"Nuclear weapons pervade our thinking. Control our behavior. Administer our societies. Inform our dreams."

Arundhati Roy, The Cost of Living, 1999

As part of the Science Initiative, Nuclear Weapons Programs will become a standardized, player-interactable project type that claims can use to either develop nuclear weapons for the first time, or to develop new and improved, alt-history nuclear weapons. These will be involved, multistep processes that will involve player research, testing, and mod-run rolling events. As with Space Programs, Nuclear Programs for each claimant that attempts one will receive their own thread in the Science section on Discord.

This guide will be split into two segments - one for those claimants wishing to achieve a nuclear explosion for the first time, and the second for those who already possess nuclear weapons, which, in Season XVIII’s 1956, are the USA, the USSR and the UK.

First-Time Nuclear Powers

Achieving a nuclear explosion for the first time requires an extraordinary collaboration between the military-industrial complex, civilian science and governmental organizations. It is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, but required herculean effort from every country that attempted it.

The goal of a country in this category, which is every claimant except for the US, UK, and USSR in 1956, is to achieve a fission-type nuclear explosion of any size. Every nuclear program has aimed for fission before fusion bombs due to the much simpler requirements demanded by a fission-type bomb.

The requirements for a first-time explosion of a nuclear weapon are:

Scientific Comprehension (4 Posts)

Understanding the intricate, and, at the time, cutting-edge science of nuclear weapons was one of the most difficult tasks of nuclear weapons programs in the 20th century. As such, developing a robust and effective scientific program with the goal of achieving a nuclear weapon is paramount.

For this portion, the primary type of posts that should be made are gathering together scientists into a formal nuclear program, investigating nuclear topics, funding, governmental oversight, and the general establishment and theoretical basis for the project.

Weapon Design (3 Posts)

Selecting a suitable design for a bomb, from the variety of experimental types that were postulated in this era, will allow the project to focus on an end goal. For this, the claimant will have to select suitable isotopes and materials for use in their bomb.

For this portion, the claimant must select between using Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239 to achieve their first fission weapon. Following this, they must select a specific design for the bomb. These designs can be of various types, including the Gun-type, which shoots one portion of sub-critical mass into another, achieving criticality; the Implosion-type, which uses conventional explosions to compress a Uranium or Plutonium “pit”, achieving criticality; and other types. The specific design of the casing, including the materials used there will also be important for this step.

Production of Fissile Material (4 Posts)

Producing fissile material for use in a weapon usually requires much more investment and effort than producing the weapon itself. This step will involve the mining or acquisition of suitable ores, the creation of refinement methods and research vessels, such as reactors.

Plutonium-239 is synthesized from Uranium, so achieving a steady supply of Uranium is necessary regardless of which element is selected for the final bomb design. Both Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 need to be synthesized (“enriched”) from Uranium-238, the most common ore of Uranium found in nature. Part of this step will be acquiring this necessary material - if a claimant does not have Uranium within their claim (if known Uranium has not been discovered by 1956, then a post must and roll must be made to see if the claimant discovers it) then they must make a Diplomacy post with another claimant agreeing to supply the Uranium. If this does not happen, then the player’s project automatically fails. Remember to contact your region mod if you wish to trade uranium with an NPC nation.

Once a steady supply of Uranium is achieved, the player will have to select a method for the refinement of that Uranium into suitable fissile material. Several methods are available: electromagnetic separation, gaseous diffusion, thermal diffusion, gas centrifuges, etc. Once a method has been selected, Production Lines for the enrichment of Uranium demand at least two posts. If using Plutonium, the best method for acquiring large quantities is constructing reactors to produce it, by bombarding Uranium-238 which will decay into Plutonium-239. Following this decay, the Plutonium must be separated by the construction of Separation Plants.

First Explosion (2 Posts)

With all the elements assembled, the first explosion of the claimant’s nuclear weapon will signal the success of their nuclear program, and place them among the nuclear nations. This event will be a live roll by the moderators, and can result in a success, a failure, or a disaster for the country undertaking it.

Each posting requirement is a minimum, a larger number of quality posts will provide bonuses during the roll for the post’s success. Other bonuses can be attained by:

• Completing the Major Public University milestone

• Collaborating with another claimant (requires a Diplomatic post to this effect)

• Completing relevant blops to acquire foreign knowledge (please notify the Science Mod for these)

In addition to post minimums, a time minimum is required for a country to achieve a bomb. This, in general, will be longer for countries that have a less-developed scientific base, and are more isolated. In general, a large, developed, high-GDP nation will need at least five in-game years from conception to explosion to achieve nuclear power status. A good roll on their posts can reduce this. Lower GDP nations will take longer, sometimes much longer, especially without foreign assistance.

Finally, as this is a necessary colossally expensive undertaking, a player's GDP and economic output have the potential to be severely affected by undertaking a nuclear program. This can be mitigated by posting on a more spaced-out time frame or by getting foreign assistance. It is possible for a player's project to fail or become severely delayed due to economic restraints. It is also possible for a player to be crisised or forced to stop their nuclear program due to internal or external factors.

Once a country has fulfilled their first fission-type explosion, they can move on to being a Prepossessed Nuclear Power.

Prepossessed Nuclear Powers

For those already in possession of the Bomb, that goal of nuclear testing is to expand their capabilities and research new types of weapons, as well as testing coordinated fields such as nuclear protection and peaceful nuclear explosions.

There are several types of tests:

• Weapons Tests - tests weapon types and the basic function of nuclear weapons

• Weapons Effects Tests - tests the effect of nuclear weapons on structures, individuals, the atmosphere, etc.

• Safety Experiments - tests safety infrastructure around nuclear weapons

• Test Detection Experiments - tests a country's abilitity to detect other country's nuclear tests

• Peaceful - tests non-martial applications of nuclear explosions

These tests shall all be live-rolled by moderators upon player’s submission of their tests.

Weapons Tests

The main intent of Weapons Tests for this period will probably be the acquisition of fusion-type, thermonuclear or Hydrogen bombs. This is a feat already achieved by the United States and USSR in 1956, but not by the United Kingdom. Alternatively, boosted fission-type weapons, using fusion to amplify a fission explosion, are somewhat simpler to create, and were usually achieved before pure fusion-type bombs.

As a claimant which has already achieved a fission-type nuclear bomb has a significant scientific basis already in place, the requirements for achieving bigger and better types of bombs are somewhat more straightforward:

Boosted Fission Bomb

A boosted fission bomb, that is a fission bomb that uses a small amount of fusion fuel to increase the yield of the fission reaction, will require at least four more posts, with one each of Scientific Comprehension, Weapons Design, Production of Fissile Material, and the first Test.

Staged Fusion Bomb

A Fusion bomb, or a two-stage thermonuclear bomb, will require at least five more posts, with one Scientific Comprehension, two of Weapons Design, one Production of Fissile Material and the first Test.

It will generally be necessary to achieve a boosted Fission weapon before achieving a staged Fusion bomb. While it is theoretically possible to skip this step, it will incur significantly more difficulties and debuffs.

If testing a weapon that the player has already achieved a First Explosion in that specific bomb type, then they need only make two posts: one setting out the objective of the test, and the second going through with the test. For example, if wishing to test an arbitrarily large Staged Fusion Bomb (such as Tsar Bomba) then the player only needs to have achieved Staged Fusion Bombs before, then they will be freely able to test this type of weapon.

Weapons Effects Tests

These only require a single post, and will enhance a player’s ability to prepare for the eventuality of a nuclear war by understanding the effects of nuclear bombs intimately.

Safety and Test Detection Experiments

These also require only one post, and are generally more for flavour testing unless the player has a specific test in mind.

Peaceful Nuclear Explosions

These are a most interesting type of test, through which the player can achieve remarkable feats using nuclear explosions to a peaceful purpose. Many projects in this era were postulated using this idea, from digging canals to harbours to lakes. Creativity is encouraged here. At least two posts are required for this type of test.

If you have any questions, please ping the Science Mod on the Discord! This is an evolving field and changes may be made in the future!