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Why does hydrogen, unlike a fission bomb, not explode spontaneously when it reaches its critical mass?

Answer :

Final answer:

Hydrogen does not spontaneously explode like a fission bomb because fusion requires extreme temperatures and pressures to overcome the repulsion between nuclei, conditions typically found in stars or initiated in hydrogen bombs using a fission bomb as a 'fuse'.

Explanation:

The reason why hydrogen does not explode spontaneously in its critical mass like a fission bomb is that fusion requires conditions of extreme temperature and pressure to overcome the repulsive forces between nuclei. For uranium and thorium, which undergo radioactive decay, these conditions are not required as the process occurs within already formed nuclei. In contrast, for fusion to occur in stars like our Sun, temperatures soar to approximately 15,000,000 °C and densities reach around 160 g/cm³, enabling nuclei to overcome their electrical repulsion and fuse. Even with a critical mass, a fission bomb, such as one based on uranium-235, will not spontaneously explode without initiating a chain reaction by bringing sub-critical masses together, or by compressing the mass using an implosion technique involving shaped explosives and a neutron source.

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Rewritten by : Brahmana