Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is a weapon which derives its destructive force from the nuclear reactions of nuclear fission and/or fusion. As a result, even a nuclear weapon with a small yield is significantly more powerful than the largest conventional explosives, and a single weapon is capable of destroying an entire city.

Types of nuclear weapons

The simplest nuclear weapons derive their energy from nuclear fission. A mass of fissile material is rapidly assembled into a critical mass, in which a chain reaction begins and grows exponentially, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. This is accomplished either by shooting one piece of subcritical material into another, or compressing a subcritical mass into a state of supercriticality. A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is ensuring that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. These are colloquially known as atomic bombs.

Related Topics:
Nuclear fission - Fissile - Critical mass - Chain reaction - Grows exponentially - Supercriticality

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More advanced nuclear weapons take advantage of nuclear fusion to derive more energy. In such a weapon, the X-ray thermal radiation from a nuclear fission explosion is used to heat and compress a capsule of tritium, deuterium, or lithium, in which fusion occurs, releasing even more energy. These weapons, colloquially known as hydrogen bombs, can be many hundreds of times more powerful than fission weapons. The so-called "Teller-Ulam design" is thought to be responsible for megaton range thermonuclear weapons.

Related Topics:
Nuclear fusion - X-ray - Tritium - Deuterium - Lithium - Teller-Ulam design

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

More exotic nuclear weapons also exist, designed for special purposes. The detonation of a nuclear weapon is accompanied by a blast of neutron radiation. Surrounding a nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as cobalt or gold) can result in the production of exceptionally large quantities of radioactive contamination. A nuclear weapon may also be designed to permit as many neutrons as possible to escape; such a weapon is called a neutron bomb. Hypothetical antimatter weapons, which would use matter-antimatter reactions, would not technically be nuclear weapons (as they would not be using energy derived from either nuclear fission or fusion), but bear noting due to a possibly higher potential energy by weight than conventional or nuclear explosives.

Related Topics:
Neutron radiation - Cobalt - Gold - Radioactive contamination - Neutron bomb - Antimatter weapon - Antimatter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~