There Zar bomb It was the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever made: the explosion of the Origno at the hydrogen released the incredible power of approx 50 megatons. Designed by the Soviet Union in the middle of the cold war by a group of physicists led by Andrej Sacharovthe hydrogen bomb whose code name was Big ivan The time was tested only in the power halved on the October 30, 1961 Above the bay of Mitjušicha, but fortunately it was never used against real objectives, neither civil nor military. But how exactly did it work?
After being released, the Zar bomb explodes in less than 0.1 microseconds. Within its spherical portion a reaction of nuclear fission. This generates very high pressures who transform the Polistirene matrix into plasma And this in turn compresses the portion cylindricalmaking the nuclear fusion and the instant release of an immense amount of energy.
But how is it possible? Let’s start with the sphere: inside there is a Plutonium sphere. Once the bomb is triggered, it will be here that the reaction of nuclear fission. The fission will generate not only a temperature of 100 million of ° Cbut also theX -ray emission And range So as to transform the matrix into a plasma polystyrene.
Then there is the cylinder, consisting of a cylinder cable uranium in which one of lithium hydruro and one of plutonium. The plasma, compressing it, triggers the fission of uranium and plutonium, compressing even more in lithium iodide and giving way to nuclear fusion. In one instant this weapon created a high mushroom 67 kmMeaning what 7 times more than Everest.
But why did the USSR decided to make such a powerful weapon? To find out here is a video that we made ad hoc on the subject:
