What are Some Different Types of Nuclear Weapons?
There are two main categories of nuclear weapons, classified by their mechanism of operation: fission bombs, which break apart heavy atomic nuclei to release energy, and fusion bombs, which fuse light nuclei. Fusion bombs tend to be much more powerful. Within these nuclear weapon categories, there are slight variants: for example, cobalt bombs are surrounded by a layer of cobalt that causes much more intense radioactive fallout, and fission-boosted weapons are nuclear weapons that, despite being based on fission, exploit fusion reactions to boost their yield. Neutron bombs, or enhanced radiation weapons, are fusion weapons designed to emit intense neutron radiation, killing all life within a certain area but leaving buildings unharmed. Most nuclear weapon variants are designed for the purpose of having a spectrum of available yields and sizes for different applications. The most fearsome nuclear weapon of all time was the Tsar Bomba, a Soviet fusion bomb with the explosive force of 50
