Question

Hydrogen bomb is based on the principle of:
[A] Nuclear fission
[B] Natural radioactivity
[C] Nuclear fusion
[D] Artificial radioactivity

Answer 1

Generally explosive are based on fusion as well as fission. Fission helps as the primary ignition of the explosive. However, hydrogen bombs are based on the principle which is also known as a thermonuclear reaction.

Complete step by step solution:
Generally, nowadays modern weapons consist essentially of two main components: a nuclear fission primary stage which is fueled by uranium 235 or plutonium-239 and a separate nuclear fusion secondary stage containing thermonuclear fuel: the heavy hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium, or in modern weapons lithium deuteride.
Now, let us discuss hydrogen bombs.
A hydrogen bomb is based on the principle of thermonuclear reaction. It is the other name for a nuclear fusion reaction.
Firstly let us discuss nuclear fusion reaction and then understand it on the basis of the hydrogen bomb.
The reaction in which a lighter nuclei combines together to form a single heavy and more stable nuclei with the liberation of a large amount of energy is known as a nuclear fusion reaction.
In hydrogen bombs, the reaction is a self-sustaining process.
The pressure is kept very high for frequent collisions between the nuclei. The colliding nuclei of the hydrogen atoms possess enough kinetic energy to overcome the initial repulsion between the positively charged poles and this is achieved by raising the temperature of the system to a very high value. Once started, the energy released during the fusion reaction maintains the temperature and the reaction is self-sustained.
In a hydrogen bomb, two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium (1 proton, 1 neutron) and tritium (1 proton, 2 neutrons) are fused to form a nucleus of helium and a neutron.
${}_{1}^{2}H+{}_{1}^{3}H\to {}_{2}^{4}He+{}_{0}^{1}n+\sim 17.6MeV$
Here, around 17.6 mega electron-volt energy is released which is enough for the reaction to self-sustain.
We can understand from the above reaction that the hydrogen bomb is based on the principle of nuclear fusion.

Therefore, the correct answer is option [C] nuclear fusion.

Note: The production of heat in the sun is also due to nuclear fusion which goes on continuously inside it. The sun contains a tremendous number of protons. The liberated energy in fusion produces extremely high temperature and that energy is supplied in the form of heat and light.
$4{}_{1}^{1}H\to {}_{2}^{4}He+2{}_{+1}^{0}e+\sim 26MeV$