RobusEtCeleritas t1_izntbxl wrote on December 10, 2022 at 2:30 PM

Reply to comment by PlaidBastard in What is the difference between atomic, nuclear and hydrogen bombs? by something-stupid2134

Yes, I agree that boosted weapons are technically "thermonuclear" too, just with a much smaller amount of fusion fuel. I don't think the common terminology is good, but this is what it is.

sault18 t1_iznwfbe wrote on December 10, 2022 at 2:55 PM

And don't boosted weapons use fusion mostly just to generate neutrons to cause fission fast enough before the device blows itself apart?

RobusEtCeleritas t1_iznww1y wrote on December 10, 2022 at 2:59 PM

Yes, but the same could be said of many "true thermonuclear" weapons too. The main contribution of the fusion fuel to the yield is due to the high-energy fusion neutrons inducing more fission, rather than the fusion reaction Q-values, which are on the order of 10 times lower than the relevant fission Q-values.

the_nebulae t1_izobs9n wrote on December 10, 2022 at 4:48 PM

Q-value, explain it like I’m 5.

RobusEtCeleritas t1_izooj5x wrote on December 10, 2022 at 6:13 PM

Amount of energy released by a single reaction.

[deleted] t1_izntxp2 wrote on December 10, 2022 at 2:35 PM

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RobusEtCeleritas t1_iznu6lf wrote on December 10, 2022 at 2:37 PM

Modern designs are all thermonuclear (fully thermonuclear, not just boosted fission). But not all countries have modern stockpiles. So we still need words to refer to old designs and differentiate them from modern ones.