Short video spoiler history: The beginning of modern warfare

Chapter 131 Manhattan Project

In front of Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang and others didn't know why calling the built ship Titanic was bad news, but they thought it was probably some famous event or allusion, so they didn't take it seriously.

Then the sky screen switched again.

[The same is true in the microscopic world. If you want to split a lithium nucleus, you need to use high-energy particles. When we use protons to bombard lithium atoms, they become unstable and split into two helium atoms.]

[But in fact, the proton knife is not sharp enough, because protons carry a positive charge, and there are neutrons and protons in the nucleus. Neutrons are uncharged, and protons are positively charged, so the nucleus as a whole carries a positive charge. They will produce a mutually repulsive Coulomb force, which makes it dramatically more difficult to blast open the nucleus.]

[In 1934, Italian scientist Enrico Fermi successfully split uranium atoms into two by bombarding them with uncharged neutrons. This was a huge breakthrough in physics and he won the Nobel Prize for it.]

[However, the mass of the uranium atom and the two atoms after the split are not equal. Simply put, the total mass of the two atoms after the split becomes lighter.]

[Fermi suddenly had an idea. He remembered Einstein's mass-energy equation, which is E=mc that middle school students know today. E represents energy, m represents the mass of the object, and c represents the speed of light.]

[The lost mass m is actually converted into energy and dissipated, but because the c behind this formula is very large, even if the lost mass m is very small, the energy generated is huge.]

[Thinking of this, Fermi hurriedly led a group of Columbia University scientists to the laboratory to verify the mass-energy equation through experiments. This was the first time in human history that the energy released by nuclear fission was measured through experiments, and the results were shocking.]

[They found that when neutrons bombarded the uranium nucleus, not only heat was released, but also three additional neutrons were released. These restless neutrons would then collide with other uranium atoms. The same reaction would occur again and again, and energy would be released continuously, forming a chain reaction. This is the nuclear chain reaction.]

In front of Fengtian Hall.

The clerks had made preparations early and started copying quickly.

"In other words, neutrons, protons, electrons, etc. are the smallest substances that make up objects?" Zhu Biao recalled the structure of atoms when mentioning batteries. Atoms contain electric charges and atomic nuclei, and now the atomic nucleus contains neutrons and protons.

Or is it that atoms are the smallest substances?

"Nuclear chain reaction, is this the principle of atomic bomb explosion and nuclear power plant power generation?" Zhu Yuanzhang felt his temple throbbing suddenly, his scalp tingling, and his hands shaking involuntarily.

It's not that he was not calm, but no one could remain calm in front of such a powerful weapon. After all, it was known as the 'Equality Bullet for All Beings', and only with this thing in later generations would one be qualified to protect themselves.

The two explosions in human history brought about such a terrifying threat that every time they sounded, people got goose bumps.

One bomb killed hundreds of thousands of people.

"Gulp." Liu Ji also swallowed his saliva. Although it was a sunny day, he still felt very cold. Without wiping the cold sweat from his forehead and back, he quickly wrote down a few key words on the paper: E=mc, neutron bombardment of atomic nucleus, nuclear chain reaction.

Liu Ji did not put down his pen, but looked up and checked the sky curtain twice to confirm that it was correct. Then he began to wipe the sweat off his face and breathed a sigh of relief.

"This thing is too powerful, how can it be spread around?" Hu Weiyong and others were all sweating. He was a little unhappy about the envoys from neighboring countries getting the Sky Curtain for free. Moreover, for such a powerful weapon, they should be charged a fee.

More importantly, if this technology were to be obtained by the remnants of the north, even hiding in Jinling City would put one’s life in danger.

"Tianmu said that even if this thing is made public, few countries can figure it out."

"When did you say that?"

"Video of electromagnetic catapult launch."

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that what he said was true. Even if they knew the principles and materials, few countries in later generations could purify the raw materials independently. No matter how arrogant he was, he would not dare to say that the Ming Dynasty would definitely be more powerful than those countries in later generations. After all, they had a deep understanding of the power of science.

What's more, they only know the name of the material and don't even know what uranium looks like or what its properties are.

"To be optimistic, we may not be at risk of being killed by an atomic bomb in this lifetime." Song Lian said cheerfully. He felt that he was getting old, so he was more open-minded about things. Although he knew the power of the atomic bomb, he was generally not worried about the leakage of its principle and manufacturing process leading to various accidents.

Even the rebellious young people in the comment section are helpless about this, so we "primitive people" are still a long way from being able to accomplish this. At the very least, our various auxiliary tools are not perfect.

In the Science Department, people were not affected by such discouraging words. Many of them were full of fighting spirit and had some unspoken thoughts in their minds.

“First there is the identification of the material, then the study of matter, how to extract neutrons, how to bombard the nuclei and so on.”

[In 1942, the United States brought together 160 top scientists from around the world to conduct secret research on this project. This project was named the Manhattan Project. I believe you all know the story that followed.]

[In fact, in a nuclear chain reaction, neutrons will not easily collide with other uranium atoms, because the space inside the atom is very empty, about 99% of which is empty, and it is difficult for neutrons to collide with the nucleus.]

[In order to ensure that the neutron hits another uranium atom, a certain number of uranium atoms must be stored in a certain space to maintain the chain reaction. This is called the critical mass.]

[However, the critical mass of natural uranium is too high, reaching 400 kilograms. Researchers from England helped the progress of the experiment. They found that uranium has two isotopes, namely U235 and U238]

[Isotopes are the same chemical elements, but they have different numbers of neutrons. In uranium 235, the number of neutrons is too small to bind all the protons, so it is extremely unstable and its critical mass is only 47 kilograms.]

[Although uranium is not scarce in nature, uranium 235 only accounts for 0.7% of all uranium elements. Uranium mainly exists in the earth's crust in the form of ore. To extract uranium, it is necessary to inject a solution into the borehole and mix it with the uranium ore. The solution is then collected and subjected to various chemical refining to separate uranium from other elements.]

[Then a series of complex enrichment processes are carried out to purify uranium 235. Centrifuges are generally used at this time. If we increase the content of uranium 235 to 5%, we can use this uranium as fuel for nuclear reactors. One kilogram of uranium produces more energy than 1000 tons of coal.]

[So burning wood is not as good as burning coal, burning coal is not as good as burning oil, burning oil is not as good as burning liquid hydrogen, burning liquid hydrogen is not as good as burning uranium] [If we increase the uranium 235 to more than 90%, it can be used to make nuclear weapons. In fact, the principle has always been there, but there are few countries on the earth that can purify it to 90% on their own, and the power consumption of large centrifuges is very exaggerated]

Tang Dynasty, Chang'an City.

Li Shimin and others kept nodding their heads. Even though the composition of the "solution" was deliberately blurred in the middle part, in his eyes, this popular science was already very thorough.

After all, many things are strictly confidential. Even the young people who made the video may not know so much. After all, they are just joining in the fun. Who would have thought that more than a thousand years ago, there were still old folks thinking about making an atomic bomb.

"U235 and U238, are they like C and C-16?" The only thing Fang Xuanling and others could think of was the radioactive element carbon-16 in the nuclear wastewater. At that time, they didn't know why a number was marked after carbon.

“Minerals generally contain other mineral impurities, and different elemental impurities may require different solutions.”

"No wonder Tianmu didn't mention it, but what is a centrifuge for the purification step?"

Everyone shook their heads. This was really just a matter of being taught step by step, but some of them still couldn't understand it. Even if they understood it, getting started was another matter.

For example, where is the uranium mine distributed, what does it look like, how to separate impurities step by step, the structure of the centrifuge, etc.

"Let's copy these contents down first. Maybe you will understand them slowly in the future." Li Shimin said seriously. This is what later generations called the lack of basic subjects. They lacked too many things, so they often got stuck at every step.

Even the simplest thing about distinguishing what element a substance is and its specific characteristics has not made much progress. This is naturally because everyone has been focusing on studying electricity and has invested too little time in chemistry.

Late Han Dynasty, Nanjun.

Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and the others all had bitter expressions on their faces. Liu Bei wanted to form a research team. However, the area under his jurisdiction was too small, and there were even fewer literate people. The ones he got were only the children of local wealthy families in each city. Moreover, most of them did not think highly of him.

Whether it is the history that has been revealed or the current situation, anyone with a discerning eye can see that their situation is extremely unfavorable.

If the sky fell again during the period after taking Yizhou and before losing Jingzhou, the situation might be different. It is difficult now.

Even so, everyone worked together to tinker with relatively simple items such as generators, motors, and fans.

They tried things like steam engines, but did not conduct any special research on them, because there were not many coal mines in Jingzhou, and even if there were, they could not withstand the consumption of steam engines.

This situation is exactly the same as what was said in the sky, being trapped in Yizhou. Even Liu Bei has been quite annoyed recently.

"Although we have the principle, it is obviously an extremely difficult path. We don't know when it can be developed, so it is not suitable for us."

Everyone was silent. It wasn’t that they were afraid to do the relevant research, but that many studies were slow to produce results and were not urgent at the moment.

If the Han Dynasty were restored today, they would all be willing to join in. Now the primary goal is to survive. As for weapons, gunpowder is the first choice, after all, the only missing raw material is unknown.

Jinling City, Hexing Tea and Snack Shop.

Shopkeeper Wan couldn't help but sigh, "It would be best if there is no war. Once a war breaks out, we ordinary people will be the ones who suffer."

Others felt the same way. Jinling City was still lucky. Decades of war and conflict had left many places in the north without anyone to cultivate the land, turning them into ghost villages and ghost towns.

At this moment, looking at the principle mentioned by Tianmu, everyone was helpless. Many times wars are forced, and whether or not to fight does not depend on our side. The imperial court also needs more powerful military equipment to resist the looting and harassment of foreign races on the border.

However, this equipment advantage cannot last long, as the nomadic peoples in the north will gradually unify and become stronger over time, such as the Huns and Turks in the past, and the Mongols and Tatars today.

"But the threshold for this kind of atomic bomb is very high. Perhaps it can really be effective in defending against foreign races."

"Having a sword but not using it and not having a sword to use are different concepts. We can do without this weapon, but we cannot do without it." Mr. Su said firmly. This was what he saw from the sky. Judging from the history of foreign invasions in later generations for hundreds of years, this weapon is a good thing to be prepared for.

A country this big must have at least the ability to protect itself.

"You're right!"

Manager Wan nodded. He agreed with this point, but when he thought about the previous war, he still had some trauma in his heart.

In Jinling City, as for other electrical appliance stores, most of the shopkeepers and owners did not copy down such information. If they were not mistaken, the decree for the control of relevant materials would be issued tomorrow at the latest.

Except for those who want to rebel, these contents are of no use to most people, and copying them is a waste of paper.

Most people are in favor of material control. This stuff is too dangerous. If it falls into the hands of bastards with ulterior motives, it will only bring war and disaster. Fortunately, Tianmu did not mention the distribution of minerals and more detailed separation and purification steps.

"Aren't you afraid that I will create it? [狗头]"

"Then you will become the 10th force to create an atomic bomb. You can add the skill of "proficient in atomic bomb manufacturing" to your resume, and maybe it will be easier to find a job [dog head]"

Quickly delete them because they said they don’t want to watch it

《I understand the atomic bomb, but what about the hydrogen bomb?》

(End of this chapter)