Nuclear weapons (idea)

Nuclear weapons (or devices, if they have not been weaponized) can be divided into three currently-existant categories, or generations. They are differentiated by the type of reaction(s) used in the atomic detonation, a difference that is generally correlated to the age of their design. There are, at present, the following nuclear weapon categories available.

• First Generation: Strict fission weapons. Example: Fat Man and Little Boy. Despite using different fissile materials, these weapons were based on the same general principle, that of the atomic fission detonation.
• Second Generation: These include later refinements of the strict fission weapons, and are typically considered to contain boosted fission weapons (or fission-fusion weapons) and staged thermonuclear weapons (hydrogen bombs).
• Third Generation: Devices in this category are 'specialized' devices tailored to emphasize a particular effect. Examples include enhanced radiation weapons, popularly known as neutron bombs for their preferred effect, and X-Ray devices which amplify that range of their radiative output. These weapons are generally not used or maintained in modern militaries; they were made for fairly specific purposes or just to see if they could be, and have mostly been decommissioned.

For more information on these devices, see the following nodes: fission weapon, boosted fission weapon or hydrogen bomb.