Hydrogen bomb tests

Fusion in H-bombs is ignited by a fission chain reaction of uranium or plutonium an atom bomb is used to set off the hydrogen bomb. The first hydrogen bomb test was conducted in 1952 on the Pacific... 

But for chemists, the hydrogen bomb tests had a happier fallout too. Scientists at the Mike test collected coral from a nearby atoll contaminated with radioactive debris, and sent it to Berkeley for analysis. There the nuclear chemists found two new elements, with atomic numbers 99 and 100. They were named after two of the century s most creative physicists einsteinium and fermium. 

The Buccaneer, with its capacity to carry nuclear weapons, was central to the Admiralty s vision of the aircraft carrier as the modem equivalent of the capital ship. In a remarkable paper, dated 2 March 1954, the Admiralty set out its views on expected trends in naval weapons down to the end of 1965. The news of the American hydrogen-bomb tests came too late to influence the paper, which, however, assumed that atomic weapons would be plentiful that the importance of air attack would increase but that long-range detection of submarines and torpedo countermeasures would reduce the underwater threat to surface ships. It was predicted that by the 1960s carrier-borne aircraft would carry nuclear weapons and would contribute to the strategic air offensive aircraft and 200-mile-range anti-ship missiles would have begun to... 

Einsteinium was discovered by a research team from the University of California at Berkeley. The team was led by Albert Ghiorso (1915-). The element was discovered in the ashes after the first hydrogen bomb test in November 1952 at Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. The discovery was a remarkable accomplishment because no more than a hundred millionth of a gram of the element was present. It was detected because of the characteristic radiation it produced. 

The hydrogen bomb tests conducted in the atmosphere during the decade of the 1950 s and early 1960 s injected large amounts of tritium into the geosphere 2.6 X 10 Bq up to the end of the tests in 1962. This considerably exceeds the natural production inventory. 

Before 1952 (first hydrogen bomb tests) the tritium content could be used to date water (i.e. determine when it became isolated from contact with the atmosphere). This was very... 

Unfortunately, the first British atomic test in October 1952 was overshadowed by the first hydrogen bomb test on 1 November. This was the American Ivy Mike test, with a yield of 10-12 megatons (MT) — around 1,000 times greater than the British test. Having just tested a fission device, the British team were now given the job of designing a fusion device. 

Andrei Sakliarov was a Soviet physicist who became, in the words of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, a spokesman for the conscience of mankind. He made many important contributions to our understanding of plasma physics, particle physics, and cosmology. He also designed nuclear weapons for two decades, becoming the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb in the Ih.SOs. After recognizing the dangers of nuclear weapons tests, he championed the 1963 U.S.-Soviet test ban treaty and other antinuclear initiatives. 

The onset of testing of hydrogen bombs in the atmosphere led to an understanding of isotope fractionation in the water vapor that distills from the ocean surfaces throughout the world. 

Einsteinium (Es, [Rn]5/117s 2), named after the physicist Albert Einstein. Traces discovered (1952) by Albert Ghiorso and co-workers in the debris of the first test of the hydrogen bomb. 

The first Fusion Type Atomic Bomb (also known as Hydrogen Bomb, H—Bomb or Thermonuclear Bomb) was tested at Eniwetock and proved to be successful. The bomb was of several megatons (millions of tons of TNT equivalent) (Vol 1 of Encycl, p A499-L R)... 

Many sources of radiation already exist in our world. In fact, electrical devices such as the TV cellphones, photocopy machines, x-ray machines are common examples. Nuclear reactions can be shown to be one of the important sources of radiation. In nuclear tests (atomic and hydrogen bombs) some radioactive substances are produced and although the reactions stop, the radiation continues. 

Harteck (1954) measured the amount of T in the lower atmosphere before H-bomb tests had added significantly to natural activity, and found 4000 and 3 TU in hydrogen and water vapour respectively. The amount of H2 in the atmosphere has increased in recent years due to industrial production (Schmidt, 1974). Circa 1950 there were about 1.5 x 1011 kg of H as H2, compared with 1.4 x 1015 kg as H20. Thus Harteck s values for natural T correspond to tropospheric inventories of 1.8 g as HT and 13 g as HTO. Because HTO is deposited in rain and by vapour transfer to the sea, its residence time in the troposphere is only about a week, similar to that of 137Cs (Fig. 2.8), and more than 90% of the atmospheric inventory is in the stratosphere. By contrast, the residence time of HT in the troposphere is several years (Mason Ostlund, 1979), and most of the atmospheric inventory of HT is in the troposphere. It is only necessary for a small fraction of naturally produced T to form HT to account for the high specific activity of hydrogen gas. 

The first Fusion Type Atomic Bomb (also known as Hydrogen Bomb, H-Bomb or Thermonuclear Bomb) was tested at Eniwetock... 

Tritium is also used in the manufacture of fusion bombs. A fusion bomb is also known as a hydrogen bomb. In a fusion bomb, small atoms are squeezed together (fused) to make a larger atom. In the process, enormous amounts of energy are given off. For example, the first fusion bomb tested by the United States in 1952 had the explosive power of 15 million tons of TNT. A type of fusion bomb fuses tritium with deuterium to make helium atoms ... 

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