Research Paper on Hydrogen Bomb

Introduction

A hydrogen bomb or rather a thermonuclear bomb is a weapon which operates under the effect of hydrogen fusion. In other words, the hydrogen bomb uses energy that comes from a nuclear fission reaction which is mostly compressed to trigger a secondary response, in this case, a nuclear fusion. A nuclear fission reaction in most cases stems from atomic nucleus split to form smaller and lighter atomic nuclei. On the other hand, nuclear fusion can be defined as the reaction that occurs between the collisions of two atomic nuclei to form the atomic nucleus (Gilpin, 2015). In general, what makes the H-bomb powerful is the fact that it can cause destruction beyond control through nuclear fission that breaks particles into smaller fragments and the nuclear fusion which forms new atomic nucleus.

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Having been created by Enrico Fermi, a hydrogen bomb is 1000 times deadlier than the atomic bomb and the reason why it has never been used in any war. In 1952, the first H-bomb was detonated in Enewetak Atoll, where the damage is estimated to have spread clouds 25 miles high and 100 miles wide, an explosion that went beyond the limited area to a nearby island to destroy lives (Gilpin, 2015). Factually, scientists argue that the thermonuclear blast emits a large amount of light that causes permanent blindness to people and animals. Besides light, hydrogen bomb also releases excess amount of heat that can vaporize everything within its range and miles away. This is because the hydrogen bomb radius largely depends on its capacity as well as size. With this fact, the use of this bomb in wars can cause massive destruction even to innocent countries near and far away. The Mike testing of the first hydrogen bomb yielded approximately 10.4 megatons of an explosion, equivalent to 450 times stronger than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in war. If the atomic bomb led to the loss of over 166,000 lives in Hiroshima, then we can be sure to conclude that had the hydrogen bomb been used, then the number of people who lost their lives could have been extremely huge (Fiandra, 2016).

In details, when a hydrogen bomb is detonated, the immediate and long-term effects can be devastating in so many ways. The bomb can shatter grounds, while sand and dirt are fused into the air creating an iconic force that rips every living and non-living thing from the ground. In most cases, hydrogen explosion sends radioactive particle into the atmosphere creating smoke that negatively affects the plant life that mostly relies on sunlight for survival. Wind further spreads the radioactive particles to other regions over a period of hours or even minutes, thus contaminating water, land and air. As a result, plants, animals and humans are damaged in a way that the hazardous changes created negatively impacts the gene mutation that could be harmful in generations to come (Broad & Sanger, 2016). Even though other long-term effects of the H-bomb are still being discovered, research shows that the nuclear contamination of this bomb can go beyond 40 to 60 years. For instance, the tests by the US on Bikini Atoll has adversely affected the people on the islands in the sense that they are still afraid of resettling in the area for fear of being sick and doing farming since the irradiated soils could give way to crops that are toxic. As accessed by Canada and Norway, the Tsar bomb tested on the grounds of Novaya Zemlya may have negatively affected the population of fish and other living things (Broad & Sanger, 2016).

Conclusion

Although all nuclear weapons are dangerous and rely on nuclear fission to release large amounts of energy, hydrogen bombs are the most dangerous weapons since they combine both the nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. The combination of both nuclear fission and nuclear fusion through high pressure and temperatures lead to a massive explosion. In other words, using a hydrogen bomb is similar to using two atomic bombs at once; hence the damages are far more profound and broader, the reason why hydrogen bomb cannot be used in wars.

References

Broad, W. J., & Sanger, D. E. (2016). As US modernizes nuclear weapons,'smaller'leaves some uneasy. The New York Times, 11.Fiandra, E. (2016). " Are you aware that six Hydrogen Bombs are enough to turn the entire Federal Republic into a atom swamp?" Guenther Weisborn's Plays against the nuclear Armament. STUDIA THEODISCA, 23, 71-88.

Gilpin, R. (2015). American scientists and nuclear weapons policy (Vol. 2064). Princeton University Press.