To engage in uranium enrichment, power supply is a very important basic issue, so Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhongliang first went to the power plant.
Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhongliang put on their labor insurance suits and, accompanied by the power plant manager and craftsmen, walked into the factory building where the generating units of the power plant were put into operation.
Zhu Zhongliang was in the safety corridor. Looking at the turbine equipment running in front of the car, he felt a little familiar.
Zhu Zhongliang subconsciously asked Zhu Jingyuan next to him:
"Has the prime mover of this power plant been used elsewhere?"
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and nodded and introduced:
“The source of the first generator set in front of us is directly copied from the power unit of the cutting-edge battleship.
“Only the equipment connected behind the steam turbine wheel was changed from the main shaft of the battleship propeller to an alternator.
Zhu Zhongliang suddenly realized:
"I wonder why it looks so familiar. Is the power system on a battleship suitable for generating electricity?"
Regarding this issue, Zhu Jingyuan couldn't explain clearly. He just knew that it could definitely be used, and the efficiency would depend on actual use.
The big craftsman from the power plant who was following him immediately explained:
“Heavy oil boilers and steam turbine systems are very new technologies, and this is the first time they have been combined for power generation.
“So, in order to put this new power plant into operation as soon as possible and meet the increasing power demand of the industrial park under construction, the power plant chose the most mature of these new technologies.
"The same original power system of the new battleship can be produced uniformly using the existing battleship power system production line, without the need to open a separate production line, and the speed of production can be achieved as quickly as possible.
“At the same time, the number of identical units will increase, making it easier to discover, accumulate and eventually solve problems encountered. The iterative update of the units can be faster, and ultimately feed back to stability.
“Theoretically, the working environments and scenarios of power generation units and marine power units are very different, and the performance and stability requirements of both parties are also very different.
“Theoretically, ship power units usually have higher reliability requirements, must adapt to unstable offshore platforms, are relatively complex and harsh working environments, and must be designed as simple and easy to maintain as possible.
“At the same time, we do not particularly pursue extreme power and extreme conversion efficiency, and we are not very sensitive to cost.
"Generator sets are exactly the opposite. They work in stable factories and are more convenient to maintain. Therefore, they should pursue higher power, higher conversion rate, and reduce sensitive costs as much as possible.
“Therefore, only the first four units of the power plant’s emergency construction will completely copy the battleship’s power system.
“After the power supply demand is met, the efficiency of the generator set will be optimized and improved based on the actual needs of the power plant.
"Based on the experience gained from actual use, special generator sets are specially designed and produced."
Zhu Zhongliang nodded slightly as he listened:
"The power of one battleship power unit is 160,000 horsepower. Four units are enough, right?"
Zhu Zhongliang looked at Zhu Jingyuan. Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while and said:
"If this power plant is not integrated into the New Tianfu Power Grid and is used exclusively for the New Element Project, it will be completely sufficient."
The total power of the four generator sets is 640,000 horsepower, which is equivalent to the total installed capacity of 470,000 kilowatts.
This translates into monthly power generation of just over 300 million kWh.
The power plant affiliated with the K-25 Factory in Oak Ridge during World War II had an installed capacity of less than 240,000 kilowatts.
Although there are other sources of power for the factory and laboratory, the laboratory's substation has a capacity of 310,000 kilowatts.
Therefore, the upper limit of monthly power consumption of the entire laboratory and factory is just over 200 million kilowatt hours.
At that time, the monthly power generation in the United States was about 20 billion kilowatt-hours, which was one hundred times the upper limit of the laboratory's total power consumption.
In later articles circulated on the Internet, it was stated that the Manhattan Project consumed one-seventh or even one-third of the nation's electricity generation, probably because the data from different eras and circumstances were confused.
It may be that the electricity consumption of the entire Manhattan Project over several years was compared with the total installed capacity of power stations in the United States at that time.
Or take the power consumption during the nuclear military expansion in the 1960s.
Two Lexington-class aircraft carriers can afford the power consumption of the Manhattan Project's uranium enrichment plant.
Even when nuclear production capacity was fully developed in the 1960s, the monthly electricity consumption of uranium enrichment plants only reached 2.4 billion kilowatt-hours.
This data doesn’t seem big?
In the 1960s, the monthly power generation in the United States was only over 14 billion kilowatt-hours, one-sixth of which was used to enrich uranium.
At that time, the gas diffusion method was used.
The power consumption of the centrifugal method is only one-fifth to one-tenth of that of the gas diffusion method.
If all the electricity generated by the fuel-fired power plant in Xintianfu is used to enrich uranium, it will be enough to supply Cold War-level nuclear expansion.
Of course, this is only enriched uranium, and other project costs are calculated every month.
The cost of the entire Manhattan Project was huge and wasteful.
Because they didn't know how to do it correctly at first, they tried all kinds of refining and manufacturing plans.
We are also looking for ores all over the world, and we have tried the electromagnetic isotope separation method, which is even worse than the gas diffusion method.
Now Daming has a stable ore production area, mining directly from the world's largest uranium mine in Tiannan (Australia).
Directly towards centrifugal production, which consumes more energy than the gas diffusion method.
Zhu Jingyuan also provided relatively complete theoretical guidance.
The final cost of Ming Dynasty's "new element" project may be only a fraction of that of the original Americans.
It just may take more time, because many industrial foundations require make-up lessons.
Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhongliang walked around the power plant and had lunch in the canteen of the power plant.
In the afternoon, I went to a chemical plant that refines ore into uranium salts, which is also a chemical plant that makes uranium yellow cake.
Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jingyuan arrived at the reception desk of the factory and first changed into full sets of protective clothing.
Uranium in chain reactions is extremely dangerous, whether in an operating nuclear power plant or in the aftermath of a nuclear weapon explosion.
Pure uranium itself is not dangerous.
Uranium has a half-life of hundreds of millions of years, so the radiation released under normal conditions, from uranium ore to yellowcake and uranium hexafluoride to enriched uranium, is very weak.
A piece of paper can completely block it and cannot penetrate human skin.
Therefore, ores, yellowcake, and enriched uranium metal can all be in direct contact.
However, radioactive radon gas produced by the decay of uranium, as well as dust containing uranium metal and compounds, will form internal radiation effects when inhaled into the human body, leading to disorders of body functions.
Then there is the natural toxicity of uranium as a heavy metal to living organisms.
When it gets into the body, heavy metal poisoning is inevitable. A few dozen milligrams are enough to cause kidney failure.
Therefore, although uranium ore is not dangerous, you still need to take precautions when coming into contact with it.
However, it does not need to be as strict as dealing with nuclear contamination, as long as direct physical contact and inhalation are avoided.
Therefore, early researchers and workers in history were not quick to realize the dangers of direct contact with this metal.
Even after the atomic bomb exploded, humans at that time still did not feel that uranium itself was dangerous.
Even at that time, many people believed that nuclear radiation was beneficial to health.
The Ming craftsmen currently involved in the new element project received special reminders from Zhu Jingyuan.
A relatively standardized protection system has been formulated from the beginning, and relatively reasonable protective equipment has been specially designed.
The craftsmen also followed Zhu Jingyuan's suggestion and conducted radiation control experiments with various animals.
They have realized the harm of nuclear radiation to living organisms.
Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhongliang put on one-piece protective suits and masks similar to gas masks. They met with the shopkeepers and master craftsmen of the factory and went to the hall where the ore was displayed.
After the uranium ore required for the new element project is mined in Tiannan, only the simplest selection and cleaning work is carried out.
Then it was sent directly to Xintianfu.
The subsequent ore refining and concentration, as well as the principle research and production of atomic energy weapons, are all carried out in Xintianfu.
The work currently being started is mainly about ore processing and principle research.
Zhu Zhongliang wore a gas mask and held a piece of golden uranium ore, and said with emotion:
“The colors of these ores are really gorgeous, and some even have fluorescent effects, really like the legendary luminous pearls.
"If ordinary people encounter this kind of stone in the wild, think it is beautiful, and keep it around as a gem, what consequences will it have?"
Zhu Jingyuan also saw uranium ore for the first time with his own eyes, but he had seen breakthroughs on the Internet in his previous life. Those better-looking uranium ores really looked like colored gems and crystals:
"You will probably suffer from various chronic diseases. Pure uranium is actually not harmful. We are only afraid of the radioactive residues from the decay of uranium ore, as well as uranium compound dust..."
When Zhu Jingyuan said this, he subconsciously looked at the craftsmen and shopkeepers here:
"We should have been doing relevant experiments here, right?"
The general management department of the entire new element project is directly linked to the New Tianfu military system.
The shopkeeper of the factory responsible for refining uranium ore was a major general of the Xintianfu Army named Zhu Zhaoxie.
Zhu Zhaoxie was born in the Zhou palace with the largest clan population, and was a contemporary of the current emperor Zhu Jianyan.
When Zhu Zhaoxie heard this question, he immediately said with emotion:
"According to His Highness's instructions, biological experiments have been carried out, but the results of the experiments...
"I can only say that there is no good result so far...
"Most of the animals that were directly affected by radiation, as well as those that consumed radioactive substances, slowly developed a variety of strange lesions.
“According to current observations, the stronger the radiation, the stronger the effect, and the faster the onset of various symptoms.
“Thankfully, His Highness reminded us from the very beginning that the craftsmen and workers involved in the work were well protected.
"Otherwise, in the past year, countless people would have contracted various strange diseases, and their lives would have been worse than death.
“The energy of nuclear radiation can really hurt people invisibly.
"Various by-products produced during the experiment can now be used as special weapons."
Zhu Jingyuan immediately reminded him when he heard this:
“So the entire new element project is the most confidential scientific research and production project in our Ming Dynasty and even in the world.
“All materials, experiments and production processes must be strictly controlled.
"Absolutely no materials or information will be allowed to leak out."
Zhu Zhaoxie immediately and sincerely agreed:
"Don't worry, Your Highness, experiments and research are the business of craftsmen. We, the management from the military, are studying confidentiality and control measures all day long."
