Hydrogen bomb and nuclear bomb differences. Creators of the hydrogen bomb

The content of the article

H-BOMB, a weapon of great destructive power (on the order of megatons in TNT equivalent), the operating principle of which is based on the reaction of thermonuclear fusion of light nuclei. The source of explosion energy is processes similar to those occurring on the Sun and other stars.

Thermonuclear reactions.

The interior of the Sun contains a gigantic amount of hydrogen, which is in a state of ultra-high compression at a temperature of approx. 15,000,000 K. At such high temperatures and plasma densities, hydrogen nuclei experience constant collisions with each other, some of which result in their fusion and ultimately the formation of heavier helium nuclei. Such reactions, called thermonuclear fusion, are accompanied by the release of enormous amounts of energy. According to the laws of physics, the energy release during thermonuclear fusion is due to the fact that during the formation of a heavier nucleus, part of the mass of the light nuclei included in its composition is converted into a colossal amount of energy. That is why the Sun, having a gigantic mass, loses approx. every day in the process of thermonuclear fusion. 100 billion tons of matter and releases energy, thanks to which life on Earth became possible.

Isotopes of hydrogen.

The hydrogen atom is the simplest of all existing atoms. It consists of one proton, which is its nucleus, around which a single electron rotates. Careful studies of water (H 2 O) have shown that it contains negligible amounts of “heavy” water containing the “heavy isotope” of hydrogen - deuterium (2 H). The deuterium nucleus consists of a proton and a neutron - a neutral particle with a mass close to a proton.

There is a third isotope of hydrogen, tritium, whose nucleus contains one proton and two neutrons. Tritium is unstable and undergoes spontaneous radioactive decay, turning into an isotope of helium. Traces of tritium have been found in the Earth's atmosphere, where it is formed as a result of the interaction of cosmic rays with gas molecules that make up the air. Tritium is produced artificially in a nuclear reactor by irradiating the lithium-6 isotope with a stream of neutrons.

Development of the hydrogen bomb.

Preliminary theoretical analysis showed that thermonuclear fusion is most easily accomplished in a mixture of deuterium and tritium. Taking this as a basis, US scientists at the beginning of 1950 began implementing a project to create a hydrogen bomb (HB). The first tests of a model nuclear device were carried out at the Enewetak test site in the spring of 1951; thermonuclear fusion was only partial. Significant success was achieved on November 1, 1951 during the testing of a massive nuclear device, the explosion power of which was 4 × 8 Mt in TNT equivalent.

The first hydrogen aerial bomb was detonated in the USSR on August 12, 1953, and on March 1, 1954, the Americans detonated a more powerful (approximately 15 Mt) aerial bomb on Bikini Atoll. Since then, both powers have carried out explosions of advanced megaton weapons.

The explosion at Bikini Atoll was accompanied by the release of large quantity radioactive substances. Some of them fell hundreds of kilometers from the explosion site on the Japanese fishing vessel "Lucky Dragon", while others covered the island of Rongelap. Since thermonuclear fusion produces stable helium, the radioactivity from the explosion of a pure hydrogen bomb should be no more than that of an atomic detonator of a thermonuclear reaction. However, in the case under consideration, the predicted and actual radioactive fallout differed significantly in quantity and composition.

The mechanism of action of a hydrogen bomb.

The sequence of processes occurring during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb can be represented as follows. First, the thermonuclear reaction initiator charge (a small atomic bomb) located inside the HB shell explodes, resulting in a neutron flash and creating heat, necessary to initiate thermonuclear fusion. Neutrons bombard an insert made of lithium deuteride, a compound of deuterium and lithium (a lithium isotope with mass number 6 is used). Lithium-6 is split into helium and tritium under the influence of neutrons. Thus, the atomic fuse creates the materials necessary for synthesis directly in the actual bomb itself.

Then a thermonuclear reaction begins in a mixture of deuterium and tritium, the temperature inside the bomb rapidly increases, involving more and more large quantity hydrogen. With a further increase in temperature, a reaction between deuterium nuclei, characteristic of a pure hydrogen bomb, could begin. All reactions, of course, occur so quickly that they are perceived as instantaneous.

Fission, fusion, fission (superbomb).

In fact, in a bomb, the sequence of processes described above ends at the stage of the reaction of deuterium with tritium. Further, the bomb designers chose not to use nuclear fusion, but nuclear fission. The fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei produces helium and fast neutrons, the energy of which is high enough to cause nuclear fission of uranium-238 (the main isotope of uranium, much cheaper than the uranium-235 used in conventional atomic bombs). Fast neutrons split the atoms of the uranium shell of the superbomb. The fission of one ton of uranium creates energy equivalent to 18 Mt. Energy goes not only to explosion and heat generation. Each uranium nucleus splits into two highly radioactive “fragments.” The fission products include 36 different chemical elements and almost 200 radioactive isotopes. All this constitutes the radioactive fallout that accompanies superbomb explosions.

Thanks to the unique design and the described mechanism of action, weapons of this type can be made as powerful as desired. It is much cheaper than atomic bombs of the same power.

Consequences of the explosion.

Shock wave and thermal effect.

The direct (primary) impact of a superbomb explosion is threefold. The most obvious direct impact is a shock wave of enormous intensity. The strength of its impact, depending on the power of the bomb, the height of the explosion above the surface of the earth and the nature of the terrain, decreases with distance from the epicenter of the explosion. The thermal impact of an explosion is determined by the same factors, but also depends on the transparency of the air - fog sharply reduces the distance at which a thermal flash can cause serious burns.

According to calculations, during an explosion in the atmosphere of a 20-megaton bomb, people will remain alive in 50% of cases if they 1) take refuge in an underground reinforced concrete shelter at a distance of approximately 8 km from the epicenter of the explosion (E), 2) are in ordinary urban buildings at a distance of approx. . 15 km from EV, 3) found themselves in an open place at a distance of approx. 20 km from EV. In conditions of poor visibility and at a distance of at least 25 km, if the atmosphere is clear, for people in open areas, the likelihood of survival increases rapidly with distance from the epicenter; at a distance of 32 km its calculated value is more than 90%. The area over which the penetrating radiation generated during an explosion causes death is relatively small, even in the case of a high-power superbomb.

Fire ball.

Depending on the composition and mass of flammable material involved in the fireball, giant self-sustaining firestorms can form and rage for many hours. However, the most dangerous (albeit secondary) consequence of the explosion is radioactive contamination of the environment.

Fallout.

How they are formed.

When a bomb explodes, the resulting fireball is filled with a huge amount of radioactive particles. Typically, these particles are so small that once they reach the upper atmosphere, they can remain there for a long time. But if a fireball comes into contact with the surface of the Earth, it turns everything on it into hot dust and ash and draws them into a fiery tornado. In a whirlwind of flame, they mix and bind with radioactive particles. Radioactive dust, except the largest, does not settle immediately. Finer dust is carried away by the resulting cloud and gradually falls out as it moves with the wind. Directly at the site of the explosion, radioactive fallout can be extremely intense - mainly large dust settling on the ground. Hundreds of kilometers from the explosion site and at greater distances, small but still visible to the eye ash particles. They often form a cover similar to fallen snow, deadly to anyone who happens to be nearby. Even smaller and invisible particles, before they settle on the ground, can wander in the atmosphere for months and even years, going around many times Earth. By the time they fall out, their radioactivity is significantly weakened. The most dangerous radiation remains strontium-90 with a half-life of 28 years. Its loss is clearly observed throughout the world. Settling on leaves and grass, it ends up in food chains, including humans. As a consequence of this, noticeable, although not yet dangerous, amounts of strontium-90 have been found in the bones of residents of most countries. The accumulation of strontium-90 in human bones is very dangerous in the long term, as it leads to the formation of malignant bone tumors.

Long-term contamination of the area with radioactive fallout.

In the event of hostilities, the use of a hydrogen bomb will lead to immediate radioactive contamination of an area within a radius of approx. 100 km from the epicenter of the explosion. If a superbomb explodes, an area of ​​tens of thousands of square kilometers will be contaminated. Such a huge area of ​​destruction with a single bomb makes it a completely new type of weapon. Even if the superbomb does not hit the target, i.e. will not hit the object with shock-thermal effects, the penetrating radiation and radioactive fallout accompanying the explosion will make the surrounding space uninhabitable. Such precipitation can continue for many days, weeks and even months. Depending on their quantity, the intensity of radiation can reach deadly levels. A relatively small number of superbombs are enough to completely cover large country a layer of radioactive dust that is deadly to all living things. Thus, the creation of the superbomb marked the beginning of an era when it became possible to make entire continents uninhabitable. Even after long time after termination direct impact radioactive fallout will remain dangerous due to the high radiotoxicity of isotopes such as strontium-90. With food grown on soils contaminated with this isotope, radioactivity will enter the human body.

The hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb became the cornerstone of the arms race between the USA and the USSR. The two superpowers argued for several years about who would become the first owner of a new type of destructive weapon.

Thermonuclear weapon project

At the beginning of the Cold War, the test of a hydrogen bomb was the most important argument for the leadership of the USSR in the fight against the United States. Moscow wanted to achieve nuclear parity with Washington and invested huge amounts of money in the arms race. However, work on creating a hydrogen bomb began not thanks to generous funding, but because of reports from secret agents in America. In 1945, the Kremlin learned that the United States was preparing to create a new weapon. It was a superbomb, the project of which was called Super.

The source of valuable information was Klaus Fuchs, an employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA. He provided the Soviet Union with specific information regarding the secret American development of a superbomb. By 1950, the Super project was thrown into the trash, as it became clear to Western scientists that such a new weapon scheme could not be implemented. The director of this program was Edward Teller.

In 1946, Klaus Fuchs and John developed the ideas of the Super project and patented their own system. The principle of radioactive implosion was fundamentally new in it. In the USSR, this scheme began to be considered a little later - in 1948. In general, we can say that at the starting stage it was completely based on American information received by intelligence. But by continuing research based on these materials, Soviet scientists were noticeably ahead of their Western colleagues, which allowed the USSR to obtain first the first, and then the most powerful thermonuclear bomb.

On December 17, 1945, at a meeting of a special committee created under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, nuclear physicists Yakov Zeldovich, Isaac Pomeranchuk and Julius Hartion made a report “Use of nuclear energy of light elements.” This paper examined the possibility of using a deuterium bomb. This speech marked the beginning of the Soviet nuclear program.

In 1946 theoretical research began to be carried out at the Institute of Chemical Physics. The first results of this work were discussed at one of the meetings of the Scientific and Technical Council in the First Main Directorate. Two years later, Lavrentiy Beria instructed Kurchatov and Khariton to analyze materials about the von Neumann system that were delivered to Soviet Union thanks to secret agents in the West. Data from these documents gave additional impetus to the research that led to the birth of the RDS-6 project.

"Evie Mike" and "Castle Bravo"

On November 1, 1952, the Americans tested the world's first thermonuclear device. It was not yet a bomb, but already its most important component. The explosion occurred on Enivotek Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. and Stanislav Ulam (each of them actually the creator of the hydrogen bomb) had recently developed a two-stage design, which the Americans tested. The device could not be used as a weapon, as it was produced using deuterium. In addition, it was distinguished by its enormous weight and dimensions. Such a projectile simply could not be dropped from an airplane.

The first hydrogen bomb was tested by Soviet scientists. After the United States learned about the successful use of the RDS-6s, it became clear that it was necessary to close the gap with the Russians in the arms race as quickly as possible. The American test took place on March 1, 1954. The Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was chosen as the test site. The Pacific archipelagos were not chosen by chance. There was almost no population here (and the few people who lived on the nearby islands were evicted on the eve of the experiment).

The Americans' most destructive hydrogen bomb explosion became known as Castle Bravo. The charge power turned out to be 2.5 times higher than expected. The explosion led to radiation contamination of a large area (many islands and Pacific Ocean), which led to a scandal and a revision of the nuclear program.

Development of RDS-6s

Project of the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb received the name RDS-6s. The plan was written outstanding physicist Andrey Sakharov. In 1950, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to concentrate work on the creation of new weapons in KB-11. According to this decision, a group of scientists led by Igor Tamm went to the closed Arzamas-16.

The Semipalatinsk test site was prepared especially for this grandiose project. Before the hydrogen bomb test began, numerous measuring, filming and recording instruments were installed there. In addition, on behalf of scientists, almost two thousand indicators appeared there. The area affected by the hydrogen bomb test included 190 structures.

The Semipalatinsk experiment was unique not only because of the new type of weapon. Unique intakes designed for chemical and radioactive samples were used. Only a powerful shock wave could open them. Recording and filming instruments were installed in specially prepared fortified structures on the surface and in underground bunkers.

Alarm Clock

Back in 1946, Edward Teller, who worked in the USA, developed a prototype of the RDS-6s. It's called Alarm Clock. The project for this device was originally proposed as an alternative to the Super. In April 1947, a series of experiments began at the Los Alamos laboratory designed to study the nature of thermonuclear principles.

Scientists expected the greatest energy release from Alarm Clock. In the fall, Teller decided to use lithium deuteride as fuel for the device. Researchers had not yet used this substance, but expected that it would improve efficiency. It is interesting that Teller already noted in his memos dependence of the nuclear program on the further development of computers. This technique was necessary for scientists to make more accurate and complex calculations.

Alarm Clock and RDS-6s had much in common, but they also differed in many ways. The American version was not as practical as the Soviet one due to its size. Big sizes it inherited from the Super project. In the end, the Americans had to abandon this development. The last studies took place in 1954, after which it became clear that the project was unprofitable.

Explosion of the first thermonuclear bomb

The first test of a hydrogen bomb in human history occurred on August 12, 1953. In the morning, a bright flash appeared on the horizon, which was blinding even through protective glasses. The RDS-6s explosion turned out to be 20 times more powerful atomic bomb. The experiment was considered successful. Scientists were able to achieve an important technological breakthrough. For the first time, lithium hydride was used as a fuel. Within a radius of 4 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, the wave destroyed all buildings.

Subsequent tests of the hydrogen bomb in the USSR were based on the experience gained using the RDS-6s. This destructive weapon was not only the most powerful. An important advantage of the bomb was its compactness. The projectile was placed in a Tu-16 bomber. Success allowed Soviet scientists to get ahead of the Americans. In the United States at that time there was a thermonuclear device the size of a house. It was not transportable.

When Moscow announced that the USSR's hydrogen bomb was ready, Washington disputed this information. The main argument of the Americans was the fact that the thermonuclear bomb should be made according to the Teller-Ulam scheme. It was based on the principle of radiation implosion. This project will be implemented in the USSR two years later, in 1955.

Physicist Andrei Sakharov made the greatest contribution to the creation of RDS-6s. The hydrogen bomb was his brainchild - it was he who proposed the revolutionary ones technical solutions, which made it possible to successfully complete tests at the Semipalatinsk test site. Young Sakharov immediately became an academician at the USSR Academy of Sciences, a Hero of Socialist Labor and a laureate of the Stalin Prize. Other scientists also received awards and medals: Yuli Khariton, Kirill Shchelkin, Yakov Zeldovich, Nikolai Dukhov, etc. In 1953, a hydrogen bomb test showed that Soviet science can overcome what until recently seemed fiction and fantasy. Therefore, immediately after the successful explosion of the RDS-6s, the development of even more powerful projectiles began.

RDS-37

On November 20, 1955, the next tests of a hydrogen bomb took place in the USSR. This time it was two-stage and corresponded to the Teller-Ulam scheme. The RDS-37 bomb was about to be dropped from an airplane. However, when it took off, it became clear that the tests would have to be carried out in an emergency situation. Contrary to weather forecasters, the weather deteriorated noticeably, causing dense clouds to cover the training ground.

For the first time, experts were forced to land a plane with a thermonuclear bomb on board. For some time there was a discussion at the Central Command Post about what to do next. A proposal to drop a bomb in the mountains nearby was considered, but this option was rejected as too risky. Meanwhile, the plane continued to circle near the test site, running out of fuel.

Zeldovich and Sakharov received the final word. A hydrogen bomb that exploded outside the test site would have led to disaster. The scientists understood the full extent of the risk and their own responsibility, and yet they gave written confirmation that the plane would be safe to land. Finally, the commander of the Tu-16 crew, Fyodor Golovashko, received the command to land. The landing was very smooth. The pilots showed all their skills and did not panic in a critical situation. The maneuver was perfect. The Central Command Post breathed a sigh of relief.

The creator of the hydrogen bomb, Sakharov, and his team survived the tests. The second attempt was scheduled for November 22. On this day everything went without any emergency situations. The bomb was dropped from a height of 12 kilometers. While the shell was falling, the plane managed to move to a safe distance from the epicenter of the explosion. A few minutes later, the nuclear mushroom reached a height of 14 kilometers, and its diameter was 30 kilometers.

The explosion was not without tragic incidents. The shock wave shattered glass at a distance of 200 kilometers, causing several injuries. A girl who lived in a neighboring village also died when the ceiling collapsed on her. Another victim was a soldier who was in a special holding area. The soldier fell asleep in the dugout and died of suffocation before his comrades could pull him out.

Development of the Tsar Bomba

In 1954, the country's best nuclear physicists, under the leadership, began developing the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the history of mankind. Andrei Sakharov, Viktor Adamsky, Yuri Babaev, Yuri Smirnov, Yuri Trutnev, etc. also took part in this project. Due to its power and size, the bomb became known as the “Tsar Bomba”. Project participants later recalled that this phrase appeared after famous saying Khrushchev about “Kuzka’s Mother” at the UN. Officially, the project was called AN602.

Over seven years of development, the bomb went through several reincarnations. At first, scientists planned to use components from uranium and the Jekyll-Hyde reaction, but later this idea had to be abandoned due to the danger of radioactive contamination.

Test on Novaya Zemlya

For some time, the Tsar Bomba project was frozen, since Khrushchev was going to the USA, and in cold war there was a short pause. In 1961, the conflict between the countries flared up again and in Moscow they again remembered thermonuclear weapons. Khrushchev announced the upcoming tests in October 1961 during the XXII Congress of the CPSU.

On the 30th, a Tu-95B with a bomb on board took off from Olenya and headed for New Earth. The plane took two hours to reach its destination. Another Soviet hydrogen bomb was dropped at an altitude of 10.5 thousand meters above the Sukhoi Nos nuclear test site. The shell exploded while still in the air. A fireball appeared, which reached a diameter of three kilometers and almost touched the ground. According to scientists' calculations, the seismic wave from the explosion crossed the planet three times. The impact was felt a thousand kilometers away, and everything living at a distance of a hundred kilometers could receive third-degree burns (this did not happen, since the area was uninhabited).

At that time, the most powerful US thermonuclear bomb was four times less powerful than the Tsar Bomba. The Soviet leadership was pleased with the result of the experiment. Moscow got what it wanted from the next hydrogen bomb. The test demonstrated that the USSR had weapons much more powerful than the United States. Subsequently, the destructive record of the “Tsar Bomba” was never broken. The most powerful hydrogen bomb explosion was a major milestone in the history of science and the Cold War.

Thermonuclear weapons of other countries

British development of the hydrogen bomb began in 1954. The project manager was William Penney, who had previously been a participant in the Manhattan Project in the USA. The British had crumbs of information about the structure thermonuclear weapons. American allies did not share this information. In Washington, they referred to the atomic energy law passed in 1946. The only exception for the British was permission to observe the tests. They also used aircraft to collect samples left behind by American shell explosions.

At first, London decided to limit itself to creating a very powerful atomic bomb. Thus began the Orange Messenger trials. During them, the most powerful non-thermonuclear bomb in human history was dropped. Its disadvantage was its excessive cost. On November 8, 1957, a hydrogen bomb was tested. The history of the creation of the British two-stage device is an example of successful progress in conditions of lagging behind two superpowers that were arguing among themselves.

The hydrogen bomb appeared in China in 1967, in France in 1968. Thus, today there are five states in the club of countries possessing thermonuclear weapons. Information about the hydrogen bomb in North Korea. The head of the DPRK stated that his scientists were able to develop such a projectile. During the tests, seismologists different countries recorded seismic activity caused by a nuclear explosion. But there is still no concrete information about the hydrogen bomb in the DPRK.

HYDROGEN BOMB, a weapon of great destructive power (on the order of megatons in TNT equivalent), the operating principle of which is based on the reaction of thermonuclear fusion of light nuclei. The source of explosion energy is processes similar to those occurring on the Sun and other stars.

In 1961, the most powerful hydrogen bomb explosion ever occurred.

On the morning of October 30 at 11:32 a.m. over Novaya Zemlya in the area of ​​Mityushi Bay at an altitude of 4000 m above the land surface, a hydrogen bomb with a capacity of 50 million tons of TNT was exploded.

The Soviet Union tested the most powerful thermonuclear device in history. Even in the “half” version (and the maximum power of such a bomb is 100 megatons), the explosion energy was ten times greater than the total power of all explosives, used by all belligerents during the Second World War (including the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The shock wave from the explosion circled the globe three times, the first time in 36 hours and 27 minutes.

The light flash was so bright that, despite the continuous cloud cover, it was visible even from the command post in the village of Belushya Guba (almost 200 km away from the epicenter of the explosion). The mushroom cloud grew to a height of 67 km. By the time of the explosion, while the bomb was slowly falling on a huge parachute from a height of 10,500 to the calculated detonation point, the Tu-95 carrier aircraft with the crew and its commander, Major Andrei Egorovich Durnovtsev, was already in the safe zone. The commander was returning to his airfield as a lieutenant colonel, Hero of the Soviet Union. In an abandoned village - 400 km from the epicenter - they were destroyed wooden houses, and the stone ones lost their roofs, windows and doors. Many hundreds of kilometers from the test site, as a result of the explosion, the conditions for the passage of radio waves changed for almost an hour, and radio communications stopped.

The bomb was developed by V.B. Adamskiy, Yu.N. Smirnov, A.D. Sakharov, Yu.N. Babaev and Yu.A. Trutnev (for which Sakharov was awarded the third medal of Hero of Socialist Labor). The mass of the “device” was 26 tons; a specially modified Tu-95 strategic bomber was used to transport and drop it.

The “super bomb,” as A. Sakharov called it, did not fit in the bomb bay of the aircraft (its length was 8 meters and diameter was about 2 meters), so the non-power part of the fuselage was cut out and a special one was mounted lifting mechanism and a device for attaching a bomb; at the same time, during the flight it still stuck out more than half of it. The entire body of the aircraft, even the blades of its propellers, was covered with a special white paint that protected it from the flash of light during an explosion. The body of the accompanying laboratory aircraft was covered with the same paint.

The results of the explosion of the charge, which received the name “Tsar Bomba” in the West, were impressive:

* The nuclear “mushroom” of the explosion rose to a height of 64 km; the diameter of its cap reached 40 kilometers.

The fireball of the explosion reached the ground and almost reached the height of the bomb release (that is, the radius of the fireball of the explosion was approximately 4.5 kilometers).

* The radiation caused third-degree burns at a distance of up to one hundred kilometers.

* At the peak of radiation, the explosion reached 1% solar power.

* The shock wave resulting from the explosion circled the globe three times.

* Ionization of the atmosphere caused radio interference even hundreds of kilometers from the test site for one hour.

* Witnesses felt the impact and were able to describe the explosion at a distance of thousands of kilometers from the epicenter. Also, the shock wave to some extent retained its destructive power at a distance of thousands of kilometers from the epicenter.

* The acoustic wave reached Dikson Island, where windows in houses were broken by the blast wave.

The political result of this test was the Soviet Union's demonstration of its possession of unlimited weapons of mass destruction - the maximum megatonnage of a bomb tested by the United States at that time was four times less than that of the Tsar Bomba. In fact, increasing the power of a hydrogen bomb is achieved by simply increasing the mass of the working material, so, in principle, there are no factors preventing the creation of a 100-megaton or 500-megaton hydrogen bomb. (In fact, the Tsar Bomba was designed for a 100-megaton equivalent; the planned explosion power was cut in half, according to Khrushchev, “So as not to break all the glass in Moscow”). With this test, the Soviet Union demonstrated the ability to create a hydrogen bomb of any power and a means of delivering the bomb to the detonation point.

Thermonuclear reactions. The interior of the Sun contains a gigantic amount of hydrogen, which is in a state of ultra-high compression at a temperature of approx. 15,000,000 K. At such high temperatures and plasma densities, hydrogen nuclei experience constant collisions with each other, some of which result in their fusion and ultimately the formation of heavier helium nuclei. Such reactions, called thermonuclear fusion, are accompanied by the release of enormous amounts of energy. According to the laws of physics, the energy release during thermonuclear fusion is due to the fact that during the formation of a heavier nucleus, part of the mass of the light nuclei included in its composition is converted into a colossal amount of energy. That is why the Sun, having a gigantic mass, loses approx. every day in the process of thermonuclear fusion. 100 billion tons of matter and releases energy, thanks to which life on Earth became possible.

Isotopes of hydrogen. The hydrogen atom is the simplest of all existing atoms. It consists of one proton, which is its nucleus, around which a single electron rotates. Careful studies of water (H 2 O) have shown that it contains negligible amounts of “heavy” water containing the “heavy isotope” of hydrogen - deuterium (2 H). The deuterium nucleus consists of a proton and a neutron - a neutral particle with a mass close to a proton.

There is a third isotope of hydrogen - tritium, whose nucleus contains one proton and two neutrons. Tritium is unstable and undergoes spontaneous radioactive decay, turning into an isotope of helium. Traces of tritium have been found in the Earth's atmosphere, where it is formed as a result of the interaction of cosmic rays with gas molecules that make up the air. Tritium is produced artificially in a nuclear reactor by irradiating the lithium-6 isotope with a stream of neutrons.

Development of the hydrogen bomb. Preliminary theoretical analysis has shown that thermonuclear fusion is most easily accomplished in a mixture of deuterium and tritium. Taking this as a basis, US scientists at the beginning of 1950 began implementing a project to create a hydrogen bomb (HB). The first tests of a model nuclear device were carried out at the Enewetak test site in the spring of 1951; thermonuclear fusion was only partial. Significant success was achieved on November 1, 1951 when testing a massive nuclear device, the explosion power of which was 4? 8 Mt TNT equivalent.

The first hydrogen aerial bomb was detonated in the USSR on August 12, 1953, and on March 1, 1954, the Americans detonated a more powerful (approximately 15 Mt) aerial bomb on Bikini Atoll. Since then, both powers have carried out explosions of advanced megaton weapons.

The explosion at Bikini Atoll was accompanied by the release of large amounts of radioactive substances. Some of them fell hundreds of kilometers from the explosion site on the Japanese fishing vessel "Lucky Dragon", while others covered the island of Rongelap. Since thermonuclear fusion produces stable helium, the radioactivity from the explosion of a pure hydrogen bomb should be no more than that of an atomic detonator of a thermonuclear reaction. However, in the case under consideration, the predicted and actual radioactive fallout differed significantly in quantity and composition.

The mechanism of action of a hydrogen bomb. The sequence of processes occurring during the explosion of a hydrogen bomb can be represented as follows. First, the thermonuclear reaction initiator charge (a small atomic bomb) located inside the HB shell explodes, resulting in a neutron flash and creating the high temperature necessary to initiate thermonuclear fusion. Neutrons bombard an insert made of lithium deuteride - a compound of deuterium with lithium (a lithium isotope with mass number 6 is used). Lithium-6 is split into helium and tritium under the influence of neutrons. Thus, the atomic fuse creates the materials necessary for synthesis directly in the actual bomb itself.

Then a thermonuclear reaction begins in a mixture of deuterium and tritium, the temperature inside the bomb rapidly increases, involving more and more hydrogen in the synthesis. With a further increase in temperature, a reaction between deuterium nuclei, characteristic of a pure hydrogen bomb, could begin. All reactions, of course, occur so quickly that they are perceived as instantaneous.

Fission, fusion, fission (superbomb). In fact, in a bomb, the sequence of processes described above ends at the stage of the reaction of deuterium with tritium. Further, the bomb designers chose not to use nuclear fusion, but nuclear fission. The fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei produces helium and fast neutrons, the energy of which is high enough to cause nuclear fission of uranium-238 (the main isotope of uranium, much cheaper than the uranium-235 used in conventional atomic bombs). Fast neutrons split the atoms of the uranium shell of the superbomb. The fission of one ton of uranium creates energy equivalent to 18 Mt. Energy goes not only to explosion and heat generation. Each uranium nucleus splits into two highly radioactive “fragments.” Fission products include 36 different chemical elements and nearly 200 radioactive isotopes. All this constitutes the radioactive fallout that accompanies superbomb explosions.

Thanks to the unique design and the described mechanism of action, weapons of this type can be made as powerful as desired. It is much cheaper than atomic bombs of the same power.

At the end of the 30s of the last century, the laws of fission and decay were already discovered in Europe, and the hydrogen bomb moved from the category of fiction into reality. The history of the development of nuclear energy is interesting and still represents an exciting competition between the scientific potential of the countries: Nazi Germany, the USSR and the USA. The most powerful bomb, which any state dreamed of owning, was not only a weapon, but also a powerful political tool. The country that had it in its arsenal actually became omnipotent and could dictate its own rules.

The hydrogen bomb has its own history of creation, which is based on physical laws, namely the thermonuclear process. Initially, it was incorrectly called atomic, and illiteracy was to blame. The scientist Bethe, who later became a laureate Nobel Prize, worked on artificial source energy - fission of uranium. This time was the peak of the scientific activity of many physicists, and among them there was an opinion that scientific secrets should not exist at all, since the laws of science were initially international.

Theoretically, the hydrogen bomb had been invented, but now, with the help of designers, it had to acquire technical forms. All that remained was to pack it in a specific shell and test it for power. There are two scientists whose names will forever be associated with the creation of this powerful weapon: in the USA it is Edward Teller, and in the USSR it is Andrei Sakharov.

In the USA, a physicist began to study the thermonuclear problem back in 1942. By order of Harry Truman, then President of the United States, the best people worked on this problem scientists of the country, they created a fundamentally new weapon of destruction. Moreover, the government’s order was for a bomb with a capacity of at least a million tons of TNT. The hydrogen bomb was created by Teller and showed humanity in Hiroshima and Nagasaki its limitless but destructive capabilities.

A bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that weighed 4.5 tons and contained 100 kg of uranium. This explosion corresponded to almost 12,500 tons of TNT. The Japanese city of Nagasaki was destroyed by a plutonium bomb of the same mass, but equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT.

The future Soviet academician A. Sakharov in 1948, based on his research, presented the design of a hydrogen bomb under the name RDS-6. His research followed two branches: the first was called “puff” (RDS-6s), and its feature was an atomic charge, which was surrounded by layers of heavy and light elements. The second branch is the “pipe” or (RDS-6t), in which the plutonium bomb was contained in liquid deuterium. Subsequently, much was done important discovery, which proved that the “pipe” direction is a dead end.

The principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is as follows: first, an HB charge explodes inside the shell, which is the initiator of a thermonuclear reaction, resulting in a neutron flash. In this case, the process is accompanied by the release of high temperature, which is needed for further neutrons begin to bombard the lithium deuteride insert, and it, in turn, under the direct action of neutrons, splits into two elements: tritium and helium. The atomic fuse used forms the components necessary for fusion to occur in the already detonated bomb. This is the complicated operating principle of a hydrogen bomb. After this preliminary action, the thermonuclear reaction begins directly in a mixture of deuterium and tritium. At this time, the temperature in the bomb increases more and more, and an increasing amount of hydrogen participates in the synthesis. If you monitor the time of these reactions, then the speed of their action can be characterized as instantaneous.

Subsequently, scientists began to use nuclear fission rather than nuclear fusion. The fission of one ton of uranium creates energy equivalent to 18 Mt. This bomb has enormous power. The most powerful bomb created by mankind belonged to the USSR. She even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Its blast wave was equivalent to 57 (approximately) megatons of TNT. It was blown up in 1961 in the area of ​​the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

The geopolitical ambitions of major powers always lead to an arms race. The development of new military technologies gave one country or another an advantage over others. Thus, with leaps and bounds, humanity approached the emergence of terrible weapons - nuclear bomb. From what date did the report of the atomic era begin, how many countries on our planet have nuclear potential, and what is the fundamental difference between a hydrogen bomb and an atomic one? You can find the answer to these and other questions by reading this article.

What is the difference between a hydrogen bomb and a nuclear bomb?

Any nuclear weapon based on intranuclear reaction, the power of which is capable of almost instantly destroying a large number of living units, as well as equipment, and all kinds of buildings and structures. Let's consider the classification of nuclear warheads in service with some countries:

• Nuclear (atomic) bomb. During the nuclear reaction and fission of plutonium and uranium, energy is released on a colossal scale. Typically, one warhead contains two plutonium charges of the same mass, which explode away from each other.
• Hydrogen (thermonuclear) bomb. Energy is released based on the fusion of hydrogen nuclei (hence the name). The intensity of the shock wave and the amount of energy released exceeds atomic energy by several times.

What is more powerful: a nuclear or a hydrogen bomb?

While scientists were puzzling over how to use the atomic energy obtained in the process of thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen for peaceful purposes, the military had already conducted more than a dozen tests. It turned out that charge in a few megatons of a hydrogen bomb are thousands of times more powerful than an atomic bomb. It’s even difficult to imagine what would have happened to Hiroshima (and indeed to Japan itself) if there had been hydrogen in the 20-kiloton bomb thrown at it.

Consider the powerful destructive force that results from a 50 megaton hydrogen bomb explosion:

• Fire ball: diameter 4.5 -5 kilometers in diameter.
• Sound wave: The explosion can be heard from 800 kilometers away.
• Energy: from the released energy, a person can get burns to the skin, being up to 100 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion.
• nuclear mushroom: height is more than 70 km in height, the radius of the cap is about 50 km.

Atomic bombs of such power have never been detonated before. There are indicators of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, but its size was significantly inferior to the hydrogen discharge described above:

• Fire ball: diameter about 300 meters.
• nuclear mushroom: height 12 km, cap radius - about 5 km.
• Energy: the temperature at the center of the explosion reached 3000C°.

Now in the arsenal of nuclear powers are namely hydrogen bombs. In addition to the fact that they are ahead in their characteristics of their " little brothers", they are much cheaper to produce.

The principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb

Let's look at it step by step, stages of detonating hydrogen bombs:

1. Charge detonation. The charge is in a special shell. After detonation, neutrons are released and the high temperature required to begin nuclear fusion in the main charge is created.
2. Lithium fission. Under the influence of neutrons, lithium splits into helium and tritium.
3. Thermonuclear fusion. Tritium and helium trigger a thermonuclear reaction, as a result of which hydrogen enters the process, and the temperature inside the charge instantly increases. A thermonuclear explosion occurs.

The principle of operation of an atomic bomb

1. Charge detonation. The bomb shell contains several isotopes (uranium, plutonium, etc.), which decay under the detonation field and capture neutrons.
2. Avalanche process. The destruction of one atom initiates the decay of several more atoms. There is a chain process that leads to the destruction of a large number of nuclei.
3. Nuclear reaction. In a very short time, all parts of the bomb form one whole, and the mass of the charge begins to exceed the critical mass. Freed up great amount energy, after which an explosion occurs.

The danger of nuclear war

Even in the middle of the last century, the danger of nuclear war was unlikely. Two countries had atomic weapons in their arsenal - the USSR and the USA. The leaders of the two superpowers were well aware of the danger of using weapons of mass destruction, and the arms race was most likely conducted as a “competitive” confrontation.

Of course, there were tense moments in relation to the powers, but common sense always prevailed over ambitions.

The situation changed at the end of the 20th century. The “nuclear baton” was taken possession of not only the developed countries Western Europe, but also representatives of Asia.

But, as you probably know, " nuclear club"consists of 10 countries. It is unofficially believed that Israel, and possibly Iran, have nuclear warheads. Although the latter, after the imposition of economic sanctions on them, abandoned the development of the nuclear program.

After the appearance of the first atomic bomb, scientists in the USSR and the USA began to think about weapons that would not cause such great destruction and contamination of enemy territories, but would have a targeted effect on the human body. The idea arose about creation of a neutron bomb.

The operating principle is interaction of neutron flux with living flesh and military equipment. The more radioactive isotopes produced instantly destroy a person, and tanks, transporters and other weapons become sources of strong radiation for a short time.

A neutron bomb explodes at a distance of 200 meters to ground level, and is especially effective during an enemy tank attack. The armor of military equipment, 250 mm thick, is capable of reducing the effects of a nuclear bomb several times, but is powerless against the gamma radiation of a neutron bomb. Let's consider the effects of a neutron projectile with a power of up to 1 kiloton on a tank crew:

As you understand, the difference between a hydrogen bomb and an atomic bomb is enormous. The difference in the nuclear fission reaction between these charges makes a hydrogen bomb is hundreds of times more destructive than an atomic bomb.

When using a 1 megaton thermonuclear bomb, everything within a radius of 10 kilometers will be destroyed. Not only buildings and equipment will suffer, but also all living things.

The heads of nuclear countries should remember this, and use the “nuclear” threat solely as a deterrent tool, and not as an offensive weapon.

Video about the differences between the atomic and hydrogen bombs

This video will describe in detail and step by step the principle of operation of an atomic bomb, as well as the main differences from the hydrogen one: