Le Gong introduced to everyone: "This is Major General Punt from the Ministry of Defense, responsible for the Weapons and Equipment Department."
Levis and Pent obviously knew each other.
He smiled and asked: "Pente, are you satisfied with the cobalt bomb?"
"I am very satisfied, but the power is too great. Even experiments can only be carried out in sealed underground facilities, and it is basically impossible to apply it in actual combat." Pent was both happy and helpless.
Levis shook his head: "I hope I will never use this kind of thing."
Pente saw that the atmosphere was a little heavy and quickly changed the subject: "Let me tell you the purpose of my visit this time. First, on behalf of Mr. Chairman, I would like to congratulate you on your achievements; secondly..."
"It's for gamma ray power generation."
Du Hai asked confused: "Didn't our Nuclear Power Research Institute submit a research and development project for ultra-small power cores? This should be the best application of this technology at present, right?"
"No!" Pente waved his index finger: "After evaluation, we believe that gamma rays have the potential to be further weaponized. The purpose of coming here today is to discuss with professionals whether it can be realized."
Du Hai was stunned for a moment, and then quickly calculated in his mind for a while: "There should be no problem. The stability of the stratosphere is higher than that of the troposphere. It is relatively easy to find its resonant frequency."
This means that the power generated by a cobalt 60 core battery will decrease little by little over time.
Once cobalt 60 completes its decay, it will turn into stable nickel 60 and will no longer emit gamma rays and beta rays.
After all, gamma rays are too terrifying. If a frequency that can penetrate the troposphere is used, it may harm innocent people and directly wipe out all living things on the ground.
Pente's eyes lit up: "If the entire device weighs 500 tons, that part of the warship can also be used."
For example, aircraft and missiles can be equipped with Faraday cages to protect them from lightning storms.
Levis squinted his eyes: "It should be possible. First of all, the resonance frequencies of gamma rays are different between the various layers of the atmosphere. Among them, the troposphere and ozone layer are the strongest, the stratosphere is average, and the thermosphere has basically no weakening effect due to the thin air.
.”
As for defense against gamma rays.
Punter was a little helpless: "This solution is only suitable for use inside the earth. Gamma ray satellites in outer space seem to have to use excessive loading."
Regarding this point, everyone also fell into deep thought.
What's more, based on supercomputer simulations, they found that as long as the gamma rays are dense enough and highly resonant, dense lightning storms can be formed in local areas, even to the point of being close to plasma.
The half-life of cobalt-60 is only 5.27 years, which is indeed a big problem.
After several days of discussion, the Ministry of Defense finally made up its mind to develop gamma ray turrets and gamma ray satellites.
"That's true." Du Hai knew that he had preconceived ideas.
Levis shook his head: "Dr. Du, in fact, the lightning storm device in the troposphere can be set up on the ground. There is no need to go to the satellite. The satellite can focus on high-altitude strike and interception."
In a lightning storm of this level, even if a Faraday cage is installed, the aircraft cannot avoid the electric shock 100%.
It's not that it can't be done, but the aircraft doesn't allow it. You must know that gamma rays will not only kill the pilot, but also cause serious damage to the electronic components inside the aircraft.
"Dr. Du, you have ignored another possibility." Levis said with a smile.
"But there is another question, how to solve the service life of cobalt 60?" Du Hai reminded.
The ticking clock ticks slowly.
You can't wrap the entire aircraft or missile with thick lead plates, right? The consequence of doing so is that the dead weight of the aircraft will become extremely large.
But Pente didn't pay too much attention: "The fixed turret on the ground does not need to pay too much attention to the weight. In addition, the 100,000-ton warship has a relatively high tolerance for the weight of the equipment."
However, Du Hai calculated the data and a wry smile appeared on his face involuntarily:
"To generate an ultra-dense lightning storm, at least 3 tons of cobalt 60 are needed as a radioactive source. This weight plus supporting facilities would require at least 500 tons. Now our launch vehicle cannot carry 500 tons at a time, right?"
Because gamma ray cannons can intercept hypersonic missiles, as long as the hypersonic missiles enter the high-altitude area, the gamma rays can clear these missiles unimpeded and accurately.
Du Hai himself proposed two solutions: "There are only two ways. One is to overload the reactor to ensure that it can still meet weapons standards within 4 years, and the other is to mix the core."
"Hybrid core? How to operate it?" Pent asked quickly.
Although the Ministry of Defense will definitely study various corresponding frequencies, and if forced to do so, it will inevitably use gamma rays to clear ground targets, but it can only be used as a last resort.
"It makes sense." Pente quickly recorded it.
Then he called up the holographic projection and projected the situation of the earth's atmosphere.
"Uh... this 500 tons is just my rough estimate. There are many details that need to be paid attention to. I can't guarantee whether the final product will exceed the standard." Du Hai quickly added.
Du Hai rolled his eyes, thinking quickly about what he had overlooked.
Levis, Du Hai and others quickly browsed carefully.
Lightning!? Du Hai's eyes widened: "You want to use gamma rays to artificially create lightning in the atmosphere? Is this feasible?"
However, because Levis has been engaged in the research and development of nuclear weapons, he quickly came up with some ideas: "Gamma rays deplete very slowly in the sub-vacuum environment of outer space. If they can be placed in low-Earth orbit, they can indeed hit targets in the atmosphere.
.”
Pente nodded: "This is the idea of our Weapons and Equipment Department. In addition, can the stratosphere use gamma rays of specific frequencies to enhance its resonance excitation effect?"
As for aircraft in the troposphere, using gamma rays to stimulate lightning storms is actually a helpless choice.
But Du Hai had a different opinion: "Doctor, the atmosphere weakens gamma rays too much. Our man-made gamma rays cannot reach the level of gamma ray bursts at all."
This is why the Department of Defense is trying to develop gamma ray weapons.
Du Hai explained: "Use excessive charging, and then design the radioactive source into a number of fuel rods. Wait until the middle of 2.6 years to start replacing new fuel rods. Just calculate the half-life, cobalt 60 production date, and set the replacement frequency.
, the power generation and radiation power can be stabilized within a certain range."
Pente reminded: "It's lightning."
The so-called half-life does not mean that cobalt 60 continues to decay during this period, but that it will suddenly decay at a certain moment during the half-life, which is full of randomness.
"Above 55,000 meters, you can directly use gamma rays to attack targets. Below 55,000 meters, you can use gamma rays to stimulate dense lightning and attack targets in a wide range."
"Gamma ray satellite turret?" Du Hai put down the tablet, rubbed his temples and thought.
After finishing speaking, he distributed the weapons plan envisioned by the Weapons and Equipment Department to everyone.
Levis thought for a while: "Considering that the gamma ray energy of cobalt 60 is continuously released, I think it is necessary to integrate a gamma ray power generation system to generate electricity when not in use and use it as a weapon in wartime."
Others also raised some questions one after another.
Their response plan is to lower the direct attack range of gamma rays and use gamma ray frequencies that do not resonate with the stratosphere and ozone layer to directly attack aircraft in this range.
Cobalt 60 has a relatively short half-life, so it can be used on ground turrets and battleships without too many problems.
As for the radioactive source of gamma ray satellites, we can only look for radioactive isotopes that can replace cobalt-60 from radioactive isotopes.
Fortunately, there are still many radioactive isotopes that can emit gamma rays. Currently, there are thousands of isotopes discovered by humans, and there is always a suitable one.
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