How do you trigger an atomic bomb?

In order to detonate an atomic weapon, you need a critical mass of fissionable material. This means you need enough U-235 or Pu-239 to ensure that neutrons released by fission will strike another nucleus, thus producing a chain reaction.

What conditions are required for nuclear fusion?

The temperature must be hot enough to allow the ions to overcome the Coulomb barrier and fuse together. This requires a temperature of at least 100 million degrees Celsius. The ions have to be confined together in close proximity to allow them to fuse.

What are two conditions that are necessary for fusion to occur in the sun’s core?

To make fusion happen, the atoms of hydrogen must be heated to very high temperatures (100 million degrees) so they are ionized (forming a plasma) and have sufficient energy to fuse, and then be held together i.e. confined, long enough for fusion to occur. The sun and stars do this by gravity.

On what nuclear process does a hydrogen bomb depend?

fission
The hydrogen bomb relies on fusion, the process of taking two separate atoms and putting them together to form a third atom. “The way the hydrogen bomb works — it’s really a combination of fission and fusion together,” said Eric Norman, who also teaches nuclear engineering at UC Berkeley.

What is the basic principle of hydrogen bomb?

A hydrogen bomb is based on the principle of uncontrollable nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the process where the nuclei of two light atoms combine to form a new nucleus.

What conditions are required for nuclear fusion of hydrogen to occur quizlet?

Extremely high temperature and high density at the Sun’s core allow fusion to occur. You just studied 7 terms!

How do you initiate nuclear fusion?

Stars are made mostly of hydrogen and helium, which are packed so densely in a star that in the star’s center the pressure is great enough to initiate nuclear fusion reactions. In a nuclear fusion reaction, the nuclei of two atoms combine to create a new atom.

What conditions are required for nuclear fusion to occur quizlet?

At temperatures around 10 Million °C, hydrogen nuclei move rapidly enough to overcome the electrostatic repulsive forces and join together in fusion reactions. These conditions are necessary as nuclear fusion cannot take place at slow speeds or low temperatures and pressures.

Are hydrogen bombs more powerful?

But a hydrogen bomb has the potential to be 1,000 times more powerful than an atomic bomb, according to several nuclear experts.