There are two primary methods of producing nuclear energy. The first is fission, which occurs when the heavy nucleus of a radioactive element like uranium or plutonium splits in two and the second is fusion, in which light nuclei are joined together as occurs in the Sun....
Approximately 85 percent of the energy of a nuclear weapon (click here) produces air blast, shock waves and thermal energy. The remaining 15 percent of the energy is released as various type of nuclear radiation.
The thermal energy is usually around 35% of the total energy released. A 100 kt nuclear explosion releases 116,222 MWh of energy of this 40,678 MWh is released as heat. That’s enough heat to melt 136,000 tons of steel.
...The "yield" of a nuclear weapon (click here) is a measure of the amount of explosive energy it can produce. The yield is given in terms of the quantity of TNT that would generate the same amount of energy when it explodes. Thus, a 1 kiloton nuclear weapon is one which produces the same amount of energy in an explosion as does 1 kiloton (1,000 tons) of TNT. Similarly, a 1 megaton weapon would have the energy equivalent of 1 million tons of TNT. One megaton is equivalent to 4.18 x 1015 joules....