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Volume 4: Walking in the Solar System Chapter 16: Businessmen and Nuclear Weapons (2)

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    The Australian military wants nuclear weapons, and it even wants nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.  Ever since Li Zhuang told Canberra that he was willing to donate two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to the Navy, and United Technologies would bear half of the costs, there has been no peace in Congress and the Prime Minister's Office.

    The existing nuclear power can only be nuclear fission power, and it is estimated that nuclear fusion power that can be installed on aircraft carriers and submarines will take another ten years.

    Underground of the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Sunway Construction Company dug out numerous basements, all of which are military standards.  The Australian military has stationed a supervision team of dozens of people at the Institute of Theoretical Physics. They say it is for supervision. This group of people is more enthusiastic about making the nuclear research institute change its direction.  Canberra has always been hesitant. Whether it is Congress or the government, the strength of the military is growing, but in a country like Australia, if the government does not agree with the nationalization of the military, it cannot possess nuclear weapons.

    Driven by forces in favor of possessing nuclear weapons, many people turned a blind eye. The Second Institute of Nuclear Physics became a unit jointly managed by Wesson Technology and the military, and its official name was also adjusted to the Institute of Engineering Nuclear Physics.  It eventually became a giant unit with nearly 12,000 researchers.

    The Nuclear Power Laboratory of the Institute of Engineering Nuclear Physics completed the development of a complete set of nuclear power devices five years ago with the cooperation of the Power Technology Research Institute. WLPs produced a set of nominally civilian products for use on ships.

    Since it is engineering nuclear physics, the construction of plutonium-producing reactors, tritium-producing reactors, and tritium-producing and plutonium-producing dual-use reactors is naturally indispensable.  For safety reasons, several large research bases were built in the desert. Except for a few above-ground buildings, they were all located underground. Taking full consideration of the direction of underground water, protective measures were very strict. These reactors were built in these places far away from urban areas.

    The Intelligent Brain Group that manages the Institute of Theoretical Physics doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s a big deal. Their rule for handling security is ¡°As long as nothing happens, it¡¯s fine.¡± This was Li Zhuang¡¯s exact words.

    There is now a lot of uranium-235 in stock. Hundreds of tons of uranium mines have been dug out of the desert. Uranium enrichment is very simple according to the company's technical level.

    In the beginning, the reactors were not big and were used purely for research. The funds allocated were just right. However, the system of United Technologies determined that many researchers were very rich, and most of the dividends they drew became part of the reactor.

    The mass production of tritium reactors and heavy water reactors with fast neutron flux is a key research project of the Institute of Engineering Nuclear Physics, and the amount of deuterium and lithium delivered exceeded scientists¡¯ expectations.  The reactors are getting bigger and bigger, and the tritium production efficiency has been greatly improved. Of course, the cost-efficiency ratio must be considered, otherwise the financial department will not be able to pass it.

    In the super-tightly protected nuclear plant, nearly 200 kilograms of high-purity uranium-235 were extracted. Spent fuel reprocessing technology has been repeatedly strengthened because it involves the issue of nuclear pollution treatment.  A lot of new technology was obtained, and the result was that scientists found that plutonium-239 was easy to produce.  In fact, these nuclear materials and nuclear technologies are not difficult for professional physicists, just because of strict regulations.

    The chemical properties of plutonium-239 are not very stable, but the critical mass is small, and it can detonate with only 16 kilograms.  Using the company's new technology, it is possible to make miniature nuclear bombs, but it is meaningless.  This thing is considered one of the most poisonous substances on earth. Xavier carefully directed the robot to deliver twenty kilograms of plutonium-239 into a special warehouse. He did not breathe a sigh of relief until the thick multi-layered lead-containing nano-alloy explosion-proof door was closed.

    The bookworm later reported to Zhou Qisen that he could make a nuclear bomb and that the technology had been developed.  When Zhou Qisen heard this, he was shocked and jumped up immediately, leading the management to a research base hundreds of kilometers away.  The idiots offered their treasures there and said that the research was very successful, which made Zhou Qisen's nose crooked with anger.  The military supervision team went to Canberra to report the good news, preparing to make it a fait accompli.

    After sending away the angry management, these physicists should continue to study and improve tritium-producing reactors, which is one of the keys to their self-sufficiency.

    At that time, the Institute of Theoretical Physics had nearly 40,000 employees, and a large number of new blood came in. However, 100% of the employees had a doctorate, and even 3% of the employees had double doctorates.  Those engaged in engineering nuclear physics are all veteran employees with very clean backgrounds. Many of them have worked in other well-known research institutions, but they are not very popular because of their personality.  This is a very helpless thing in the human world. Those with poor interpersonal skills are easily excluded by others, it just depends on the severity.

    According to the company¡¯s salary system, this institute¡¯s annual expenditure is as high as 400 million gold coupons, and its research equipment is sky-high. It is the largest expenditure after ASA.  Needless to say, the company's benefits are good, but many researchers still receive dividends frequently. The Finance Department will allow those who meet the safety rules and salary system in accordance with Li Zhuang's original regulations.

    The financial accounting of each department of United Technologies Corporation is independent. Most of the dividends received by employees of the Institute of Theoretical Physics are circulated internally, while a small part is handed over to the Joint Procurement Center and turned into various research instruments and equipment.  The actual R&D funding of the institute is much higher.??The figures on the accounts of the Finance Department.

    Employees are free to use their salary as they wish, and they do not need to file accounts.  There are too many people, and details cannot be perfected. This is one of the important reasons why there are few super companies on the earth.  Wang Mei was worried about the speed of spending money in this department, especially when she didn't know much about it, and complained to Zhou Qisen many times.

    Zhou Qisen and the headquarters management came back for a meeting to discuss how to deal with it.  Li Zhuang is partial to outstanding theoretical research talents and cannot deal with them forcefully.  The military representative office in Weizhou mentioned nuclear weapons more than once and envied the arrogance of those big countries.  Soldiers all like weapons, but something as sensitive as nuclear weapons must be handled with caution.

    The result of the joint meeting's discussion was to give it a try. Zhou Qisen went to Canberra to meet him, but there was already a mess there.  The politicians are kind of stupid and the military is ecstatic and they don't care about the political implications.  This time the "nuclear bomb case" planned by the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the military representative office in Wisconsin was handled lightly in the end. No matter the company's senior management, Congress or the Prime Minister's Office, the Canberra supervision team and the Xavier team escaped punishment.  .

    There are many stories later. The nuclear test was done on a certain island in the Pacific and was very successful.  There was a lot of trouble, but it was all sorted out.  For this reason, Canberra is also at odds with London, and last year voted in a referendum to leave the Commonwealth.

    In short, Australia¡¯s complete nuclear weapons system was established in just five years, and the relationship between the military and United Technologies is as close as one family.  Thousands of WLM engineers have been working in the military for a long time.

    The nuclear factory produced a batch of the secondary charge lithium deuteride 6 and the primary explosive charge lithium deuterium tritide 6 required for the hydrogen bomb, but was eventually stopped.  Why?  Military spending is limited.  Tritium has a short half-life, which means that the maintenance of thermonuclear weapons using tritium is somewhat troublesome. Helium needs to be released regularly to replenish tritium, otherwise it will easily fail.  Tritium is not a necessity for thermonuclear weapons. The most commonly used one is lithium deuteride, which is often used in the miniaturization process of nuclear weapons.

    The Australian military does not use that many nuclear weapons, and the number of troops is not as large as that of major countries. Fortunately, there are many young people in Weizhou who are interested in the military. Otherwise, the tri-service headquarters will go crazy and other states will not have enough troops.

    The relative lag in communication between the military and the Institute of Engineering Physics of the Institute of Theoretical Physics is one of the reasons for the excess tritium, but it is not the most important reason.

    Wles originally had a good idea to win over the TPP markets in Europe, Australia and China. Citigroup was also considered, and the business department received a large number of intended orders in the early stage.  In order to seize the first-mover advantage, the company's deuterium harvesting ships worked day and night, dozens of tritium-producing stacks were built, and production began after the successful operation of the pilot power plant.

    Canberra Power Plant ctpp has been completed, but there are currently no follow-up orders.  The reason is simple. Wles has sold too many concentrating solar power plants, wind turbines and battery packs in Australia. These facilities have a long lifespan, and if the quality is too good, it will become a problem for them to make money.

    The European market is united by Germany and France. The most important German market is occupied by French products and is unwilling to accept wles' solution.  The Germans changed their attitude too quickly. The Overseas Bureau of Investigation conducted four and five investigations for two months, but there was still no result.

    Citigroup has been unable to negotiate a small order of one million kilowatts. The main reason is that the other party's price is too high on some technical details. A large number of new power plant construction projects have been won by competitors. Japan is relatively exclusive and difficult to deal with. So far, it has not been able to negotiate.  No intention at all.  Others who are willing to accept the company's construction of TPP have more serious security issues.

    The terrible thing is that tritium cannot be kept for a long time. Compared with the long half-life of uranium, this guy is not worth mentioning. It loses 5.4% every year, but it is very expensive.

    China achieved unification on New Year's Day last year. Although the struggle between the capital and the small islands and Hong Kong Island is still fierce, the other side has no excuse to prevent economic integration and is slowly integrating.  Both Hong Kong Island and small islands have sent invitations to wles, but the implementation time cannot be determined yet.

    On the third day after Li Zhuang returned to Sunway City, he received an official letter from Province H. He acted quickly and agreed to wles¡¯ technical plan and negotiated some details with City K.  K City's internal affairs force has been doubled in size and is responsible for the protection of the K City nuclear fusion power plant codenamed ktpp to be built.

    Province Z moved faster than Province H. As soon as the news of the successful operation of the Canberra nuclear fusion power plant CTPP came out, the company's public relations department received a consultation letter from the provincial government within one day.  Their appetite is amazing. The first phase is 50 million kilowatts and the second phase is 50 million kilowatts, which will be completed within 20 years.  Giant power plant investment raises capital in the province, where there are many rich people.  Although there has been a lot of trouble over the years, there will be ample funds after the return of a large amount of capital, not to mention that a business that can make a profit without losing money will always be welcomed by investors.

    As for the nuclear fission power plants that are more numerous than those in province h, representatives of the provincial council in z have proposed to gradually dismantle the nuclear fusion power plants according to the progress of grid-connected power generation, and have received widespread support. The implementation isSomething early.  In the face of nuclear fear, as long as there are comparable alternatives, the forces behind nuclear fission power plants cannot be stopped.

    ??Li Zhuang knows the wishful thinking of Province Z. They want to handle all the electricity in Shanghai. The profit of this project is not low and it is very stable.  He still keeps the house in Hangzhou. Although he has never lived in it, he has not sold it either.  Province Z knows that he still has feelings for Hangzhou, and his relationship circle is mostly concentrated in Hangzhou, so the location of the TPP project can only be in Hangzhou, not Shanghai.  TPP technology is extremely difficult and relatively clean, but unlike nuclear fission fuel, which is feared by everyone and only terrorists are interested in, nuclear fusion fuel deuterium and tritium are precious things and are afraid of being stolen.

    In the two months since its operation, ctpp has become an iconic technology attraction in Canberra. Countless tourists have come to see what¡¯s new. The security personnel feel like they are on the verge of danger and the commentator¡¯s mouth is dry.  A certain expert looked at the sample of deuterium, tritium and lithium pellets in the hand of the commentator. He heard that it was worth tens of thousands of Australian dollars, so he became evil and took the small transparent resin box containing the exhibit. Fortunately, he was caught quickly.  .  The police looked at this thief who lacked common sense, reluctantly gave him a lesson, and then drove him away.

    Wles has the construction experience of Sunway Demonstration Power Plant and CTPP, and used large-scale construction robots in K City.  The project progressed very quickly, with the land leveled and the necessary auxiliary facilities installed in just two months.

    The coordination of electricity consumption in K City is not a problem, and external export depends on the results of negotiations between the province and various forces.  Province H moved very quickly, but WLES was even faster. It only took one year to complete the construction of the first two sets of single-machine 500,000-kilowatt units, which were successfully connected to the grid for power generation, and all 10 million units were completed within three years.  Kilowatt installed capacity.

    This made Province H look at each other in confusion. I bet Australia had already produced the relevant equipment a long time ago, and even the fuel was ready. Could it be that there really was a surplus of tritium?

    Province Z had a fierce fight with Shanghai, but finally compromised and gave 40% of the shares of Hangzhou Nuclear Fusion Power Plant htpp to Shanghai investors. The project construction went smoothly and it became another attraction in Hangzhou, but the tickets were very expensive.  , because this is different from Canberra¡¯s investment structure.

    Nuclear power units were successively shipped to China from the wles factory in Wheeling City, and the Institute of Theoretical Physics achieved profitability within two years.  New tritium-producing reactors are being built one after another to cope with the increasing demand.

    For bookworms, making money is also very happy, isn¡¯t it?  Any technology has two sides. For the Institute of Theoretical Physics, nuclear weapons are just a by-product. Thermonuclear power plants and numerous rare metals are the first-stage targets.

    ;
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