I’ve heard people say there is no fallout, but there typically is a fission bomb in the secondary stage. Where does its radiation go? Is it just blown away by the fusion bomb so it’s no longer as deadly? Isn’t it still there though? Is it just weaker?
In: Physics
Fusion bombs aren’t just hydrogen isotopes fusing..
To start with the current way we can start the fusion reaction is to use a fission atomic bomb. So you have a uranium/plutonium bomb in the assembly just to get the thing going.
Following – in a lot of hydrogen bombs the fusion stage is also used to generate a sea of fast moving neutrons that is absorbed by fissile material surrounding the fusion core (and enabling the fusion core to fuse) and results in even more fission than you’d get from a plain fission bomb that blows itself apart before all that much fission can take place.
So yes, hydrogen bombs very much cause fallout.
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