superbombs
Extremely powerful explosives
Superbombs are nuclear weapons of exceptional destructive power, particularly hydrogen bombs or thermonuclear devices.
The term emerged in the atomic age to distinguish these weapons from earlier atomic bombs: The superbomb could devastate an entire metropolitan area.
The word carries Cold War associations of existential threat and arms race escalation.
Element ninety-two
- plutoniumActinide, atomic number 94
- fissionNuclear breakup releasing energy
- fusionJoining into unity
- thermonuclearInvolving nuclear fusion heat
hydrogen · megaton · yield · enrichment · radioactivity · fallout · isotopes · neutrons
Severe widespread destruction
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- decimationNear-total destruction
- eradicationTotal elimination of something
vaporization · crater · rubble · ruins · debris · aftermath · desolation · shockwave
Prevention via threatened consequences
- retaliationPunitive response to injury
- proliferationRapid increase in quantity
- stockpileAccumulated reserve supply
- arsenalStockpile of munitions
strategic · tactical · ICBM · bunker · silo · disarmament · treaty · non-proliferation
uranium
Element ninety-two
thermonuclear · hydrogen · megaton · yield · enrichment · radioactivity · fallout · isotopes · neutrons · half-life
devastation
Severe widespread destruction
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- decimationNear-total destruction
eradication · vaporization · crater · rubble · ruins · debris · aftermath · desolation · shockwave · overpressure
deterrence
Prevention via threatened consequences
- retaliationPunitive response to injury
- proliferationRapid increase in quantity
- stockpileAccumulated reserve supply
arsenal · strategic · tactical · ICBM · bunker · silo · disarmament · treaty · non-proliferation · payload
warhead
Munition's explosive section
- missileSelf-guided airborne weapon
- deviceConstructed tool or machine
- ordnanceMilitary weapons collectively
munition · detonator · implosion · airburst · groundburst · kiloton · explosive · payload · delivery · guidance
superbombsconventional weapons
Non-WMD military equipment
small arms · grenades · handguns · rifles · pistols
superbombsclubs
Heavy striking sticks
stones · spears · bows and arrows · slingshots · rocks
superbombsconventional weapons
Non-WMD military equipment
small arms · firecrackers · hand grenades · bullets · tactical weapons