Wapsi Square Forum

Mark N wrote:

Warrl wrote: You sure? According to what I found, a modern fusion bomb converts about 45 grams of matter into a one-megaton explosion. So two grams of antimatter (plus a matching two grams of matter) should produce a bit under 100 kilotons.

Your theory is not accurate because the fusion reaction of a modern bomb does not utilize all of its mass into the explosion and therefor has a high amount of wasted reaction. An anti-matter reaction is a total conversion to energy and therefor no waste. So it would have a higher yield gram for gram than any known atomic weapon.

However, the point is that the fusion bomb DOES convert 45 grams of its mass into e=mc^2, which is eleven times as much as four grams of matter/anti-matter doing the same thing.

Mark N wrote:

Warrl wrote: You sure? According to what I found, a modern fusion bomb converts about 45 grams of matter into a one-megaton explosion. So two grams of antimatter (plus a matching two grams of matter) should produce a bit under 100 kilotons.

Your theory is not accurate because the fusion reaction of a modern bomb does not utilize all of its mass into the explosion and therefor has a high amount of wasted reaction. An anti-matter reaction is a total conversion to energy and therefor no waste. So it would have a higher yield gram for gram than any known atomic weapon.

I think Warrl's numbers are roughly correct.

According to Wikipedia articles, the 15-kiloton Fat Man fission at Hiroshima converted 600-800 milligrams of the bomb's mass into energy. The 50-megaton Tsar Bomba thermonuclear bomb converted about 2500 grams.

In both cases (as you correctly point out) the mass converted into energy is a small fraction of the total reaction mass (fission, fusion, or a combination of the two).

But, the explosive equivalent is roughly 20 kilotons per gram of matter (or antimatter) converted... and a matter/antimatter conversion would be a complete one. Get'cher gamma rays here, folks!

Dave wrote:

Mark N wrote:

Warrl wrote: You sure? According to what I found, a modern fusion bomb converts about 45 grams of matter into a one-megaton explosion. So two grams of antimatter (plus a matching two grams of matter) should produce a bit under 100 kilotons.

I have egg on my face here. I didn't look at your mass numbers closely enough.

Mark N wrote:

Warrl wrote: You sure? According to what I found, a modern fusion bomb converts about 45 grams of matter into a one-megaton explosion. So two grams of antimatter (plus a matching two grams of matter) should produce a bit under 100 kilotons.

Your theory is not accurate because the fusion reaction of a modern bomb does not utilize all of its mass into the explosion and therefor has a high amount of wasted reaction. An anti-matter reaction is a total conversion to energy and therefor no waste. So it would have a higher yield gram for gram than any known atomic weapon.

Actually, I was talking specifically about the amount of mass fully converted to energy. 45 grams per megaton.