A few points in response to Stephen D. Smith's reply to my msg.
I mentioned the energy conversion in a fission bomb to show where I was
getting my figures.
A matter/antimatter reaction is neither fission nor fusion.
I said 10 kg of tnt wouldn't bother the pirate much, not that it
wouldn't bother them at all.
And finally, no, even if it hit the fuel tank, it wouldn't cause the
hydrogen to undergo a fusion explosion. Both fission and fusion reactions
require *something* to hold the reaction together until it is mostly
completed. Otherwise the first bit to react will blow the reaction apart
(you can take enough plutonium to make a bomb and place the pieces
together. Instead of a 20 kiloton explosion, you get the equivalent of
a blasting cap, and that scatters the pieces and stops the reaction.)
A fusion reaction requires that the hydrogen meet certain conditions of
temperature *and* pressure and that those conditions be maintained for
a period of time. (the temp and pressure conditions are such that you
can trade pressure for temperature). The bit of hydrogen near your
blast might have reached a hugh enough temperature. It's doubtful that
it reached a high enough pressure, and virtually certain that it didn't
do so for enough time!
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