Weapons & delivery systems
Teller-Ulam Design
The two-stage design used in nearly all modern thermonuclear weapons, named after physicists Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam.
In the Teller–Ulam configuration, X-rays from a fission primary travel through a hohlraum and ablation-compress a separate fusion secondary, raising it to fusion-ignition temperatures. This radiation-implosion principle made very large yields practical and is used in every operational H-bomb since Ivy Mike (1952).
Related terms
Hydrogen Bomb
A nuclear weapon that derives most of its energy from nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes, ignited by a fission primary stage.
Thermonuclear Weapon
Synonym for hydrogen bomb — a nuclear weapon whose primary energy comes from fusion reactions.
Nuclear Fusion
The combination of light atomic nuclei (typically deuterium and tritium) into heavier nuclei, releasing energy.