afterglow

Chapter 680 A big step for human civilization; tons!

"It's done!!!"

"Long live! Long live!"

After a brief silence, warm cheers broke out in the observation post.

Some people even collapsed in excitement, covering their chests with their hands, staring blankly.

After nearly a thousand days and nights of hard work, starting today, mankind has finally mastered the ability to utilize the microscopic energy of nature.

Although the method is still primitive and uncontrollable.

Amid the celebrations, Zhu Lingjing's plain voice stood out.

"Wait a little longer to confirm whether it is a nuclear reaction explosion."

The atmosphere at the scene fell silent, and everyone once again looked at the mushroom cloud rising and expanding in the distance.

The atomic flash that overwhelmed all the light in the world was dazzling and easy to distinguish. Zhou Changfeng determined at a glance that it was a genuine nuclear explosion.

The pin-drop silence lasted for nearly a minute. He was the first to speak: "Regular explosions don't have such extreme flashes, and the smoke will dissipate quickly."

A lieutenant colonel of engineers immediately agreed, and then several explosives experts also determined that this was no ordinary explosion.

Zhu Lingjing's brows revealed relief and joy. She turned to look at Fa Cailiang and promised, "You have worked hard in presiding over this matter over the past few years. You should be promoted."

Then, she looked around at everyone present and said with a smile, "You have all worked hard, so why not celebrate today?"

The enthusiastic sounds of cheering and applause once again filled the observation post.

Zhou Changfeng walked out quietly, staring at the mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke that was gradually turning white with complicated eyes.

He whispered to himself, "I wonder how many tens of thousands of tons of equivalent..."

The scene outside was completely different from that inside - the researchers were personally involved in the research and development work and knew roughly that an unprecedented explosion would occur, but other people in the base did not know.

The horrific scene was beyond imagination, and the nearby soldiers did not cheer.

They took off their welding goggles and looked in that direction, shocked and speechless. Only a few people were talking.

Today is the first day of March 1943, and the test explosion process was successfully completed.

Several small black dots appeared in the northwest sky. They were bombers flying from a nearby airport.

The Yuan-type medium bomber equipped with air and dust sampling equipment flew steadily and headed straight for the huge mushroom cloud without hesitation.

One of the three planes stayed on standby at a distance, while the other two planes conducted cloud penetration sampling at altitudes of 3,000 meters and 6,000 meters respectively.

After the plane came in, everything around was white and visibility was extremely low, so it could only fly with the help of instruments.

After flying out of the mushroom cloud, the two bombers turned back and forth, conducting a total of three cloud-penetrating sampling missions.

After returning, there were several trucks parked at the end of the runway and dozens of chemical defense soldiers standing by.

After getting off the plane, the crew members were immediately sprayed and disinfected, and then took off the chemical protective suits worn over their flight suits.

They were taken to a nearby shed and showered to clean any remaining radioactive dust from their bodies and hair.

The two Yuan-type bombers that were used to collect samples through the clouds were both severely contaminated and had extremely strong radioactive contamination.

Several chemical defense soldiers took out a Geiger counter to measure, but before they got close, a crackling sound was heard and the instrument needle suddenly reached the full mark.

"What's the reading?" asked the captain.

"Report, it's maximum, maximum, over the range." The corporal turned his head and answered.

The pointer has already shown the maximum number of 200, and its upper limit of measurement is 200 roentgens per hour - people think this is more than enough, after all, an X-ray only measures 0.2 to 0.5 roentgens.

Obviously this was a conservative estimate, and people still underestimated the severity of the radioactive dust cloud.

Work following the test explosion was also carried out simultaneously in other places.

A large number of chemical defense soldiers rushed into the test area in vehicles, measured the radiation intensity at different locations, took photos of the test items placed in advance, and then loaded them into the vehicles and took them back.

Listen to the frog sounds?
Listen to the Geiger counter beeping!
Such a sound was creepy, and Zhou Changfeng only felt awe and fear from the bottom of his heart.

He decisively ordered: "No, the shift time must be reduced. This is much higher than expected (radiation) intensity. The dose must be reduced!"

"Be careful and take precautions."

Zhu Lingjing, who valued her life, only said these seven words and then drove away, retreating from this place full of murderous intentions.

Several accidents occurred during the implementation of the Jinwu Project, including accidental inhalation of raw material powder and critical state accidents, which resulted in the deaths of many scientific researchers in miserable ways.

At the same time as the Jinwu Project, research on nuclear radiation was also carried out. Over the past two years, many results and achievements have been made.

Before this, countries around the world knew very little about this aspect and were not sure how serious the harm was. The research conducted by the Ming Dynasty government broke the gap in this field.

The research was divided into two types, open and secret, and carried out simultaneously. The open one was handled by several universities, and the secret one was handled by the 909th Unit.

研究表明电离辐射会对人体造成显著损害——短时间内受80伦琴照射会有恶心呕吐乏力，白细胞减少；最小致死剂量为250伦琴，一个月后有25%不治身亡；通常500伦琴就能达到80%死亡率。

Zhu Lingjing has been interested in this for a long time and has been keeping up to date with the latest research. As a double major in physics and medicine, she is of course aware of the huge dangers, so now she stays away from it without hesitation.

Zhou Changfeng and Fa Cailiang discussed the next arrangements and generally agreed not to make any changes. The evaluation and testing work will proceed as planned.

He then left the Moshuixie base by car and headed straight for the train station. Before leaving, he turned his head and took a last look in the direction of the explosion center.

At this time, the mushroom cloud had almost dissipated, and the tripod iron tower below had already been instantly melted and evaporated without a trace by the extreme high temperature of tens of millions degrees Celsius.

I didn't sleep all night last night and had such an exciting morning today. As soon as I calmed down, I felt sleepy all of a sudden.

When he stepped onto the platform and boarded the train, Zhou Changfeng looked around and asked, "Where is His Majesty?"

The captain of the Jinyiwei who led the team touched his chest and saluted, saying, "Reporting to Chief Zhou, His Majesty has gone to rest. Please do not disturb him unless it is urgent."

"understood."

After getting in the car, Zhou Changfeng took a shower, changed his clothes, ate some snacks and started thinking.

The first thing that can be confirmed is that the test explosion was a complete success. The actual equivalent is estimated to be not small. It is definitely not a failure at the level of several thousand tons. It must start at at least 15,000 tons.

However, the power is still too small. Even if used to attack cities, it may not be very effective. The buildings in British and American industrial cities are mostly brick, stone, and reinforced concrete, which are by no means comparable to Japan.

The deterrent capability is indeed sufficient, but the actual combat value is not satisfactory.

After all, this is a new thing. Due to technological limitations, it is impossible to improve and optimize it quickly. So the only way to increase its power is to take unorthodox approaches... Zhou Changfeng thought about this and fell asleep unknowingly.

Looking back, humans learned to use and make fire since the Paleolithic Age hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the long years since then, whether it was firewood, coal, oil, or even gunpowder and explosives, they were essentially just chemical reactions that burned and released heat.

The long timeline was frozen and marked at this moment. If the level of civilization is measured by whether or not one has mastered atomic energy, then the mushroom cloud rising in the desert marks that mankind's technological level has officially leapt into a new era.

This is a small step for Ming Dynasty’s military technology, but also a big step for human civilization!

When Zhou Changfeng woke up, it was already dark.

The train gallops across the vast northwest wilderness. Through the windows you can see the cold night sky filled with bright stars.

He then went to the next carriage, where Zhu Lingjing was.

The latter had also just woken up not long ago, and his hair was visibly messy, but he looked very healthy.

After a brief chat, Zhu Lingjing said leisurely: "This is a big bargaining chip, a terrifyingly big bargaining chip, so... we should consider asking for more space."

"I still hold the same view as before. The east is not a big deal. We should strive for more in the Persian direction." Zhou Changfeng patiently persuaded them, saying, "The annual output of Iran's oil fields is more than 10 million tons. The actual reserves are much higher, ten times or eight times more. Moreover, according to geological theory, there are also oil reserves on the seabed, which can be developed and utilized in the future."

"I prefer East Africa and the Gulf of Aden." Zhu Lingjing picked up the cup and took a sip of juice.

Without knowing the oil resources in the Persian Gulf, she naturally tended to focus on the key sea outlet.

"Uh..." Zhou Changfeng hesitated for a moment. "Transportation routes are certainly important, but in the future, whether it is the economy or national defense, nothing will be independent of energy. Just like several military governors said, energy determines everything, and oil accounts for the majority of energy."

"That's true." Zhu Lingjing nodded gently. "There are many oil fields that can be developed in our country. The Liaobei oil field is not technologically feasible to exploit at the moment, but it will definitely be possible in the future. There are many of them."

"Considering the speed of economic development, demand will only explode. Enough is enough, but not enough."

"It's enough."

Zhou Changfeng realized that there was a deviation between his and her worldviews, but he soon realized that the root of the disagreement was that Zhu Lingjing was essentially an imperialist in her thinking - always ready to grab!
If we consider it from this perspective, transportation routes like the Gulf of Aden are indeed more attractive.

Moreover, Zhu Lingjing believed that Britain's influence would shrink significantly after the war, and the scope of the tributary circle would naturally expand. Influenced by geopolitics, even if Britain did not strive for it now, the small countries around the Persian Gulf would still pay for it in the future.

The two argued for several hours and didn't stop until midnight.

During the argument, Zhu Lingjing ate and drank three snacks, a cup of juice and two cups of water, while Zhou Changfeng ate and drank two snacks and four cups of water. Both of them were so thirsty from the argument.

However, in the end, no one could convince the other.

"Let's not talk about it anymore! I need to rest." Zhu Lingjing gritted her teeth and said unhappily, "Your vision is not as good as mine! We will discuss this matter after we return to Beijing."

Zhou Changfeng frowned and said, "Your Majesty, you also slept until dark before."

"Arguing with you is really exhausting. I am tired and exhausted."

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but it is obviously your argument that is not strong enough."

"nonsense!"

"My minister retire."

Helpless Zhou Changfeng returned to his carriage, recalling the previous argument in his mind.

To be honest, this woman is eloquent and logical, and it is really difficult to refute her.

Zhou Changfeng has no sleep now because he has been sleeping day and night in order to witness the unforgettable scenery.

Since he had nothing to do anyway, he simply asked his servant to bring him some notes and started drafting nuclear protection response measures under field conditions.

However, at this time someone came to inform him that the emperor had asked him to come over to discuss something.

After entering the carriage and passing through the compartment, I saw Zhu Lingjing sitting upright with an expressionless face. She said in a very formal tone, "I forgot the main thing while arguing with you. Do you still agree with me on the application of nuclear bombs?"

How to use the atomic bomb? The upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty who knew about it had already discussed this issue.

Several leading scientists did not want to see this destructive weapon used in actual combat. After persuasion, they gave in somewhat - they accepted its use in actual combat, but still believed that it was brutal to use it to attack cities.

There is no doubt that their opinions are not decisive.

As for the officials of the imperial court and the military, the most recognized first target at present is the Australian capital of Canberra, which Zhou Changfeng and Zhu Lingjing also agree with.

The biggest advantage is safety. We have air superiority over Australia and do not have to worry about enemy interception and loss of precious atomic bombs.

Secondly, it also has a strong targeted significance. The deterrence of nuclear attacks on non-capital cities is insufficient, and civilian casualties cannot affect the powerful and wealthy. However, Canberra, as a political center, is home to federal government agencies and many wealthy people, which is different.

"Two can be prepared within a month, and we also need to decide early where to use the second one," said Zhu Lingjing.

Zhou Changfeng had previously hoped to launch a nuclear attack on the Panama Canal to seriously hinder the strategic deployment of the US military by destroying the locks. This could theoretically be done by having ocean-going submarines carrying midget submarines.

He pondered and said, "The Panama Plan is theoretically feasible, but the risk is too great. The submarine is likely to be discovered and sunk. In addition, the locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal are very far apart. If things go wrong, we may only be able to destroy one lock. So forget it."

"Then throw it to Oahu."

"It's not suitable. It's not powerful enough. This thing looks scary, but it can't instantly destroy a field army. The most important thing is that our army only has three small routes to attack. We can't use them. After the explosion, we can't take advantage of the situation to launch a large-scale counterattack. It's a waste."

"Is that so..." Zhu Lingjing seemed to be thinking about something, and asked hesitantly: "Let's keep the second one first. If the enemy fleet and our fleet are in a decisive battle, we can throw it at the enemy fleet. How about that?"

"This is indeed possible. Your Majesty is wise and powerful." Zhou Changfeng praised.

"Oh, that's natural."

Two days later, the train arrived in Beijing.

After the technicians worked all night, the images taken by the high-speed camera were developed one after another, and physicists and explosives experts conducted careful analysis on them.

The four smoke rockets launched fifteen seconds before detonation dragged out four white smoke columns, which were crucial reference objects.

Due to the insufficient level of science and technology at that time, it was impossible to accurately calculate the explosion equivalent through conventional means. Smart scientists found another way and used some things as an aid.

Specifically, the key measurement indicator of explosion equivalent is "the movement speed of the shock wave front at the outer edge of the shock wave", but it is difficult to observe with the naked eye, and even with a high-speed camera it is not easy to distinguish.

This is when the straight smoke column comes into play. When the nuclear explosion shock wave passes by, the air density before and after the shock wave front is different, which will cause an optical refraction phenomenon - the density is low in the front and high in the back. Therefore, the smoke column appears to be broken visually, similar to how chopsticks appear to be broken when placed in a bowl of water.

【Picture】

After rough estimates and lengthy and complicated calculations, the R&D team submitted a formal report - the actual power of the Bagua furnace is approximately 1.9 tons measured in terms of yellow explosives, with an utilization rate of 20.5%, far exceeding the expected equivalent of 1 tons.

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Changfeng gave a perfunctory fake smile and celebrated with everyone else, muttering, "That's about it. Early plutonium bombs are like this..."

(End of this chapter)