Lei Gong introduced him to the group. "This is Pent from the Foreign Security Division. He’s in charge of weapons and equipment."
Levis and Pent clearly knew each other.
He smiled and asked, "Pent, how satisfied are you with the cobalt bomb?"
"Extremely satisfied. It’s just that its power is immense—even our tests have to be conducted in sealed, underground facilities. There’s basically no way to apply it in actual combat," Pent said, his tone a mix of excitement and resignation.
Levis shook his head. "I also hope something like that is never used."
Seeing the atmosphere grow a little heavy, Pent quickly changed the subject. "Let me explain the purpose of my visit. First, on behalf of the Chairman, I’d like to congratulate you on your achievements. Second..."
"...it’s about Gamma Ray power generation."
Du Hai asked, utterly confused, "Didn’t our Nuclear Power Research Institute already submit the R&D project for an ultra-compact power core? That should be the best application for this technology right now, shouldn’t it?"
"No!" Pent wagged his index finger. "After our evaluation, we believe Gamma Rays have further potential for weaponization. My purpose in coming here today is to discuss the feasibility of this with all of you professionals."
After speaking, he sent the weapon concept, as envisioned by the weapons department, to everyone present.
Levis, Du Hai, and the others immediately began to review it carefully.
TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK... The hands of the clock crawled slowly onward.
"A Gamma Ray satellite cannon?" Du Hai put down his tablet and rubbed his temples, thinking.
Levis, however, having worked on nuclear weapons development for his entire career, quickly came up with a few ideas. "In the near-vacuum of outer space, Gamma Rays decay very slowly. If we could deploy them in low-Earth orbit, they could indeed strike targets within the atmosphere."
But Du Hai disagreed. "Doctor, the atmosphere’s attenuating effect on Gamma Rays is too strong. Our artificially generated Gamma Rays are nowhere near the level of a gamma-ray burst."
"Dr. Du, you’re overlooking another possibility," Levis said with a smile.
Du Hai’s eyes darted about as he thought rapidly. ’What did I overlook?’
Pent prompted, "Lightning."
’Lightning?!’ Du Hai’s eyes widened. "You want to use Gamma Rays to artificially create lightning in the atmosphere? Is that even possible?"
Levis narrowed his eyes. "It should be. First, the resonant frequency for Gamma Rays is different for each layer of the atmosphere. Resonance is strongest in the troposphere and ozone layer, moderate in the stratosphere, and the thermosphere has almost no attenuating effect due to its thin air."
He then activated a holographic display, projecting an image of Earth’s atmosphere.
"Above 55,000 meters, we can use Gamma Rays to attack targets directly. Below 55,000 meters, we can use Gamma Rays to trigger dense lightning strikes and attack targets over a wide area."
Pent nodded. "That’s the proposal from our weapons division. Also, could we use a specific frequency of Gamma Rays in the stratosphere to enhance the resonant excitation effect?"
Du Hai paused for a moment, then quickly ran some calculations in his head. "That shouldn’t be a problem. The stratosphere is more stable than the troposphere, so finding its resonant frequency should be relatively easy."
The others began to raise questions as well.
For instance, aircraft and missiles could be fitted with Faraday cages to defend against strikes from a lightning storm.
Their countermeasure for this was to lower the direct engagement range of the Gamma Rays, using a frequency that wouldn’t resonate with the stratosphere or ozone layer, to directly attack aircraft within that altitude.
As for defending against Gamma Rays...
It’s not that it’s impossible, but the constraints of an aircraft make it unfeasible. Gamma Rays don’t just kill the pilot; they also cause severe damage to the electronic components inside the aircraft.
You can’t just encase an entire plane or missile in thick lead plating, can you? The consequence would be an enormous increase in the aircraft’s dead weight.
This was precisely why the Foreign Security Division was attempting to develop a Gamma Ray Weapon.
A Gamma Ray Cannon could intercept hypersonic missiles. As long as a hypersonic missile entered the high-altitude zone, Gamma Rays could precisely eliminate it, completely unimpeded.
As for aircraft in the troposphere, using Gamma Rays to trigger a lightning storm was really a last resort.
After all, Gamma Rays are terrifyingly destructive. Using a frequency that could penetrate the troposphere might cause collateral damage, directly wiping out life on the ground below.
Although the Foreign Security Division would certainly research the corresponding frequencies and would inevitably use Gamma Rays to clear ground targets under duress, it could only be used as a trump card.
Furthermore, supercomputer simulations showed that if the Gamma Rays were dense enough, they could create a localized, intense lightning storm under high-resonance conditions—one that could even approach the state of plasma.
Against a lightning storm of this magnitude, an aircraft couldn’t be one hundred percent certain to avoid electrical damage, even with a Faraday cage.
However, after Du Hai crunched some numbers, a wry smile crept onto his face.
"To generate a hyper-dense lightning storm, we’d need at least three tons of cobalt-60 as the radiation source. That, plus the supporting equipment, would weigh at least 500 tons. Our current launch vehicles can’t lift 500 tons in a single launch, can they?"
Levis shook his head. "Dr. Du, the device for the tropospheric lightning storm can actually be ground-based. There’s no need to put it on a satellite. The satellites can focus on high-altitude strikes and interception."
"That’s true," Du Hai admitted, realizing he’d jumped to conclusions.
Pent’s eyes lit up. "If the entire apparatus is 500 tons, then certain warships could also be equipped with it."
"Er... that 500 tons was just a rough estimate. There are still many details to consider. I can’t guarantee the final product won’t be heavier," Du Hai quickly added.
But Pent wasn’t too concerned. "Weight isn’t a major issue for fixed, ground-based cannons. Besides, 100,000-ton class warships have a high tolerance for equipment weight."
Levis thought for a moment. "Considering that cobalt-60 continuously releases Gamma Ray energy, I think it’s essential to integrate a Gamma Ray power generation system. It can generate power when not in use and serve as a weapon in wartime."
"Good point." Pent quickly jotted it down.
"But there’s another problem," Du Hai pointed out. "How do we solve the issue of cobalt-60’s operational lifespan?"
At this, the group fell into thoughtful silence.
Cobalt-60’s half-life of only 5.27 years was indeed a major problem.
The concept of a half-life didn’t mean that the cobalt-60 was in a state of continuous decay during that period. Rather, it meant that at some random moment within that time frame, it would suddenly decay. The process was completely random.
And once an atom of cobalt-60 completed its decay, it would become stable nickel-60, no longer releasing Gamma Rays and beta rays.
This meant that the power output of a cobalt-60 nuclear battery would gradually decrease over time.
Du Hai himself proposed two solutions. "There are only two options. First, we can over-pack the core, ensuring it still meets weapons-grade standards within four years. Second, a hybrid core."
"A hybrid core? How would that work?" Pent asked eagerly.
Du Hai explained, "We’d still over-pack it, but we’d design the radiation source as a series of fuel rods. Then, at the 2.6-year midpoint, we’d start replacing them with brand new rods. As long as we properly calculate the half-life and the production date of the cobalt-60, and set the right replacement frequency, we can keep the power generation and radiation output stable within a specific range."
Pent sounded resigned. "That plan is only suitable for use here on Earth. For the Gamma Ray satellites in outer space, it seems over-packing is the only option."
After several days of discussions, the Foreign Security Division finally made the decision to move forward with the development of the Gamma Ray Cannon and the gamma ray satellite.
Cobalt-60’s relatively short half-life wasn’t a major issue for use in ground-based cannons and warships.
As for the radiation source for the gamma ray satellites, they would just have to search for another suitable radioactive isotope that could serve as a substitute for cobalt-60.
Fortunately, there were many radioactive isotopes that emit Gamma Rays. With several thousand isotopes discovered by humanity to date, there was bound to be a suitable one.