14.

5 THERMONUCLEAR WEAPONS
Once the first thermonuclear explosives were detonated by the United States and the USSR in
the early 1950s, the fission explosives in the strategic arsenals of both nations were soon replaced
with thermonuclear weapons of explosive energy 2-3 orders of magnitude greater than the early fission
weapons. The kiloton-range explosives that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki have given way to
megaton explosives. It gives but small comfort to note that the effective destructive capability of a weapon
increases only as the square or cube root of its explosive energy.
Most of the details of the construction of thermonuclear weapons are clas- sified, but enough
is publicly known that we may make some general observations about their operation. As a starting
point, all of the previous discussions regarding the ignition temperature of fusable fuel remain valid,
and the only rapid and mobile source capable of achieving such temperatures is a nuclear explosion.
Thus a fusion weapon includes a fission explosive as an initiator. The radiation from the fission
explosion is responsible for heating and compressing the thermonuclear fuel.
The first thermonuclear explosive used a liquified fuel mixture, which required a cumbersome
refrigeration apparatus to achieve and maintain the low tempera- tures necessary to liquify hydrogen.
Present-day weapons use solid lithium deuteride as fuel, made with separated isotope 6Li. The neutrons
released from the primary fission explosion (and the subsequent fusions) convert the 6Li into tritium:
6 3
Li + n H + 4He ( Q = 4.78 MeV)
Even for low-energy neutrons, the tritium carries enough energy (2.7 MeV) to penetrate easily the D-T
Coulomb barrier and initiate the fusion reactions.
Figure 14.19 Schematic diagram of thermonuclear explosive. The detonation of the chemical explosive
compresses a 2 3 8 U s h e l l about 2 3 5 U a n d 2 3 9 P u and driving them into criticality and initiating a fission
explosion. The fission reaction is "boosted" by a small amount of D-T fuel at the center of the
sphere; D-T fusion provides additional neutrons for the fission explosion. The X rays and Y rays
from the fission explosion vaporize the polystyrene foam which compresses 2 3 8 U the tamper about
the main fusion fuel and also heats the fusion fuel to its ignition temperature, beginning the
thermonuclear reaction. The fast neutrons released in the fusion reactions cause fissions in 2 3 5 U and
238
U ,increasing the total yield of the weapon. The diagram and description are from an article by
Howard Morland published in the November 1979 issue of The Progressive; a more complete version
can be found in H. Morland, The Secret That Exploded (New York: Random House, 1981 ).
Somewhat similar to the inertial confinement technique of controlled fusion, the heat, neutrons,
and a particles contribute to sustaining the reaction until the expansion of the fuel terminates the reaction.
The fast neutrons released in the fusion can be used to add additional energy to the explosive by
surrounding the fusion fuel with a casing of 2 3 8 U , which fissions with fast neutrons. The operation
and energy release in a thermonuclear weapon are thus dependent on a fission-fusion-fission cycle.
About half the yield of a typical strategic weapon may come from the final fission processes.
A highly schematic diagram of a thermonuclear weapon is shown in Figure 14.19 and from
the photograph of an actual weapon housing shown in Figure 14.20 it is not difficult to infer the relative
size and placement of the components.
Figure 14.20 The casing of a thermonuclear weapon. From H. Morland, The Secret That Exploded (New
York: Random House, 1981 ).

The destructive effects of a 1-10-megaton thermonuclear weapon can be anticipated from the
discussion of fission weapons in Chapter 13. The radius within which there would be virtually complete
destruction by blast effects and firestorm varies roughly as the cube root of the weapon yield, and is thus
an order of magnitude beyond the 1 km distance characteristic of a typical fission weapon. Over a
radius of perhaps 10 km, a single weapon produces essentially complete destruction.
Reducing the fission yields (by eliminating the 2 3 8 U casing) eliminates most of the radioactive
fission products from the debris of the explosion and creates a relatively "clean" explosion, that is,
free of the long-term effects of fallout and surface radioactivity associated with fission products.
Because the yield of an explosion is the primary goal of a strategic weapon, it is believed that most of
the strategic weapons in the U.S. arsenal are "dirty" weapons of the fission-fusion- fission variety.
There are also relatively low-yield battlefield nuclear explosives, of the tactical category.
Among these is the enhanced-radiation or neutron weapon. By eliminating the 2 3 8 U casing, these small
weapons (in the kiloton range) produce an intense burst of neutrons, the object of which is to deliver
a lethal dose of radiation to an army advancing in armored vehicles, such as tanks. It is estimated that
a 1-kiloton neutron bomb will subject personnel shielded by armor plate to a radiation dose of about
103 rads over a radius of 1 km. Such a dose will cause death within days. The enhanced radiation
weapons were designed to penetrate armor and thus halt an advancing army, particularly one that is
invading in the defender's home territory (in which case minimizing blast damage is highly desirable;
the use of megaton explosives would destroy the country in order to save it).
The effects of fusion weapons on population and structures are similar to those of fission
weapons, discussed in Section 13,9, with appropriate scale factors introduced to account for
differences in explosive yields. One additional effect not considered in Chapter 13 is the electromagnetic
pulse (EMP). The prompt Y rays and X rays released in the explosion interact with air molecules
(through Compton scattering and ionization) to create a large current of negative electrons flowing
outward from the point of the explosion. These electrons are accelerated by the Earth's magnetic field
and give rise to a traveling electromagnetic wave in the form of a pulse. An explosion several hundred
kilometers above the center of the United States would be within the line of sight of the entire
United States and would expose the country to electric fields of the order of 1 0 4 V/m for a 1-
megaton blast. Such a pulse could be destructive of electrical power networks and communications
grids necessary for decisive action in time of war.
The scenario of an all-out nuclear war is thus particularly horrible-perhaps 1000 or more
strategic warheads in the megaton range explode within a few minutes over the entire United States.
Perhaps 50% of the U.S. population would die in such an attack, from the combination of blast, heat,
fire, and radiation. Blast damage and firestorms would lay waste to most cities, and EMP effects
would destroy electrical power and ommunication facilities. The remaining population would have to
contend with the long-term effects of fallout and with the disease and starvation that are likely to
follow from the general destruction. Recent calculations indicate that the dust and smoke created
from a general exchange of nuclear weapons will circulate throughout the atmosphere, blocking
enough sunlight that agriculture would become impossible and major climate changes would
bring about a perpetual "nuclear winter." Surely all petty dis- agreements among nations must
become insignificant when measured against such outcomes of a general nuclear war.
The present strategic arsenal of the United States includes 1000 Minuteman land-based
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), approximately half of which carry a single warhead
(1.5 megatons) and half of which carry three Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicles
(MIRVs) with a total yield of 0.5-1 megaton; 33 Poseidon and Trident submarines, each with 16 or
24 missiles having 8 or 10 MIRV warheads of about 50-100 kilotons each; and 332 B-52 bombers,
each carrying at least four warheads of 1 megaton each. The total number of strategic warheads
in the U.S. arsenal is 2152 in ICBMs (1572 megatons), 4960 in submarine-launched ballistic
missiles (344 megatons), and 2698 in bombers, some equipped with air-launched missiles (1621
megatons); the totals are 9810 warheads (3537 megatons). Equivalent totals for the Soviet Union are
7741 warheads (6618 megatons). An additional 10,000-20,000 small (kiloton range) tactical weapons
are also held by each side. The total megatonnage is thus of order 10,000!
Let's attempt to put this staggering figure in perspective. The total explosive energy is of the
order of 1010 tons of TNT; the population of the Earth is of order 5 x 109, and thus we are each
allotted a share of about 2 tons of TNT, roughly a cubic meter. Every person on Earth is thus living
precariously with his or her personal cubic meter of high explosive. It is apparent to any reasonable
thinker that this silly overkill capability compromises everyone's security, and the only sensible course
is a reduction in the number of weapons and control of their proliferation. Achieving this reduction is
a major challenge facing both physicists and politicians in the next decade.