Metallic hydrogen and atomic weapons?

>>8634269
Why? don't conventional weapons work just fine as a trigger?

>>8634335
We want bigger bombs.

>>8634269
Can it even exist without constant pressure?
I think you need to ask what substance can it be bonded with, that can withstand that pressure and is stable at earths atmospheric pressure?

>>8634269

You'd need to look up its density and potential energy to determine its power or ability to actually be used as fissile material.

If it's comparable to fissile material, it'd provide another source of fuel for the bomb. Which might be interesting if it's easier to make than uranium/plutonium.

>>8634355
it doesn't need pressure to sustain once it's achieved it's metallic state, its glued together like other metals

>>8634346
Yes, but the conventional trigger for the nuclear fission isn't a part of it being bigger. Or do you mean using as fissile material?

>>8634400
Can be used as fissile material, in the sense that would out perform current fissile materials?

>>8634360
No one actually knows if this is true or not.

Metallic hydrogen may be "metastable". Which means it would remain metallic until something sets it off to explosively expand into gaseous hydrogen.

For instance, the helium dimer (two helium atoms bonded together) is metastable, and theoretically an ideal rocket propellant. However, it doesn't work because the bond is too fragile. Collecting and handling a large sample is infeasible.

"Metastable" can mean "very (though not perfectly) stable" or "very unstable".

>>8634406
Hydrogen can't be fissile, no matter what form it's in. Fissile means it can sustain a fission chain reaction. Hydrogen is fusion fuel.

It might help make pure fusion bombs, by starting with a higher density of fusion fuel and also making the fuel a powerful explosive, but it's not likely. And it won't increase the maximum power of a bomb, since bombs could be scaled up without limit since the 1950s. It could make small bombs smaller for the same power, but again, it's unlikely to work.