How does a hydrogen bomb work and what are the consequences of an explosion? Destroy the world? Thermonuclear bomb: history and myths Hydrogen bomb operating principle and destruction factors.

There are many different political clubs in the world. Big, now already, seven, G20, BRICS, SCO, NATO, European Union, to some extent. However, none of these clubs can boast a unique function - the ability to destroy the world as we know it. The "nuclear club" possesses similar possibilities.

To date, there are 9 countries with nuclear weapons:

Russia;
United Kingdom;
France;
India
Pakistan;
Israel;
DPRK.

Countries are ranked according to the appearance of nuclear weapons in their arsenal. If the list were built by the number of warheads, then Russia would be in first place with its 8,000 units, 1,600 of which can be launched right now. The states are only 700 units behind, but "at hand" they have 320 more charges. "Nuclear club" is a purely conditional concept, in fact there is no club. There are a number of agreements between the countries on non-proliferation and the reduction of stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

The first tests of the atomic bomb, as you know, were carried out by the United States back in 1945. This weapon was tested in the "field" conditions of the Second World War on the inhabitants of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They operate on the principle of division. During the explosion, a chain reaction is started, which provokes the fission of the nuclei into two, with the accompanying release of energy. Uranium and plutonium are mainly used for this reaction. It is with these elements that our ideas about what nuclear bombs are made of are connected. Since uranium occurs in nature only as a mixture of three isotopes, of which only one is capable of supporting such a reaction, it is necessary to enrich uranium. The alternative is plutonium-239, which does not occur naturally and must be produced from uranium.

If a fission reaction takes place in a uranium bomb, then a fusion reaction occurs in a hydrogen bomb - this is the essence of how a hydrogen bomb differs from an atomic bomb. We all know that the sun gives us light, warmth, and one might say life. The same processes that take place in the sun can easily destroy cities and countries. The explosion of a hydrogen bomb was born by the fusion reaction of light nuclei, the so-called thermonuclear fusion. This "miracle" is possible thanks to hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium. That is why the bomb is called a hydrogen bomb. You can also see the name "thermonuclear bomb", from the reaction that underlies this weapon.

After the world saw the destructive power of nuclear weapons, in August 1945, the USSR began a race that continued until its collapse. The United States was the first to create, test and use nuclear weapons, the first to detonate a hydrogen bomb, but the USSR can be credited with the first production of a compact hydrogen bomb that can be delivered to the enemy on a conventional Tu-16. The first US bomb was the size of a three-story house, a hydrogen bomb of this size is of little use. The Soviets received such weapons as early as 1952, while the first "adequate" US bomb was adopted only in 1954. If you look back and analyze the explosions in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, you can conclude that they were not so powerful. . Two bombs in total destroyed both cities and killed, according to various sources, up to 220,000 people. Carpet bombing Tokyo in a day could take the lives of 150-200,000 people without any nuclear weapons. This is due to the low power of the first bombs - only a few tens of kilotons of TNT. Hydrogen bombs were tested with an eye to overcoming 1 megaton or more.

The first Soviet bomb was tested with a claim of 3 Mt, but in the end 1.6 Mt was tested.

The most powerful hydrogen bomb was tested by the Soviets in 1961. Its capacity reached 58-75 Mt, while the declared 51 Mt. "Tsar" plunged the world into a slight shock, in the literal sense. The shock wave circled the planet three times. There was not a single hill left at the test site (Novaya Zemlya), the explosion was heard at a distance of 800 km. The fireball reached a diameter of almost 5 km, the “mushroom” grew by 67 km, and the diameter of its cap was almost 100 km. The consequences of such an explosion in a large city are hard to imagine. According to many experts, it was the test of a hydrogen bomb of such power (the United States at that time had four times less bombs in strength) that was the first step towards signing various treaties to ban nuclear weapons, test them and reduce production. The world for the first time thought about its own security, which was really under threat.

As mentioned earlier, the principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is based on a fusion reaction. Thermonuclear fusion is the process of fusion of two nuclei into one, with the formation of a third element, the release of a fourth and energy. The forces that repel the nuclei are colossal, so for the atoms to get close enough to merge, the temperature must be simply enormous. Scientists have been puzzling over cold thermonuclear fusion for centuries, trying to bring the fusion temperature down to room temperature, ideally. In this case, humanity will have access to the energy of the future. As for thermonuclear reaction nowadays, it still requires lighting a miniature sun here on Earth to start it - usually bombs use a uranium or plutonium charge to start the fusion.

In addition to the consequences described above from the use of a bomb of tens of megatons, a hydrogen bomb, like any nuclear weapon, has a number of consequences from its use. Some people tend to think that the hydrogen bomb is a "cleaner weapon" than a conventional bomb. Perhaps it has something to do with the name. People hear the word "water" and think that it has something to do with water and hydrogen, and therefore the consequences are not so dire. In fact, this is certainly not the case, because the action of the hydrogen bomb is based on extremely radioactive substances. It is theoretically possible to make a bomb without a uranium charge, but this is impractical due to the complexity of the process, so the pure fusion reaction is "diluted" with uranium to increase power. At the same time, the amount of radioactive fallout grows to 1000%. Everything that enters the fireball will be destroyed, the zone in the radius of destruction will become uninhabitable for people for decades. Radioactive fallout can harm people's health hundreds and thousands of kilometers away. Specific figures, the area of infection can be calculated, knowing the strength of the charge.

However, the destruction of cities is not the worst thing that can happen "thanks" to weapons of mass destruction. After a nuclear war, the world will not be completely destroyed. Thousands of large cities, billions of people will remain on the planet, and only a small percentage of territories will lose their status as “livable”. In the long term, the whole world will be at risk due to the so-called "nuclear winter". Undermining the nuclear arsenal of the "club" can provoke the release into the atmosphere of a sufficient amount of matter (dust, soot, smoke) to "diminish" the brightness of the sun. A veil that can spread across the planet will destroy crops for several years to come, provoking famine and inevitable population decline. There has already been a “year without a summer” in history, after a major volcanic eruption in 1816, so a nuclear winter looks more than real. Again, depending on how the war proceeds, we can get the following types of global climate change:

cooling by 1 degree, will pass unnoticed;
nuclear autumn - cooling by 2-4 degrees, crop failures and increased formation of hurricanes are possible;
an analogue of "a year without summer" - when the temperature dropped significantly, by several degrees per year;
the little ice age - the temperature can drop by 30 - 40 degrees for a considerable time, will be accompanied by depopulation of a number of northern zones and crop failures;
ice age - the development of a small ice age, when the reflection of sunlight from the surface can reach a certain critical level and the temperature will continue to fall, the difference is only in temperature;
irreversible cooling is a very sad version of the ice age, which, under the influence of many factors, will turn the Earth into a new planet.

The nuclear winter theory is constantly being criticized, and its implications seem a little overblown. However, one should not doubt its imminent offensive in any global conflict with the use of hydrogen bombs.

The Cold War is long over, and therefore, nuclear hysteria can only be seen in old Hollywood films and on the covers of rare magazines and comics. Despite this, we may be on the verge of a serious nuclear conflict, if not a big one. All this thanks to the lover of rockets and the hero of the fight against the imperialist habits of the United States - Kim Jong-un. The DPRK hydrogen bomb is still a hypothetical object, only circumstantial evidence speaks of its existence. Of course, the North Korean government constantly reports that they have managed to make new bombs, so far no one has seen them live. Naturally, the States and their allies, Japan and South Korea, are a little more concerned about the presence, even if hypothetical, of such weapons in the DPRK. The reality is that at the moment, the DPRK does not have enough technology to successfully attack the United States, which they announce to the whole world every year. Even an attack on neighboring Japan or the South may not be very successful, if at all, but every year the danger of a new conflict on the Korean peninsula is growing.

On January 16, 1963, at the height of the Cold War, Nikita Khrushchev announced to the world that the Soviet Union had in its arsenal a new weapon of mass destruction - the hydrogen bomb.
A year and a half earlier, the most powerful explosion of a hydrogen bomb in the world was carried out in the USSR - a charge with a capacity of over 50 megatons was blown up on Novaya Zemlya. In many ways, it was this statement by the Soviet leader that made the world aware of the threat of a further escalation of the nuclear arms race: already on August 5, 1963, an agreement was signed in Moscow banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water.

History of creation

The theoretical possibility of obtaining energy by thermonuclear fusion was known even before the Second World War, but it was the war and the subsequent arms race that raised the question of creating a technical device for the practical creation of this reaction. It is known that in Germany in 1944, work was underway to initiate thermonuclear fusion by compressing nuclear fuel using charges of conventional explosives - but they were unsuccessful, since they could not obtain the necessary temperatures and pressures. The USA and the USSR have been developing thermonuclear weapons since the 1940s, having tested the first thermonuclear devices almost simultaneously in the early 1950s. In 1952, on the Enewetok Atoll, the United States carried out an explosion of a charge with a capacity of 10.4 megatons (which is 450 times the power of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki), and in 1953 a device with a capacity of 400 kilotons was tested in the USSR.
The designs of the first thermonuclear devices were ill-suited for real combat use. For example, a device tested by the United States in 1952 was an above-ground structure as high as a 2-story building and weighing over 80 tons. Liquid thermonuclear fuel was stored in it with the help of a huge refrigeration unit. Therefore, in the future, the mass production of thermonuclear weapons was carried out using solid fuel - lithium-6 deuteride. In 1954, the United States tested a device based on it at Bikini Atoll, and in 1955, a new Soviet thermonuclear bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. In 1957, a hydrogen bomb was tested in the UK. In October 1961, a thermonuclear bomb with a capacity of 58 megatons was detonated in the USSR on Novaya Zemlya - the most powerful bomb ever tested by mankind, which went down in history under the name "Tsar Bomba".

Further development was aimed at reducing the size of the design of hydrogen bombs in order to ensure their delivery to the target by ballistic missiles. Already in the 60s, the mass of devices was reduced to several hundred kilograms, and by the 70s, ballistic missiles could carry more than 10 warheads at the same time - these are missiles with multiple warheads, each of the parts can hit its own target. To date, the United States, Russia and Great Britain have thermonuclear arsenals, tests of thermonuclear charges were also carried out in China (in 1967) and France (in 1968).

How the hydrogen bomb works

The action of a hydrogen bomb is based on the use of energy released during the reaction of thermonuclear fusion of light nuclei. It is this reaction that takes place in the interiors of stars, where, under the influence of ultrahigh temperatures and gigantic pressure, hydrogen nuclei collide and merge into heavier helium nuclei. During the reaction, part of the mass of hydrogen nuclei is converted into a large amount of energy - thanks to this, stars release a huge amount of energy constantly. Scientists copied this reaction using hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium, which gave the name "hydrogen bomb". Initially, liquid isotopes of hydrogen were used to produce charges, and later lithium-6 deuteride, a solid compound of deuterium and an isotope of lithium, was used.

Lithium-6 deuteride is the main component of the hydrogen bomb, thermonuclear fuel. It already stores deuterium, and the lithium isotope serves as a raw material for the formation of tritium. To start a fusion reaction, it is necessary to create high temperatures and pressures, as well as to isolate tritium from lithium-6. These conditions are provided as follows.

The flash of the AN602 bomb explosion immediately after the separation of the shock wave. At that moment, the diameter of the ball was about 5.5 km, and after a few seconds it increased to 10 km.

The shell of the container for thermonuclear fuel is made of uranium-238 and plastic, next to the container is placed a conventional nuclear charge with a capacity of several kilotons - it is called a trigger, or a charge-initiator of a hydrogen bomb. During the explosion of the initiating plutonium charge, under the influence of powerful X-ray radiation, the container shell turns into plasma, shrinking thousands of times, which creates the necessary high pressure and enormous temperature. At the same time, neutrons emitted by plutonium interact with lithium-6, forming tritium. The nuclei of deuterium and tritium interact under the influence of ultra-high temperature and pressure, which leads to a thermonuclear explosion.

The light emitted from the explosion's flash could cause third-degree burns at a distance of up to one hundred kilometers. This photo was taken from a distance of 160 km.
If you make several layers of uranium-238 and lithium-6 deuteride, then each of them will add its power to the bomb explosion - that is, such a "puff" allows you to increase the power of the explosion almost unlimitedly. Thanks to this, a hydrogen bomb can be made of almost any power, and it will be much cheaper than a conventional nuclear bomb of the same power.

The seismic wave caused by the explosion circled the globe three times. The height of the nuclear mushroom reached 67 kilometers in height, and the diameter of its "cap" - 95 km. The sound wave reached Dixon Island, located 800 km from the test site.

Testing the hydrogen bomb RDS-6S, 1953

Atomic energy is released not only during the fission of atomic nuclei of heavy elements, but also during the combination (synthesis) of light nuclei into heavier ones.

For example, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms, when combined, form the nuclei of helium atoms, and more energy is released per unit weight of nuclear fuel than during the fission of uranium nuclei.

These nuclear fusion reactions occurring at very high temperatures, measured in tens of millions of degrees, are called thermonuclear reactions. A weapon based on the use of energy instantly released as a result of a thermonuclear reaction is called thermonuclear weapons.

Thermonuclear weapons that use hydrogen isotopes as the charge (nuclear explosive) are often referred to as hydrogen weapons.

The fusion reaction between hydrogen isotopes - deuterium and tritium - proceeds especially successfully.

Lithium deuterium (a compound of deuterium with lithium) can also be used as a charge for a hydrogen bomb.

Deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, occurs naturally in trace amounts in heavy water. Ordinary water contains about 0.02% heavy water as an impurity. To obtain 1 kg of deuterium, it is necessary to process at least 25 tons of water.

Tritium, or superheavy hydrogen, is practically never found in nature. It is obtained artificially, for example, by irradiating lithium with neutrons. For this purpose, neutrons released in nuclear reactors can be used.

Practical Device hydrogen bomb can be imagined as follows: next to a hydrogen charge containing heavy and superheavy hydrogen (i.e., deuterium and tritium), there are two hemispheres of uranium or plutonium (atomic charge) distant from each other.

For the convergence of these hemispheres, charges from a conventional explosive (TNT) are used. Exploding simultaneously, the TNT charges bring together the hemispheres of the atomic charge. At the moment of their connection, an explosion occurs, thereby creating conditions for a thermonuclear reaction, and, consequently, an explosion of a hydrogen charge will also occur. Thus, the reaction of a hydrogen bomb explosion goes through two phases: the first phase is the fission of uranium or plutonium, the second is the fusion phase, in which helium nuclei and free neutrons of high energy are formed. At present, there are schemes for constructing a three-phase thermonuclear bomb.

In a three-phase bomb, the shell is made from uranium-238 (natural uranium). In this case, the reaction goes through three phases: the first phase of fission (uranium or plutonium for detonation), the second - a thermonuclear reaction in lithium hydrite and the third phase - the fission reaction of uranium-238. The fission of uranium nuclei is caused by neutrons, which are released in the form of a powerful stream during the fusion reaction.

The fabrication of the shell from uranium-238 makes it possible to increase the power of the bomb at the expense of the most accessible nuclear raw materials. According to the foreign press, bombs with a capacity of 10-14 million tons or more have already been tested. It becomes obvious that this is not the limit. Further improvement of nuclear weapons goes both along the line of creating bombs of especially high power, and along the line of developing new designs that make it possible to reduce the weight and caliber of bombs. In particular, they are working on creating a bomb based entirely on fusion. There are, for example, reports in the foreign press about the possibility of using a new method of detonating thermonuclear bombs based on the use of shock waves of conventional explosives.

The energy released by the explosion of a hydrogen bomb can be thousands of times greater than the energy of an atomic bomb explosion. However, the radius of destruction cannot be as many times greater than the radius of destruction caused by the explosion of an atomic bomb.

The radius of action of the shock wave during an air explosion of a hydrogen bomb with a TNT equivalent of 10 million tons is approximately 8 times greater than the radius of action of a shock wave generated by an explosion of an atomic bomb with a TNT equivalent of 20,000 tons, while the bomb's power is 500 times greater, t i.e., by the cube root of 500. Correspondingly, the destruction area also increases by about 64 times, i.e., in proportion to the cube root of the bomb power increase factor squared.

According to foreign authors, in a nuclear explosion with a capacity of 20 million tons, the area of complete destruction of conventional ground structures, according to American experts, can reach 200 km 2, the zone of significant destruction - 500 km 2 and partial - up to 2580 km 2.

This means, foreign experts conclude, that the explosion of one bomb of such power is enough to destroy a modern large city. As you know, the area occupied by Paris is 104 km2, London - 300 km2, Chicago - 550 km2, Berlin - 880 km2.

The scale of damage and destruction from a nuclear explosion with a capacity of 20 million tons can be represented schematically, in the following form:

The area of lethal doses of initial radiation within a radius of up to 8 km (on an area up to 200 km 2);

The area affected by light radiation (burns)] within a radius of up to 32 km (over an area of about 3000 km 2).

Damage to residential buildings (broken glass, crumbled plaster, etc.) can be observed even at a distance of up to 120 km from the explosion site.

The given data from open foreign sources are indicative, they were obtained during testing of nuclear weapons of lower power and by calculations. Deviations from these data in one direction or another will depend on various factors, and primarily on the terrain, the nature of development, meteorological conditions, vegetation cover, etc.

To a large extent, it is possible to change the radius of destruction by artificially creating certain conditions that reduce the effect of the impact of the damaging factors of the explosion. So, for example, it is possible to reduce the damaging effect of light radiation, reduce the area where people can burn and objects can ignite, by creating a smoke screen.

Conducted experiments in the United States on the creation of smoke screens during nuclear explosions in 1954-1955. showed that with a curtain density (oil fogs) obtained at a consumption of 440-620 l of oil per 1 km 2, the effect of light radiation from a nuclear explosion, depending on the distance to the epicenter, can be weakened by 65-90%.

Other smokes also weaken the damaging effect of light radiation, which are not only not inferior, but in some cases surpass oil fogs. In particular, industrial smoke, which reduces atmospheric visibility, can reduce the effects of light radiation to the same extent as oil fogs.

The damaging effect of nuclear explosions can be greatly reduced by dispersed construction of settlements, the creation of forest plantations, etc.

Of particular note is the sharp decrease in the radius of damage to people, depending on the use of certain means of protection. It is known, for example, that even at a comparatively small distance from the epicenter of an explosion, a safe shelter from the effects of light radiation and penetrating radiation is a shelter with a 1.6 m thick earthen layer or a 1 m concrete layer.

A light-type shelter reduces the radius of the affected area by six times compared to an open location, and the affected area is reduced tenfold. When using covered slots, the radius of possible damage is reduced by 2 times.

Consequently, with the maximum use of all available methods and means of protection, it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in the impact of the damaging factors of nuclear weapons and, thereby, a reduction in human and material losses during their use.

Speaking about the scale of destruction that can be caused by explosions of high-power nuclear weapons, it must be borne in mind that the damage will be inflicted not only by the action of a shock wave, light radiation and penetrating radiation, but also by the action of radioactive substances that fall along the path of the cloud formed during the explosion , which includes not only gaseous explosion products, but also solid particles of various sizes both in weight and size. A particularly large amount of radioactive dust is formed during ground explosions.

The height of the rise of the cloud and its size largely depend on the power of the explosion. According to the foreign press, when testing nuclear charges with a capacity of several million tons of TNT, which were carried out by the United States in the Pacific Ocean in 1952-1954, the top of the cloud reached a height of 30-40 km.

In the first minutes after the explosion, the cloud has the shape of a ball and, over time, stretches in the direction of the wind, reaching a huge size (about 60-70 km).

Approximately an hour after the explosion of a bomb with a TNT equivalent of 20 thousand tons, the volume of the cloud reaches 300 km 3, and with a bomb explosion of 20 million tons, the volume can reach 10 thousand km 3.

Moving in the direction of the flow of air masses, an atomic cloud can occupy a strip with a length of several tens of kilometers.

From the cloud during its movement, after rising into the upper layers of the rarefied atmosphere, after a few minutes, radioactive dust begins to fall to the ground, contaminating an area of several thousand square kilometers along the way.

At first, the heaviest dust particles fall out, which have time to settle within a few hours. The main mass of coarse dust falls in the first 6-8 hours after the explosion.

About 50% of the (largest) particles of radioactive dust fall out within the first 8 hours after the explosion. This fallout is often referred to as local as opposed to general, ubiquitous.

Smaller dust particles remain in the air at various altitudes and fall to the ground for about two weeks after the explosion. During this time, the cloud can go around the globe several times, capturing a wide strip parallel to the latitude at which the explosion was made.

Particles of small size (up to 1 micron) remain in the upper layers of the atmosphere, are distributed more evenly around the globe, and fall out over the next number of years. According to scientists, the fallout of fine radioactive dust continues everywhere for about ten years.

The greatest danger to the population is radioactive dust that falls in the first hours after the explosion, since the level of radioactive contamination is so high that it can cause fatal injuries to people and animals that find themselves in the territory along the path of the radioactive cloud.

The size of the area and the degree of contamination of the area as a result of fallout of radioactive dust largely depend on meteorological conditions, the terrain, the height of the explosion, the magnitude of the bomb charge, the nature of the soil, etc. The most important factor determining the size of the area of contamination, its configuration, is the direction and the strength of the winds prevailing in the explosion area at various heights.

To determine the possible direction of cloud movement, it is necessary to know in which direction and with what speed the wind blows at different heights, starting from a height of about 1 km and ending with 25-30 km. To do this, the meteorological service must conduct continuous observations and measurements of the wind using radiosondes at various heights; based on the data obtained, determine in which direction the radioactive cloud is most likely to move.

During the explosion of a hydrogen bomb, produced by the United States in 1954 in the central part of the Pacific Ocean (on Bikini Atoll), the contaminated area had the shape of an elongated ellipse, which extended 350 km downwind and 30 km against the wind. The maximum width of the strip was about 65 km. The total area of dangerous contamination reached about 8 thousand km 2 .

As is known, as a result of this explosion, the Japanese fishing vessel Fukuryumaru, which was at that time at a distance of about 145 km, was contaminated with radioactive dust. The 23 fishermen who were on this vessel were injured, and one of them was fatal.

The action of the fallen radioactive dust after the explosion on March 1, 1954 also affected 29 American employees and 239 residents of the Marshall Islands, all of whom were injured at a distance of more than 300 km from the explosion site. Other ships that were in the Pacific Ocean at a distance of up to 1,500 km from Bikini, and some fish near the Japanese coast, also turned out to be infected.

The pollution of the atmosphere by the products of the explosion was indicated by the rains that fell on the Pacific coast and Japan in May, in which greatly increased radioactivity was detected. The areas in which radioactive fallout was recorded during May 1954 occupy about a third of the entire territory of Japan.

The above data on the scale of damage that can be inflicted on the population in the explosion of large-caliber atomic bombs show that high-yield nuclear charges (millions of tons of TNT) can be considered a radiological weapon, that is, a weapon that affects more radioactive explosion products than shock wave, light radiation and penetrating radiation acting at the time of the explosion.

Therefore, in the course of preparing settlements and national economy facilities for civil defense, it is necessary to provide everywhere for measures to protect the population, animals, food, fodder and water from contamination by explosion products of nuclear charges that may fall along the path of the radioactive cloud.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that as a result of the fallout of radioactive substances, not only the surface of the soil and objects, but also the air, vegetation, water in open reservoirs, etc. will be contaminated. The air will be contaminated both during the period of sedimentation of radioactive particles and in the following time, especially along roads during traffic or in windy weather, when the settled dust particles will again rise into the air.

Consequently, unprotected people and animals may be affected by radioactive dust that enters the respiratory system along with the air.

Dangerous will also be food and water contaminated with radioactive dust, which, if ingested, can cause serious illness, sometimes fatal. Thus, in the area of fallout of radioactive substances formed during a nuclear explosion, people will be affected not only as a result of external radiation, but also when contaminated food, water or air enters the body. When organizing protection against damage by products of a nuclear explosion, it should be borne in mind that the degree of infection along the trail of cloud movement decreases with distance from the explosion site.

Therefore, the danger to which the population located in the area of the infection zone is exposed is not the same at different distances from the site of the explosion. The most dangerous will be the areas close to the place of the explosion, and the areas located along the axis of the cloud movement (the middle part of the strip along the trail of the cloud movement).

The unevenness of radioactive contamination along the path of cloud movement is to a certain extent natural. This circumstance must be taken into account when organizing and carrying out activities for antiradiation protection of the population.

It should also be taken into account that some time elapses from the moment of explosion to the moment of falling out of the cloud of radioactive substances. This time is longer the farther from the place of explosion, and can be calculated in several hours. The population of areas remote from the site of the explosion will have sufficient time to take appropriate protective measures.

In particular, subject to the timely preparation of warning means and the accurate work of the relevant civil defense units, the population can be notified of the danger in about 2-3 hours.

During this time, with advance preparation of the population and high organization, it is possible to carry out a number of measures that provide sufficiently reliable protection against radioactive damage to people and animals. The choice of certain measures and methods of protection will be determined by the specific conditions of the situation. However, the general principles must be determined and civil defense plans developed in advance accordingly.

It can be considered that, under certain conditions, it should be recognized as the most rational to take first of all protective measures on the spot, using all means and. methods that protect both from the ingress of radioactive substances into the body and from external radiation.

As you know, the most effective means of protection against external radiation are shelters (adapted to the requirements of anti-nuclear protection, as well as buildings with massive walls built of dense materials (brick, cement, reinforced concrete, etc.), including basements, dugouts , cellars, covered slots and ordinary residential buildings.

When evaluating the protective properties of buildings and structures, one can be guided by the following approximate data: a wooden house weakens the effect of radioactive radiation depending on the thickness of the walls by 4-10 times, a stone house - by 10-50 times, cellars and cellars in wooden houses - by 50-100 times times, a gap with an overlap of a layer of earth 60-90 cm - 200-300 times.

Consequently, civil defense plans should provide for the use, if necessary, in the first place of structures with more powerful protective equipment; upon receipt of a signal of danger of injury, the population should immediately take refuge in these premises and remain there until further action is announced.

The length of time people spend in sheltered areas will depend mainly on the extent to which the area where the settlement is located becomes contaminated and the rate at which radiation levels decrease over time.

So, for example, in settlements located at a considerable distance from the explosion site, where the total radiation doses that unprotected people will receive can become safe within a short time, it is advisable for the population to wait out this time in shelters.

In areas of high radioactive contamination, where the total dose that unprotected people can receive will be high and its reduction will be prolonged under these conditions, prolonged stay in shelters will become difficult for people. Therefore, it should be considered most rational in such areas to first shelter the population on the spot, and then evacuate them to uncharged areas. The beginning of the evacuation and its duration will depend on local conditions: the level of radioactive contamination, the availability of vehicles, means of communication, the time of year, the remoteness of the places of accommodation of the evacuees, etc.

Thus, the territory of radioactive contamination according to the trace of a radioactive cloud can be conditionally divided into two zones with different principles of protecting the population.

The first zone includes the territory where radiation levels after 5-6 days after the explosion remain high and decrease slowly (by about 10-20% daily). The evacuation of the population from such areas can begin only after the radiation level drops to such levels that during the time of collection and movement in the contaminated zone people will not receive a total dose of more than 50 r.

The second zone includes areas in which radiation levels decrease during the first 3-5 days after the explosion to 0.1 roentgen/hour.

The evacuation of the population from this zone is not advisable, since this time can be waited out in shelters.

The successful implementation of measures to protect the population in all cases is unthinkable without careful radiation reconnaissance and observation and constant monitoring of the radiation level.

Speaking about the protection of the population from radioactive damage in the wake of the movement of a cloud formed during a nuclear explosion, it should be remembered that it is possible to avoid damage or achieve its reduction only with a clear organization of a set of measures, which include:

organization of a warning system that provides timely warning of the population about the most probable direction of movement of the radioactive cloud and the danger of injury. For these purposes, all available means of communication must be used - telephone, radio stations, telegraph, radio broadcasting, etc.;
preparation of civil defense formations for reconnaissance both in cities and in rural areas;
shelter of people in shelters or other premises that protect against radioactive radiation (basements, cellars, crevices, etc.);
carrying out the evacuation of the population and animals from the area of stable contamination with radioactive dust;
preparation of formations and institutions of the medical service of the Civil Defense for actions to provide assistance to the affected, mainly treatment, sanitization, examination of water and food products for contamination with radioactive substances by you;
early implementation of measures to protect food products in warehouses, in the distribution network, at public catering establishments, as well as water supply sources from contamination with radioactive dust (sealing storage facilities, preparing containers, improvised materials for sheltering products, preparing means for decontaminating food and containers, equipping dosimetric devices);
carrying out measures to protect animals and providing assistance to animals in case of damage.

To ensure reliable protection of animals, it is necessary to provide for their keeping in collective farms, state farms, if possible, in small groups according to brigades, farms or settlements with places of shelter.

It should also provide for the creation of additional reservoirs or wells, which can become backup sources of water supply in case of contamination of the water of permanent sources.

Storage areas for fodder are important, as well as livestock buildings, which should be sealed whenever possible.

To protect valuable breeding animals, it is necessary to have personal protective equipment, which can be made from improvised materials on the spot (eye patches, sacks, blankets, etc.), as well as gas masks (if available).

To carry out decontamination of premises and veterinary treatment of animals, it is necessary to take into account in advance the disinfection units, sprayers, sprinklers, liquid spreaders and other mechanisms and containers available on the farm, with the help of which it is possible to carry out disinfection and veterinary treatment;

Organization and preparation of formations and institutions for carrying out work on the decontamination of structures, terrain, transport, clothing, equipment and other property of the civil defense, for which measures are taken in advance to adapt municipal equipment, agricultural machines, mechanisms and devices for these purposes. Depending on the availability of equipment, appropriate formations must be created and trained - detachments, teams, groups, units, etc.

At the end of the 30s of the last century, the regularities of fission and decay were already discovered in Europe, and the hydrogen bomb turned from science fiction into reality. The history of the development of nuclear energy is interesting and still represents an exciting competition between the scientific potential of the countries: Nazi Germany, the USSR and the USA. The most powerful bomb that any state dreamed of owning was not only a weapon, but also a powerful political tool. The country that had it in its arsenal actually became omnipotent and could dictate its own rules.

The hydrogen bomb has its own history of creation, which is based on physical laws, namely the thermonuclear process. Initially, it was incorrectly called atomic, and illiteracy was to blame. In the scientist Bethe, who later became a Nobel Prize winner, worked on an artificial source of energy - the fission of uranium. This time was the peak of the scientific activity of many physicists, and among them there was such an opinion that scientific secrets should not exist at all, since initially the laws of science are international.

Theoretically, the hydrogen bomb had been invented, but now, with the help of designers, it had to acquire technical forms. It only remained to pack it in a certain shell and test it for power. There are two scientists whose names will forever be associated with the creation of this powerful weapon: in the USA it is Edward Teller, and in the USSR it is Andrey Sakharov.

In the United States, a physicist began to study the thermonuclear problem as early as 1942. By order of Harry Truman, then the President of the United States, the country's best scientists worked on this problem, they created a fundamentally new weapon of destruction. Moreover, the government's order was for a bomb with a capacity of at least a million tons of TNT. The hydrogen bomb was created by Teller and showed humanity in Hiroshima and Nagasaki its limitless, but destructive abilities.

A bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that weighed 4.5 tons and contained 100 kg of uranium. This explosion corresponded to almost 12,500 tons of TNT. The Japanese city of Nagasaki was destroyed by a plutonium bomb of the same mass, but equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT.

The future Soviet academician A. Sakharov in 1948, based on his research, presented the design of a hydrogen bomb under the name RDS-6. His research went along two branches: the first was called "puff" (RDS-6s), and its feature was an atomic charge, which was surrounded by layers of heavy and light elements. The second branch is the "pipe" or (RDS-6t), in which the plutonium bomb was in liquid deuterium. Subsequently, a very important discovery was made, which proved that the direction of the "pipe" is a dead end.

The principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb is as follows: first, a charge explodes inside the HB shell, which is the initiator of a thermonuclear reaction, as a result, a neutron flash occurs. In this process, the process is accompanied by the release of high temperature, which is needed for further neutrons begin bombarding the lithium deuteride insert, and it, in turn, under the direct action of neutrons, is split into two elements: tritium and helium. The used atomic fuse forms the components necessary for the synthesis to proceed in the already activated bomb. Here is such a difficult principle of operation of a hydrogen bomb. After this preliminary action, a thermonuclear reaction begins directly in a mixture of deuterium and tritium. At this time, the temperature in the bomb increases more and more, and more and more hydrogen is involved in the fusion. If you follow the time of these reactions, then the speed of their action can be characterized as instantaneous.

Subsequently, scientists began to use not the fusion of nuclei, but their fission. The fission of one ton of uranium creates energy equivalent to 18 Mt. This bomb has tremendous power. The most powerful bomb created by mankind belonged to the USSR. She even got into the Guinness Book of Records. Its blast wave was equal to 57 (approximately) megatons of TNT substance. It was blown up in 1961 in the area of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

If you think that the atomic warhead is the most terrible weapon of mankind, then you don't know about the hydrogen bomb yet. We decided to correct this oversight and talk about what it is. We have already talked about and.

A little about the terminology and principles of work in pictures

Understanding what a nuclear warhead looks like and why, it is necessary to consider the principle of its operation, based on the fission reaction. First, an atomic bomb detonates. The shell contains isotopes of uranium and plutonium. They break up into particles, capturing neutrons. Then one atom is destroyed and the division of the rest is initiated. This is done through a chain process. At the end, the nuclear reaction itself begins. The parts of the bomb become one. The charge begins to exceed the critical mass. With the help of such a structure, energy is released and an explosion occurs.

By the way, a nuclear bomb is also called an atomic bomb. And hydrogen was called thermonuclear. Therefore, the question of how an atomic bomb differs from a nuclear one is, in essence, incorrect. This is the same. The difference between a nuclear bomb and a thermonuclear one is not only in the name.

The thermonuclear reaction is based not on the fission reaction, but on the compression of heavy nuclei. A nuclear warhead is the detonator or fuse for a hydrogen bomb. In other words, imagine a huge barrel of water. An atomic rocket is immersed in it. Water is a heavy liquid. Here, the proton with sound is replaced in the hydrogen nucleus by two elements - deuterium and tritium:

Deuterium is one proton and one neutron. Their mass is twice that of hydrogen;
Tritium is made up of one proton and two neutrons. They are three times heavier than hydrogen.

Thermonuclear bomb tests

, the end of the Second World War, a race began between America and the USSR, and the world community realized that a nuclear or hydrogen bomb was more powerful. The destructive power of atomic weapons began to attract each side. The United States was the first to make and test a nuclear bomb. But it soon became clear that it could not be large. Therefore, it was decided to try to make a thermonuclear warhead. Here again, America succeeded. The Soviets decided not to lose the race and tested a compact but powerful missile that could even be transported on a conventional Tu-16 aircraft. Then everyone understood the difference between a nuclear bomb and a hydrogen bomb.

For example, the first American thermonuclear warhead was as tall as a three-story building. It could not be delivered by small transport. But then, according to the developments of the USSR, the dimensions were reduced. If we analyze, we can conclude that these terrible destructions were not so big. In TNT equivalent, the impact force was only a few tens of kilotons. Therefore, buildings were destroyed in only two cities, and the sound of a nuclear bomb was heard in the rest of the country. If it were a hydrogen missile, all of Japan would be completely destroyed with just one warhead.

A nuclear bomb with too much charge can explode involuntarily. A chain reaction will start and an explosion will occur. Considering how the nuclear atomic and hydrogen bombs differ, it is worth noting this point. After all, a thermonuclear warhead can be made of any power without fear of spontaneous detonation.

This intrigued Khrushchev, who ordered the most powerful hydrogen warhead in the world to be built and thus closer to winning the race. It seemed to him that 100 megatons was optimal. Soviet scientists pulled themselves together and managed to invest in 50 megatons. Tests began on the island of Novaya Zemlya, where there was a military training ground. Until now, the Tsar bomb is called the largest charge detonated on the planet.

The explosion happened in 1961. Within a radius of several hundred kilometers from the landfill, a hasty evacuation of people took place, as scientists calculated that they would be destroyed, without exception, all at home. But no one expected such an effect. The blast wave circled the planet three times. The polygon remained a “blank slate”, all the hills disappeared from it. Buildings turned to sand in a second. A terrible explosion was heard within a radius of 800 kilometers. The fireball from the use of a warhead such as the Universal Destroyer Runic Nuclear Bomb in Japan was only visible in cities. But from a hydrogen rocket, it rose 5 kilometers in diameter. A fungus of dust, radiation and soot has grown 67 kilometers. According to scientists, its cap was a hundred kilometers in diameter. Just imagine what would happen if the explosion occurred in the city.

Modern dangers of using the hydrogen bomb

We have already considered the difference between an atomic bomb and a thermonuclear one. Now imagine what the consequences of the explosion would have been if the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been hydrogen with a thematic equivalent. There would be no trace of Japan left.

According to the conclusions of the tests, scientists concluded about the consequences of a thermonuclear bomb. Some people think that the hydrogen warhead is cleaner, that is, in fact, not radioactive. This is due to the fact that people hear the name "water" and underestimate its deplorable impact on the environment.

As we have already figured out, a hydrogen warhead is based on a huge amount of radioactive substances. It is possible to make a rocket without a uranium charge, but so far this has not been applied in practice. The process itself will be very complex and costly. Therefore, the fusion reaction is diluted with uranium and a huge explosion power is obtained. Fallout that inexorably falls on the drop target is increased by 1000%. They will harm the health of even those who are tens of thousands of kilometers from the epicenter. When detonated, a huge fireball is created. Anything within its range is destroyed. Scorched earth can be uninhabited for decades. In a vast area, absolutely nothing will grow. And knowing the strength of the charge, using a certain formula, you can theoretically calculate the infected area.

Also worth mentioning about such an effect as nuclear winter. This concept is even more terrible than the destroyed cities and hundreds of thousands of human lives. Not only will the drop site be destroyed, but in fact the entire world. At first, only one territory will lose its habitable status. But a radioactive substance will be released into the atmosphere, which will reduce the brightness of the sun. All this will mix with dust, smoke, soot and create a veil. It will spread all over the planet. The crops in the fields will be destroyed for decades to come. Such an effect will provoke famine on Earth. The population will immediately decrease several times. And the nuclear winter looks more than real. Indeed, in the history of mankind, and more specifically, in 1816, a similar case was known after a powerful volcanic eruption. The planet then had a year without summer.

Skeptics who do not believe in such a combination of circumstances can convince themselves with the calculations of scientists:

When the Earth gets colder by a degree, no one will notice it. But this will affect the amount of precipitation.
In autumn, the temperature will drop by 4 degrees. Due to the lack of rain, crop failures are possible. Hurricanes will start even where they never happened.
When the temperature drops a few more degrees, the planet will have its first year without summer.
The Little Ice Age will follow. The temperature drops by 40 degrees. Even in a short time it will be devastating to the planet. On Earth, there will be crop failures and the extinction of people living in the northern zones.
Then comes the Ice Age. The reflection of the sun's rays will occur before reaching the surface of the earth. Due to this, the air temperature will reach a critical point. Crops, trees will stop growing on the planet, water will freeze. This will lead to the extinction of most of the population.
Those who survive will not survive the last period - an irreversible cold snap. This option is quite sad. It will be the real end of humanity. The earth will turn into a new planet, unsuitable for the habitation of a human being.

Now for another danger. As soon as Russia and the United States exited the stage of the Cold War, a new threat appeared. If you have heard about who Kim Jong Il is, then you understand that he will not stop there. This rocket lover, tyrant and ruler of North Korea rolled into one, could easily provoke a nuclear conflict. He talks about the hydrogen bomb all the time and notes that there are already warheads in his part of the country. Fortunately, no one has seen them live yet. Russia, America, as well as the closest neighbors - South Korea and Japan, are very concerned about even such hypothetical statements. Therefore, we hope that the developments and technologies of North Korea will be at an insufficient level for a long time to destroy the whole world.

For reference. At the bottom of the oceans are dozens of bombs that were lost during transportation. And in Chernobyl, which is not so far from us, huge reserves of uranium are still stored.

It is worth considering whether such consequences can be allowed for the sake of testing a hydrogen bomb. And if there is a global conflict between the countries possessing these weapons, there will be no states, no people, nothing at all on the planet, the Earth will turn into a clean slate. And if we consider how a nuclear bomb differs from a thermonuclear one, the main point can be called the amount of destruction, as well as the subsequent effect.

Now a small conclusion. We figured out that a nuclear and an atomic bomb are one and the same. And yet, it is the basis for a thermonuclear warhead. But to use neither one nor the other is not recommended even for testing. The sound of the explosion and what the aftermath looks like isn't the scariest part. This threatens with a nuclear winter, the death of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants at one time and numerous consequences for humanity. Although there are differences between such charges as the atomic and nuclear bomb, the effect of both is destructive to all living things.