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Hydrogen Bomb
HYDROGEN BOMBHYDROGEN BOMB, a type of nuclear weapon, also known as the "superbomb," that derives some of its energy from the fusion of the nuclei of light elements, typically isotopes of hydrogen. Physicists recognized the fusion or thermonuclear reaction as the source of the sun's energy as early as 1938.During World War II, scientists of the Manhattan Project saw the possibility of creating a thermonuclear weapon, but they decided to concentrate first on building a fission or atomic bomb because any fusion bomb would likely require a fission device to initiate its thermonuclear "burning." Although by 1945 the United States had developed and used the atomic bomb, only modest theoretical re-search on fusion was done before the first Soviet atomic test of August 1949. Many of the scientists of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and its General Advisory Committee opposed development of the hydrogen bomb on both practical and moral grounds, but advocates within Congress, the military, and elsewhere argued that any restraint shown by the United States in the matter would not be reciprocated by a Soviet Union still ruled by Joseph Stalin. Following a theoretical design breakthrough in February 1951 by Stanislaw Ulamand Edward Teller, the United States conducted the world's first thermonuclear test in November 1952. The device exploded with a force equivalent to more than 10 million tons of TNT, approximately seven hundred times the power of the fission bomb at Hiroshima. Within hours of the blast, the resulting mushroom cloud had spread across one hundred miles of sky, its stem alone measuring thirty miles across. In August 1953 the Soviet Union detonated its first boosted fission weapon, a bomb that used thermo-nuclear fuel to increase in a limited way its explosive yield, and in November 1955 the Soviet Union tested its first "true" thermonuclear weapon. By the 1960s, largely due to the hydrogen bomb, both superpowers had acquired the ability to obliterate as much of the other as they wished in a matter of hours. The world had entered the era of "mutual assured destruction." BIBLIOGRAPHYFederation of American Scientists. "The High Energy Weapons Archive: A Guide to Nuclear Weapons." Available at http://nuketesting.enviroweb.org/hew/. Hewlett, Richard G., and Francis Duncan. A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Volume 2: Atomic Shield, 1947–1952. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1972. Comprehensive official history. Rhodes, Richard. Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. Richard G.Hewlett DavidRezelman See alsoArms Race and Disarmament ; Nuclear Weapons . |
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"Hydrogen Bomb." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Hydrogen Bomb." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401801975.html "Hydrogen Bomb." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401801975.html |
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hydrogen bomb
hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) Nuclear weapon developed by the USA in the late 1940s, and first exploded in 1952 in the Pacific. The explosion results from nuclear fusion when hydrogen nuclei are joined to form helium nuclei, releasing great destructive energy and radioactive fallout. An atomic bomb is used as the trigger.
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"hydrogen bomb." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hydrogen bomb." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-hydrogenbomb.html "hydrogen bomb." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-hydrogenbomb.html |
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hydrogen bomb
hy·dro·gen bomb • n. an immensely powerful bomb whose destructive power comes from the rapid release of energy during the nuclear fusion of isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium), using an atom bomb as a trigger. Compare with atom bomb. |
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"hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hydrogenbomb.html "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hydrogenbomb.html |
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hydrogen bomb
hydrogen bomb H-bomb an immensely powerful bomb in which hydrogen nuclei combine to form helium nuclei and release energy in an uncontrolled self-sustaining fusion reaction.
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"hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-hydrogenbomb.html "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-hydrogenbomb.html |
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Hydrogen Bomb
Hydrogen Bomb. See Nuclear Weapons; Teller, Edward.
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Paul S. Boyer. "Hydrogen Bomb." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Paul S. Boyer. "Hydrogen Bomb." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-HydrogenBomb.html Paul S. Boyer. "Hydrogen Bomb." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-HydrogenBomb.html |
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Hydrogen Bomb
Hydrogen Bomb. See Nuclear Weapons.
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John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Hydrogen Bomb." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Hydrogen Bomb." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-HydrogenBomb.html John Whiteclay Chambers II. "Hydrogen Bomb." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-HydrogenBomb.html |
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hydrogen bomb
hydrogen bomb. See nuclear energy.
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JOHN CANNON. "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-hydrogenbomb.html JOHN CANNON. "hydrogen bomb." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-hydrogenbomb.html |
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hydrogen bomb
hydrogen bomb, see nuclear bomb
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "hydrogen bomb." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "hydrogen bomb." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-hydrogenbomb.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "hydrogen bomb." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-hydrogenbomb.html |
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