Final answer:
A thermobaric bomb is filled with a thermobaric explosive, which is vastly different from nuclear bombs that function through fission or fusion reactions. It operates by dispersing and igniting a fuel-air mixture, creating a high-temperature, prolonged blast wave that leads to extensive destruction, especially in confined spaces.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Thermobaric Explosives
The question refers to a type of explosive device known as a thermobaric bomb, which utilizes a specific type of explosive mixture designed to produce a high-temperature explosion. Unlike the nuclear fission bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which relied on conventional explosives to create critical mass for a nuclear explosion and involved fissile materials like U-235 and plutonium, a thermobaric bomb is not nuclear. Instead, it generates a prolonged and high-temperature explosive reaction that can significantly increase the destruction over a wide area due to the prolonged overpressure effect.
Thermobaric weapons work by dispersing a cloud of highly reactive fuel which, upon ignition, creates a blast wave of significantly longer duration compared to conventional explosives. This intense pressure wave and subsequent vacuum can result in extensive damage, particularly in enclosed spaces. While the historical context provided by the references mentions nuclear explosions and critical mass, which are critical concepts in the design of nuclear weapons like implosion bombs, these are separate from thermobaric explosives.
A modern thermobaric bomb may contain a mixture of fuel and oxidizers and does not require the complex implosion mechanism needed for assembling a critical mass, as in the case of nuclear bombs. The mechanism of a thermobaric explosive is purely chemical, involving the rapid creation and ignition of a fuel-air mixture, leading to a massive, high-temperature explosion. Therefore, the bomb filled with a thermobaric explosive would be thermobaric, and not one with a nuclear fission or fusion basis.