fifteen kilometers away.
The high platform built by the steel frame stands in the white snow field, and it does not look like a creation of this era - the regular and dense exposed structure, the beams and steel cables hanging with ice picks, and the barbed wire surrounded by layers, all revealing Industrial beauty.
Hundreds of people were busy around it, preparing for the detonation.
Since the entire principle device weighs nearly ten tons, and the Hummingbird has gone to the front line again, it is impossible to carry out final assembly in Neverwinter City. The parts can only be distributed and dragged to the test site and assembled on site.
Fortunately, its structure itself is very simple, and the need for split transportation was considered in the design, so the requirements for workers are not high.
This is also the difference between "Sunshine" and other weapons - even if the venue and equipment have been arranged, it still takes a day or two to complete the final preparations.
At this moment, Roland and Anna are standing on the top of the tower, directing the assembly of the device.
"Next is the No. 3 core component, pay attention to the direction of the interface, and be careful of bumps!"
"Everyone listens to my password! Three, two, one!"
Following the call of the worker captain, a silver-white cylinder was slowly pushed into the device.
It was not until this step was completed that Roland slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
What is contained in the cylinder is the main energy source for this test explosion - two separate uranium-235 cylinders, each of which has a mass of 20 kilograms. When combined, the two will provide a total charge mass of forty kilograms. This value is lower than the critical limit of 53 kilograms. In theory, a violent fission reaction will not occur, but as he said before, the critical value is not a fixed value.
Conditions such as shape, temperature, and pressure may cause this value to change, which is why "nuclear weapons" that rely solely on reactor materials have little practical value. For example, fifty-two kilograms of uranium-235 in a spherical state seems to be stable, but it is actually a volcano that is ready to erupt and is about to erupt. Even a little bump or vibration could make it pass critical.
Similarly, although it is safe to use multiple small uranium blocks, it will also increase the difficulty of detonation exponentially - when several uranium blocks are combined into one, the whole can indeed exceed the critical point, and the high temperature generated by the fission reaction will cause The uranium block expands rapidly, reducing its density in disguise, and the violent explosion pushes the raw material away, interrupting the reaction.
All in all, a reasonable configuration must not only allow the uranium element to reach criticality, but also maintain this state for as long as possible in order to exert the due power of the fission reaction.
The reason why the gun configuration is called gun is that its principle is very similar to the ancient musket, through the detonation of explosives, one uranium block is violently pushed to another uranium block. Under enormous pressure, the density of the uranium block will increase rapidly, even if the mass is slightly lower, it can pass the critical point.
When the casing of the device was attached, Anna personally inserted a can of packaging with a radioactive source warning sign into the reserved tail port.
That was the last key component of the test explosion.
For a moment, Roland felt as if something had been pricked on his face, and even his breathing stopped for half a beat.
"Polonium-beryllium neutron source".
Just like the name, it provides a large amount of free neutrons for fission and is the most direct way to reduce the critical value. Inside the can-like metal container, there is a row of hollow balls - each sphere is about the size of a ping-pong ball, the core is a marble-like polonium ball, and is tightly wrapped in gold foil, and it is surrounded by a Ring honeycomb beryllium flakes.
When the uranium blocks collide, it will also smash the small can at the bottom of the "barrel". All hollow spheres will be crushed thinner than paper by the violent explosive gas, and after the gold foil is broken, the beryllium flakes and polonium The balls stick closely together, fully accepting the alpha particles emitted by the latter, and then lasing out several times the number of neutrons.
These neutrons will participate in the fission reaction of uranium 235. If you are lucky, you can consume a few percent more raw materials before the reaction ends, greatly increasing the power of nuclear weapons.
Since the half-life of polonium 210 is only 138 days, providing a replacement interface is an essential design. In addition, it is extremely dangerous to keep the neutron source in the weapon for a long time. After all, polonium and beryllium can spontaneously emit neutrons as long as it is in contact. Once the gold foil is damaged, the consequences will be disastrous.
After the polonium beryllium neutron source was loaded into the principle device, it changed from a mild and harmless thing to a monster that could engulf everyone on site at any time.
Although Roland knew that his feelings were just an illusion, and it was impossible for people to capture the changes in the number of neutrons in the environment, his breathing was still much lighter subconsciously.
At this point, the principle device has officially completed all the preparatory work before the detonation.
Anna took the initiative to hold his hand.
"Order."
Under the calm and steady gaze of the other party, Roland nodded slightly.
Regardless of the outcome, the Sunshine Project has finally come this far.
And after this step is taken, mankind will go to a new field.
He looked at Sean, the personal guard, "Pass my order, notify the command post, and count down the ignition in six hours!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"6:00"
"woo woo woo woo---"
"The No. 1 device has entered the ignition-ready stage, repeat, the No. 1 device has entered the ignition-ready stage, please pack up immediately and leave the venue in an orderly manner according to the drill plan! Note, this is not an exercise, and the test explosion site will It closes in an hour, everyone must evacuate to safety before that!"
Soon, the evacuation notice rang out along with the siren.
"Quick, quick, everyone gather in the open space in front of the tower, don't pull anyone down!"
"Construction team number two, one, two, three..."
"Test the blockade of the gate!"
"All members of the God's Punishment Witch Squad are here and begin to lead the team to evacuate."
The peaceful snowfield seemed to be boiling, the people's shouts and the repeated sirens set off each other, and the atmosphere became tense and solemn for a while. Everyone knew in their hearts that they were about to witness an unprecedented experiment.
"3:00"
In the command post, Roland and Anna took out two keys and opened the cover of the console together.
When one switch is pressed, the green lights on the table light up in turn.
"The main cable is sending power!"
"Mystery Moon No. 1 is working normally, and the load is rising steadily."
"Switch to line one now."
"Understood, as soon as the line is connected, the power supply of the principle device is normal!"
The observers reported the operation of the detonation system loudly until the last green light turned on, which meant that the current had passed through multiple boosts and was conducted to the high platform fifteen kilometers away.
"1:00"
An alarm was also raised over the command post, which meant there was only one final hour left in the detonation procedure.
The doors and windows of the bunker were all closed, and the oil lamps were extinguished one by one to avoid accidents caused by vibrations.
The high-rise of Neverwinter entered a special observation room. According to Roland's instructions, its outer façade was built into a trapezoid to better withstand shock waves, while the inner end was deepened to accommodate the huge original carrier. body.
Pasha and the Tachira witch have been waiting for a long time.
"0:15"
It's getting dark.
The last round of hurried sirens finally arrived.
Whether it was a senior executive, a soldier or a worker, they all put on black sunglasses to resist strong light according to the content of the previous practice.
Although most people don't understand why they wear glasses that obstruct their vision in this dark and snowy day.
It's not like you can't see anything.
"0:05"
"Countdown, five minutes!"
When the announcement sounded again, the scene had become silent.
All communication and discussions have been suspended, and everyone stared intently at the darkness ahead, holding their breath involuntarily.
"Three minutes countdown!"
Roland felt sweat dripping from his palms.
Anna glanced at him with a smile and held him gently.
"One minute countdown!"
There was also a hand on the other side, and then the five fingers overlapped.
"Ten seconds countdown!"
"Nine!"
Although it was a pity not to be able to press the detonation button in person, Roland knew that this long road of historical facts had just begun.
"three!"
"two!"
"one!"
"Detonate!"
The snow field in the distance was quiet, as if nothing had happened - time seemed to freeze at this moment, as if a long time had passed, and it seemed as if it was only a short moment.
Then an extremely dazzling blue light bloomed from the horizon, tearing up the darkness in front of me in an instant!