1949 On August 29th, the Soviet Union tested the first atomic bomb. Russian nuclear physics expert Yevlihov was interviewed by the reporter and introduced the process of developing the atomic bomb at that time.
Reporter Yuri Medvedev: Academician Hareton said in 1993 that the Soviet atomic bomb was copied from the materials of the American atomic bomb obtained by the intelligence department. Is that so?
Yevelihov: Yes, we got the relevant materials provided by the intelligence department. However, it is one thing to have secrets, and it is another to be good at using them. Before the outbreak of World War II, China's scientific, technological and industrial forces had the ability to develop atomic bombs. In 1930s, research institutions in Moscow, Leningrad and Kharkov had completed some recognized nuclear physics experiments.
At that time, some scientists in the Soviet Union had realized the military significance of uranium. Regrettably, the war interrupted the research work of Soviet scientists in nuclear physics.
Yuri Medvedev: Now, we know that for a long time, Stalin believed that the information obtained by the intelligence department about the American atomic bomb was false. Probably, this is influenced by beria. From 65438 to 0942, it was no accident that Kaftanov, the leader of the Science and Technology Department of the National Defense Commission, crossed beria and directly reported to Stalin about the development of atomic bombs by Americans.
Yevlihov: beria's position has been hesitant. Later, he submitted a report to Stalin based on three sources: a letter from the young scholar Froyov to the leader, information provided by the intelligence department and the diary of a German officer who was shot, all of which involved a chain reaction. Later, Stalin made a decision to resume nuclear research, but strangely, Molotov was appointed as the leader in charge of this work, and he was not suitable for this work. Stalin always doubted the truth of the data and thought that scientists' work was futile, but just in case, he gave scientists a chance to experiment.
At the beginning of 1943, the famous second laboratory was born, and then the Kuchatov Institute named igorivasilievichkurchatov (organizer and leader of Soviet nuclear science and technology) was established. By the middle of 1943, about 100 people were working in the laboratory.
It should be said that the prospect of studying atomic bombs in the Soviet Union at that time was very slim. One reason is that the country lacks enough uranium mines. Nuclear reactor testing alone requires at least 40 tons of uranium. The main problem has not been solved: how to separate light isotopes from natural uranium. Prior to this, the intelligence department informed kurchatov that the Americans had adopted the "gas diffusion method", but this method was expensive.
In view of the above reasons, Americans once predicted that even in the most successful case, the Soviet Union could not build an atomic bomb before 1952.
Yuri Medvedev: When did things change?
Yevelihov: 1943, several important news provided by the intelligence department changed the situation. The first news is that an atomic bomb can be made with plutonium without uranium 235; The second news is that plutonium can be extracted directly from the natural uranium in the reactor; The third news is that not only heavy water but also graphite can be used as neutron moderator. Kurchatov's situation can be imagined: he is the only one who knows that the research direction should be fundamentally changed. Because no one discussed it, he made his own decision.
Yuri Medvedev: kurchatov has not put forward any other plans. Otherwise, it will take at least 10 years for China to develop an atomic bomb.
Yevlihov: It seems so now. At that time, no one in China knew what plutonium was. Everything has to start from scratch: producing high-purity graphite and metallic uranium for reactors; The process of extracting plutonium from reaction products was studied.
At that time, work was very difficult. Kurchatov has turned to the government for help more than once, but every time there is no result. He knows very well that there are 200,000 people in the United States engaged in this project research, while the Soviet Union has only 100 people! 1944, kurchatov put beria in charge of nuclear research instead of Molotov, but until the middle of 1945, everything remained the same.
Yuri Medvedev: That is to say, before the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, China made little progress in nuclear research.
Yevlekhov: Yes. For Stalin, the atomic bombing of Japan by the United States was completely unexpected. A few days later, a special committee to develop nuclear weapons was announced, with beria as its chairman. Stalin set a time limit of five years. He believes that the United States will not launch a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union for the time being.
-The position of Special Committee member Kapicha is quite strange. At the first meeting, he listened to kurchatov's detailed plan to develop nuclear weapons in three stages, but three months later, he said in his report to Stalin: "We don't know the secret of the atomic bomb. At present, the information we know cannot develop an atomic bomb. There is no doubt that the information provided to us is to lead us astray. "
Yuri Medvedev: It seems that kurchatov got another important message from the intelligence service: how to detonate a bomb with plutonium.
Yevlihov: Yes, it exceeded his expectations. Kurchatov believes that the "gun" method can also be used like uranium-235. Americans think this method won't work. Therefore, they invented the so-called "implosion method": an explosive device was placed around a sphere filled with plutonium, and then detonated at 32 different points at the same time, with the minimum error. Great pressure makes the sphere reach the critical point and then explode quickly.
Yuri Medvedev: After the establishment of the Special Committee, nuclear research in the Soviet Union was carried out at an unprecedented scale and speed. Many secret military camps, factories and mines have been built. Its scale surprised me.
Yevelihov: On the one hand, you are right: people have to face many difficulties because a lot of money has been invested in the research of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, the Soviet Union established a strong mobilization economy to deal with the war, and both scientific research centers and industries were facing the war. When kurchatov needed to build a reactor, he quickly found an expert in this field-Dolezar. It is Dolezar who put forward a different reactor design scheme from the Americans: uranium rods are placed vertically instead of horizontally, which is more powerful. It is still used all over the world.
This method. The reactor needs special metal parts, and the research system led by melnikov needs to separate plutonium. The research center led by Vernadski and Khlopin is responsible for the demand of uranium and plutonium, which is undertaken by the research institute in Bochvar. All these academic authorities worked hard and produced the first atomic bomb in only four years.
Ye Velikhov: It was not a domestic uranium mine at first. We are very lucky: Hareton and Kikoin discovered 65,438+000 tons of uranium in Germany. This has played an important role in the 1946 physical reactor test. The uranium used in the first atomic bomb was obtained from Germany, Czech Republic and China.
Yuri Medvedev conducted the test of China's first atomic bomb on August 29th, 1949. It is said that, just in case, beria has prepared a list of people who will be executed if the launch fails. Later, these people who might have been executed were awarded the Medal of Heroes, and some even won the Medal of Lenin.
Ye Velikhov: I don't rule out this possibility, but I don't know the specific situation.
Yuri Medvedev: Is this crazy arms race necessary? In the process of building a secret military camp, many prisoners and soldiers were killed, and some people suffered great pain.
Ye Velikhov: This is a complicated problem. The development of the atomic bomb paid a huge price of casualties, but I also read in the memoirs of people directly involved in this work: these years are the best years of their lives, and an extraordinary passion connects them. One letter also said that China's first atomic bomb was as unforgettable as his first love.
The special background of that era should be taken into account. The use of atomic bombs by Americans in Japan sounded the alarm for the Soviet Union: this means that we may be attacked tomorrow, even though the Soviet Union won the war. But for many people, the development of the atomic bomb is a continuation of the war. No one knows where he will be sent and what the radiation is, and no one can refuse.
Yuri Medvedev: Do people really think that Americans will throw atomic bombs at their nearest allies?
Without the Soviet Union, would China really be razed by the United States?
The Soviet Union provided nuclear protection to China. Where should we start? According to Sputnik's recent report, Tavrovski, chairman of the expert committee of the Russian-Chinese Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development, said in an interview that the Soviet Union's development of nuclear weapons provided China with similar protection as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As we all know, when Sino-Soviet relations were most tense, the Soviet Union threatened to throw a nuclear bomb at China. How can we say that it in turn provides us with protection? According to Tavrovski, 1949 After the founding of New China, the United States planned to launch a nuclear strike against China and the Soviet Union. But the Soviet Union tested the first atomic bomb on August 29th, 1949. 1950, 14 In February, the Sino-Soviet Treaty was signed in the Kremlin, stipulating that all existing capabilities should be used to provide comprehensive assistance, including nuclear weapons assistance. Therefore, at least before 1960, China was under the "nuclear umbrella" of the Soviet Union and was able to complete the first five-year plan.
Tavrovski's meaning is clear. Without the nuclear protection provided by the Soviet Union, there would be no China today. China should be grateful to the Soviet Union and Russia now. As an expert devoted to Sino-Russian friendly relations, it is understandable for him to say so, but it is a bit unreasonable to deliberately exaggerate the credit of the Soviet Union.
We must know that nuclear weapons are an important starting point for enhancing a country's deterrence and international discourse power, so they are generally state core secrets and will never be revealed. Before the Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test, China offered to visit nuclear facilities, but it was eventually rejected by the Soviet Union. However, considering the friendly relations between China and the Soviet Union, Stalin expressed his willingness to provide nuclear protection to China.
The Sino-Soviet Treaty signed in the second year of the founding of New China stipulates that when one side is forced to take military action, the other side will try its best to give military assistance. This provision undoubtedly implies to the West, especially the United States, that China is protected by the Soviet Union, and the United States should not act rashly. At the same time, I also told China that with Soviet nuclear weapons protecting China, China would not want to build an atomic bomb.
At that time, considering the cold war environment between the United States and the Soviet Union and the country's financial constraints, we did not include nuclear weapons in the development list in the first five-year plan. However, after Stalin's death, there was a fierce power struggle within the Soviet Union. At that time, in order to gain the leadership of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev tried to please China, hoping that China would support him in power.
1954 10 Khrushchev asked Chairman Mao what he wanted during his visit to China. Chairman Mao took the opportunity to express his interest in the atomic bomb and hoped Khrushchev would help him. But Khrushchev rejected the nuclear test on the grounds that it was too expensive for China to bear. Why did Khrushchev refuse again? An important reason is that the Soviet Union and the United States are negotiating to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Kurchatov, the father of the Soviet atomic bomb, reported to Khrushchev that the large-scale use of nuclear weapons would not only destroy mankind, but also endanger all animals and plants on the earth. This was a great blow to Khrushchev, so he took the initiative to lower his posture when negotiating with the United States and expressed his willingness to negotiate with the United States on the peaceful use of atomic bombs.
No sooner had the Soviet Union made such a promise to the United States than China put forward the requirement of building a nuclear bomb. How could Khrushchev agree? But Khrushchev was more reasonable than Stalin, and finally agreed to help China build a small nuclear reactor, which laid the foundation for China to build an atomic bomb in the future.
At that time, China was eager to build an atomic bomb because it didn't want to be controlled by others in key areas. A century of shame has long told us that we will be beaten if we fall behind. So all advanced things, whether nuclear weapons or economic development plans, were what we needed most at that time. It is not hard to imagine how overbearing China would be today without the atomic bomb. Will China still have today's prosperity and peace? What's more, we are now using nuclear bombs peacefully, unlike the United States.