Fusion Reaction D+T

The most likely of the hydrogen fusion reactions is the fusion of deuterium and tritium. The reaction yields 17.6 MeV of energy. For this reaction is needed a temperature of approximately 40 million Kelvins to overcome the electric forces which push away these atoms. The deuterium is abundant. Tritium is derived from lithium. The Sun is a main-sequence star and thus generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. In its core, the Sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen each second. We use the energy from a nuclear fission reaction as a starter of nuclear fusion reaction in a thermonuclear weapon. The result is greatly increased explosive power when compared to single-stage fission weapons. It is colloquially referred to as a hydrogen bomb or H-bomb because it employs a fusion of isotopes of hydrogen.