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.
‘The atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and ballistic missiles had all been ‘perfected.’’
‘The atomic bomb was superseded in the 1950s by the hydrogen bomb, the potential power of which was at least ten times that of its predecessor.’
‘A hydrogen bomb is triggered by an atomic bomb, and so could only be developed by countries that already had an atomic weapon capability.’
‘Later he helped develop the atomic bomb and promoted the hydrogen bomb.’
‘Ways of changing world views, both ours and ‘theirs’, may seem like an odd weapon, far more odd even than a hydrogen bomb that is too powerful to be used in a war.’
‘Unbeknownst to them, the French also had developed a hydrogen bomb, almost as powerful as the US's.’
‘The impact energy of 20 million tons of TNT was roughly equivalent to the power of a hydrogen bomb.’
‘By 1952, the United States tested a hydrogen bomb, a bomb more powerful than an atomic bomb.’
‘Fusion in H-bombs is ignited by a fission chain reaction of uranium or plutonium: an atom bomb is used to set off the hydrogen bomb.’
‘For more than four decades, scientists have been trying to develop a method for bringing under control the awesome fusion power of a hydrogen bomb for use in commercial power plants.’
‘The nuclear force not only makes life on earth possible, it is also the devastating force unleashed by a hydrogen bomb, which can be compared to a piece of the sun brought down to earth.’
‘So much energy can be released quickly that the process has also been used for the hydrogen bomb.’
‘It's this reaction that powers the sun and gives the explosive force to a hydrogen bomb.’
‘In 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested an atomic bomb, and in August 1953 detonated a hydrogen bomb.’
‘He was given a nuclear depth-bomb: like a depth charge but actually a hydrogen bomb.’
‘Although China suffered from famine in the early 1960s, the country finally exploded its first atomic bomb on October 16, 1964, followed by its hydrogen bomb in 1967.’
‘Administration officials turned from fostering plans for disarmament to winning the Korean War and developing the most destructive weapon yet: the hydrogen bomb.’
‘When a neutron is added, hydrogen's atomic mass rises to two, yielding deuterium, in isotope which is necessary for the manufacture of the hydrogen bomb.’
‘When that bomb went off in November 1971 it was the last hydrogen bomb ever detonated on planet Earth.’
‘Two years ago when I first revealed that the United States was considering a hydrogen bomb, there was a terrific furor.’
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