China Tests Novel Non-Nuclear Hydrogen Bomb - Generates Intense Fireball

"Easily achieving uniform destruction of targets across vast areas"

By Tyler Durden: Chinese scientists successfully detonated a powerful and innovative non-nuclear hydrogen-based bomb that produced an enduring, intensely-hot fireball, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday, citing a research paper describing the experiment. 

The new technology centers on the use of magnesium hydride (MgH2), a white or silvery crystalline powder that's capable of storing an outsize amount of hydrogen. The material and its extraordinary solid-state storage potential originally piqued scientists' interest for a peaceful purpose: transporting hydrogen to off-grid locations for use generating clean energy and heat by way of fuel cells. Magnesium hydride's storage capacity is far superior to pressurized tanks, SCMP explains. The material is also of interest to scientists in the field of spacecraft propulsion.

Naturally, scientists recognized that densely-packed hydrogen offers extraordinary explosive potential, and set out to build explosive devices to measure the destructive force. China's pioneering evaluation started small, with a test bomb weighing just 4.4 pounds (2kg). The resulting fireball impressed researchers, producing heat exceeding 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 Celsius). More importantly, the fireball lasted more than two seconds, which is 15 times longer than a comparably-scaled TNT explosion. No nuclear materials were involved.  

A Chinese magnesium hydride test-bomb awaits detonation (705 Research Institute via South China Morning Post)

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