technology

oh good, between this and hypersonic suborbital kinetic bombardment, we're really starting to see some of the weapons ww3 will be fought with! what fun!

The hydrogen bomb can cause extended thermal damage because the white-hot fireball it produces – sufficient to melt aluminium alloys – lasts much longer than TNT’s fleeting 0.12-second flash, according to the paper.

the device uses a magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage material. This material – a silvery powder known as magnesium hydride – stores considerably more hydrogen than a pressurised tank. It was originally developed to bring the gas to off-grid areas, where it could power fuel cells for clean electricity and heat.

The chain reaction begins when detonation shock waves fracture magnesium hydride into micron-scale particles, exposing fresh surfaces, according to the study. Thermal decomposition rapidly releases hydrogen gas, which mixes with ambient air. Upon reaching the lower explosive limit, the mixture ignites, triggering exothermic combustion. This liberated heat further propagates magnesium hydride decomposition, creating a self-sustaining loop until fuel exhaustion – a synergistic cascading of mechanical fracturing, hydrogen release, and thermal feedback, according to the paper.

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck