How Soviet physicists made a hydrogen bomb, what pluses and minuses this terrible weapon carried in itself, read in the heading "History of Science".

After World War II, it was still impossible to talk about the actual offensive of peace - the two major world powers entered the arms race. One of the facets of this conflict was the confrontation between the USSR and the United States in creating nuclear weapons... In 1945, the United States, the first to tacitly enter the race, dropped nuclear bombs on the sad famous cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the Soviet Union, work was also carried out on the creation of nuclear weapons, and in 1949 they tested the first atomic bomb, the working substance of which was plutonium. Even during its development, Soviet intelligence found out that the United States switched to developing a more powerful bomb. This prompted the USSR to start manufacturing thermonuclear weapons.

The intelligence officers were unable to find out what results the Americans achieved, and the attempts of the Soviet nuclear scientists were unsuccessful. Therefore, it was decided to create a bomb, the explosion of which would occur due to the fusion of light nuclei, and not the fission of heavy ones, as in an atomic bomb. In the spring of 1950, work began on the creation of a bomb, later called RDS-6s. Among its developers was the future laureate Nobel Prize world Andrei Sakharov, who proposed the idea of ​​\ u200b \ u200bthe design of the charge back in 1948, but later opposed nuclear tests.

Andrey Sakharov

Vladimir Fedorenko / Wikimedia Commons

Sakharov proposed to cover the plutonium core with several layers of light and heavy elements, namely uranium and deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. Subsequently, however, it was proposed to replace deuterium with lithium deuteride - this greatly simplified the design of the charge and its operation. An additional advantage was that from lithium, after bombardment with neutrons, another isotope of hydrogen is obtained - tritium. By reacting with deuterium, tritium releases much more energy. In addition, lithium also slows down neutrons better. This structure of the bomb gave her the nickname "Sloika".

A certain difficulty was that the thickness of each layer and their final amount were also very important to a successful test. According to calculations, from 15% to 20% of the energy release during the explosion was due to thermonuclear reactions, and another 75-80% - to the fission of the nuclei of uranium-235, uranium-238 and plutonium-239. It was also assumed that the charge power would be from 200 to 400 kilotons, practical result ended up on upper bound forecasts.

On Day X, August 12, 1953, the first Soviet hydrogen bomb was tested in action. The Semipalatinsk test site, where the explosion occurred, was located in the East Kazakhstan region. The test of the RDS-6s was preceded by an attempt in 1949 (then a ground bomb explosion with a capacity of 22.4 kilotons was carried out at the test site). Despite the isolated location of the test site, the population of the region experienced the beauty of nuclear tests. People who lived relatively close to the landfill for decades, until the closure of the landfill in 1991, were exposed to radiation, and territories many kilometers from the landfill were contaminated with nuclear fission products.

The first Soviet hydrogen bomb RDS-6s

Wikimedia Commons

A week before the test of the RDS-6s, according to eyewitnesses, the military gave money and food to the families of those living near the landfill, but no evacuation and information about the upcoming events followed. The radioactive soil from the landfill itself was taken away, and the nearest structures and observation posts were restored. It was decided to detonate a hydrogen bomb on the surface of the earth, despite the fact that the configuration made it possible to drop it from an aircraft.

Previous tests of atomic charges were strikingly different from what the nuclear scientists recorded after testing Sakharov's puff. The energy output of the bomb, which critics call not a thermonuclear bomb, but a thermonuclear-enhanced atomic bomb, turned out to be 20 times more than that of previous charges. This was noticeable with the naked eye in sunglasses: from the surviving and restored buildings after the test of the hydrogen bomb, only dust remained.

The destructive force of which no one can stop when it explodes. What is the most powerful bomb in the world? To answer this question, you need to understand the features of certain bombs.

What is a bomb?

Nuclear power plants operate on the release and shackle principle nuclear energy... This process is necessarily monitored. The released energy is converted into electricity. The atomic bomb leads to what happens chain reaction which is completely uncontrollable, but great amount the liberated energy inflicts monstrous destruction. Uranium and plutonium are not so harmless elements of the periodic table, they lead to global catastrophes.

Atomic bomb

To understand what is the most powerful atomic bomb on the planet, we will learn more about everything. Hydrogen and atomic bombs belong to nuclear power engineering. If you combine two pieces of uranium, but each has a mass below the critical mass, then this "union" will far exceed the critical mass. Each neutron participates in a chain reaction, because it splits the nucleus and releases 2-3 more neutrons, which cause new decay reactions.

The neutron force is completely beyond human control. In less than a second, hundreds of billions of newly formed decays not only release a huge amount of energy, but also become sources of the strongest radiation. This radioactive rain covers the earth, fields, plants and all living things with a thick layer. If we talk about the disasters in Hiroshima, then we can see that 1 gram caused the death of 200 thousand people.

Working principle and advantages of a vacuum bomb

It is believed that a vacuum bomb created by the latest technology, can compete with nuclear. The fact is that instead of TNT, a gaseous substance is used here, which is several tens of times more powerful. The High Power Air Bomb is the most powerful non-nuclear vacuum bomb in the world. It can destroy the enemy, but at the same time houses and equipment will not be affected, and there will be no decay products.

How does it work? Immediately after dropping from a bomber, a detonator is triggered at some distance from the ground. The body collapses and a huge cloud is sprayed. When mixed with oxygen, it begins to penetrate anywhere - into houses, bunkers, shelters. The combustion of oxygen creates a vacuum everywhere. When this bomb is dropped, a supersonic wave is generated and a very high temperature is generated.

The difference between the American vacuum bomb from the Russian

The differences are that the latter can destroy an enemy even in a bunker using an appropriate warhead. During an explosion in the air, the warhead falls and hits the ground hard, burrowing to a depth of 30 meters. After the explosion, a cloud is formed, which, increasing in size, can penetrate into the shelters and already explode there. American warheads are filled with ordinary TNT, therefore they destroy buildings. A vacuum bomb destroys a specific object as it has a smaller radius. It doesn't matter which bomb is the most powerful - any of them inflicts a devastating blow incomparable with anything, striking all living things.

H-bomb

H-bomb- another terrible nuclear weapon. The combination of uranium and plutonium generates not only energy, but also a temperature that rises to a million degrees. Isotopes of hydrogen combine to form helium nuclei, which creates a source of colossal energy. The hydrogen bomb is the most powerful - this is an indisputable fact. It is enough just to imagine that its explosion is equal to the explosion of 3000 atomic bombs in Hiroshima. Both in the USA and in the former USSR you can count 40 thousand bombs of various power - nuclear and hydrogen.

The explosion of such an ammunition is comparable to the processes that are observed inside the Sun and stars. Fast neutrons break down the uranium shells of the bomb itself at a tremendous speed. Not only heat is released, but also radioactive fallout. There are up to 200 isotopes. The production of such nuclear weapons is cheaper than nuclear weapons, and their effect can be increased as many times as desired. This is the most powerful bomb tested in the Soviet Union on August 12, 1953.

Explosion consequences

The result of the explosion of a hydrogen bomb is triple. The very first thing that happens is the most powerful blast wave... Its power depends on the height of the explosion and the type of terrain, as well as the degree of transparency of the air. Large fire hurricanes can form and do not calm down for several hours. Yet secondary and most dangerous consequence which can be caused by the most powerful thermonuclear bomb- This is radioactive radiation and contamination of the surrounding area for a long time.

Radioactive residues after the explosion of a hydrogen bomb

Explosion fire ball contains many very small radioactive particles that are retained in the atmospheric layer of the earth and remain there for a long time. On contact with the ground, this fireball creates a red-hot dust composed of decay particles. First, a large one settles, and then a lighter one, which is carried by the wind for hundreds of kilometers. These particles can be seen with the naked eye, for example, such dust can be seen in the snow. It is fatal if anyone is nearby. The smallest particles can be in the atmosphere for many years and so "travel", several times orbiting the entire planet. Their radioactive radiation will become weaker by the time they fall as precipitation.

Its explosion is capable of wiping Moscow off the face of the earth in a matter of seconds. The city center would easily evaporate in the literal sense of the word, and everything else could turn into the smallest rubble. The most powerful bomb in the world would have wiped out New York with all the skyscrapers. After him, there would be a twenty-kilometer molten smooth crater. With such an explosion, it would not have been possible to escape by going down the subway. The entire area within a radius of 700 kilometers would be destroyed and contaminated with radioactive particles.

Explosion of "Tsar Bomba" - to be or not to be?

In the summer of 1961, scientists decided to test and observe the explosion. The most powerful bomb in the world was supposed to detonate at a test site located in the very north of Russia. The huge landfill area covers the entire territory of Novaya Zemlya Island. The scale of the defeat was supposed to be 1000 kilometers. In the case of an explosion, such industrial centers like Vorkuta, Dudinka and Norilsk. Scientists, having comprehended the scale of the disaster, took hold of their heads and realized that the test was canceled.

There was no place for testing the famous and incredibly powerful bomb anywhere on the planet, only Antarctica remained. But on icy continent it also failed to carry out the explosion, since the territory is considered international and it is simply unrealistic to obtain permission for such tests. I had to reduce the charge of this bomb by 2 times. The bomb was nevertheless exploded on October 30, 1961 in the same place - on the island of Novaya Zemlya (at an altitude of about 4 kilometers). During the explosion, a monstrous huge atomic mushroom was observed, which rose 67 kilometers, and the shock wave circled the planet three times. By the way, in the museum "Arzamas-16", in the city of Sarov, you can watch the newsreel of the explosion on an excursion, although they say that this is not a sight for the faint of heart.

The content of the article

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

Thermonuclear reactions.

The interior of the Sun contains a huge amount of hydrogen, which is in a state of ultra-high compression at a temperature of approx. 15,000,000 K. At such a high temperature and plasma density, hydrogen nuclei experience constant collisions with each other, some of which ends with their fusion and, ultimately, the formation of heavier helium nuclei. Such reactions, called thermonuclear fusion, are accompanied by the release of a huge amount 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, possessing a gigantic mass, in the process of thermonuclear fusion loses approx. 100 billion tons of matter and releases energy, thanks to which it has become possible life on the ground.

Isotopes of hydrogen.

The hydrogen atom is the simplest of all atoms in existence. It consists of one proton, which is its nucleus, around which a single electron revolves. Thorough studies of water (H 2 O) have shown that there is an insignificant amount 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, which contains one proton and two neutrons in its nucleus. 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 isotope of lithium-6 with a flux of neutrons.

Development of a hydrogen bomb.

Preliminary theoretical analysis showed that thermonuclear fusion is easiest to carry out in a mixture of deuterium and tritium. Taking this as a basis, US scientists in the early 1950s, the hydrogen bomb (HB) project was launched. The first tests of a model nuclear device were carried out at the Eniwetok 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 e 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 (about 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 quantities of radioactive substances. Some of them fell hundreds of kilometers from the site of the explosion on the Japanese fishing boat "Happy Dragon", and the other covered the island of Rongelap. Since stable helium is formed as a result of thermonuclear fusion, the radioactivity in the explosion of a purely 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 real radioactive fallout significantly differed 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 charge that initiates a thermonuclear reaction (a small atomic bomb) inside the HB shell explodes, as a result of which a neutron burst occurs and a high temperature is created, which is necessary for initiating thermonuclear fusion. Neutrons bombard a lithium deuteride insert - a compound of deuterium with lithium (a lithium isotope with a mass number of 6 is used). Lithium-6 splits into helium and tritium under the action of neutrons. Thus, the atomic fuse creates the materials necessary for synthesis directly in the bomb itself.

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

Division, synthesis, division (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 preferred to use nuclear fission rather than nuclear fusion. As a result of the fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei, helium and fast neutrons are formed, the energy of which is large enough to cause the fission of uranium-238 (the main isotope of uranium, much cheaper than uranium-235 used in conventional atomic bombs). Fast neutrons split the atoms of the uranium shell of the superbomb. Fission of one ton of uranium creates energy equivalent to 18 Mt. Energy goes not only to the explosion and the release of heat. Each uranium nucleus splits into two highly radioactive "fragments". The fission products include 36 different chemical elements and nearly 200 radioactive isotopes. All this constitutes the radioactive fallout accompanying the explosions of superbombs.

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.

The consequences of the explosion.

Shockwave and thermal effect.

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

According to calculations, when a 20-megaton bomb explodes in the atmosphere, people will remain alive in 50% of cases if they 1) hide in an underground reinforced concrete shelter at a distance of about 8 km from the epicenter of the explosion (EE), 2) are in ordinary city buildings at a distance of approx ... 15 km from EV, 3) were 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 probability of surviving rapidly increases with distance from the epicenter; at a distance of 32 km calculated value is more than 90%. The area over which the penetrating radiation generated during the explosion causes death is relatively small, even in the case of a high-yield superbomb.

Fire ball.

Depending on the composition and mass of the combustible material entrained in the fireball, giant self-sustaining fire hurricanes can form, raging 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 the bomb explodes, the resulting fireball is filled with a huge amount of radioactive particles. Usually, these particles are so small that, once in the upper atmosphere, they can remain there for a long time. But if a fireball touches the surface of the Earth, everything that is on it turns into hot dust and ash and draws them into fire tornado... In a vortex of flame, they mix and bind with radioactive particles. Radioactive dust, except for the largest, does not settle immediately. The finer dust is carried away by the resulting explosion cloud and gradually falls out as it moves in the wind. Directly at the site of the explosion, radioactive fallout can be extremely intense - mainly coarse 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. Often they form a cover that looks like fallen snow, deadly to anyone who happens to be nearby. Even smaller and more invisible particles, before they settle on the ground, can wander in the atmosphere for months or even years, bending around Earth... By the time they fall out, their radioactivity is significantly weakened. The most dangerous is the radiation of strontium-90 with a half-life of 28 years. Its fallout is clearly seen throughout the world. By settling on foliage and grass, it falls into food chains including the person. As a result, noticeable, although not yet dangerous, amounts of strontium-90 have been found in the bones of the inhabitants of most countries. Accumulation of strontium-90 in human bones in long term very dangerous, as it leads to the formation of bone malignant 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. When 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 super bomb does not hit the target, i.e. will not hit the object with shock-thermal effects, penetrating radiation and the radioactive fallout accompanying the explosion will make the surrounding space unsuitable for habitation. Such precipitation can last for days, weeks or even months. Depending on their quantity, the intensity of the radiation can reach lethal levels. A relatively small number of super bombs 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 a long time after the cessation of the direct impact of radioactive fallout, the danger will remain due to the high radiotoxicity of isotopes such as strontium-90. With food products grown on soils contaminated with this isotope, radioactivity will enter the human body.

There are many different political clubs in the world. Big, now already, seven, The big twenty, BRICS, SCO, NATO, the European Union, to some extent. However, none of these clubs can boast of a unique function - the ability to destroy the world as we know it. The nuclear club has similar capabilities.

Today there are 9 countries with nuclear weapons:

  • Russia;
  • United Kingdom;
  • France;
  • India
  • Pakistan;
  • Israel;
  • DPRK.

Countries are lined up as they have nuclear weapons in their arsenal. If the list were built by the number of warheads, then Russia would be in first place with its 8,000 units, 1,600 of which can be launched even now. The United States lags behind by only 700 units, but they have 320 more charges “at hand.” The “Nuclear Club” is a purely conditional concept, there is actually no club. There are a number of agreements between the countries on the non-proliferation and reduction of nuclear weapons stockpiles.

First tests atomic bomb, as you know, was produced by the United States back in 1945. This weapon was tested in the "field" conditions of the Second World War on the inhabitants of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They operate on the principle of division. During the explosion, a chain reaction is triggered, which provokes the fission of nuclei in two, with a concomitant release of energy. Uranium and plutonium are mainly used for this reaction. These elements are associated with our ideas about what nuclear bombs are made of. Since in nature uranium occurs only in the form of a mixture of three isotopes, of which only one is capable of supporting such a reaction, it is necessary to enrich uranium. An alternative is plutonium-239, which does not occur naturally and must be produced from uranium.

If a fission reaction takes place in a uranium bomb, then in a hydrogen fusion reaction - this is the essence of how a hydrogen bomb differs from an atomic one. We all know that the sun gives us light, warmth, and we can say life. The same processes that take place in the sun can easily destroy cities and countries. The explosion of a hydrogen bomb is born of the reaction of fusion of light nuclei, the so-called thermonuclear fusion. This "miracle" is possible thanks to the isotopes of hydrogen - deuterium and tritium. That is why the bomb is called hydrogen. You can also see the name "thermonuclear bomb", from the reaction that underlies this weapon.

After the world saw the destructive power of nuclear weapons, in August 1945, the USSR began a race that continued until its collapse. The United States was the first to create, test and use nuclear weapons, the first to detonate a hydrogen bomb, but the USSR can be credited with the first production of a compact hydrogen bomb that can be delivered to the enemy on a conventional Tu-16. The first US bomb was the size of a three-story building, and a hydrogen bomb of this size is of little use. The Soviets received such weapons already in 1952, while the first "adequate" US bomb was adopted only in 1954. If you look back and analyze the explosions in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, you can come to the conclusion that they were not so powerful ... In total, two bombs destroyed both cities and, according to various estimates, killed up to 220,000 people. The carpet bombing of Tokyo could kill 150-200,000 people a day without any nuclear weapons. This is due to the low yield of the first bombs - only a few tens of kilotons in TNT equivalent. Hydrogen bombs were tested with an eye on overcoming 1 megaton or more.

The first Soviet bomb was tested with a claim for 3 Mt, but in the end tested 1.6 Mt.

The most powerful hydrogen bomb was tested by the Soviets in 1961. Its capacity reached 58-75 Mt, while the declared 51 Mt. "Tsar" threw the world into a slight shock, in the literal sense. The shockwave circled the planet three times. Not a single hill remained at the test site (Novaya Zemlya), the explosion was heard at a distance of 800 km. The fireball reached a diameter of almost 5 km, the "mushroom" grew by 67 km, and the diameter of its cap was almost 100 km. The consequences of such an explosion in large city hard to imagine. According to many experts, it was the test of a hydrogen bomb of this power (the States had at that time four times less bombs in force) that was the first step towards the signing of various treaties to ban nuclear weapons, test them and reduce production. The world first thought about own safety that was really under threat.

As mentioned earlier, the principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is based on a fusion reaction. Thermonuclear fusion is the process of fusion of two nuclei into one, with the formation of the third element, the release of the fourth and energy. The forces that repulse nuclei are colossal, so for the atoms to get close enough to merge, the temperature must be enormous. Scientists have been racking their brains for centuries over cold thermonuclear fusion, so to speak, trying to drop the fusion temperature to room temperature, ideally. In this case, humanity will have access to the energy of the future. As for a thermonuclear reaction at the present time, to start it, you still need to ignite a miniature sun here on Earth - usually a uranium or plutonium charge is used in bombs to start fusion.

In addition to the consequences described above from the use of a bomb of tens of megatons, a hydrogen bomb, like any nuclear weapon, has a number of consequences from its use. Some people tend to think that the hydrogen bomb is a "cleaner weapon" than a conventional bomb. Perhaps this is due to the name. People hear the word "water" and think that it has something to do with water and hydrogen, and therefore the consequences are not so dire. In fact, this is certainly not the case, because the action of a hydrogen bomb is based on extremely radioactive substances. It is theoretically possible to make a bomb without a uranium charge, but this is impractical due to the complexity of the process, so a pure fusion reaction is “diluted” with uranium to increase power. At the same time, the amount of radioactive fallout grows up to 1000%. Everything that falls into the fireball will be destroyed, the zone within the radius of destruction will become uninhabited for people for decades. Radioactive fallout can harm the health of people hundreds and thousands of kilometers away. Specific figures, the area of ​​infection can be calculated, knowing the strength of the charge.

However, the destruction of cities is not the worst thing that can happen "thanks" to weapons mass destruction... After nuclear war the world will not be completely destroyed. Thousands of large cities, billions of people will remain on the planet, and only a small percentage of territories will lose their status as “fit for life”. In the long term, the entire world will be threatened by the so-called "nuclear winter". Undermining nuclear arsenal"Club" can provoke the release into the atmosphere of a sufficient amount of matter (dust, soot, smoke) to "reduce" the brightness of the sun. A shroud that can spread across the planet will destroy crops for several years in advance, provoking hunger and inevitable population decline. There has already been a “year without summer” in history, after a major volcanic eruption in 1816, so a nuclear winter looks more than real. Again, depending on how the war goes, we can get the following types of global climate change:

  • cooling by 1 degree, will pass imperceptibly;
  • nuclear autumn - cooling by 2-4 degrees, crop failures and increased formation of hurricanes are possible;
  • analogue of "a year without summer" - when the temperature dropped significantly, by several degrees for a year;
  • small ice age - the temperature can drop by 30 - 40 degrees for a considerable time, will be accompanied by the depopulation of a number northern zones and poor harvests;
  • ice age - the development of small ice age when the reflection of sunlight from the surface can reach a certain critical point and the temperature continues to fall, the difference is only in temperature;
  • irreversible cooling is a very sad version of the ice age, which, under the influence of many factors, will turn the Earth into a new planet.

The nuclear winter theory is constantly criticized, and its implications look a little overblown. However, there is no need to doubt its imminent offensive in case of any global conflict using hydrogen bombs.

The Cold War is long over, and therefore nuclear hysteria can only be seen in old Hollywood films and on the covers of rare magazines and comics. Despite this, we may be on the verge of, albeit not a large, but serious nuclear conflict. All this thanks to the lover of missiles and the hero of the fight against the imperialist manners of the United States - Kim Jong-un. The DPRK hydrogen bomb is still a hypothetical object, only circumstantial evidence speaks of its existence. Of course the government North Korea constantly reports that they managed to make new bombs, so far no one has seen them live. Naturally, the States and their allies - Japan and South Korea are a little more concerned about the presence, even hypothetical, of such weapons in the DPRK. The realities are such that on this moment the DPRK does not have enough technology to successfully attack the United States, which they announce to the whole world every year. Even an attack on neighboring Japan or the South may not be very successful, if at all, but every year the danger of a new conflict on the Korean peninsula grows.


January 16, 1963, in full swing cold war, Nikita Khrushchev told the world that Soviet Union possesses in its arsenal a new weapon of mass destruction - a hydrogen bomb.
A year and a half before that, the most powerful explosion hydrogen bomb in the world - a charge with a capacity of over 50 megatons was detonated on Novaya Zemlya. In many ways, it was this statement of the Soviet leader that made the world realize the threat of further escalation of the race. nuclear weapons: already on August 5, 1963, an agreement was signed in Moscow on the prohibition of nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water.

History of creation

The theoretical possibility of obtaining energy by thermonuclear fusion was known even before World War II, but it was the war and the subsequent arms race that raised the question of creating a technical device for the practical creation of this reaction. It is known that in Germany in 1944, work was carried out to initiate thermonuclear fusion by compression nuclear fuel using charges of a conventional explosive - but they were not crowned with success, since it was not possible to obtain the required temperatures and pressures. The USA and the USSR have been developing thermonuclear weapons since the 40s, practically simultaneously testing the first thermonuclear devices in the early 50s. In 1952, on Enewetak Atoll, the United States exploded a charge with a capacity of 10.4 megatons (which is 450 times more than the power of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki), and in 1953, a device with a capacity of 400 kilotons was tested in the USSR.
The designs of the first thermonuclear devices were ill-suited for real combat use... For example, the device tested by the United States in 1952 was a ground structure as high as a two-story building and weighing over 80 tons. Liquid thermonuclear fuel was stored in it with the help of a huge refrigeration unit... Therefore, in the future mass production thermonuclear weapons were carried out using solid fuel - lithium-6 deuteride. In 1954, the United States tested a device based on it on the Bikini Atoll, and in 1955, a new Soviet thermonuclear bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. In 1957, a hydrogen bomb was tested in Great Britain. In October 1961, a 58 megaton thermonuclear bomb was detonated in the USSR on Novaya Zemlya - the most powerful bomb ever tested by mankind, which went down in history as the Tsar Bomba.

Further development was aimed at reducing the size of the structure of hydrogen bombs in order to ensure their delivery to the target by ballistic missiles. Already in the 60s, the mass of devices was reduced to several hundred kilograms, and by the 70s ballistic missiles could carry more than 10 warheads at the same time - these are missiles with multiple warheads, each of the parts can hit its own target. To date, the United States, Russia and Great Britain have a thermonuclear arsenal; tests of thermonuclear charges were also carried out in China (in 1967) and in France (in 1968).

How the hydrogen bomb works

The action of a hydrogen bomb is based on the use of energy released during the reaction of thermonuclear fusion of light nuclei. It is this reaction that takes place in the interiors of stars, where, under the action of ultra-high temperatures and gigantic pressure, hydrogen nuclei collide and merge into heavier helium nuclei. During the reaction, part of the mass of hydrogen nuclei is converted into a large number of energy - thanks to this, the stars and emit a huge amount of energy constantly. Scientists copied this reaction using the isotopes of hydrogen - deuterium and tritium, which gave the name "hydrogen bomb". Initially, liquid hydrogen isotopes were used to produce charges, and later lithium-6 deuteride, a solid, a compound of deuterium and a lithium isotope, began to be used.

Lithium-6 deuteride is the main component of the hydrogen bomb, a thermonuclear fuel. It already stores deuterium, and the lithium isotope serves as a raw material for the formation of tritium. To start a thermonuclear fusion reaction, you need to create high temperature and pressure, as well as isolate tritium from lithium-6. These conditions are provided as follows.


The explosion of the AN602 bomb immediately after the separation of the shock wave. At that moment, the diameter of the sphere was about 5.5 km, and after a few seconds it increased to 10 km.

The shell of a container for a thermonuclear fuel is made of uranium-238 and plastic, a conventional nuclear charge with a capacity of several kilotons is placed next to the container - it is called a trigger, or a charge-initiator of a hydrogen bomb. During the explosion of a plutonium initiator charge under the influence of a powerful x-ray the container shell turns into plasma, shrinking thousands of times, which creates the necessary high pressure and an enormous temperature. Simultaneously, neutrons emitted by plutonium interact with lithium-6 to form tritium. Deuterium and tritium nuclei interact under the action of ultrahigh temperature and pressure, which leads to thermonuclear explosion.


The light from the explosion could cause third-degree burns up to a hundred kilometers away. This photo was taken from a distance of 160 km.
If you make several layers of uranium-238 and lithium-6 deuteride, then each of them will add its own power to the explosion of the bomb - that is, such a "puff" allows you to increase the power of the explosion almost indefinitely. Thanks to this, a hydrogen bomb can be made of almost any power, and it will be much cheaper than a conventional one. nuclear bomb the same power.


The seismic wave caused by the explosion circled the globe three times. The height of the nuclear mushroom has reached 67 kilometers in height, and the diameter of its "cap" is 95 km. Sound wave reached Dikson Island, located 800 km from the test site.

Test of the RDS-6S hydrogen bomb, 1953