It is obviously impossible to give an interstellar missile sufficiently high maneuverability and acceleration by relying on chemical fuels.
The only feasible solution is to install a secondary booster inside the missile and use it to propel the missile forward.
But an interstellar missile, the largest is only about five or six tons, the smallest is only a few hundred kilograms. It is almost impossible to install the secondary booster into such a small rocket body.
After previously miniaturizing the secondary booster to a size large enough to be installed on a Mercury-class spacecraft, Li Qingsong is still working tirelessly on its miniaturization research.
During this period of time, Li Qingsong did make some progress, further optimizing its performance and reducing its mass and volume, but it was still far from being able to be installed in a missile.
Perhaps with the advancement of our own technology, this may be possible in the future, but it is obvious that it is impossible to do so in the short term.
"Then don't do it! Try another way!"
Li Qingsong gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk.
He planned to adopt a completely new thruster structure.
Separate nuclear explosion thruster!
Nuclear fission power plants and engines all use controllable nuclear fission, allowing them to release energy in a controlled and gentle manner.
Uncontrollable nuclear fission is a nuclear explosion, just like an atomic bomb.
Now, Li Qingsong plans to make a compromise between the two.
A key point in controlling the fission rate of uranium 235 or plutonium 239 is the neutron moderator.
By controlling neutrons, one can control the rate of nuclear fission.
In that case...then just place the weapons-grade uranium or plutonium that has reached the critical mass into the missile engine, and use a large amount of neutron moderators to slow down their fission rate.
But doing so can only slow down the fission reaction, but cannot completely stop it. That is, once fission begins, it will get faster and faster until it finally explodes in the form of an atomic bomb.
But even just slowing it down would be enough.
It just so happened that Li Qingsong had no plans to do any secondary pressurization process. He directly used the corresponding working fluid as a coolant. While taking away the energy of the nuclear fission reactor and dissipating the heat for it, he directly pressurized himself to a pressure and temperature far beyond the reach of ordinary chemical combustion, and then ejected it directly from the nozzle.
The missile that Li Qingsong conceived doesn't even need a warhead.
Because its engine itself is a nuclear bomb, but it is a nuclear bomb with a weakened fission speed. Part of the fission energy is taken away and used to accelerate itself.
When it reaches the end of acceleration, the working fluid and neutron moderator are exhausted, it can only explode like a nuclear bomb.
Given this structure, it is obvious that fission fuel cannot be stored in the missile engine under normal circumstances, and the fuel must be temporarily replenished during launch.
This is the so-called split structure.
Add to that the fact that it will inevitably end with a violent nuclear explosion, and all of that together is what Li Qingsong had envisioned, the separated nuclear explosion engine!
This kind of interstellar missile has never been conceived before. Li Qingsong believes that even alien civilizations with more advanced technology than his own should not have such a missile.
The reason is simple. It is a temporary emergency product developed under the existing technological level due to overly urgent strategic needs.
A more advanced civilization would have more advanced technology and wouldn't have to use such a flawed structure like mine.
At this moment, following Li Qingsong's idea, the first interstellar missile powered by a separation nuclear explosion engine appeared in front of Li Qingsong and was then taken into space.
This thing could turn into an atomic bomb if not handled properly, so we dare not conduct experiments on the ground.
The overall shape of this interstellar missile looks like a hemisphere, which has nothing to do with traditional missiles.
However, there is no air in space, so there is no need for aerodynamic optimization. It doesn't matter what shape it is, as long as it is easy to propel.
The critical mass was reached, but the uranium 235, which was divided into three parts, was taken out by robots and carefully installed in the engine.
Afterwards, the experimental equipment was immediately evacuated.
Looking at it from a distance, Li Qingsong began the countdown.
He knew that even though there was neutron moderator, the number of neutrons was still slowly increasing in the engine. Soon, it would begin to accelerate.
After a countdown of fifty seconds, blue flames indeed spurted out from the nozzle at the bottom of the hemisphere.
At first, the flame was relatively weak, and could only push it forward slowly. But as the fission reaction speed increased further, the energy released became more and more huge, and the flame turned from blue to red-white, and the spray became more and more violent.
The speed of the hemispherical missile was getting faster and faster, increasing rapidly. In less than a minute, its acceleration soared to 10 meters per square second, and it was still increasing rapidly!
At this time, even if Li Qingsong wanted it to slow down or stop accelerating, he couldn't do it.
Because the chain reaction had already started, Li Qingsong had no way to stop it.
The most Li Qingsong could do was to change the direction of the jet and slightly change its trajectory.
This hemispherical missile flew in space for about half an hour, covering a distance of more than 100,000 kilometers. Then, when its speed reached its peak, the rate of the chain reaction finally got out of control. Almost all the fission fuel participated in the fission reaction under the impact of a large number of neutrons. Huge amounts of energy were released in an instant, exploding and turning into a huge fireball.
At this time, its speed can even reach 80 kilometers per second!
It has far exceeded the bottom line of 40 kilometers per second set by Li Qingsong!
"This thing is good, but it has a few shortcomings."
Li Qingsong sighed: "First, once the acceleration is turned on, there is no way to stop it.
Second, one missile consumes more than 20 kg of precious fission fuel.
Third, the initial speed is slow, and it takes a period of acceleration to reach a sufficient speed. This period of time is the most dangerous and easy to be destroyed.
Fourth, this thing is a bit too dangerous. If it explodes before it is launched, it will be a lot of fun..."
If an atomic bomb explodes at close range, even an Earth-class battleship will not be able to withstand it and will be vaporized immediately.
but……
After thinking about his own war system, Li Qingsong really couldn't find any alternative weapons in the ecological niche of "long-range, high-power" weapons, so he had no choice but to accept this weapon.
"At worst, I can just iterate and optimize it to improve security and reliability as much as possible..."
