Chapter 1118: Chapter 836: Expedited Production

On April 12, 1935, five days after the second atomic bomb test explosion had concluded.

Arthur looked at the strikingly different sets of data on his desk and turned to Albert Einstein with some surprise, unable to resist asking, “Is this the atomic bomb data you tested a few days ago?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Einstein nodded, seemingly having anticipated Arthur’s astonishment.

“The first set of data is from our first test of the gun-type atomic bomb, while the second and third sets are from our improved uranium-235 bomb and plutonium-239 bomb, respectively,” Einstein explained.

“The improved uranium-235 atomic bomb reached an explosive yield of 3,200 tons TNT equivalent, and the utilization rate of the nuclear material is at least 10%? The plutonium-239 atomic bomb had an explosive yield of 5,000 tons, with a nuclear material utilization rate of at least 15%?” Arthur had never imagined that the data from the second nuclear weapon test would differ so greatly from the first.

Of course, this was good news for Australasia.

It’s worth noting that all three of these atomic bombs were test bombs; the first atomic bomb had only one kilogram of uranium-235 as nuclear material, and the other two bombs had merely 1.5 kilograms each of uranium-235 and plutonium-239.

In normal combat, it would certainly not be possible to load such a small amount of nuclear material.

The two atomic bombs the Americans dropped on the Island Nation had 64 kilograms of uranium-235 and 6.1 kilograms of plutonium-239 in the first and second bomb respectively, significantly larger than these test bombs.

Theoretically, the more nuclear material loaded, the greater the explosive power of the atomic bomb at detonation.

Although the increase in power can’t be calculated by simple multiplication, if Australasia’s atomic bombs generally carried more than 6 kilograms of plutonium-239, doesn’t that mean a single atomic bomb could have a terrifying explosive power of over 30,000 tons TNT equivalent?

An atomic bomb with 30,000 tons TNT equivalent explosive yield would be equivalent to triggering an earthquake above magnitude 5. This also meant that dropping a single atomic bomb on an enemy’s urban city could inflict massive destruction.

Is the cost of manufacturing an atomic bomb high?

Of course, it is.

But if a single atomic bomb could lead to the downfall of an enemy city, such a cost would be relatively low for Australasia.

“Are you certain these data are stable, or is the explosive yield not consistent?” Arthur asked, somewhat expectantly.

If such explosive data could occur consistently, it would mean that Australasia could immediately start manufacturing atomic bombs and mass-produce them as their ultimate trump card.

“Your Majesty, based on our multiple calculations, such data are quite reasonable,” Einstein replied. “After the design improvements, the uranium-235 utilization rate could reach over 8%, and the plutonium-239 rate could be over 13%.”

Arthur nodded with excitement, focusing his gaze on Einstein and asked his most pressing question, “Is the nuclear weapons research and testing team able to start mass-producing atomic bombs now? What scale could our atomic bomb production achieve if we produced them with all our might?”

“Your Majesty, the other components of the atomic bomb are easy to produce and are not the limiting factor for atomic bomb production. For us, the only limiting factor is the production speed of nuclear material; that is the issue we must resolve now,” Einstein responded.

Given Australasia’s industry scale, all other parts of the atomic bomb can be easily produced, with numerous bomb casings being produced every day.

However, without the internal nuclear material, the atomic bomb casings are just the simplest of detonation devices, effectively useless.

To increase the production speed of nuclear material, it will be necessary to build a large number of nuclear reactors to increase the output of plutonium-239.

Since plutonium-239 is a new element produced during nuclear reactions, to increase its production, it is necessary to separate large amounts of uranium-235 from uranium mines for the reactions.

Ultimately, the most important thing right now is to establish a large number of centrifuges to separate vast quantities of uranium-235 from uranium mines.

“Currently, the manufacturing of atomic bombs is of utmost national priority; all resources must first be allocated to the nuclear weapons research and testing team,” Arthur ordered. “I will allocate 5 million Australian dollars on behalf of the government to the nuclear weapons research and experimental team.

This money will be used to construct a larger-scale centrifuge, to improve the speed at which the team extracts uranium-235.

Based on a baseline template of 30,000 tons TNT equivalent, whether for uranium-235 bombs or plutonium-239 bombs, I hope that the nuclear weapons research and testing team can achieve a production rate of at least five atomic bombs per year.

Also, delegate some personnel to work on miniaturizing nuclear weapons. You should understand the missile development team’s project; if we can mount nuclear weapons onto missiles, it will become the weapon with the longest range and greatest power in human history.

Manufacturing atomic bombs is the primary task, while miniaturization of nuclear weapons is secondary. On this basis, if you need people, money, or supplies, you’ll get them.

Any problems you encounter can be reported to Hunter as a priority, and he will handle all troubles for you. Tell those guys in the nuclear weapons research and testing team that titles of nobility and medals are already prepared for them, and how soon they receive them depends on their effort.”

Development of nuclear weapons is absolutely a matter of national importance, and for those researchers involved, Arthur would certainly not be stingy.

Arthur’s words were true. After the conclusion of the first nuclear weapon test, Arthur had already begun drafting rewards for these nuclear weapon researchers.

The leading scientists would receive the richest rewards, with a barony as the minimum.

Especially for Einstein, the leader of the nuclear weapon testing and research team, with all his merits accumulated, he would become one of the top scientists and be the first to receive the title of Earl.

Besides these titles of nobility, various medals, assets, and funds would also be provided as rewards without stint.

However, in the interest of absolute secrecy about nuclear weapons, the rewards granted to them are only given under the guise of a scientific research project, without revealing the specific content they are developing.

“I understand, Your Majesty. With your support, achieving an annual production of five atomic bombs is not difficult. However, if we wish to conduct miniaturization research on nuclear weapons on top of producing five atomic bombs, we will likely need the help of experts in related fields,” Albert Einstein nodded and said.

Miniaturizing atomic bombs might sound simple, but the process is not without its challenges.

Even if the miniaturization is successful, we must also consider how the miniaturized atomic bombs will coordinate with missiles to achieve the best state.

This means that we will need the help of missile development experts in order to combine atomic bombs with missiles.

As for Einstein’s request, Arthur naturally would not refuse.

Speaking of which, missile development has already reached a standstill, and no significant progress is expected in the short term.

Combining nuclear weapons seems to be a project that can yield quick results. If we could successfully integrate missiles with nuclear weapons before World War II breaks out, Australasia would possess global nuclear deterrence capabilities.

Of course, such global nuclear deterrence is somewhat clumsy and won’t reach certain remote inland areas, as missiles clearly can’t cover them.

It’s better to describe it as nuclear deterrence against all coastal countries globally. It poses a massive threat to countries with expansive strategic depth along the coast, such as island nations.

With an adequate stockpile of nuclear weapons, Australasia could even completely destroy the coastal cities of the Island Nation, reducing it from the ranks of the Powers to a minor country.

This would be a significant shift in the existing military strategic concepts. Previously, there were many ways to eliminate a country, but they mainly boiled down to two.

One is to achieve complete occupation and fully assimilate a country over a long history. The other is to cause total fragmentation, turning a unified country into multiple smaller nations to maintain a balance of power.

But both methods have one issue: it is very difficult to assimilate or fragment a particularly strong country.

The defeated nations of World War I retained their vitality; even Austria, which lost Hungary, still counts as one of the Powers.

However, in upcoming wars, Australasia could completely topple the Island Nation using its own means.

Each atomic bomb dropped represents the deaths of hundreds of thousands or even millions of Islanders.

Currently, the Island Nation’s population is only in the tens of millions. If we are cruel enough, we could even reduce the Islanders’ population to the millions.

Of course, doing so would be insanely brutal and significantly impact Arthur’s historical reputation.

After all, no military commander who massacred their enemies in human history has ever reached the scale of killing millions.

If we truly reduce the Islanders to a population of millions, Australasia would have to slaughter tens of millions.

This figure would surpass the total casualties of humanity in World War I. If Arthur were to proceed with this, although it would be satisfying, the damage to Australasia and Arthur’s reputation could destabilize Australasia’s subsequent rule.

Arthur already has a strategy in mind for dealing with the Island Nation.

Nuclear weapons must be deployed; dealing a severe blow to the nation is needed to tame this rogue.

Furthermore, if managed well, the extremist Islanders could also hold certain value.

Upon swiftly defeating the Island Nation, its government could be controlled to create a large Island Nation Army that would aid Australasia in its European campaigns.

The Islanders, like the Filipinos and the Kalimantan people, will become valuable and expendable cannon fodder.

The Island Nation’s geographic location can also constrain the development of the unified Russia Nation.

Arthur still maintains a certain wariness towards the current Russia Nation. After Nicholas II fled to London, the Russian Government has achieved complete control over all of Russia’s territories.

A unified Russia Nation, with its modern thinking, a population of hundreds of millions, and vast territories with abundant mineral resources, displays potential that might even surpass that of Australasia.

After all, Australasia’s population issue is still a concern; facing Russia Nation, whose population is more than double its own, represents a natural disadvantage.

Of course, the immense territory of Russia is also a problem for the country. Even though they have the largest population among the native lands of the Powers, the vast majority are concentrated in Eastern Europe.

The extensive regions of Siberia and the Far East hardly see any voluntary Russian settlers. Other than the military deployments, only a few urban cities and warmer areas witness Russian presence.

For Russia, governing such vast territories requires astronomical amounts of manpower and supplies.

This is the challenge for the new Russian Government. Under the earlier Tsarist Government of Nicholas II, the large population and expansive territory became burdens instead.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com