> Actually hydrogen bombs don't use conventional explosives. They use fission. Sort of, but because the fission trigger requires conventional explosives, one c

> Actually hydrogen bombs don't use conventional explosives. They use fission. Sort of, but because the fission trigger requires conventional explosives, one could argue that conventional explosives play a key role. In temporal sequence: 1. Conventional explosives compress the fission core. 2. At maximum compression, a special neutron source releases a burst of neutrons to start nuclear fission. 3. The fission trigger delivers a huge pulse of energy to the mixed hydrogen isotope / fission secondary, compressing and heating it. 4. The secondary begins to fuse, releasing much more energy than the fission trigger could produce on its own. The above is somewhat oversimplified: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon It's our weak imitation of a star.