Chapter 894: Chapter 892: Nuclear Weapons Program, Fourth Phase
“Others?” Witch Demon Elder Ah Fu asked.
“Yes, others.” Richard nodded, “Besides what I’ve mentioned, another point to consider is that, in certain situations, private forces can have a counterproductive effect on individuals.
If the starting point for developing private forces is to assist oneself, then after development, one will inevitably rely on private forces to provide certain services and handle matters they used to manage. Regardless of how well the private forces do, it cannot be denied that any issues they encounter will significantly impact oneself.
The larger the private force, the easier it is for various problems to arise, even if great effort is put into prevention, conflicts over certain interests may lead to deliberate attacks by enemies.”
“So, are you saying you’ll never develop private forces?” Witch Demon Elder frowned, “You can’t say that private forces are entirely useless, can you?”
“Of course not.” Richard shook his head, “I understand very well that at times, the role of private forces cannot be ignored; they can act as multipliers, shortening the path to success. Ultimately, I will develop private forces, possibly on a large scale, but before that, I’ve chosen the research route.”
“The research route, what is that?”
“To put it simply, I am exploring this world, trying to understand some things. Only by exploring to the end can I determine what exactly I need private forces to assist me with.
For example, a few years ago, I might have only tasked them with helping me make some simple chemical drugs, now I might have them help me purify uranium elements, and later, I might have them assist in deciphering rules by exhaustive methods.”
The goal of a private force largely determines its positioning, affecting its structure, personnel quality, and personnel quantity.
As of now, I can handle many things myself, building a private force is beneficial, but it is not necessary. Therefore, only when truly necessary will I establish one, for instance, when my research reaches a bottleneck that cannot be broken through personally, I will strive to create a private force to forcibly break through.
In summary, until the time is right, I occasionally plant a few seeds or establish a loose business organization to serve me by throwing money. Only at critical moments will I devote significant energy.”
“So!” Witch Demon Elder listened, eyes widening slightly, spoke indignantly, “So, you called me back to assist you, right? You want to save energy, not blindly build private forces, but you unceremoniously exploit me, occupying my time, this was not part of our previous agreement.”
“It’s not my fault.” Richard shrugged, “I originally didn’t plan to bother you, but when the mine had issues, you clearly told me ‘to handle it as I please,’ what else could I do?”
“That—” Witch Demon Elder’s expression froze, speechless, as Richard’s words were the truth.
After a long silence, Witch Demon Elder stepped forward and heavily sat back in the nearby recliner, muttering angrily, “Fine, fine, it’s my fault. Even if it’s my fault and I should help you, there should be time to rest, right? I’m an elderly man, my true age unknown, possibly hundreds of years old, can’t I rest a bit more? I’ve decided, I’ll lie down for a while before helping you.”
“Whatever makes you happy,” Richard said, lightly shaking his head, and stepping to the side.
Indeed, there was nothing for Witch Demon Elder to do currently.
As Witch Demon Elder watched Richard walk away, he relaxed his body, closed his eyes on the recliner, “wiggled” a few times, and sighed, “Comfortable,” savoring the few moments of leisure.
Elsewhere, Richard reached the end of the line of chemical instruments, glanced at the gauges, and began adjusting with the control lever.
Minutes later, accompanied by a rustling sound, a special glass container over a meter high began producing a substance.
It was a colorless, transparent particle, somewhat resembling salt.
However, Richard knew well that, in a certain sense, this was even more dangerous than the most hazardous salt he had ever made—Magic Salt.
Because its name was Uranium Hexafluoride, chemical formula UF6, a compound formed by six fluorine elements and one uranium element, and it was the product of the third stage of uranium element purification.
To obtain it, one must use ion exchange to remove neutron-absorbing impurities from the previously obtained yellow cake (U3O8), ensuring impurity content does not exceed one part in 125,000 equivalent to eight parts boron per million uranium.
Subsequently, remove metallic elements like iron, aluminum, nickel that may generate non-volatile fluorides, producing high-purity uranium oxide—Uranium Dioxide (UO2).
Then react this black powder Uranium Dioxide (UO2) with Hydrofluoric Acid (HF).
Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) is an aqueous solution of hydrogen fluoride, also known as Bone-Eroding Water, Bone-dissolving water, or Bone Erosive Acid, possessing strong corrosiveness. Because of the relatively strong bonding ability between hydrogen and fluorine atoms, HF does not completely ionize in water, theoretically being a weak acid, yet can dissolve substances other strong acids cannot, such as ruthenium, rhodium, tantalum.
It will react with Uranium Dioxide (UO2) to form Uranium Tetrafluoride (UF4).
Uranium Tetrafluoride reacts with fluorine in an oxidation reaction, eventually forming Uranium Hexafluoride (UF6).
As a further refined nuclear weapon material compared to yellow cake, Uranium Hexafluoride possesses many unique properties.
For example, its melting point is 64.8℃ (338.0 K), yet its boiling point is even lower, at 56.5℃ (329.7 K).
This causes it to transition directly from solid to gaseous state without melting, known as sublimation, when temperature reaches 64.8℃.
Moreover, it has high toxicity, requiring utmost avoidance of direct contact with humans. It can also react violently with water and corrode most metals, thus the best storage method is gas in steel containers.
Richard checked the gauges, confirmed the temperature in the production container was 35℃, with neither air nor moisture, and relaxed. He then transferred all the produced Uranium Hexafluoride into steel gas containers for storage in the warehouse.
This marked the complete end of the third stage of the nuclear weapon research and manufacturing plan.
Next was the fourth stage—the final purification of uranium elements.
In a way, this was the only true purification because its target was no longer the broad uranium elements but more precise Uranium 235.
Yes, Uranium 235.