If Germany won WWI, would they invent the atom bomb first?

Would they beat everyone to the bomb?

  • Yes

    Votes: 35 39.8%
  • No

    Votes: 8 9.1%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 45 51.1%

  • Total voters
    88

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
There are also morals, to my knowledge at least some of the leading scientists in the Manhattan project justified working in it by believing that they were competing with a similar Nazi program, because they where we'll aware of the enormous destructive power.

And it is very expensive, as pointed out.

Nuclear bombs don't fit into the way Kaiser Wilhelm II. glorified war.

Without Nazi Germany there is no Guernica and no WWII style bombing on civilians (or at least it is pretty cool unlikely) so the idea that it is somehow normal to produce a weapon that con incinerate an entire city might be seen differently.

So I guess it would take longer, but eventually somebody will be crazy enough to build one.

Empirial Germany would likely have a smaller need for nuclear power plants due to keeping Silesia and likely annexing Belgium.
Enough Coal and a lower population density than the FRG and the GDR in OTL.

But that's half a century down the line after the POD.
 
I working on TL were German Empire Win First World War narrowly
but can't obtain all of there objectives, so they in cold war with Britain empire and got beyond Poland, the USSR under Trotsky in 1920s.
After Otto Hahn split the Uran Atom in 1938. Germany, USA, Britan, France, USSR and Japan made allot theoretical study of it use as Weapon.
Then Germany, Britain and France goes from theoretical study to experiments, but last two run into either financial or resources problem or lack of right scientist.
Allot french jews scientist left for German Empire as Nation turn to antisemitism.

In 1941 France And USSR start World War Two against German Empire
The German program got now top priority
finally in 1946 the first "Kernspaltungsbombe" (KSB) detonate in the Harz Mountains.
The "Oberkommando des Heers" issue the operational order for KSB on enemy targets.
So 1946 the German air-force drop several atomic-bombs on: France new administrative capital, Moscow, Leningrad and Tokyo harbor. (no i not nuke Paris!)
The Allies of German Empire, USA and Britain react in shock about this gruesomeness use of Atomic power
So USA and Britain unite in new Cold War against Germans Empire and put all there effort to complete British Atomic bomb program

TL History on Kernspaltungsbombe and Kernkraftswerk
German Empire: First KSB test in 1945/ first commercial KKW 1950
USA & Britan: First KSB in 1949/ first commercial KKW 1958
France: NONE, German Empire De-militarzize and De-industrialez France, it's now agriculture State.
Russian: NONE, they lost Ukraine, Baltic and belarus and remain on 20% of there industrial capacity.
Italy: First KSB 1961/ first commercial KKW 1970, Note Italy under Mussolini family rule
China: First KSB in 1960s/ first commercial KKW in 1960s. note this a capitalist China
Israel: This state not exist in this TL.
India: First KSB in 1970s/ first commercial KKW 1980s
Congo-Belgium: first and last KSB 1984, this was attempt by criminal politician, to black mail German empire, conspirators died during KSB detonation.

if you want to discus that scenario in detail please go to this link here
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/kaiserreich-a-tl.411319/
 
Anyone who voted no seriously needs to go to school. "Maybe" I can respect, because this **is** alt history. Who knows. Winning a conventional war can encourage Germany not to invest in fantastic new weaponry. But to say that a Germany with Europe's biggest economy, best university system, and greatest minds is definitely not going to be first seems like irrational hatred of Germany.
 
I thought Czecoslovakia has the world's most uranium.
Yes, also Germany got rich deposits uranium ore near Czecoslovakia border.
in fact the Soviet got there uranium for there first bomb from Germany, until they found uranium ore deposits in Siberia
But it was the Belgium, who got most of that uranium in 1940s, it was simply a waste product of there mining activity in Colony of Belgium-Congo
So much that as USA got it, they could build seven Atomic bombs !
 

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
Hahns research was still published in ORL, only after the outbreak of WWII the secrecy of scientific research become common, so without that, there might not be a secret race to the bomb, but a lot more research on nuclear physics being published than in OTL.

The race for the bomb is a popular AH theme, but it hasn't happened in OTL, and it would not happen in most ATL; unless they are written by Turtledove, if course...
 
I Think we are forgetting an important driver. If the story is out (fission is possible), then there is fear: The others might get it first.
Every Empire who believed it was possible would race for it.
 
The reason that bombs were there before nuclear power has to do with politics/economics rather than engineering. Electric power generation with hydro or fossil fuel plants was well established and not all that expensive, and endangered species and air pollution were simply not on the radar screen. To make plutonium you need to have a decent understanding of reactors. My point was use much lower concentration of U235 in commercial power plants than for bombs (and even naval reactors) so making the fuel is much cheaper. There were military/political reasons to make the bomb in spite of the enormous costs in both U235/plutonium production as well as all the research in hydrodynamics, explosive materials etc. There was no such drive for commercial (as opposed to military) power reactors because electric generation by other means were well establish and not overly expensive. In the absence of a political/military drive to build atomic weapons, nuclear power is likely to be sooner.

For a variety of reasons the costs of building nuclear power plants have been much higher the optimists expected in the early 50s and this, in addition to the various protests, was what delayed the introduction of nuclear power compared to bombs. It was not strictly a technical issue, as I said from a science.engineering standpoint power plants including the fuel are easier.
 
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