What is the difference between nuclear and atomic bombs

In contrast, the first test of a thermonuclear weapon, or hydrogen bomb, in the United States in November yielded an explosion on the order of 10, kilotons of TNT.

Thermonuclear bombs start with the same fission reaction that powers atomic bombs — but the majority of the uranium or plutonium in atomic bombs actually goes unused. In a thermonuclear bomb, an additional step means that more of the bomb's explosive power becomes available. First, an igniting explosion compresses a sphere of plutonium, the material that will then undergo fission. Inside this pit of plutonium is a chamber of hydrogen gas. The high temperatures and pressures created by the plutonium fission cause the hydrogen atoms to fuse.

This fusion process releases neutrons, which feed back into the plutonium, splitting more atoms and boosting the fission chain reaction. Governments around the world use global monitoring systems to detect nuclear tests as part of the effort to enforce the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty CTBT. To make a hydrogen bomb, one would still need uranium or plutonium as well as two other isotopes of hydrogen, called deuterium and tritium.

The hydrogen bomb relies on fusion, the process of taking two separate atoms and putting them together to form a third atom. In both cases, a significant amount of energy is released, which drives the explosion, experts say. However, more energy is released during the fusion process, which causes a bigger blast.

Morse said the atomic bombs dropped on Japan were each equivalent to just about 10, kilotons of TNT. Hydrogen bombs are also harder to produce but lighter in weight, meaning they could travel farther on top of a missile, according to experts.

Both bombs are extremely lethal and have the power to kill people within seconds, as well as hours later due to radiation. Blasts from both bombs would also instantly burn wood structures to the ground, topple big buildings and render roads unusable.

LIFE magazine described such devastation in an article published on March 11, , on the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Then the blast blew the broken bodies at to 1, miles per hour through the flaming, rubble-filled air.

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