Is the atomic bomb a nuclear bomb?

Answer:
Yes, both atomic and nuclear describe what mechanism causes an explosion. It is causes by atoms decaying, or the nucleus being split apart and releasing energy.




More exactly, a nuclear weapon is one which derives its power from energy released by breaking intra-nuclear bonds (i.e. the energy that holds neutrons and protons together inside an atom's nucleus). There are four types (currently) of nuclear weapons:

An atomic bomb is more properly called a fission weapon, in that it derives power from splitting a heavy element (usually U-238 or P-239) into smaller elements.

A thermonuclear bomb is one that relies on fusion, where lightweight elements (isotopes of Hydrogen) are pushed together. Currently, all such weapons require a small atomic bomb to act as the trigger for the fusion reaction, but the vast majority of their yield is from fusion.

A hybrid weapon, also called a fission-fusion-fission weapon, is a thermonuclear bomb wrapped in a uranium shell to boost the yield by using escaping neutrons from the fusion reaction to ignite the uranium shell's fission.

A boosted atomic weapon is a normal atomic bomb which has gaseous tritium (a hydrogen isotope) injected just prior to detonation. This gas undergoes fusion, increasing the yield of the weapon.
First answer by ID1245553102. Last edit by Trims. Contributor trust: 94 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].