What is an Atom Bomb?

Atomic bomb is one of the nuclear weapons. It is a large lethal weapon that uses the photothermal radiation, shock wave and induced radioactivity of the nuclear reaction to cause killing and destructive effects, as well as causing large-scale radioactive contamination and preventing the other party's military operations to achieve strategic objectives. It mainly includes fission weapons (the first generation of nuclear weapons, commonly known as atomic bombs) and fusion weapons (also known as hydrogen bombs, divided into two and three types). Some also put hydrogen with induced radiation inside the weapon to increase radiation intensity and pollution, or enhance neutron radiation to kill people (such as neutron bombs).

[yuán z dàn]

Nuclear weapon system

The US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan,

except

After all, atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs as weapons are to be destroyed. However, as a nuclear explosion that releases huge energy, it has an attractive application prospect in peace construction. Because the energy released by a nuclear explosion is extremely large, it can accomplish many tasks that would otherwise not be possible. Nuclear explosions can be used to open mountains, open roads, dig canals, and build artificial ports. For example, there is a scheme that requires only four nuclear explosions to excavate a seaport capable of mooring 10,000-ton ships. First, a one-million-ton TNT equivalent nuclear explosion can explode a large pit with a diameter of more than 300 meters and a depth of more than 30 meters. Three smaller nuclear explosions were then carried out, opening a canal to connect the large pit to the deep sea (such an explosion should of course minimize the production of radioactive material). After just a few months, when the tide washed away a little radioactive material, the harbor was safe to use.

For another example, many areas have a large amount of petroleum tar sands and oil shale. This oil cannot be recovered by drilling, but the high temperature and high pressure of a nuclear explosion can force this oil to flow, so it can be extracted. It is said that the oil in the oil shale in a region of the western United States alone can be used for a long time worldwide.

As for using the high temperature and pressure of underground nuclear explosions to turn graphite into

On October 16, 1964, China's first atomic bomb exploded. According to the decrypted data, China spent a total of 2.8 billion yuan for the bombing of the atomic bomb. Combined with the vague information published earlier, China has invested in a Baosteel-scale iron and steel plant on its entire nuclear program (development of the first-generation nuclear weapons and industrial system construction) until the early 1980s-an estimated 300 Billion yuan.

On January 15, 1955, China launched a nuclear weapon development program code-named 02. If calculated based on this, the average annual atomic bomb development cost during the ten years is 280 million. If it is the 596 project, which is China's first atomic bomb development project, with 1959 as the starting point for calculation, the annual cost is 470 million. If the calculation is extreme, since the first atomic bomb test program was officially launched in 1962, the average annual cost in three years was 930 million yuan.

Provide some comparative data:

The total cost of the Korean War in the first three years was 6.2 billion yuan, of which the cost of equipment provided by the Soviet Union was 3 billion yuan. (The data of "Cambridge History of the People's Republic of China 1949-1965" is $ 10 billion, which is ridiculously wrong.)

2. In the 1959 national budget, defense spending was 5.8 billion yuan; debt expenditure was 1.1 billion yuan; foreign aid expenditure was 600 million yuan; other expenditure was 270 million yuan.

3. The general estimated loss of the Great Leap Forward is 120 billion yuan.

Fourth, the total debt repayment of the Soviet Union is 5.9 billion yuan, 1 billion yuan per year.

5. In 1956, Zhou Enlai announced that he would donate 800 million yuan to Vietnam for free.

6. China forgive the debt of 1.45 billion rubles (converted) to the aid of North Korea during the Korean War, and assisted 1.6 billion rubles from 1954 to 1957.

China's nuclear program was fully launched in 1958, and in 1962, after discussions about whether to dismiss it, it moved to the decisive stage. China s atomic energy industry construction goal is small and complete. According to data, from uranium exploration to the manufacture of the first atomic bomb, it was calculated at the price of 1957, about 10.7 billion yuan, and at the price of 1981, about 12.86 billion yuan .

Mao Zedong said to the visiting Marshal Montgomery: "We use a little bit of money for testing. We don't have a solid economic foundation." The meaning of this sentence should be that the cost of nuclear testing is very small, and the construction of the nuclear industry should not belong to nuclear testing. Within the scope. According to the comprehensive estimates of the above data, China s first atomic bomb cost 2.8 billion directly; the construction of the nuclear industry system and supporting expenditures (such as uranium mining) cost billions of yuan, up to 8 billion; in addition, including nuclear weapons Other expenses, such as the development of nuclear submarines and missile nuclear weapons, total the cost of building a Baosteel. This is a heavy but affordable price, not a real "pants off".

The biggest estimate is: For the nuclear program, China has fought two more Korean wars in ten years, but it no longer has the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of lives, and it will save the Chinese nation from large-scale aggression by foreign enemies! ^[6]

Due to the improvement of the accuracy of nuclear weapon projection tools, since the 1960s, the development of nuclear weapons, first of all, has significantly reduced the weight and size of the nuclear warhead but still maintained a certain power, that is, the specific power (ratio of power to weight) has Significantly improved. For example, the United States is in

Atomic weapons can explode in the air, on the ground (water surface), and underground (underwater). When an atomic weapon explodes, it can produce a variety of killing effects. When the atomic bomb explodes, do not look at the fireball. You should immediately use the nearby fortifications and favorable terrain and features to conceal. Personnel on open ground should immediately lie down with their backs to the heart. Stomach abdomen when lying down, put your hands under your chest, close your eyes and open your mouth, and put your face between your arms. Temper temporarily when exposed to hot air. Personnel who have time to leave the room in the future should avoid windows, stoves, etc., and lie on the wall root, under the table or under the bed in the direction of the explosion.

Shock wave protection: After the shock wave passes through the concave and convex area, the shock force is obviously weakened, so it can also play a certain protective role in trenches, pits, behind mounds, behind solid low walls. Entering civil air defenses and tunnels can effectively protect against shock wave injuries.

Early nuclear radiation protection: time duration of early nuclear radiation

Atomic bomb policy

Mao Zedong established an active defense strategy. From the early 1956 to January 1967, as early as the mid-1950s, the Party Central Committee and Chairman Mao Zedong made a plan to develop

People's Daily

Bullet decision. According to the international situation at that time, Chairman Mao Zedong established a strategic policy of active defense. Chairman Mao decided that in order to defend, China would also engage in the atomic bomb. We do not attack others first, but not passive defense, but active defense. This means that if someone attacks us, we need to have a way to deal with him. This is Chairman Mao's consistent strategic thinking. If others bomb us with an atomic bomb, we also need to have a way to fight him back. Therefore, the central authorities decided that we would also develop the atomic bomb.

The general policy is to rely on self-reliance and supplemented by foreign aid. It is necessary to develop by oneself, and at the same time, to win foreign aid. At that time, Western countries blocked us, and Sino-Soviet relations were better. We wanted to win the Soviet Union to give us some assistance. However, there is a boundary, which is to fight for aid, not cooperation or co-operation. In other words, the scientific research units, factories, various equipment and technologies that engage in the atomic bomb are China's own. You can come to assist me. I welcome you and thank you, but you cannot share and use it with me. This is a major issue in safeguarding national sovereignty. Therefore, it is proposed to rely on self-reliance and supplemented by foreign aid. Don't join me in managing this unit and managing this matter. This was the central government's policy on atomic bombs at that time, and it was the strategic policy of active defense established by Chairman Mao's vision. ^[7]

Atomic bomb mission

The central government decided to develop atomic bombs mainly on self-reliance. Later, it was decided to develop missiles and satellites by itself, collectively referred to as "two bombs and one star." The Atomic Bomb and the Hydrogen Bomb are in charge of the Second Aircraft Department, and the missiles are in charge of the Fifth Academy of Defense (later the Seventh Aircraft Department). Chairman Mao gave an instruction on the development of the atomic bomb: "We must work together to do this work vigorously." The Chinese Academy of Sciences is mainly responsible for the development of atomic bombs and missiles in accordance with the spirit of "strong coordination" and "three twists in a rope" determined by the central government. A series of key scientific and technical tasks, including theoretical analysis, scientific experiments, scheme design, research and development, and various special new materials, components, instruments, and equipment required for mass production. As for artificial satellites, from the idea to the proposal, they were all put forward by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and launched twice (1958, 1965). After the approval of the Central Special Committee, led by Premier Zhou Enlai and Luo Ruiqing as the Secretary-General, under the unified organization of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences will be responsible for the overall system technology development and satellite development. The aircraft department is responsible for the vehicle, and the Academy of Sciences and the four aircraft departments are jointly responsible for the ground measurement and control system.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences attaches great importance to the task of "two bombs and one star" issued by the Party Central Committee, and the deputy dean of Pei Lisheng specifically grasps the implementation of the "two bombs and one star" research work. In order to facilitate work, several top-aged middle-aged scientists are arranged as academic secretaries in each research institute. Through them, they understand the situation, listen to opinions, and then find other scientists to talk about work. In order to implement the research mission of "two bombs and one star", the Chinese Academy of Sciences has divided the management organization into two ports: one is the Planning Bureau, which manages units that do not undertake national defense tasks; the other is the New Technology Bureau, which manages units that undertake national defense tasks.

Although the New Technology Bureau manages fewer units than the Planning Bureau, it manages large offices, and scientific researchers participating in the "two bombs and one star" development task account for two-thirds of the institute's scientific research personnel. Gu Yu is the director of the New Technology Bureau, Song Zheng is the deputy director, and Lu Yiguan is the director, helping Gu Yu to work. Gu Yu is the wife of Comrade Hu Qiaomu. Qiao Mu is Chairman Mao's political secretary and lives in Zhongnanhai. Gu Yu is enthusiastic, active and capable. She is relatively familiar with the State Planning Commission and the central ministries. It is very convenient to talk about work and support and collaborate with each other. Sometimes Chairman Mao asked her about the Academy of Sciences and "two bombs and one star", and he could also report to Chairman Mao in person.

In addition to the guarantee of project funding and equipment priority, the New Technology Bureau also has many non-standard equipment that can be arranged to various industrial departments to assist in processing and manufacturing. The non-standard equipment used in research rooms and experimental bases is designed by the Institute of Science and made by the relevant industrial departments on time to ensure quality and deliver on time. The National Defense Science and Technology Commission manages this aspect of the work, sends representatives to the factory to supervise, and the institute that proposes the design can also send staff to the factory to supervise.

Self-reliance is mainly based on China's own research and development. At that time, the strength of researching nuclear science and technology was concentrated in the Institute of Atomic Energy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and there were more than 20 research institutes and other institutions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other departments and colleges. The fight for foreign aid is mainly because the Soviet Union promised to help us build a 7000 kilowatt experimental atomic reactor in a certain place in Beijing. This reactor is all under the control of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, a uranium enrichment plant was built in another place, and the key raw material for the atomic bomb was enriched uranium. ^[7]

Atomic bomb story

The raw material for the atomic bomb is uranium-235. Chairman Mao found the geologist Li Siguang, who was then the Minister of Geology and the Deputy Dean of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chairman Mao asked, "Is there any uranium ore used in the atomic bomb manufacturing in China?" Li Siguang said: "Yes! However, the average natural uranium ore can only contain a few thousandths of the composition of the atomic bomb raw material." A few thousandths of uranium is proposed, and then enriched to become the raw material of the atomic bomb. The most important thing is to build a uranium enrichment plant.

In order to engage in the atomic bomb, the central government set up a second machine department, and Song served as the poor minister. He is four or five years older than me. I call him Brother Song. We worked together for several months in Anhui. When the one million troops crossed the Yangtze River, the Central Committee decided to establish the Anhui Provincial Party Committee. He became the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial Government, and I became the Vice-Chairman of the Provincial Government.

The day after I went to work in the Academy of Sciences, Brother Song called and said he would visit me at my house. I said, "Don't come, I'm going, you are the elder brother." He said, "No. I must go to you!" Because of the atomic bomb, self-reliance is mainly dependent on the Institute of Atomic Energy of the Academy of Sciences. For the convenience of work, The central government decided to transfer the establishment of the institute to the Second Machine Department, but it was also called the Institute of Atomic Energy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was nominally led by the Academy of Sciences and the Second Machine Department. Due to the heavy task of developing the atomic bomb and insufficient scientific research power, the task was decomposed. In addition to the larger task undertaken by atomic energy, many important tasks must be undertaken by the institutes of the Academy of Sciences. Of course, the second machine department also asked the central departments to take on some tasks. However, at that time, the research institutions of the central ministries had just been established, and the scientific and technological strength was not strong, and some could bear it, and some could not bear it, and the tasks fell on the shoulders of the Academy of Sciences. After the establishment of the Atomic Energy Institute was transferred to the Second Machine Department, the backbone strength was not enough. We also needed the support of the Academy of Sciences, and we transferred them to other scientific and technological backbones from other institutes.

The Atomic Energy Institute of the Academy of Sciences was built in Zhongguancun in 1956 and was the best building in Zhongguancun at that time. After the Atomic Energy Agency was handed over to the Second Ministry, the Soviet Union assisted in the construction of an experimental atomic energy reactor. The Atomic Energy Institute is divided into two parts, and most people move to experimental nuclear reactors. At that time, there were two scientists with the surname Yang who were engaged in atomic energy at the Academy of Sciences: one Yang Chengzong, returned from studying in France; one Yang Chengzhong, returned from studying in Britain. Some of their names are different from each other. In order to distinguish, we call them "Fang Yang" and "Ying Yang". "Far Young" was engaged in radiochemistry, and radiochemistry was critical at the time. Our most important measure is to transfer a group of scientists such as Yang Chengzong to the Atomic Energy Atomic Energy Reactor ("Ying Yang" Yang Chengzhong stayed at the Lanzhou Institute of Modern Physics of the Academy of Sciences to coordinate the work of the Atomic Energy Institute). Another part of the Atomic Energy Agency stayed in Zhongguancun for theoretical work. After the Atomic Energy Agency was handed over to the Second Aircraft Department, I greeted them and said that after the meeting of the Academy of Sciences, you do nt want to come, you go to the Second Aircraft Department for a meeting. Their party committee secretary and director always participated in the meetings of the Academy of Sciences, because we were studying a lot of questions about science policy, scientist policy, and intellectual policy at the time. They were very willing to listen and must participate in our meeting. At that time, the Academy of Sciences was very attractive. And Wang Dexi, a chemist transferred from the university, also came to the Second Machine Department.

The most important issue in the atomic bomb is the enrichment of uranium. The natural uranium that can be raised in the ore contains only a few thousandths of the isotopic 235 content. Refining uranium is also important. Therefore, the scientific research tasks in chemistry are very heavy. At the time, four of the most well-known chemical research institutes of the Academy of Sciences had outstanding scientists as directors, known as the "big four families": one was Mr. Zhuang Chang, the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry; the other was Mr. Wu Xuezhou, Changchun Institute of Chemical Research; Mr. Liu outline. In addition, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics is also very strong, where there is Mr. Zhang Dayu. I said to the top three, that several chemistry institutes of the academy of sciences are responsible for your tasks, you can know which ones can undertake what tasks, and let you propose which tasks you undertake, we arrange and choose the best person to do the work for you.

At that time, the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry had only research capabilities, no production capabilities, and was unable to provide products. After I arrived at the Academy of Sciences, I asked each of them to set up small factories, and the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee also gave us a few small factories and used them as experimental laboratories for the institute. Moreover, the best teacher is selected. I have invited many old workers from Minister Lu Zhengcao of the Ministry of Railways, which is very good. I said that your Ministry of Railways has a locomotive factory with thousands of people. Choose a group of the best workers and teachers to support the Academy of Sciences. Our research institutes also set up subsidiary factories. We can't do the equipment we need. To establish a research room, to develop equipment. Some can buy it, others can't, you must do it yourself. In addition, there are many non-standard equipment, and scientific researchers design drawings for the factory to do. Therefore, we have selected many teachers from the Ministry of Railways. I specially held an old workers' union in Zhongguancun, Beijing. I said that you are gold craftsmanship and your hands are gold, and you can make a lot of good things! The old worker was very happy. In addition, thousands of skilled soldiers were selected as workers from the demobilized soldiers of the army's technical arms, and they played a great role.

In 1960, the Soviet Union unilaterally shattered the agreement to withdraw experts. At that time, the uranium enrichment plant was the most affected. The Soviet Union stopped providing key materials and the entire plant stopped. There are three most pressing key technical issues:

In addition, the Academy of Sciences has also done a lot of work on the collection of atomic bomb test data. That test was mainly conducted in an open and empty place, and its destructive power can be tested against various buildings and various living things, including monkeys and rabbits in iron cages. Because atomic bombs are radioactive, look at how much they are harmed by radioactivity. Many Chinese Academy of Sciences have sent people to the base to participate in the trial. For the explosion of this atomic bomb, China spent a total of 2.8 billion yuan, breaking the nuclear monopoly and nuclear blackmail policies of the superpowers and making a huge contribution to the People's Republic of China. ^{[7] [9]}