Iron Cross

Faced with the not-so-optimistic situation, Hoffman had no choice but to calm down and asked pleasantly: "Tell me what you plan to do next."

"From the perspective of the refining process, the difficulty and complexity of refining from low abundance to high abundance increases exponentially. Generally, uranium-235 used as energy only needs 3-5% abundance, while weapons grade may require 90% or even 95% abundance of raw materials. The same time and energy may be used to extract 100 kilograms of 5% abundance elements, but 1 kilogram of 80% abundance elements cannot be extracted. Based on current limitations, if only 5% abundance is extracted. At full power, hundreds of kilograms of raw materials can be refined in a month." Heisenberg paused and said cautiously, "I insist that refining low-abundance raw materials to provide energy for manufacturing reactors is better than refining high-abundance raw materials. It is more practical and has more strategic value for making bombs. Theoretical calculation results show that the nuclear materials produced in 2-3 months can drive a 3,000-ton submarine. "

"Submarine?" Speer interjected, "How?"

"The reactor will provide enough power. The submarine does not need to replenish fuel at all. As long as the air can keep up, it can stay under the sea as long as it wants. If the enhanced reactor is used on a large warship, there will be no need to replenish heavy oil at all. If you want to drive, Drive as long as you want..." Hoffman opened his mouth and said - isn't it nuclear power?

Speer's face was full of shock, and Heisenberg nodded repeatedly: "The Führer's statement is very vivid, that's basically it."

Milch seized the opportunity and asked: "If it is installed on an airplane, can it fly without restrictions without landing for supplies?"

"This..." Heisenberg looked embarrassed, "I'm afraid it won't work. The reactor will weigh dozens of tons and needs water or other things for cooling. It is too big and heavy to be installed on an aircraft, submarine or large There is no problem with warships, and it will even save more space than traditional power units.”

"Hey!" the Air Marshal sighed. His dream of a nuclear-powered global fighter jet was completely shattered before it even took shape!

Hoffmann fell into deep thought: As a representative of the energy faction, Heisenberg had peddled this view in front of him more than once. The key was that he was not sure of this guy's true intentions.

Later generations have three analyzes of Heisenberg’s calculation errors and his insistence on the energyist’s point of view:

First, he did not understand the principle of the atomic bomb at all, so the relevant theoretical views and calculated data were wrong;

Second, he knew the whole system - he thought the uranium bomb was like a "pineapple" in his conversation with Milch, but was unwilling to help the Third Reich make it because he thought making such a bomb was immoral, so he deliberately exaggerated It reduces difficulty and time, which was also the view stated by Heisenberg himself after the war. Hoffman asked Milch privately, and the latter denied hearing the word "pineapple". However, Hoffman did not want to simply deny this inference, because Milch's current trajectory is different from that of history, and he once broke away from the uranium project. ;

Third, he knew the entire system and was willing to build a bomb, but due to practical difficulties and the overconfidence that the United States could not build such a bomb, he finally gave up.

But Heisenberg was an academic authority after all. Hoffman nodded calmly and fell silent. When everyone saw that the Führer was silent, they also fell silent.

"Professor Heisenberg's idea is very good. This should be an epoch-making energy source, just like the replacement of coal-burning boilers with heavy oil-burning boilers, which caused major changes in warships. Maybe we can use it in the next war. Maybe It can be used for civilian purposes - it would be great to build a nuclear power plant, but what we urgently need most is a final super weapon, not a secret energy source. Professor Bot, can I hear your thoughts? "

"Dear Head of State, I think your request is right. Making bombs is indeed more important than developing new energy sources. Of course, I admit that Professor Heisenberg's point of view is correct. At present, we do not have the factors for large-scale refining. so……"

"Assuming that we now have enough raw materials, can we theoretically estimate the power and lethality of the bomb?"

"This..." Haibot and a bunch of people looked at each other in confusion, and finally answered bravely, "Führer, this needs to be verified on the spot. In theory, it may be possible to destroy a city. Maybe the chain reaction is interrupted halfway, and then it may be just It’s just a large bomb, maybe it’s not as powerful as the ‘Driller’ aerial bomb used to deal with the Fortress of Gibraltar.”

At this point, Hoffman has completely understood: the German experts headed by Heisenberg and Bott have not yet figured out the theory. They are stumbling forward on the premise of forcibly cheating and providing guidance. Then, The situation is like a complicated math problem. I have revealed the answer in advance but there is no solution process, and then a group of people are racking their brains to come up with it.

Heisenberg himself also wondered why the Führer was so keen on making bombs. Last summer, in June 1942, after his first experimental reactor in Leipzig was destroyed in a fire, he had clearly expressed this view. At that time, both the Führer himself and Speer were skeptical of this He dismissed the bomb with "no hope of success within 3-4 years" and believed that it would be more beneficial to turn to research on nuclear energy, so he applied for a small amount of research funding. Unexpectedly, a few months later, the situation took a 180-degree turn. Not only were the specifications of the entire project upgraded, but an allocation of 500 million marks was suddenly allocated - a figure he had never dreamed of. In this atmosphere, not only his reactor was rebuilt, but also the graphite reactor advocated by Bote was given the opportunity to build, which is why he said that "both reactors are operating well."

But he didn't think much about it. It was common for big figures to change their minds and orders overnight - even Marshal Milch could rise from behind, so what else was impossible?

Originally, he thought that it would be Botte's turn to speak soon, but an even more shocking scene occurred. After Dargos whispered a few words quietly in the head of state's ear, Himmler and Reich Post Minister Omar suddenly came to the meeting. Nitzog and Kurt Dibner.

What's even more surprising is that the head of state actually changed the agenda temporarily, postponed Bot's speech, and signaled Dibner to speak first - he was in charge of the third uranium engineering team.

Dibner's first words shocked everyone present: "Dear Head of State, our uranium-paraffin three-dimensional reactor has fully met the design requirements, and the neutron output index exceeds the Leipzig experimental reactor originally hosted by Professor Heisenberg. The best-case scenario is certainly not known to surpass his latest construction achievements.”

Of course Heisenberg knew Dibner. In fact, the latter had asked him for theoretical advice a long time ago. The so-called "three-dimensional reactor" is not a new term. Two years ago, he had heard of "uranium block presentation". The "grid arrangement" design scheme allows the lumps of uranium to be placed in the moderator, not covered in a two-dimensional plane, but surrounded in a three-dimensional manner. However, he was not interested in it for three reasons: First, this was not Dibner's original work. After the German army occupied France, Dibner dug it out from the experimental files stored in Curie's laboratory and systematized it. Secondly, Heisenberg did not think that there was much innovation in this plan, and it was at best an improvement on his Leipzig experimental reactor; thirdly, Dibner himself graduated from the University of Halle, with a lower theoretical level and a lower academic level. He didn't have a good reputation inside, so he thought the other party was just a second-rate person.

In addition, he also disliked Dibner: the latter not only joined the National Socialist Party, but also had clear traces of the National Socialist speech and politics. Heisenberg, who regarded himself as a moral model, dismissed this. In his mind, Bot was a competitor second only to himself in ability and with different academic opinions, while Dibner was just an academic liar at best - just look at his background, he was actually the Imperial Post Minister! Jesus, the Postal Service could have something to do with nuclear research?

Dibner's second sentence is even more shocking: "Based on the experimental results and the uranium extraction process, I think it is feasible to build a bomb. This is simpler and more direct than using a reactor as an energy supplier. The reason is simple, the bomb does not need When considering protection, maintenance, and conservation, all it takes is to release power in an instant. However, when used as an energy source, multiple factors such as construction, safety, protection, and stable operation must be comprehensively considered. It is very difficult to say that nuclear energy has advantages. Purification of raw materials has some advantages. If there are no constraints on the raw materials, we can create a bomb in a very short time - I think this time is 3-6 months."

Now not only energyists like Heisenberg, but also Bert, who advocated building bombs, were shocked - he did not dare to speak like this. Speer turned his head and looked at Heisenberg, only to see him curl his lips in disapproval, as if he was disdainful of such remarks, but he could not express it in the presence of the head of state.

Hoffman didn't seem to notice Heisenberg's attitude, but nodded gently: "Tell me again about your results in Morowitz..."

When he mentioned this, Speer frowned. He remembered: Farben invested heavily in building a large diner synthetic rubber factory in Morowitz, only 6 kilometers away from Auschwitz. Last year The overall project was completed, and Farben invested 900 million marks in the project. Curiously, the plant never produced any synthetic rubber but consumed more electricity than the entire greater Berlin area.

Synthetic rubber is no longer as urgent as it was at the beginning of the war. After the Indian Ocean route was opened, especially after it gained control of the sea, Japan sent merchant ships twice to deliver natural rubber to the Middle East, and then transferred it to the mainland. In addition to rubber, a large number of other tropical materials can be obtained through trade with Japan. So Speer was more interested in this rubber factory that did not produce synthetic rubber. He knew that there must be articles in it. Just because Farben invested in everything from raw materials to power generation capacity, and made it clear that there was a secret SS project, and the SS was responsible for everything from military expenditures to security, Speer couldn't ask questions even if he was curious. Now it seems that the answer is Here it lies.