Chapter 641: Speed up, atomic bomb (third update, please subscribe)
Good morning, Changan.
This is the call sign of Chang'an Radio Station.
Every morning, countless people listen to the announcer's good morning greetings from the radio and start their day's life and work.
Although these words on the telegram seem a bit nonsensical.
But it made Li Yian unable to calm down for a while. He even gave direct instructions to his entourage as soon as he received the telegram.
"Notify the airport to prepare for the flight."
When he said this, he even walked back and forth in the room excitedly. Even the mood to spend time with my family is gone.
This telegram may seem nonsensical, but these words have a very special meaning. Only a few people in Nanyang understand its meaning.
"Good Morning Plan" is the code name of Nanyang's atomic bomb program.
Only when you have an atomic bomb in your hand can you sleep soundly and be qualified to say "good morning". This is also the origin of the name "Good Morning Plan".
As one of the few people who knows the "Good Morning Plan", Li Yian naturally understands the meaning of "Good morning, Chang'an".
According to the progress plan of the "Good Morning Plan", this is the code name for the countdown phase of the entire plan.
Sending this telegram is to ask for instructions on whether to carry out the last preparation for the atomic bomb - processing and manufacturing the core with a diameter of only tens of millimeters.
Once this step is completed, the next step is "Good Morning, Dongning" - the atomic bomb will be transported to Dongning Special Zone by warship, and then the final step of the plan will be implemented, which is "Operation Good Night" - —Carry out atomic bomb experiments on the island.
After Nanyang obtained the trusteeship rights for the sulfur sphere and the Caroline Trust, just as the United States chose Bikini Atoll as its nuclear testing site, Nanyang also chose the Pacific for its nuclear weapons testing site. In fact, this is also the final choice of Britain and France.
For this reason, the telegram "Good morning, Chang'an" is actually the penultimate step of the entire atomic bomb plan.
So after receiving the telegram "Good morning, Chang'an", Li Yian even subconsciously wondered whether there might be a mistake.
After all, according to the plan, Nanyang will be able to build its own atomic bomb in the second half of next year or the beginning of the next year.
And now...it is only July of the 1950s - more than a year earlier, which is incredible.
Therefore, Li Yian had the idea of going to Atomic City, but in fact, he did not need to go to Atomic City in person. He did not even wait for the airport to prepare the plane. An Air Force "Viscount" passenger plane landed at Yong'an Airport. Immediately, Gustav and Yuan Jialiu took a car to the hotel where Li Yian was staying. In the hotel's seaside villa, they saw Li Yian who had been waiting for a long time.
As soon as he saw them, Li Yian asked anxiously.
“How come the plan is so far ahead of schedule? Have we obtained more No. 94?”
“No. 94” is synonymous with “Plutonium 239”, because the first one in Nanyang For the atomic bomb, plutonium-239 has been selected as the core.
In fact, this is also the first choice for countries such as the United Kingdom. After all, compared to uranium-235 that requires a lot of electricity to extract, making plutonium-239 not only does not require that much electricity, but can even generate electricity.
Looking at His Excellency who was impatient, Gustav explained.
"Your Excellency, we have not obtained more element 94. Of course, it is not correct to say that. According to our initial calculations, we can obtain 5-7 kilograms of plutonium per year, but after it is actually put into production , we can obtain 7-9 kilograms of plutonium every year. So far, we have obtained a total of 4.327 kilograms of plutonium.”
In fact, with the improvement of production technology and technology, Factory No. 94 can now obtain 4.327 kilograms of plutonium every year. 10-15 kilograms of plutonium. When the new graphite gas-cooled reactor is put into production in the future, plutonium production will increase exponentially while obtaining electricity.
However, in the future, the core charge will still turn to uranium, but this is based on a real breakthrough in uranium separator technology.
Li Yian asked.
"If I remember correctly, your previous report mentioned that 6.5 kilograms are needed, right?"
Gustave replied.
“Yes, this is calculated based on the "Fat Man" dropped by the United States on Nagasaki. Its plutonium core was 6.5 kilograms of plutonium, but only 1.1 kilograms were actually used."
< br>After a little calculation in his mind, Li Yian came to a conclusion.
“In other words, in a few months, we will be able to obtain enough plutonium to make bullet cores.”
Isn’t this happiness in vain? But surely the reason why they came here wasn't because they still had to wait a few months? "Your Excellency, due to the special shape of the bullet core, part of it needs to be cut away. According to calculations, it will take about 10 kilograms. This is why we previously expected that it would take until next year to complete the manufacturing of the bullet core."
When Hertz finished speaking, Yuan Jialiu explained.
“However, that was before that, and the current situation has changed.”
Yuan Jialiu deliberately gave up and paused for a moment, until Li Yian set his sights on After he got on his body, he said slowly.
"By further improving the overall design of the atomic bomb, we can use less plutonium to achieve the fission reaction,"
"Less plutonium?"
Li Yi'an raised his eyebrows in surprise. There was unconcealable joy on his face.
“Yes, only 4.5 kilograms are needed!”
Yuan Jialiu took a deep breath and added.
"If we start manufacturing the core from now, we will be able to obtain the first core in four months, and it is expected that we can conduct atomic bomb experiments before the end of the year."
Before the end of the year!
The sudden surprise made Li Yian not even know what to say for a while. After all, the news came so suddenly that it even caught people off guard.
“This is good news,”
After a long time, Li Yian said.
"Are you sure?"
"We have used an electronic computer to conduct repeated verifications, and the results are correct. There are no problems at all."
After answering, Gustav added road.
“Of course, any science has certain risks, and this matter is no exception.”
Yuan Jialiu added on the side.
“If we consider it from a risk perspective, we can continue to use the old design, which may be more secure, but in the end, based on technical considerations, such as miniaturization, we still cannot bypass the new design, which also means Now, this test is an expensive detonation test.”
The “detonation test” he refers to is a live ammunition test that does not include the core. Such experiments have been conducted hundreds of times. , it was through those experiments that they collected a large amount of data and continuously improved the overall design of the atomic bomb, allowing them to use less plutonium-239 to achieve fission reactions.
Of course this is also directly related to the application of electronic computers - a large amount of data is calculated in a short period of time. Allow them to continuously improve the basic design.
“So, after discussion, the committee agreed that this attempt is very worth a try. Of course, if it fails, it means that all the work will have to start from scratch, and the next trial will have to wait until 12 months later. . ”
This is the risk of this matter, and that is why they are here. After all, the risk of adopting a new design is very high. If it fails, there is no chance. All previous efforts have been in vain, but it will definitely cause a series of disturbances.
Listening to Yuan Jialiu's explanation, Li Yian fell into deep thought. He stood up silently and paced back and forth in the room. Then he stood by the window again and looked out the window. Outside the window was the blue sea, blue sky, beach and coconut grove. The sea breeze is gentle.
Looking at the beautiful scenery outside the window, thinking for a while, Li Yian nodded and said.
"Since the committee thinks it is worth a try, of course I support the committee's opinion. But..."
After a slight pause, Li Yi'an added.
“The committee member just provided a plan, and the final decision is made by me!”
What seems like a simple supplement is actually telling Gustave and Yuan Jialiu that they can just experiment. Even if it fails, the responsibility is his personal responsibility and has nothing to do with them.
“Well, since there are new technical paths, it is appropriate to adopt new technologies. Of course, new technologies will inevitably have certain risks. You don’t need to consider this issue. It’s science, and there are certain risks. It is inevitable, this is an issue that cannot be avoided in any scientific research."
Looking at the two of them, Li Yian thought for a moment and said.
"...Okay, now that the plan has been come out, let's do it!"
(End of this chapter)