossal energy. The hydrogen bomb is the most powerful - this is an indisputable fact. It is enough just to imagine that its explosion is equal to the explosions of 3000 atomic bombs in Hiroshima. Both in the USA and former USSR you can count 40 thousand bombs of various capacities - nuclear and hydrogen.

The explosion of such ammunition is comparable to the processes that are observed inside the Sun and stars. Fast neutrons split the uranium shells of the bomb itself with great speed. Not only heat is released, but also radioactive fallout. There are up to 200 isotopes. The production of such nuclear weapons is cheaper than nuclear weapons, and their effect can be increased as many times as desired. This is the most powerful detonated bomb that was tested in the Soviet Union on August 12, 1953.

Consequences of the explosion

The result of the explosion hydrogen bomb is threefold. The very first thing that happens is a powerful blast wave is observed. Its power depends on the height of the explosion and the type of terrain, as well as the degree of transparency of the air. Large fiery hurricanes can form that do not calm down for several hours. And yet, the secondary and most dangerous consequence that the most powerful thermonuclear bomb can cause is radioactive radiation and contamination of the surrounding area on long time.

Radioactive residue from the explosion of a hydrogen bomb

During the explosion, the fireball contains many very small radioactive particles that are trapped in the atmospheric layer of the earth and remain there for a long time. Upon contact with the ground, this fireball creates incandescent dust, consisting of particles of decay. First, a large one settles, and then a lighter one, which, with the help of the wind, spreads over hundreds of kilometers. These particles can be seen with the naked eye, for example, such dust can be seen on the snow. It is fatal if anyone is nearby. The smallest particles can stay in the atmosphere for many years and so “travel”, flying around the entire planet several times. Their radioactive emission will become weaker by the time they fall out in the form of precipitation.

Its explosion is capable of wiping Moscow off the face of the earth in a matter of seconds. The city center would easily evaporate in the truest sense of the word, and everything else could turn into the smallest rubble. The most powerful bomb in the world would have wiped out New York with all the skyscrapers. After it, a twenty-kilometer molten smooth crater would have remained. With such an explosion, it would not have been possible to escape by going down the subway. The entire territory within a radius of 700 kilometers would be destroyed and infected with radioactive particles.

The explosion of the "Tsar bomb" - to be or not to be?

In the summer of 1961, scientists decided to test and observe the explosion. The most powerful bomb in the world was supposed to explode at a test site located in the very north of Russia. The huge area of ​​the polygon occupies the entire territory of the island of Novaya Zemlya. The scale of the defeat was to be 1000 kilometers. During the explosion, such industrial centers like Vorkuta, Dudinka and Norilsk. Scientists, having comprehended the scale of the disaster, took up their heads and realized that the test was cancelled.

There was no place to test the famous and incredibly powerful bomb anywhere on the planet, only Antarctica remained. But it also failed to carry out an explosion on the icy continent, since the territory is considered international and it is simply unrealistic to obtain permission for such tests. I had to reduce the charge of this bomb by 2 times. The bomb was nevertheless detonated on October 30, 1961 in the same place - on the island of Novaya Zemlya (at an altitude of about 4 kilometers). During the explosion, a monstrous huge atomic mushroom, which rose up to 67 kilometers, and the shock wave circled the planet three times. By the way, in the museum "Arzamas-16", in the city of Sarov, you can watch a newsreel of the explosion on an excursion, although they say that this spectacle is not for the faint of heart.

North Korea announced the successful testing of a hydrogen bomb. figured out how this weapon differs from atomic bomb.

On Sunday, September 3, North Korea announced it had tested an advanced hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb. Thus, Pyongyang moved away from experiments with first-generation nuclear weapons. What is the difference between an atomic bomb and a more advanced hydrogen bomb?

detonation process

The fundamental difference lies in the process of detonation. The explosive power of an atomic bomb - such as was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - is the result of a sudden release of energy that occurs due to the fission of the nucleus of heavy chemical element such as plutonium. This is a division process.

A few years after the United States created the first atomic bomb, which was tested in New Mexico, the Americans developed a weapon based on the same technology, but with an improved detonation process for a more powerful explosion. This weapon was later called the thermonuclear bomb.

The process of detonation of such weapons consists of several stages and begins with the detonation of an atomic bomb. As a result of this first explosion, a temperature of several million degrees is created. This creates enough energy to bring the two nuclei close enough that they can fuse. This second stage is called synthesis.

A thermonuclear bomb, operating on the Teller-Ulam principle, consists of two stages: a trigger and a container with thermonuclear fuel. The trigger is a small plutonium nuclear weapon with a power boost of several kilotons. The purpose of the trigger is to create the necessary conditions for initiating a thermonuclear reaction - high temperature and pressure.

The thermonuclear fuel container is the main element of the bomb. Inside it is a thermonuclear fuel - lithium-6 deuteride - and, located along the axis of the container, a plutonium rod, which plays the role of a fuse for a thermonuclear reaction. The shell of the container can be made of both uranium-238 and lead.

The container is covered with a layer of neutron absorber (boron compounds) to protect thermonuclear fuel from premature heating by neutron fluxes after the trigger explosion. The coaxial trigger and container are filled with a special plastic that conducts radiation from the trigger to the container, and are placed in a bomb body made of steel or aluminum.

When the trigger explodes, 80% of the energy is released in the form of a powerful pulse of soft x-ray radiation, which is absorbed by the shell of the second stage and the plastic filler, which turns into a high-temperature plasma under high pressure. As a result of a sharp heating of the uranium (lead) shell, ablation of the shell substance occurs and a jet thrust appears, which, together with the pressures of light and plasma, compresses the second stage. At the same time, its volume decreases by several thousand times, and thermonuclear fuel is heated to enormous temperatures.

However, the pressure and temperature are still insufficient to start a thermonuclear reaction, the creation necessary conditions provides a plutonium rod, which, as a result of compression, goes into a supercritical state - a nuclear reaction begins inside the container. The neutrons emitted by the plutonium rod as a result of the fission of plutonium nuclei interact with lithium-6 nuclei, resulting in tritium, which then interacts with deuterium.

A Warhead before explosion; the first step is at the top, the second step is at the bottom. Both components of a thermonuclear bomb.
B The explosive detonates the first stage, compressing the plutonium core to a supercritical state and initiating a fission chain reaction.
IN During the splitting process in the first stage, an X-ray pulse occurs, which propagates along the inner part of the shell, penetrating through the polystyrene foam filler.
G The second stage is compressed due to ablation (evaporation) under the influence of X-rays, and the plutonium rod inside the second stage goes into a supercritical state, initiating a chain reaction, releasing a huge amount of heat.
D In the compressed and heated lithium-6 deuteride, a fusion reaction occurs, the emitted neutron flux is the initiator of the tamper splitting reaction. The fireball is expanding...

Form plays a role

According to experts, the latest bomb tested by North Korea was significantly different from the previous ones and was a device divided into chambers. This suggests that we are talking about a two-stage hydrogen bomb.

“The photographs show a more complete form of a possible hydrogen bomb, where the primary atomic bomb and the secondary fusion stage are combined with each other in the form of an hourglass,” explained Lee Chun Guang, a senior researcher at the South Korean State Institute scientific and technological problems.

Different power

The power of a thermonuclear bomb can be hundreds of thousands of times greater than that of an atomic bomb. The explosive power of the latter is often calculated in kilotons. One kiloton is equal to one thousand tons of TNT. The unit for measuring the power of a thermonuclear bomb is a megaton, or a million tons of TNT.

According to news reports, North Korea is threatening to test a hydrogen bomb over 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 test of a hydrogen bomb at an unprecedented level, perhaps over the Pacific,” the Foreign Secretary said this week during a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. North Korea Ri Yong Ho. Rhee added that "it depends on our leader."

Atomic and hydrogen bomb: differences

Hydrogen bombs or thermo nuclear bombs are more powerful than atomic or fission bombs. The difference between hydrogen bombs and atomic bombs starts at the atomic level.

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

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

First, the igniting explosion compresses a sphere of plutonium-239, a material that will then be fissile. 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. This fusion process releases neutrons that are returned to plutonium-239, splitting more atoms and amplifying the fission chain reaction.

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 not in effect 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 between a nuclear explosion and an earthquake. The international monitoring system 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 are measuring precipitation, which could prove that the explosion detected by other monitoring systems was, in fact, nuclear.

There are many different political clubs in the world. Big, now already, seven, G20, BRICS, SCO, NATO, European Union, to some extent. However, none of these clubs can boast a unique function - the ability to destroy the world as we know it. The "nuclear club" possesses similar possibilities.

To date, there are 9 countries with nuclear weapons:

• Russia;
• Great Britain;
• France;
• India
• Pakistan;
• Israel;
• DPRK.

Countries are ranked according to the appearance of nuclear weapons in their arsenal. If the list were built by the number of warheads, then Russia would be in first place with its 8,000 units, 1,600 of which can be launched right now. The states are only 700 units behind, but "at hand" they have 320 more charges. "Nuclear club" is a purely conditional concept, in fact there is no club. There are a number of agreements between the countries on non-proliferation and the reduction of stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

The first tests of the atomic bomb, as you know, were carried out by the United States back in 1945. This weapon was tested in the "field" conditions of the Second World War on the inhabitants of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They operate on the principle of division. During the explosion, a chain reaction is started, which provokes the fission of the nuclei into two, with the accompanying release of energy. Uranium and plutonium are mainly used for this reaction. It is with these elements that our ideas about what nuclear bombs are made of are connected. Since uranium occurs in nature only as a mixture of three isotopes, of which only one is capable of supporting such a reaction, it is necessary to enrich uranium. The alternative is plutonium-239, which does not occur naturally and must be produced from uranium.

If a fission reaction takes place in a uranium bomb, then a fusion reaction occurs in a hydrogen bomb - this is the essence of how a hydrogen bomb differs from an atomic bomb. We all know that the sun gives us light, warmth, and one might say life. The same processes that take place in the sun can easily destroy cities and countries. The explosion of a hydrogen bomb was born by the fusion reaction of light nuclei, the so-called thermonuclear fusion. This "miracle" is possible thanks to hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium. That is why the bomb is called a hydrogen bomb. You can also see the name "thermonuclear bomb", from the reaction that underlies this weapon.

After the world saw the destructive power of nuclear weapons, in August 1945, the USSR began a race that continued until its collapse. The United States was the first to create, test and use nuclear weapons, the first to detonate a hydrogen bomb, but the USSR can be credited with the first production of a compact hydrogen bomb that can be delivered to the enemy on a conventional Tu-16. The first US bomb was the size of a three-story house, a hydrogen bomb of this size is of little use. The Soviets received such weapons as early as 1952, while the first "adequate" US bomb was adopted only in 1954. If you look back and analyze the explosions in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, you can conclude that they were not so powerful. . Two bombs in total destroyed both cities and killed, according to various sources, up to 220,000 people. Carpet bombing Tokyo in a day could take the lives of 150-200,000 people without any nuclear weapons. This is due to the low power of the first bombs - only a few tens of kilotons of TNT. Hydrogen bombs were tested with an eye to overcoming 1 megaton or more.

First Soviet bomb was tested with a claim of 3 Mt, but ended up testing 1.6 Mt.

The most powerful hydrogen bomb was tested by the Soviets in 1961. Its capacity reached 58-75 Mt, while the declared 51 Mt. "Tsar" plunged the world into a slight shock, in the literal sense. The shock wave circled the planet three times. There was not a single hill left at the test site (Novaya Zemlya), the explosion was heard at a distance of 800 km. The fireball reached a diameter of almost 5 km, the “mushroom” grew by 67 km, and the diameter of its cap was almost 100 km. The consequences of such an explosion in major city hard to imagine. According to many experts, it was the test of a hydrogen bomb of such power (the States had four times less bombs at that time) that was the first step towards signing various treaties to ban nuclear weapons, test them and reduce production. The world for the first time thought about its own security, which was really under threat.

As mentioned earlier, the principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is based on a fusion reaction. Thermonuclear fusion is the process of fusion of two nuclei into one, with the formation of a third element, the release of a fourth and energy. The forces that repel the nuclei are colossal, so for the atoms to get close enough to merge, the temperature must be simply enormous. Scientists have been puzzling over cold thermonuclear fusion for centuries, trying to bring the fusion temperature down to room temperature, ideally. In this case, humanity will have access to the energy of the future. As for the fusion reaction at the present time, to start it you still need to light a miniature sun here on Earth - usually bombs use a uranium or plutonium charge to start the fusion.

In addition to the consequences described above from the use of a bomb of tens of megatons, a hydrogen bomb, like any nuclear weapon, has a number of consequences from its use. Some people tend to think that the hydrogen bomb is a "cleaner weapon" than a conventional bomb. Perhaps it has something to do with the name. People hear the word "water" and think that it has something to do with water and hydrogen, and therefore the consequences are not so dire. In fact, this is of course not the case, because the action of the hydrogen bomb is based on extremely radioactive substances. It is theoretically possible to make a bomb without a uranium charge, but this is impractical due to the complexity of the process, so the pure fusion reaction is "diluted" with uranium to increase power. At the same time, the amount of radioactive fallout grows to 1000%. Everything that enters the fireball will be destroyed, the zone in the radius of destruction will become uninhabitable for people for decades. Radioactive fallout can harm people's health hundreds and thousands of kilometers away. Specific figures, the area of ​​infection can be calculated, knowing the strength of the charge.

However, the destruction of cities is not the worst thing that can happen "thanks" to weapons of mass destruction. After nuclear war the world will not be completely destroyed. There will be thousands on the planet major cities, billions of people and only a small percentage of territories will lose their status as "livable". In the long term, the whole world will be at risk due to the so-called "nuclear winter". Undermining the nuclear arsenal of the "club" can provoke the release into the atmosphere of a sufficient amount of matter (dust, soot, smoke) to "diminish" the brightness of the sun. A veil that can spread across the planet will destroy crops for several years to come, provoking famine and inevitable population decline. There has already been a “year without a summer” in history, after a major volcanic eruption in 1816, so a nuclear winter looks more than real. Again, depending on how the war proceeds, we can get the following types of global climate change:

• cooling by 1 degree, will pass unnoticed;
• nuclear autumn - cooling by 2-4 degrees, crop failures and increased formation of hurricanes are possible;
• an analogue of the "year without summer" - when the temperature dropped significantly, by several degrees per year;
• the little ice age - the temperature can drop by 30 - 40 degrees for a considerable time, will be accompanied by depopulation of a number of northern zones and crop failures;
• ice age - the development of the Little Ice Age, when the reflection sun rays from the surface it can reach a certain critical level and the temperature will continue to fall, the difference is only in temperature;
• irreversible cooling is a very sad version of the ice age, which, under the influence of many factors, will turn the Earth into a new planet.

The nuclear winter theory is constantly criticized, its consequences seem a little overblown. However, one should not doubt its imminent onset in any global conflict using hydrogen bombs.

The Cold War is long over, and therefore, nuclear hysteria can only be seen in old Hollywood films and on the covers of rare magazines and comics. Despite this, we may be on the verge of a serious nuclear conflict, if not a big one. All this thanks to the lover of rockets and the hero of the fight against the imperialist habits of the United States - Kim Jong-un. The DPRK hydrogen bomb is still a hypothetical object, only circumstantial evidence speaks of its existence. Of course, the North Korean government constantly reports that they have managed to make new bombs, so far no one has seen them live. Naturally, the States and their allies - Japan and South Korea, are a little more concerned about the presence, even if hypothetical, of such weapons in the DPRK. The reality is that at the moment, the DPRK does not have enough technology to successfully attack the United States, which they announce to the whole world every year. Even an attack on neighboring Japan or the South may not be very successful, if at all, but every year the danger of a new conflict on the Korean peninsula is growing.