Nuclear fusion is the force that powers the Sun, the stars, and hydrogen bombs, merging the nuclei of atoms and not splitting them apart, as in nuclear reactors.
(A) merging the nuclei of atoms and not splitting them apart, as in nuclear reactors
(B) merging the nuclei of atoms instead of splitting them apart, like nuclear reactors
(C) merging the nuclei of atoms rather than splitting them apart, as nuclear reactors do
(D) and merges the nuclei of atoms but does not split them apart, as is done in nuclear reactors
(E) and merges the nuclei of atoms, unlike atomic reactors that split them apart

In the Q above I chose (E) , obviously wrong as it changed "nuclear reactors" to "atomic reactors".
However my doubt is , how come, "merging the nuclei of atoms rather than splitting them apart" do not modify "hydrogen bombs" which is a noun closest to it.

thanks,