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Hydrogen Bomb / Fusion Weapons

The process of combining nuclei (the protons and neutrons inside an atomic nucleus) together with a release of kinetic energy is called fusion. This process powers the Sun, it contributes to the world stockpile of weapons of massdestruction and may one day generate safe, clean electrical power.This powerful but complex weapon uses the fusion of heavy isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium to releaselarge numbers of neutrons when the fusile (sometimes termed "fusionable") material is compressed by the energyreleased by a fission device called a primary. Fusion (or ‘‘thermonuclear’ weapons derive a significant amount of their total energy from fusion reactions. The intense temperatures and pressures generated by a fission explosionovercome the strong electrical repulsion that would otherwise keep the positively charged nuclei of the fusion fuelfrom reacting.The first thermonuclear devices used liquid fuel, such as deuterium, which required significant developments incryogenics to keep the fuel below its boiling point of –250°C. Later devices used lithium deuteride fuel, in solid form,which breeds tritium when exposed to neutrons.It is inconvenient to carry deuterium and tritium as gases in a thermonuclear weapon, and certainly impractical tocarry them as liquefied gases, which requires high pressures and cryogenic temperatures. Instead, one can make a“dry” device in which

Li is combined with deuterium to form the compound

Li D (lithium-6 deuteride). Neutrons froma fission “primary” device bombard the

Li in the compound, liberating tritium, which quickly fuses with the nearbydeuterium.The particles, being electrically charged and at high temperatures, contribute directly to forming the nuclear fireball.The neutrons can bombard additional

Li nuclei or cause the remaining uranium and plutonium in the weapon toundergo fission. This two-stage thermonuclear weapon has explosive yields far greater than can be achieved withone point safe designs of pure fission weapons, and thermonuclear fusion stages can be ignited in sequence todeliver any desired yield. Such bombs, in theory, can be designed with arbitrarily large yields: the Soviet Union oncetested a device with a yield of about 59 megatons.In a relatively crude sense, 6 Li can be thought of as consisting of an alpha particle (

He) and a deuteron (

H) boundtogether. When bombarded by neutrons,

Li disintegrates into a triton (

H) and an alpha:6 Li + Neutron = 3 H + 3 He + Energy.This is the key to its importance in nuclear weapons physics. The nuclear fusion reaction which ignites most readily is2 H + 3 H =4 He + n + 17.6 MeV,or, phrased in other terms, deuterium plus tritium produces

He plus a neutron plus 17.6 MeV of free energy:D + T = 4 He + n + 17.6 MeV.Lithium-7 also contributes to the production of tritium in a thermonuclear secondary, albeit at a lower rate than

Li. Thefusion reactions derived from tritium produced from

Li contributed many unexpected neutrons (and hence far moreenergy release than planned) to the final stage of the infamous 1953 Castle/BRAVO atmospheric test, nearlydoubling its expected yield.

History

The ultimate success of the United States thermonuclear program rested on five factors. First, was the discovery of amethod to overcome the fundamental problem that thermonuclear systems lose as much energy as they create.Second, Los Alamos had to significantly increase the size of its scientific staff. The hydrogen bomb problem requiredcomplex interactions among physicists, chemists, and metallurgists. Third, to start a thermonuclear fire, smaller andmore efficient fission bombs were needed. Fourth, computational ability had to be greatly enhanced. Fifth, the politicaldecision had to be made to marshal the resources necessary to accomplish the task.The idea for a hydrogen bomb came from the thermonuclear study of stars conducted in the 1930s by Hans Bethe.Unlike fission weapons, which derive their energy from splitting atoms of the heavy elements uranium and plutonium,hydrogen bombs derive their power from fusing atoms of the light element hydrogen. Since fusion can only beachieved with stellar temperatures, hydrogen bombs were not possible until such a heat source (fission bombs)became available.By the end of the 1940s, American scientists began to acknowledge the feasibility of a thermonuclear weapon.Though the technical challenges were daunting, few doubted they could be overcome. However, an even morefundamental question arose: even if hydrogen bombs could be built, should they be? A debate ensued, whichincluded world-renowned scientists, politicians, civil servants, and eventually the president himself.Pressure to build it seemed to mount with the discovery that Manhattan Project scientist Klaus Fuchs had passednuclear secrets-including concepts for a hydrogen bomb-to the Soviets. Fuchs left Los Alamos on June 15, 1946. ByJanuary 1949 suspicion of Fuchs’s involvement in espionage had grown. Fuchs soon confessed to his part in thetheft of atomic secrets.On March 1, 1950, Fuchs was found guilty of communicating information to the Soviets concerning atomic research.But the theoretical work of 1950 had shown that every important point of the 1946 thermonuclear program had beenwrong. If the Russians started a thermonuclear program on the basis of the information received from Fuchs, Betheargued that it must have led to the same failure. Teller later claimed that radiation-implosion -- the key concept behindthe successful hydrogen bomb -- had also been discussed at the Los Alamos meeting. Bethe disagreed, and thequestion remained unresolved.Indeed, the Russian account of matters gives Fuchs credit for radiation implosion. "In the spring of 1946, another concept, whose paramount importance became evident afterwards, was suggested during work on the `classicalSuper.' Klaus Fuchs, with the participation of John von Neumann, proposed a new triggering device. It included anadditional secondary unit with liquid D± T mixture that would be heated, compressed, and, as a result, ignited byradiation from the primary nuclear bomb. ... Fuchs's configuration was the first physical scheme using radiationimplosion and a precursor of Teller ± Ulam's configuration proposed later. Fuchs's proposal, remarkable for its wealthof novel ideas, was well ahead of its time and could not be developed, given the current state of the mathematicalmodeling of complex physical processes. On May 28, 1946, Fuchs and von Neumann filed a joint patent applicationfor the invention of the new design of the triggering system for the `classical Super' using radiation implosion." Noneof this is attested by American accounts of these matters.The "Mike" test of Operation Ivy, 1 November 1952, was the first explosion of a true two-stage thermonuclear device.Some were convinced that there was another spy still at large in the US weapons program, and that the most likelycandidate was Oppenheimer. But the American atmospheric tests of 1954 provided the scientific informationnecessary for the Soviets to deduce and confirm key features about its design, leading them to develop their ownbomb in a short time.Information about the new powerful explosion conducted by the USA team on March 1, 1954, renewed the drive of Soviet researchers to invent an efficient design of a high-yield thermonuclear bomb. It became clear to the Sovietsthat there was an efficient design technique, which had been invented by the American team. The only configurationleft was a two-stage gadget. A new mechanism for compression of the secondary thermonuclear core by radiationfrom the primary nuclear charge had been discovered finally. This happened in March and April 1954.

Design Details

The main unknowns to the public are the design of the casing, and the shape and size of the secondary, relative tothe primary. Whether the hot plastic does the pushing or transmits its heat to a designated ablator which does thepushing a matter of continuing discussion.