Chapter 504
Most of the time, inventions and creations are not accompanied by excited cheers or flashes of inspiration. Especially after the twentieth century, as engineering technology becomes more and more complex, inventions and creations begin earlier. It became a team work, full of twists and turns and sweat.
As a scientist, Yuan Jialiu naturally has a deep understanding of this. Like many experts on atomic projects, he spends half of his time in Atomic City and half of his time in Chang'an University every month.
As usual, after finishing his lectures at Chang'an University, Yuan Jialiu left the school by car. Dozens of minutes later, the car drove into a nearby military airport, and then Yuan Jialiu got on a plane. I have been waiting for the DC4 aircraft for a long time.
After he boarded the plane, the plane took off soon, and Yuan Jialiu was obviously the last passenger on the plane.
Although there were several other passengers sitting in the cabin, they did not speak to each other. According to confidentiality regulations, even people who also work in Atomic City are prohibited from communicating in non-work situations.
Like everyone else, after getting on the plane, Yuan Jialiu took out a magazine. On the cover of the magazine was a mushroom cloud - this was a photo of the Soviet Union's atomic bomb test.
The seemingly ordinary photo made Yuan Jialiu feel unprecedented pressure. After all, this is the second country to possess an atomic bomb!
......
More than an hour later, the DC4 plane landed at the airport deep in the rainforest. The pilot of the plane parked the plane at the end of the runway. When the plane's engine stopped rotating , the cabin door opens.
After getting off the plane, Yuan Jialiu just walked onto the concrete floor of the airport. A man ran towards him and they talked softly.
"So the test time has been determined?".
"Yes, Professor, according to Professor Hertz's plan, the first test will be conducted in three days. Professor, you came back just in time. They are still discussing the finalization."
Nod slightly. , Yuan Jialiu said.
“The principle has basically taken shape, what else is there to discuss? Just make steady progress.”
Despite what he said, Yuan Jialiu still took the bus to the research center.
A few hours later, in the conference room of the Atomic City Research Center, the heads of nineteen project teams gathered together. They had different expressions. Many of them were smoking there. The conference room was full of people. Smoke billows.
"After calculation, in our design, the core material is plutonium 239, the reflective layer is beryllium 9, and the core is composed of several layers of spherical metal shells. The center is a neutron source, that is Beryllium projectile; the second part is filled with honeycomb paper structure, the third part is plutonium-239 fuel spherical layer fragments, and then the beryllium layer is arranged close to the surface of plutonium-239; then the fourth part is exploded The explosive detonation driving mechanism is the explosive lens; the fifth part of the outermost layer is composed of beryllium..."
With the explanation of the test personnel in the conference room, one by one the drawings were opened, as the project The person in charge, Gustav Hertz, held a pipe in his hand and smoked from time to time. Four months ago, they finally completed the blueprint design of the atomic bomb. This was an extremely critical step. But turning drawings into products requires experimentation.
“The driving device is also called the explosive lens. To achieve good detonation compression effect, we must carefully calculate each process and parameter... We can make the reflective layer into a cone and arrange it evenly on the spherical surface. , in explosives, the detonation wave is dispersed by the electronic detonator... In order to convert the spherical wave into the plane wave we need and project it evenly onto the surface of the main explosive, we can imitate the optical The principle of refraction uses two types of explosives with high and low explosion velocities to form an explosive lens, that is, a plane wave generator... The interface between the two is processed into a smooth hyperboloid with a cone apex angle of 53°. In order to maintain symmetry on the sphere, we combine 32 polygons The explosive lens is symmetrically installed on the surface of the main explosive...and this is also the focus of this test - to conduct detonation tests and further improve the current design through detonation. ”
When the commentator finished speaking, Hertz took a puff of his cigarette and turned his attention to Yuan Jialiu. Seeing that he was also smoking, the two looked at each other silently without speaking.
This detonation test seems to be just a detonation test, but there are many problems to be overcome in reality. For example, the detonation wave generated by the explosive must be accurately designed to ensure detonation, which requires the use of high-energy solid explosives. Processed into original explosive components of various shapes. These explosives are not plasticine. They must be processed very accurately, and they are also very dangerous: the outer surface of the explosive directly determines the shape of the detonation wave. For example, some explosives need to be poured, some need to be pressed with a hydraulic press, and some need Carved by human hands...
After solving the explosive components, the next problem is the detonation signal: how to make all the explosive components detonate at the same time. This requires inserting more than 200 detonators on the missile body, and each detonator is connected to a signal wire. As the last key link in the detonation of an atomic bomb, the position of the detonator, the length of the wire, and the frequency of the signal pulse all have to undergo repeated demonstrations and tests.
In the past few months, dozens of project teams in Atomic City have been conducting research in this area. Now it is time to test the entire atomic bomb through detonation tests. After the meeting was over, Hertz deliberately stayed with Yuan Jialiu and asked.
"How is the situation at Factory 94?"
Factory 94 is not in Atomic City. This is to ensure the safety of Atomic City. After all, it was a factory that produced extracted plutonium.
“The first fuel rod was loaded three days ago, and the factory will soon produce the first batch of plutonium. The only problem is that the output is limited. With the current charge, the fastest We won't be able to get enough loading until the end of next year."
Yuan Jialiu took a puff of cigarette in frustration and said.
“Last month, the Russians tested their atomic bomb, and there’s no telling how many countries will have it next.”
"Yes, Britain, France, and possibly other countries all have their own atomic bomb plans. In the next ten years, the atomic bomb is likely to become a very common weapon. If a country cannot possess it, then all The threats we face will be far greater than any era in history."
Hertz said after taking a puff of cigarette.
"After all, the atomic bomb can destroy everything."
His words made Yuan Jialiu frown even more tightly. After thinking about it, he said.
“What if the design of the bullet core is further optimized?”
"What?"
"Can the use of plutonium be reduced by further optimizing the design?"
After proposing this idea, Yuan Jialiu recalled the confirmed plutonium core design in his mind. Dozens of hexagonal pieces of plutonium made of plutonium-239 with an abundance of more than 90% are arranged in a pattern similar to the outer skin of a football. After the lens is detonated, the multiple pieces of fuel are compressed into a critical state and simultaneously squeeze the central projectile, releasing a large amount of free energy. neutron!
"Theoretically, the critical value of weapons-grade plutonium-239 is 16.45 kilograms. In practice, using neutron reflectors and implosion compression, the plutonium required is significantly less than this number, and the current design uses 6.2 kilograms of plutonium. If the core design is further improved, I think it should be controlled to about 4 kilograms. In this way, we can obtain enough plutonium in advance. "
Yuan Jialiu's suggestion put Hertz into trouble. In deep thought, after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said.
"Yuan, the plutonium bomb must use a complex implosion design. Our design is still theoretical at present. For now, I think we should adopt a conservative plan first, conduct a test, and then based on the test data obtained, The bullet core needs to be further optimized, what do you think?”
There is no doubt that Hertz’s suggestion is extremely sound, and re-inventing the design means that a lot of work has to be started from scratch. The final plan still chooses the old plan. After all, the origin of the old plan can be traced back to "Manhattan" Plan", the probability of success is very high.
A few days later, according to the plan, the first unloaded detonation test was carried out at the test site of Atomic City. In the following days, many more detonation experiments were carried out to basically understand Detailed parameters of the explosive components of the implosion nuclear bomb.
At the same time, the plutonium production at Element 94 Factory is also progressing in an orderly manner. As the new year is approaching, Nanyang's atomic bomb plan has finally made substantial progress...< br>
(End of this chapter)