Radiation implosion: Difference between revisions

The term "radiation implosion" suggests that the secondary is crushed by [[radiation pressure]], and calculations show that while this pressure is very large, the pressure of vaporizedthe materials causedvaporized by itthe radiation is much larger. The outer layers of the secondary become so hot that they [[vaporize]] and fly off the surface at high speeds. The recoil from this surface layer ejection produces pressures which are an order of magnitude stronger than the simple radiation pressure. The so-called radiation implosion in thermonuclear weapons is therefore thought to be a radiation-powered [[ablation]]-drive implosion.