1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 702 The Intuition of Physics Masters! "This kind of weapon can't possibly be made!" The New Generation of Brahma!

Berkeley, USA.

After returning from Rome, Oppenheimer and Lawrence resumed their research.

The discovery of uranium nuclear fission shocked the academic community, and everything about it became the hottest topic.

However, Oppenheimer came up with an extremely terrifying application.

"Lawrence, come here."

"Based on the chain reaction of uranium nuclear fission, it may be possible to create a new type of bomb with tremendous power."

Lawrence glanced at the blueprints and immediately understood the underlying principle.

He couldn't help but gasp.

"That is indeed a possibility."

"According to the mass-energy equivalence equation, just 1g of uranium needs to be converted into energy to produce the explosive power of nearly 2 tons of TNT."

“This is absolutely horrible!”

However, he quickly calmed down because the idea had a fatal flaw.

"But only uranium-235 can undergo a chain reaction, and its abundance is too low."

"To make the bomb you envision, it would need to be purified to an extremely high abundance, which would be very difficult."

Oppenheimer nodded slightly.

Isotope separation has always been a difficult problem in the field of chemistry.

The fact that the three isotopes of uranium have such similar properties makes it even more difficult.

"Unless the entire nation mobilizes to produce uranium-235."

Oppenheimer gave a wry smile; he felt he was being a bit delusional.

He struggles so much to even apply for funding to build a cyclotron, how could anyone possibly build this new type of bomb?

Moreover, this is only theoretically true; upon closer examination, many problems arise.

"Regardless, I'll still offer this idea to the military."

"If the United States ever faces a critical moment, it might be able to reverse the situation with this weapon."

Lawrence laughed nonchalantly:
"With no powerful nations to the north or south, and two oceans to the east and west, how could the United States possibly be in danger?"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

So Oppenheimer casually jotted down his idea and stopped thinking about it.

Unbeknownst to him, his sketches had indeed attracted the attention of the White House and high-ranking military officials.

But just like nuclear fusion in the past, it was simply sealed away as classified material.

The United States was just starting a global financial crisis last year, so it had no time to manufacture weapons.

The General Staff even predicted:

"A large-scale war is unlikely to occur within the next ten years!"

Therefore, no matter how powerful Oppenheimer's weapon designs are, they have no practical use now.
-
Germany.

When Szilard learned of the news of uranium nuclear fission, he was immediately terrified.

"My God!"

"My original idea can be realized!"

"Based on uranium nuclear fission, it might be possible to create a bomb with tremendous power!"

"No, I must keep this a secret."

"By the way, the patent I wrote before is still under review. I need to withdraw it as soon as possible to prevent leaks."

Although Szilard has an unconventional personality, the recent situation has made him realize that Germany is no longer the Germany it used to be.

He faced increasing discrimination and exclusion.

If it weren't for his mentor Laue protecting him, his situation wouldn't have been much better.

"We must not let Germany be the first to manufacture this weapon."

Szilard made up his mind that if anyone published a paper on the subject, he would contact them immediately.

Such a world-destroying weapon must never appear.

Otherwise, if they fall into the hands of evil forces, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In a few days, he will be going to Borneo for an exchange program, which will give him a chance to escape the German government's surveillance and secretly carry out his plans.
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Denmark.

Frisch also immediately thought of weapons based on uranium nuclear fission.

He shared this idea with the person he respected most, Bohr.

In response, Bohr said:
"No country could possibly build such a weapon."

"I've calculated that in order to achieve an instantaneous chain reaction, the abundance of uranium-235 must reach over 90%."

"The abundance of natural uranium-235 is a paltry 0.7%."

"Therefore, this is an impossible task."

"Of course, if we pool the resources of the entire world and use brute force to purify uranium-235, there might be a slight chance."

"But, you know, it's more difficult than manufacturing the weapon itself."

Frisch gave an awkward smile.

Europe alone is in such a chaotic state, how could it possibly unite as a force?
-
At this moment, many physics experts have come up with the idea of ​​weapons based on chain reactions.

However, due to various coincidences, no one paid any attention.

The United States is busy dealing with the financial crisis, Germany's Mustache is about to take advantage of this crisis to soar to new heights, and the Sakura tribe is eyeing the northeastern region of the mainland with covetous intent.
At that time, no one could have foreseen how this new type of bomb would change the world situation.

Li Qiwei's analysis was correct; this timing was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

He will build the atomic bomb before any other country, laying the foundation for prosperity for decades or even centuries to come!

The Pangu Project was being carried out in secret, yet the entire continent of Borneo was bustling with activity.

This was, of course, a smokescreen deliberately created by Ridgeway.

Under Sheng Jingran's persuasion, British envoy Summers and King Venus were initially quite suspicious, but they soon gradually lowered their guard.

After all, those factories produce all kinds of industrial products every day.

Alpha Labs.

Li Qiwei and Wu Youxun sat facing each other.

"Youxun, I didn't involve you in the Pangu Project mission. Do you have any complaints about that?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Youxun immediately stood up and said decisively:

"Dean, I have no disloyal intentions!"

"I owe everything I have today to your guidance and support, Dean. I will never forget it!"

"You must have a plan that surpasses ordinary people in everything you do."

Li Qiwei smiled slightly, quite satisfied.

He stood up, took Wu Youxun's hand, and sat him down.

He then gave a detailed introduction to the main contents of the Pangu Project and the division of labor among the personnel.

Wu Youxun was thrilled!

What an enormous plan this is!
“You have always been a core member of Project Pangu.”

"I will not forget you when it comes time to reward those who have made contributions in the future."

Wow!
Upon hearing this, Wu Youxun was utterly horrified.

Li Qiwei explained:

“You are different from the Fifth Division and the others.”

"They are limited to the field of science."

"Even if there is no activity for a few years, no one will care."

"But as the head of Alpha Labs, a behemoth, you have countless connections with the entire industry."

"So, just to be on the safe side, you can't show anything unusual."

"On the contrary, you should lead the team to invent more high-tech products, successfully attract everyone's attention, and ensure the smooth progress of Project Pangu."

Wu Youxun understood instantly.

Simply put, he was in the open, while Qian Wushi and others were in the shadows.

Through the various technological achievements of Alpha Labs, we can help people pay less attention to Qian Wushi and others.

"Dean, I understand!"

At this moment, Wu Youxun felt that the burden on his shoulders was also incredibly heavy.

"By the way, Dean, our first-generation computer has finally been developed!"

"Its computing power can reach 1 additions per second, which far surpasses human capabilities." "I believe it will be of great help to Project Pangu."

Li Qiwei patted Wu Youxun on the shoulder and laughed:
"it is good!"

"You've done a really great job!"

"The Fifth Division has already started complaining to me that the calculations are too difficult."

"With computers, the Pangu Project will progress faster."

In Li Qiwei's view, a computing power of 5 operations per second is practically like a snail's pace.

Later supercomputers have reached the petaflop level.

This "trillion" is not just two numbers, but tens of billions.

That is, it can perform tens of trillions of additions and subtractions per second.

One can imagine how terrifying this computing power is.

But at this point in time, 5 times is already astonishing enough.

The advent of computers has completely liberated humanity from the complexities of numbers, allowing us to focus on more fundamental questions.

Li Qiwei suddenly remembered the telegram sent by Ma Yucheng.

The other party has already found a high-yielding strain of Penicillium in the Northeast region.

However, Ma Yucheng was worried that the long journey back and forth might lead to accidents, so he stayed there temporarily and would return after his training was stable.

"This will shock the world even more than computers!"

As the Pangu Project proceeded in secrecy, the scientific community in Borneo underwent significant changes.

Qian Wushi, Yu Yin, He Yujie and other early bigwigs gradually kept a low profile and rarely appeared in the public eye anymore.

The new generation is now the most active.

Institute of Atomic Energy.

Rao Mintai was sitting in his office, handling various matters within the institute.

With his mentor Yu Yin absent, he, as the deputy director, began to take on the mantle.

This also happens to other people.

For example, Yan Renguang became the president of Huangpu Polytechnic University; Zhao Zhongyao became the deputy director of the Institute of Physics, in charge of daily affairs; Zhou Peiyuan became the deputy director of the Institute of Mechanics, and so on.

These people also participated in the Pangu Project, but they were not core members. They only knew that the Dean and others were planning something big.

As for what exactly it is, nobody knows.

However, no one felt dissatisfied with this; everyone obediently completed their tasks and didn't say a word.

He Yujie's conversation with the others was effective.

Of course, the most important factor was Ridgeway's own prestige.

Just kidding, his current status in the Chinese scientific community is far beyond what Oppenheimer could have achieved back then.

The latter needs to coordinate with many bigwigs through emotional intelligence, while Li Qiwei doesn't even need to explain a single word.

His will will be carried out unconditionally!
The Pangu Project imposes fewer constraints on high-level R&D personnel like Rao Mintai, after all, they are all seasoned graduates of Whampoa Polytechnic University, and their loyalty is beyond question.

Therefore, after finishing his work each week, he would return to the Institute of Atomic Science to work.

"Ok?"

"An experiment using a cyclotron to accelerate neutron bombardment of uranium?"

Whose research application is this?

"That's very interesting."

The training of new recruits at the Atomic Research Institute was similar to that of later generations.

The supervisors usually give students a few topics to try out first, to see which ones the students are interested in or can work on, and then determine which one to choose as their graduation topic.

Currently, the institute only has one cyclotron, which operates on an application-based system.

Rao Mintai opened the application and was immediately taken aback.

This topic is very innovative.

The bombardment of uranium is still a very hot topic.

Although uranium nuclear fission has been discovered, there may be other unknown phenomena.

Therefore, continuing the bombardment is the right thing to do.

But what's the difference between using a cyclotron to accelerate neutrons and naturally emitted neutrons?

Aren't they all neutrons?

"The most important question is, how do we accelerate neutrons?"

Rao Mintai gently shook his head.

However, he was surprised again when he saw the applicant's name.

"It's actually Li Chengren's topic?"

"And the questions were even given to him by his teacher!"

Wow!
Needless to say, it's approved immediately.

My supervisor is a top expert in the field of atomic science, so the research topic he gives me must be excellent.

Moreover, Li Chengren is the dean's son.

The idea that the Li family will eventually become a family of scientists has long been deeply ingrained in people's minds.
-
Li Chengren, who just graduated this year, naturally came to the Institute of Atomic Science to pursue his doctorate, and his supervisor was Yu Yin.

What frustrated him was that he didn't even have the chance to see Yu Yin once a month.

"Am I being completely left to my own devices?"

However, he was Li Qiwei's son after all, so he knew a thing or two about him and didn't care.

The original five-person team is now truly embarking on the path of physics research.

Wang Ganchang, like him, also worked at the Institute of Atomic Energy, where his research focused on neutrinos.

This caused a stir among the crowd.

"This research project is awesome!"

"If we can really discover traces of neutrinos, it will definitely be a Nobel Prize-worthy achievement."

Wu Dayou went to the Institute of Physics to conduct theoretical research on atomic and molecular spectra.

Zhao Jiuzhang and Shu Xingbei went to China.

There was no other way; people from China came, pleading and begging for sympathy, trying to poach some elites from Borneo to bring back to China.

"Otherwise, no one will be willing to pursue further studies in China in the future."

So the two of them agreed.

Although the five people were separated by distance, they frequently exchanged letters, which did not affect their relationship at all.

At this moment, Li Chengren is discussing his research topic with Wang Ganchang.

The latter frowned slightly and said:

"I understand the first method you mentioned."

"By colliding a neutron with a high-speed proton, the neutron can gain the speed of a proton through the conservation of momentum."

"But how do we do the second method, which involves accelerating a charged particle with a neutron and then separating the neutron separately?"

Li Chengren scratched his head and said:
"I do not know either."

"This is what Professor Yu Yin told me before."

"I can't think of a second way to proceed."

"Anyway, I've decided to try the first method first."

Wang Ganchang nodded.

"The first method is highly feasible and should be able to obtain a neutron bombardment source with a stable velocity."

"Old Li, the future looks bright!"

In real history, later on, controllable neutron sources were obtained through nuclear reactions.

Because neutrons can only be accelerated indirectly, this greatly reduces the acceleration efficiency.

It cannot reach the speed of protons or electrons.

Therefore, physicists are considering producing neutrons directly through nuclear reactions.

The violent energy of a nuclear reaction is enough to accelerate neutrons to a very high level.

At this moment, Li Chengren was full of confidence, and he joked:
"Old Wang, your research project is awesome too."

"If we discover neutrinos, the Nobel Prize will be ours in no time."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)