Do hydrogen bombs use uranium or plutonium?

An atomic bomb uses either uranium or plutonium and relies on fission, a nuclear reaction in which a nucleus or an atom breaks apart into two pieces. To make a hydrogen bomb, one would still need uranium or plutonium as well as two other isotopes of hydrogen, called deuterium and tritium.

Which is better uranium or plutonium?

Plutonium-239, the isotope found in the spent MOX fuel, is much more radioactive than the depleted Uranium-238 in the fuel. Plutonium emits alpha radiation, a highly ionizing form of radiation, rather than beta or gamma radiation.

Is atomic bomb uranium?

Nuclear Chemistry Behind the Explosion. Atomic bombs are made up of a fissile element, such as uranium, that is enriched in the isotope that can sustain a fission nuclear chain reaction. The very first uranium bomb, Little Boy, dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, used 64 kilograms of 80 percent enriched uranium.

Can plutonium be used in bombs?

Plutonium Bomb Plutonium-239 is a fissionable isotope and can be used to make a nuclear fission bomb similar to that produced with uranium-235. The bomb which was dropped at Nagasaki was a plutonium bomb. Not enough Pu-239 exists in nature to make a major weapons supply, but it is easily produced in breeder reactors.

Which bomb is stronger uranium or plutonium?

The destructive power of the Plutonium bomb in war was first demonstrated on Nagasaki. The bomb consisted of 10 kg of Pu-239 at its core. Unlike Uranium, virtually any combination of Plutonium isotopes can be used to make a new clear weapon. Weapons Grade Plutonium is said to contain greater than 93\% Pu-239.

How is uranium turned into Plutonium?

To make plutonium we somehow have to add two protons to a uranium atom. The U-239, in turn, decays by emitting a beta particle to neptunium-239, which gives off another beta particle. Since each beta decay turns a neutron into a proton, these two beta decays suffice to turn a uranium atom into one of plutonium.