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ATOM IN MODERN SCIENCE
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FW Aston, British Nobel Prize winner and other scientists indicated the possibility more than 20 years ago We shall examine the solar process in brief a little later
Deuterium, popularly known as heavy hydrogen, is an isotope of hydrogen having double the weight of common hydrogen It was found to exist in nature constituting one five-thousandth part of the earth's waters Water containing two deuterium atoms in place of the two atoms of common hydrogen is called heavy water
The most startling fact discovered about deuterium was that it would become explosive at a temperature of the order of 50,000,000 degrees centigrade Explosive of an A-bomb would generate such high temperatures on earth and such an explosion would then act as a trigger for the hydrogen bombs
The basic difference between the fission bomb and the fusion bomb is the size The fact that as soon as a critical mass is assembled, the fissionable atomic fuel explodes puts a definite limit to the amount of material that can be used in an A-bomb But an H-bomb with a thousand times the power of the A-bomb can be built by incorporating deuterium in the A-bomb Since deuterium is not limited to critical mass a thousand times the amount of the U-235 can be incorporated in an A-bomb, where it would remain quiescent until the explosion of the A-bomb inggers the super explosion
Fission and fusion, however, are also common in everyday phenomenon that occur any time you burn anything Both are essential whenever energy is released, whether it is the chemical energy from coal or the atomic energy from nuclei of uranium or deuterium For example when you light a cigarette,
