You must know that uranium element does not mean the same thing as uranium-235.
As a chemical element, uranium belongs to the actinium series in the periodic table of elements. Its chemical symbol is U and its atomic number is 92. Because uranium is slightly radioactive, its isotopes are unstable, causing it to exist in nature in three forms: uranium 238, uranium 235, and uranium 234.
Among these three forms, only uranium 235 can undergo spontaneous fission. In other words, only uranium 235 can truly become the raw material for nuclear weapons.
And how much uranium-235 is there
Compared with uranium 238, the content is 99.2739% to 99.2752%, and the content of uranium 235 is only about 0.7198% to 0.7202%.
In other words, less than 0.1%, less than one thousandth.
This is also the most difficult thing in nuclear weapons research and manufacturing plans - how to separate uranium 235 and uranium 238 and specifically extract them
The current purification is purification in the true sense, and it is the real operation of the nuclear raw material uranium-235, not its brother - uranium-238.
You must know that uranium-235 and uranium-238 are isotopes with almost identical physical and chemical properties. The only difference may be that one has 143 neutrons in the nucleus and the other has 146 neutrons.
How to use this difference that only exists in the microscopic world to separate and purify uranium-235 is the real difficulty to be dealt with in the fourth phase of the nuclear weapons research and manufacturing plan.
So, what to do
Richard stood in the uranium element purification sector and thought, his eyebrows wrinkled little by little, as if he was trying to recall the memories stored in his brain.
After recalling it for a long time, his eyebrows slowly opened again, and he said with some relief: "Well, I seem to have forgotten it."
Yes, he forgot.
At the most critical stage of the plan, he forgot how to do it.
After all, his brain is not a computer, and it is impossible to remember everything. Knowledge that is basically impossible to use, such as the production of nuclear weapons, can be easily forgotten.
But after forgetting, he didn't feel any panic or anger.
On the one hand, although he cannot remember the knowledge of the fourth stage, he has a complete knowledge system, so he can deduce it through calculations, but it will take a while.
On the other hand, he doesn't even need the inference. Because when he said forgetting, he didn’t really forget. It was just that the superficial brain activity was temporarily undetectable. After all, this knowledge was really not of much use in normal times. In order to ensure the most efficient use of the brain, he usually used this knowledge. The knowledge with relatively low utilization rate is hidden deep in the brain, and the knowledge with higher utilization rate is placed in the shallower layer of the brain to ensure that it can be retrieved as quickly as possible.
So…
"breathe-"
Richard took a deep breath and said, "It looks like I have to go to that place."
"Then, let's go." Richard said, stepping out of the uranium element processing sector and towards the main laboratory.
At the heart of Eden, within the cylindrical main laboratory, is a separate lounge.
This lounge is very small, only about four square meters, and the decoration is extremely simple. There is almost nothing else except a bed.
Since the main laboratory was built, this lounge has been rarely used, but today Richard walked in.
…
"Ta-ta-ta..."
Taking steps, Richard walked into the lounge. He didn't do anything special, he just lay down on the bed quietly.
"breathe-"
"breathe--"
Richard kept breathing, the frequency became lower and lower, and the intervals became longer and longer. The heart rate slowed down and the whole person entered a state of sleep.
This state is more immersive than meditation, allowing Richard to enter the deepest part of his brain and mobilize all his memories.
…
"Rumble..."
A roar from nowhere appeared, and Richard's consciousness woke up in a starry sky.
Looking around, Richard found that there were stars above, below, left, and right of him, some big, some small, and of different colors.
And the place he was in was a void of space, that is, in the desolate outer space.
There is no air here, and naturally there is no air pressure. It is an absolute vacuum.
This is extremely dangerous for fragile creatures like humans.
According to the information collected from a vacuum chamber spacesuit leak incident at the N-shaped manned spacecraft center of a major country on Earth, it would not be seriously harmed initially.
For example, the human body will not explode because the skin has a certain elasticity.
Nor does the blood boil.
Because human blood vessels also have a certain degree of elasticity, they can produce a certain amount of pressure on the blood. As a result, human blood pressure is generally 75 Torr (1 Torr, equal to 1 mm of mercury) higher than the pressure in the external environment. When the outer space environmental pressure is 0, human blood pressure can still be maintained at about 75 Torr, which is 75 mm of mercury, 0.099 standard atmosphere (760 mm of mercury).
The boiling point of water at this time is 46°C, and the human body temperature of 37°C is not enough to make the blood boil.
People will not freeze to death.
Because space is not a cold place. In fact, because there are very few molecules in space, space does not have the attribute of "temperature". In other words, it is neither cold nor hot and is a good insulator. When exposed to it, the water on the human body's surface will evaporate, making people feel a little cold, but they will not freeze.
All in all, a few seconds of vacuum exposure isn't too bad.
But ten seconds later, the problem arises.
For example, because the radiation from stars is too strong, there is no need for protection, which can lead to sunburn.
For example, although the skin is elastic, decompression syndrome will occur due to the difference in air pressure between the body and the outside, resulting in mild, reversible, and painless swelling of the skin and subcutaneous tissue.
At this time, the human body's consciousness can still last for only a few seconds, and then it will become paralyzed, convulsed, and comatose.
During this process, water vapor forms in the soft tissues and veins, causing the body to swell, almost doubling in size. After that, the heart rate rises first, then drops rapidly, and the arterial blood pressure also drops accordingly. Venous blood pressure will rise due to gas expansion, exceeding arterial blood pressure within tens of seconds, interrupting the internal blood circulation of the human body.
After one minute, the human body is very likely to die due to myocardial fibrillation, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation cannot save it.
After two minutes, there is almost no chance of survival.
However, Richard was in outer space at this time, observing his surroundings for a long time, with a natural expression and no injuries.
Because this is not a real world, or in other words, it is not the external material world.
This is a virtual world, a world of imagination, a world of thinking, a world deep in Richard's brain and at the bottom of his soul.
This is Richard's biggest secret, the reason why he left the Blue Lion Kingdom and walked step by step to where he is now. It is the confidence to ignore all kinds of dangers, the source of endless trump cards, and the basis for trying to solve the ultimate problem.
Here is... Richard's memory palace.