The Rise Of Australasia

But after the invention of the atomic bomb, numerical superiority lost its critical importance.

Even the first atomic bomb Moser—which failed in development—had a kill radius of about 700 meters, and roughly 2 to 3 square kilometers of man-made buildings would face significant damage.

That was just a test bomb with only one kilogram of uranium-235, and with a utilization rate of uranium 235 as low as 1.2%.

The "Little Boy" dropped by the United States on Hiroshima was loaded with a full 64 kilograms of uranium-235, expected to produce an explosive force equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT.

As long as air superiority could be achieved, such a nuclear bomb would be a massive strike against both the enemy's vital facilities and ground forces.

However, the use of atomic bombs also needed to consider whether it would provoke hatred and animosity from the countries bombarded.

After all, the casualties caused by atomic bombs far exceed those of previous weapons, and the subsequent radiation from the bombings could last even longer than the lifetime of a country.

This meant that in areas bombed by Australasia using atomic bombs, nuclear radiation would still exist for decades, even centuries.

Nevertheless, despite many shortcomings, nothing could stop Australasia's determination to develop atomic bombs.

According to history, while the United States was developing the atomic bomb, Germany was also conducting related experiments.

In fact, German atomic bomb development predated that of the United States. If it weren't for Germany's successful offensive at the time and the meticulous Germans placing little hope in the rather uncertain nuclear weapons, it could have been the Germans who were the first to develop nuclear weapons.

The potential change to the world situation doesn't need elaboration, and it only serves to illustrate one thing: technological leadership must never be taken for granted.

In summary, the successful explosion of Moser was definitely good news for Australasia.

Although the gun-type design wastes most of the uranium-235, this doesn't mean it can't be used as an atomic bomb on the battlefield.

As for the new implosion design mentioned by Albert Einstein, that would depend on whether the upcoming nuclear weapon tests could achieve even more successful results.

Meanwhile, in the nuclear weapons development testing team, a large amount of intense calculation and meetings were still ongoing.

Apart from designing and discussing new nuclear weapon design concepts, the next task for the development testing team was to search for new nuclear materials.

While uranium-235 can perfectly initiate a chain reaction and was the initial choice in Australasia's nuclear weapons experiments, this doesn't mean it is the ultimate answer for nuclear weapons. Firstly, uranium-235 is not that easy to split, and its utilization in the current atomic bomb design is not very high.

Even with a change in the atomic bomb design concept, the achievable utilization rate is only about ten times that of the gun-type construction at most.

This means that the uranium-235 used to make atomic bombs could have only about 12% utilized; the rest is essentially wasted in the design concept of the atomic bomb.

Extracting sufficient uranium-235 from uranium mines is not easy, signifying that current atomic bombs could not be mass-produced, and could only serve as a limited quantity of trump weapons.

Arthur shook his head slightly; these obviously mind-taxing problems should be left to the nuclear weapons research and testing group.

Arthur smiled, turning his attention back to domestic matters.

To Arthur, the successful detonation of this unsuccessful bomb felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Next, Australasia simply needed to carry on with the usual preparations for war, build more warships when possible, and ensure the military was thoroughly trained.

When war broke out, Australasia's aircraft carriers would demonstrate their might, and atomic bombs would exert their unique strategic deterrence when the war reached a deadlock.

Whether the Islanders would believe, like they did in history, that despite the Americans dropping an atomic bomb, they would not have a second one with the same power, would be a matter for the Islanders of this world to decide.

If they still persisted in war, then all the better, as Australasia would have ample reason to drop even more atomic bombs.

Even if he were to destroy a country with atomic bombs, Arthur believed it wouldn't be more insane than blatantly discharging nuclear wastewater into the ocean.

After all, destroying a country, especially one that initiated a war of aggression, is no great loss to humanity.

But the discharge of nuclear wastewater containing radioactive elements that could persist for hundreds of years into the sea would genuinely endanger human beings.

On May 12, just a few days after Albert Einstein returned to the experimental group, Arthur convened a Ministry of Defense meeting at Saint Arthur Castle.

The Ministry of Defense meeting was attended by many, with dozens of senior officers of general rank.

Key officers from the Ministry of Defense, a series of staff officers from the General Staff, subordinate personnel from the headquarters of the army, navy, and air force, among others, all participated in this Ministry of Defense meeting.

The main goal of the Ministry of Defense meeting was to strengthen national defense construction and to re-adjust the strategic defense deployment of the country.

Following the demise of the United States, Australasia's most significant competitor and potential enemy had become the Island Nation.

Some of the previous defense tasks should also be changed, with Australasia's main defensive focus now being the Island Nation, which was actively waging war.