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Wednesday’s announcement from North Korea that it carried out a nuclear test brings to light the question: What’s the difference between a hydrogen bomb and an atomic bomb?
North Korea claimed it tested "the H-bomb," which experts say can be at least 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb, according to The Associated Press.
Atomic bombs rely on fission, or atom-splitting. That's the same way nuclear power plants operate, The AP reports.
The hydrogen bomb uses fusion, the coming together of nuclei, to produce explosive energy, according to The AP.
One other difference, a hydrogen bomb is more sophisticated than an atomic bomb and can be made small enough to fit on a head of an intercontinental missile, The AP reported.
"That the bomb can become compact is the characteristic, and so this means North Korea has the U.S. in mind in making this H-bomb announcement," Tatsujiro Suzuki, professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, told The AP.
The H-bomb needs additional technology for control and accuracy. That's due to the greater amount of energy involved, Suzuki told The AP.
The A-bomb and H-bomb both use radioactive material like uranium and plutonium, The AP reports.
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