1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 697 The Arms Race! The Three Essential Elements for the Success of the Atomic Bomb! Ridgway Alone Could Do It All!
Borneo, in a conference room in the "mountain" section.

Li Qiwei is about to reveal the plan he has been meticulously crafting for nearly 30 years to the core members of Project Pangu.

During this period, he reviewed the experiences of various countries in developing atomic bombs throughout history, striving to ensure that nothing went wrong.

In February 1939, Hahn and Frisch published their experimental results and theoretical proofs on uranium nuclear fission.

In March, Elena proved that uranium nuclear fission releases more than two neutrons, forming a chain reaction.

As soon as the article was published, the world's top physicists immediately thought of super weapons based on uranium nuclear fission: nuclear weapons.

Initially, this nuclear weapon had various names: "super bomb" and "uranium bomb", but it was later collectively referred to as "Atomic Bomb".

At that time, Germany, Britain, Russia, and the United States successively began atomic bomb research and development programs, which were kept highly secret.

France, Italy, the Soviet Union, and others were just there to watch from the sidelines.

Germany.

In April 1939, Germany held a conference on "uranium equipment" attended by six physicists, and the "Uranium Club" in Berlin studied uranium nuclear fission.

In September 1939, Germany established a special leadership group based on the Uranium Club, with Heisenberg as the group leader and Hahn as the deputy group leader.

The group was responsible for theoretically calculating the feasibility of an atomic bomb, codenamed "Project U".

In January 1940, Heisenberg led the team to formulate a formal atomic bomb development plan, codenamed "Project U".

In June 1940, Germany occupied Norway, acquired a heavy water manufacturing plant, and began attempts to separate uranium-235.

In December 1940, Germany successfully mastered several uranium separation technologies and began purification, but progress was slow.

In December 1941, due to the German front being stretched too thin, all resources were diverted to the production of aircraft and tanks, and Project U progressed even slower.

At this point, Heisenberg concluded that "no country could produce an atomic bomb within five years."

As a result, the military leadership's enthusiasm for developing the atomic bomb quickly waned.

In January 1942, Germany officially cancelled Project U and stopped researching the atomic bomb.

However, Heisenberg's research team continued their work, though they were no longer able to systematically verify it.

In February 1943, Germany’s heavy water plant in Norway was destroyed by British bombing, followed by the destruction of a raw material ship.

The atomic bomb program was beyond saving.

In May 1945, Germany surrendered.

There were three main reasons why Germany stopped the U project at that time.

First, during this period, its nuclear facilities in various locations were constantly subjected to air strikes by Allied forces, making normal operations impossible.

Secondly, Heisenberg calculated theoretically that the critical mass of the atomic bomb required several tons of enriched uranium, which far exceeded Germany's capacity.

It's important to know that the United States only enriched 60 to 70 kilograms of uranium during the entire Manhattan Project.

The gap is imaginable.

(All information about atomic bombs from various countries is top secret, so there is no reference available.)
The last reason was that Hitler was too arrogant.

At that time, he had almost unified Europe and was full of pride, so he didn't take the so-called "atomic bomb" seriously at all.

Failure is failure; it doesn't matter to the bigger picture.

In his view, a million elite German soldiers could crush everything.

Art students still suffer from a lack of scientific and cultural knowledge.

Otherwise, given Germany's resources at the time, even if Heisenberg made a mistake in his calculations, there would always be someone capable of stepping forward and arriving at the correct result.

Moreover, after Germany occupied Europe, it had no shortage of any resources and enjoyed uniquely advantageous conditions.

Of course, later generations preferred to view this matter from the perspective of justice and evil.

Germany's atomic bomb failed because those who act justly gain widespread support, while those who act unjustly find themselves isolated.

However, in this life, if Ridgway were determined to help Germany, the outcome would likely be different.

Therefore, the impact of a peerless genius on history sometimes does indeed surpass that of hundreds of millions of ordinary people.

United Kingdom.

In June 1939, Frisch was invited back to England, where he and his colleague Perls calculated the critical mass of uranium-235 for the first time.

Next, the two wrote a memorandum on the atomic bomb and submitted it to the British government.

In December 1939, Britain established an atomic bomb research group in Liverpool, with Chadwick's assistant, Rotblad, serving as the group leader.

In July 1940, Chadwick personally completed the feasibility analysis report and urged the British government to list it as a "top priority".

In August 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill officially launched the atomic bomb development project, codenamed "Project Alloy Tube".

However, as research progressed, Britain discovered that it could not afford the research and development project on its own.

Therefore, Britain sought help from the United States, wanting to be integrated into the US atomic bomb development program, which greatly shortened the latter's timeline.

Chadwick was responsible for sharing Britain's atomic bomb research and intelligence with the United States.

Sakura Clan.

In April 1940, at the suggestion of Yoshio Nishina, Takeo Yasuda, director of the Sakura Army Air Technology Research Institute, ordered his assistant Tatsusaburo Suzuki to prepare a detailed report on the atomic bomb.

In April 1941, Takeo Yasuda submitted the data to the Minister of the Army, DTYJ, suggesting that the Army take the lead in the development of the atomic bomb. DTYJ approved the "Report on the Manufacturing of Uranium Bombs".

In May 1941, Yoshio Nishina led a team of more than 100 researchers to take charge of the project.

However, the Sakura Clan has always been at odds with the land and sea. After their crushing defeat at Midway, the Combined Fleet's high command demanded that the Naval Technical Research Institute also research the atomic bomb.

Therefore, the peculiar Sakura clan even bought two sets of equipment from Germany for researching atomic bombs, leaving the latter completely bewildered.

Hitler even quipped, "Are the Sakura Navy and Army enemies?"

In June 1942, the Navy proposed "Plan B" and established the Nuclear Physics Application Research Committee, whose chairman was none other than Yoshio Nishina.

As a result, many people who were actually working on the Army's atomic bomb project were pulled into the Navy group, and the level of chaos was unimaginable.

In March 1943, the Navy assessed that the atomic bomb program could not be completed within 10 years and therefore disbanded the committee.

However, in May 1943, the Sakura Navy learned through spies that the United States' atomic bomb program was progressing rapidly, and quickly restarted the research, codenamed "Project F," this time led by physicist Fumio Arakawa.

In June 1943, Yoshio Nishina submitted a report to the army high command, arguing that at least 10 kilograms of weapons-grade enriched uranium were needed to make an atomic bomb.

However, the Sakura tribe itself was extremely short of resources and had to prioritize supplying the military, so they requested Germany to provide the uranium ore they needed.

In September 1943, the Sakura Army officially named the atomic bomb project "Project Ni (Nin Project)".

In July 1944, Yoshio Nishina used the thermal diffusion method (the worst kind) to separate uranium-235, but without any success.

Interestingly, the Navy used a better electromagnetic separation method, but it was too expensive to supply.

When the higher-ups heard the amount of funding Huang Shengwenze requested, everyone thought he was crazy.

"Damn it, the army only gave Yoshio Nishina 70 yen (about 35 US dollars), and you're talking about hundreds of millions? You're dreaming!"

Meanwhile, the United States launched a massive bombing campaign against the Sakura clan, destroying Yoshio Nishina's laboratory, uranium separation facilities, and other facilities. In May 1945, "Project Ni" failed; in July of the same year, "Project F" also failed.

In October 1945, the Allied forces confiscated all atomic energy research materials and equipment belonging to the Sakura clan and prohibited them from conducting any related research.

France.

In 1939, the Irene couple made initial explorations into the possibility of the atomic bomb, becoming a core force in France's early nuclear weapons research.

In 1940, France was occupied by Germany, and Irene's team was forced to go underground to conduct basic experiments in secret while protecting uranium materials from being seized by the Germans.

France resumed nuclear research in 1945, after the end of World War II, still led by Irene and her husband.

Italy.

Due to resource shortages, the atomic bomb development program was merged with Germany.
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Summarizing the above cases of failed atomic bomb research by various countries, it can be seen that the following conditions must be met simultaneously for the successful development of an atomic bomb:

First, the full support of the top leadership;

Second, a top-notch team of scientists;
Third, strong comprehensive national strength, including industrial base, land area, resource reserves, wealth, etc.

All three are indispensable.

For example, Britain met the first two points, but it lacked the third point. Its small land area made it impossible to implement its plans, and it could only merge with the United States in the end.

Take Germany for example. It met the second and third requirements, but ultimately failed because the higher-ups did not pay attention to them.

At the time, Germany only provided 200 million marks (more than 200 million US dollars) in funding for Project U. What could they possibly build?

Needless to say, the Sakura Clan doesn't meet any of the three requirements and still wants to forcefully overtake others. How could they possibly succeed?

Ultimately, only the United States could emerge victorious and end the war!

If you had to describe the Manhattan Project in one sentence, a few numbers would be the most appropriate.

"Led by Oppenheimer, more than 10 top physicists led more than 1000 scientists from different fields and directed 130,000 technical workers. Over three years and at a cost of $2 billion, they successfully created three atomic bombs."

In July 1939, Szilard and Wigner approached Einstein and explained the concept of the atomic bomb to him.

Szilard knew all too well the horror of the atomic bomb, and when he learned that Germany had begun developing it, he was terrified.

He believed that the United States had to develop the atomic bomb before Germany, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, when he first arrived in the United States, he was a nobody and his voice carried little weight, while Einstein was a superstar in the scientific community at the time. If Einstein personally intervened, the United States would definitely take it seriously.

So the two persuaded Einstein to write a joint letter to US President Roosevelt, hoping that he would approve the atomic bomb development program.

After careful consideration, Einstein finally agreed.

Although he did not approve of developing the atomic bomb, given that Germany had already begun, he had no choice but to resort to violence.

This letter later became known as the "Einstein-Szilard Letter".

This shows that Germany truly broke the hearts of Jewish scientists at that time.

Roosevelt didn't understand physics; he couldn't comprehend how such a terrifying "new type of super-powerful bomb" could possibly exist.

Moreover, there was no precedent at the time, and Germany's plan was merely speculation with no real progress.

Therefore, he was conflicted.

However, after consulting with the military and scientific communities in detail, Roosevelt ultimately agreed to Einstein's suggestion.

However, to be on the safe side, he initially only established a "Uranium Advisory Committee" to take charge of the work and conduct preliminary research.

However, as the investigation deepened and German actions were monitored, such as Germany's sudden announcement of a ban on uranium trading in Czechoslovakia, the situation became more complex.

The United States is increasingly aware of the importance of the atomic bomb.

Therefore, in June 1940, the Uranium Advisory Committee was upgraded and included in the Ministry of Defense's key scientific research projects.

Even at this point, the United States still invested very little; Roosevelt only approved a few hundred thousand dollars for early-stage basic experiments.

This money was barely enough for Fermi and Szilard to buy uranium and graphite.

Moreover, the entire plan lacks a strong institutional framework and is rather laid-back.

Just then, Britain took the initiative to approach them.

"The power of the atomic bomb is terrifying! Germany is only one step away from success! The world is about to be destroyed!"

Let's work together!

After reviewing the research data provided by Britain, the United States realized that the cost of developing the atomic bomb was many times greater than it had imagined.

So, the United States started to get serious.

In June 1942, Roosevelt officially approved the atomic bomb program and generously allocated $400 million in financial support.

British scientists were so envious upon hearing the news that they shed tears of envy.

Because Britain only managed to raise £50 over three years, from the initial research to the planned merger with the United States.
This demonstrates the extent of America's wealth and power.

At this time, the atomic bomb program was taken over by the military and was named the "Alternative Materials Development Laboratory".

Colonel Marshall of the U.S. Army Military Engineering Department was in charge.

However, Marshall was a rule-abiding and ill-tempered man, which led those scientific bigwigs to completely ignore him.

The project is progressing very slowly.

There's no way around it; when things haven't succeeded, scientists are the bosses, and you can only appease them.

In September 1942, the U.S. Department of Defense ordered Colonel Groves to replace Marshall and promoted him to brigadier general before he took up his post.

Groves was indeed a brilliant man; within 48 hours of taking office, he successfully upgraded the atomic bomb program to the highest priority.

This means that all resources must be allocated to the atomic bomb.

If a citizen's land needs to be requisitioned, all that is required is to show a piece of paper, and the citizen must immediately move out.

American-style democracy is no longer effective.

Next, Groves personally approached Oppenheimer, hoping that the latter could take charge of the atomic bomb development.

"I don't concern myself with anything related to science."

This statement touched Oppenheimer.

With this statement, Oppenheimer was able to manage those unruly scientific giants.

Thus, the United States' atomic bomb program had two leaders: Groves, the administrative leader, and Oppenheimer, the research leader.

Finally, Groves disliked the original code name, "Alternative Materials Development Lab," as it didn't sound good.

At the time, the military's command headquarters was located in Manhattan, so he casually came up with the name "Manhattan Project".

"Yes, it's catchy and sounds great!"

Thanks to Groves's sweeping reforms and the utmost respect for scientists, the Manhattan Project progressed at an astonishing speed.

(End of this chapter)