Hydrogen bomb Vs. atomic bomb
An H-bomb, or a thermonuclear bomb, is a weapon energized by nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium. Since it is powered by fusion of lighter elements into heavier ones, it can lead to a chain reaction, making the weapon hundreds of times more destructive than an atomic bomb, which relies on tearing heavy atoms such as plutonium and uranium apart a process known as fission, according to a article published by International Business Times.
However, even in H-bombs, the primary explosion needed to generate the energy required to kick-start the fusion process is caused by a fission reaction. This reaction causes the secondary explosion, which is triggered by the fusion of the hydrogen isotopes.
The destructive power of a nuclear weapon is measured relative to how much Trinitrotoluene (TNT) would be needed to create a comparable explosion. Nuclear weapons that derive their energy from fission usually have a yield of around 10 to 20 kilotons. For instance, the bombs dropped by the United States over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed over 200,000 people, had yields of 13 and 21 kilotons, respectively.
Fusion-powered H-bombs which are cleaner, in terms of radioactive fallout, and are completely scalable, in terms of size can have yields measurable in megatons. The most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated was the H-bomb Tsar Bomba, which was tested by Soviet Union in 1961 and had a yield of 50 megatons, making it 3,800 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
