The first hydrogen bomb was exploded on November 1, 1952 in the Pacific Ocean by the United States. The explosion wiped away Elugelab Island,leaving in its place a one mile wide crater. The second hydrogen bomb was later exploded in 1953 by the USSR.

A hydrogen bomb is a weapon that gets its energy from a nuclear reaction.  Inside the bomb, the explosion of a nuclear fission charge produces great temperature and density that makes fusion reaction to occur. This is immediately followed by a sudden release of power that makes a larger explosion. A single explosion is capable of destroying an entire city. The H-bomb is one thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb. Great Britain, France, and China also have the ability to make this type of weapon and say that they have some.

Edward Teller was the inventor of the H-bomb. He was known as arrogant, ambitious and argumentative. Teller was a Hungarian Jewish refugee who changed the world. Historian Robert S. Norris with the Natural Resources Defense Council said Teller was perhaps one of the most influential scientists in the 20th century. He was at many places at just the right time to cause events by being involved in the Manhattan Project, the H-bomb, and influenced the testing debate. Later in his career, he was involved with missiles.

The United States used this type of weapon in war against the Japanese. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated with this type of bomb during World War II.