THERMONUCLEAR WARHEADS

A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb), is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation atomic bombs, a more compact size, a lower mass or a combination of these benefits. Characteristics of nuclear fusion reactions make possible the use of non-fissile depleted uranium as the weapon's main fuel, thus allowing more efficient use of scarce fissile material such as uranium-235 (235U) or plutonium-239 (239Pu).