Teller–Ulam design
E85411
The Teller–Ulam design is the standard two-stage thermonuclear weapon architecture that enables the immense explosive power of modern hydrogen bombs through radiation-driven compression of a secondary fusion stage.
Aliases (1)
- Ivy Mike ×1
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
thermonuclear weapon design
→
two-stage nuclear weapon architecture → |
| allows |
compact high-yield warheads
→
scalable weapon yields → |
| alsoKnownAs |
staged radiation implosion design
→
two-stage H-bomb design → |
| appliesPrinciple |
inertial confinement of fusion fuel
→
radiation-driven compression → |
| basedOn |
fission bomb technology
→
|
| characterizedBy |
boosted fission primary (in many designs)
→
compression of secondary by radiation pressure → separation of primary and secondary stages → two-stage configuration → x-ray energy transfer from primary to secondary → |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
→
|
| developedFor |
thermonuclear weapons
→
|
| developedIn |
1950s
→
|
| enables |
hydrogen bomb
→
megaton-yield nuclear weapons → |
| field |
nuclear weapons engineering
→
|
| firstTestDate |
1952-11-01
→
|
| firstTestedBy |
United States
→
|
| firstTestedIn |
Ivy Mike
→
|
| goal |
increase efficiency of nuclear weapons
→
maximize fusion yield → |
| hasPart |
fission spark plug
→
fusion fuel → primary fission stage → radiation case → secondary fusion stage → tamper → |
| namedAfter |
Edward Teller
→
Stanisław Ulam → |
| relatedTo |
fission-fusion-fission weapon
→
hydrogen bomb → thermonuclear fusion → |
| securityStatus |
highly classified design details
→
|
| usedBy |
China
→
France → India → Russia → United Kingdom NERFINISHED → United States → other thermonuclear-armed states → |
| uses |
radiation implosion
→
staged design → |
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Edward Teller
→
|
coDeveloperOf |
|
Stanislaw Ulam
→
|
coInvented |
|
U.S. thermonuclear weapons program
→
|
developedWeapon |
|
Enewetak Atoll
("Ivy Mike")
→
|
largestTestYieldLocation |
|
Stanislaw Ulam
→
|
notableWork |