thermonuclear bomb
1
6.9
- noun
- /ˌθɜrmoʊˈnjuːklɪr bɑm/
- Specialized
:
bomba termonuclear
- At the end of August 1946, Teller issued a report proposing a new thermonuclear bomb configuration, an alternative to the classical Super that he called the Alarm Clock.
OK, This on the cover here is a thermonuclear bomb called Ivy Mike.
- OK, This on the cover here is a thermonuclear bomb called Ivy Mike.
- Teller was the the the father of the thermonuclear bomb.
Examples
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Given its technological capability, only relatively primitive thermonuclear bombs could be developed without actual testing.
Academic text (2000) -
On 13 March 1948, an event took place that played an exceptional role in the subsequent course of the Soviet thermonuclear bomb program.
Academic text (1996) -
OK, This on the cover here is a thermonuclear bomb called Ivy Mike.
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According to this theory, the solar interior is a sort of controlled thermonuclear bomb on a giant scale.
Academic text (2001) -
Around the mid-1990s, Indian scientists made a breakthrough in thermonuclear bomb design.
Academic text (2000) -
U.S. ideas for a thermonuclear bomb (the "Super") originated with discussions between these two in late 1941.
Academic text (1996) -
It indicated that Teller intended to implement such a reaction to create a thermonuclear bomb that would carry his name.
Academic text (1996) -
A powerful conceptual impetus also came from another line of investigation: Ulam's discovery in January 1951 of a new approach to building a thermonuclear bomb.
Academic text (1996) -
During the 1980s, an inertial confinement fusion program was set up to study the high-density physics associated with the thermonuclear bomb.
Academic text (2000) -
The thermonuclear bomb is capable of producing an explosion much more powerful than that of a conventional nuclear weapon.
Synonyms
634
3.5
A very powerful bomb that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms
148
7.6
A very powerful bomb that uses nuclear energy
96
4.8
A thing that can kill or injure many people, like nuclear, chemical and biological devices
35
5.0
A part of a missile or bomb that contains a nuclear bomb
11
3.5
A very powerful explosive that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms to destroy things
8
4.9
A very powerful nuclear bomb that makes a huge explosion by joining hydrogen atoms
3
4.0
A very powerful nuclear weapon that explodes by joining hydrogen atoms
1
6.3
A weapon that makes a very large explosion by joining light atoms like hydrogen
1
6.0
A very powerful nuclear bomb equal to one million tons of TNT
1
7.4
A bomb put on a missile that uses nuclear energy to make a very large explosion
1
5.1
Part of a missile or bomb that explodes and has a nuclear weapon
1
7.5
A very powerful bomb that can destroy a whole city, often using nuclear energy
A bomb with the power of several million tons of TNT
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a bomb that uses nuclear reactions at extremely high temperatures' is directly and compositionally derived from 'thermonuclear' (pertaining to nuclear reactions at high temperatures) + 'bomb' (an explosive device). Although the concept is technical, the semantic combination is transparent and cross-linguistically predictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the overall meaning.
Etymology
Thermonuclear bomb is made of thermo, which means 'heat', and nuclear, which is about an atom's 'centre', so imagine a bomb that uses extreme heat to force tiny parts of atoms to join together. That joining gives off a huge amount of energy, so a thermonuclear bomb means a weapon far more powerful than a normal atomic bomb.