Abstract
Since 1945 nuclear physicists and engineers have continued to refine the methods by which explosive energy is extracted from the nuclei of atoms. The first successful attempt to do so was by fissioning, in a chain reaction, nuclei of uranium-235 or plutonium-239. This was the first generation of nuclear weapons, with energy releases of the order of 10–100 kilotons equivalent of TNT. Fission weapons presented an upper limit of explosive power, since it is not possible to assemble enough fissionable material to reach higher yields without reaching unwanted criticality.
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Notes
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© 1989 Hans Günter Brauch
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Tsipis, K. (1989). Third-generation Nuclear Weapons. In: Brauch, H.G. (eds) Military Technology, Armaments Dynamics and Disarmament. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10221-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10221-1_3
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