The "Ivy Mike" test of the first Hydrogen bomb (1952)
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Image courtesy of Carey Sublette, The EnviroLink Network
The Hydrogen Bomb
In the Hydrogen bomb, an explosion takes place so that the
temperature and density is right for fusion to occur. This fusion results in a sudden release of energy that produces an even bigger explosion.
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A plot of the binding energy per nucleon vs. atomic mass shows a peak atomic number 56 (Iron). Elements with atomic mass less then 56 release energy if formed as a result of a fusion reaction. Above this
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...moreIn the Hydrogen bomb, an explosion takes place so that the temperature and density is right for fusion to occur. This fusion results in a sudden release of energy that produces an even bigger explosion.
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