Alien paradise

The next night, Fu Jiangshui came to the multi-purpose hall as scheduled. He noticed guards standing at the door and an additional identity verification checkpoint. Obviously, the content of this meeting was different from the past.

Entering the hall, there were already about thirty people sitting inside. They were all obviously top experts in various fields. Many of them had even seen their photos in news reports or scientific magazines.

But what surprised him was that the multi-purpose hall actually had a video projection screen. Through the projection screen, he could see the camera on the other side facing the leadership office.

There is nothing strange about online conferences, but it is very strange to put them in the comprehensive prevention and control center.

There are no-network zones everywhere here, and only a few areas allow China Unicom to connect to the outside world.

There were no seats marked on the seats. Fu Jiangshui turned around and decided to sit next to Gao Wei after he saw him coming - anyway, he was at least an acquaintance.

"You're here, there's no one here." Gao Wei greeted him warmly when he saw him.

"Thank you. I was just about to find someone to be my companion when I saw you." Fu Jiangshui curiously pointed at the screen after sitting down, "Is there internet access here?"

"No. But this meeting used special communication equipment, which is not based on the existing network." Gao Wei explained, "I don't know the specific technology. It seems to be related to quantum encryption communication. The one that provides us with the communication link now is Two quantum satellites.”

He clicked his tongue in surprise, "It's just a video conference, is it necessary?"

I have the impression that this technology was developed for the military, focusing on anti-jamming and anti-eavesdropping, and it can only be used in complex electromagnetic environments like the battlefield.

Nowadays, both parties in the meeting are located in China, and a dedicated line at most can meet the extremely high confidentiality requirements. Using satellites feels a bit redundant.

He really couldn't figure out what the people above were wary of.

"This is just the beginning. In the future, the prevention and control center will also distribute special and convenient communication encryption equipment to replace our mobile phones. This way, everyone can contact us easily even in the facility." Gao Wei suddenly lowered his voice when he said this The voice said, "The meeting has begun."

After some opening remarks from several superior leaders, the moderator finally brought the meeting to the point.

"Currently, three project teams led by Professor Fu Jiangshui, Professor Han Weining and Professor Li Bai have carried out comprehensive research on new ores. In addition to reports on general mechanical properties and chemical properties, the most gratifying discovery comes from Professor Fu's Research room. I think everyone present at the meeting already knew in advance that this object has natural superconductivity."

“In order to commend Professor Fu Jiangshui for his discovery, the superiors decided to adopt Professor Fu’s suggestion and give the new ore an official name: ‘Yao Stone’. "

There was a burst of applause at the scene.

"Congratulations." Gao Wei whispered while applauding.

Fu Jiangshui smiled modestly, pretending to be calm on the outside, but he was already happy inside. For researchers, it is definitely a great honor to have a new thing named after oneself, let alone such an important thing!

Agreeing to join this project in the first place was undoubtedly the right choice for him.

"Next, the research on Yao Stone will enter a new stage - that is, the engineering application stage." The host waited until the applause died down before continuing, "Since this ore cannot be mass-produced for the time being, it is difficult for us to implement it on every project. Investing the same resources, in order to maximize the use of Yao Shi, we must select a project as the main research direction, which is also the purpose of this internal meeting."

"Next, I will invite three experts to take the stage one after another to talk about their research plans. Finally, everyone will vote to select the plan that is the most technically feasible and can actually create the best returns, as the plan for the next year. Focus on the target.”

He held out his hand, motioning for the first speaker to come on stage.

"Professor Wang will be asked to tell you about his first plan. If you have any questions, you can raise your hands and ask them on the spot."

I see. Fu Jiangshui finally understood that this meeting would decide which engineering project the first batch of Yao Stones would ultimately be used for - this was somewhat similar to the laboratory's need for funds and samples, but the resources consumed were much greater. If the laboratory does not produce results, it will only waste a few grams of samples at most. If the wrong direction is chosen, the first-mover advantage and all the stones will be wasted, and its importance is evident.

"Hello fellow experts, my research direction is magnetic levitation rings, and its application is space elevators."

Professor Wang's explanation is quite simple and clear. Since superconductors also have complete diamagnetism, which is the Meissner effect, they can spontaneously levitate on magnets. If an electromagnet is used, the levitation height can also be controlled by changing the intensity of the current. This is also the principle of the maglev train.

And if an ultra-temperature superconductor is used to make a floating ring, its floating will not cause any loss and can always be suspended in the air. In this way, a floating ring can be set up every few kilometers to form a floating orbit. Its inner ring is equipped with an accelerating magnetic field, which can launch the elevator like a coil gun. The same principle applies when returning, just by reversing the magnetic poles of the inner ring.

"Space elevators have always been the most feasible idea for people to travel to near-Earth space with low loss. Compared with rail elevators with fixed carbon fiber bundles, superconducting maglev elevators do not have rigid connections and are extremely capable of resisting damage. Even if the intermediate ring is damaged, It will not cause the entire elevator to collapse. What’s more, there has been no feasible solution to the problem of high-altitude operation and fixation of carbon fiber bundles. The construction of superconducting rings is much simpler. Once it can be put into practical use, we will have space delivery advantages that other countries cannot match. . My team estimates that the transportation cost per ton is expected to be less than one hundred yuan by then, and any launch vehicle launched from the ground will be meaningless."

At this time someone raised his hand.

"Please tell me." Professor Wang nodded.

"Making this kind of floating ring requires a lot of Yao Stone, right? Can the mining volume keep up?"

"Only the upper and lower coils of the suspended ring require room-temperature superconducting materials. Of course, considering the size of the ring itself, it does use a lot of materials. Each ring requires about five to six tons of Yao stone. If the plan is approved, My team plans to make a test ring first to verify the carrying capacity of the space elevator. The remaining rings can be replenished when the Yao Stone is sufficient."

Then several experts asked questions one after another.

When no one in the audience raises their hands, the moderator invites the next researcher to come on stage.

"The second solution was proposed by Professor Lu. His solution is a supercomputer."

Compared with the space elevator project, the consumption of supercomputing is much smaller. Due to the zero-resistance and non-heating characteristics of superconductors, the efficiency of the chip can be greatly improved without being affected by the power wall. This reduces the manufacturing process of the chip in disguise and greatly improves the performance of the computer.

The reason for choosing a supercomputer is also very simple. At present, there is no secret formula for room temperature superconducting materials, so chips made with it cannot enter the private market; at the same time, superconducting chips do not replace ordinary metal materials with Stone, its structure will also undergo corresponding changes. Only supercomputing centers with a national background can afford the corresponding reconstruction and use costs. Fortunately, the research on superconducting computers did not start from scratch. The project of combining superconductivity with quantum computing was already being done by a team ten years ago.

"I guess the higher-ups will not vote for Plan No. 2." Fu Jiangshui said in a low voice.

"Oh? Why?" Gao Wei asked.

"The prospects are unclear, and the scale of the benefits is not large. The only advantage is that the demand for Yao Stone is not high, so we can do it ourselves." He shook his head. Superconducting chips are not on the same track as ordinary high-end chips. Even if the research and development is successful, it will be difficult to regain the civilian market, which means that its overall market size will be quite small; not to mention that domestic supercomputing projects are already world-class, not only sufficient but also easy to use. Now it is really impossible to turn around and develop a new superconducting architecture. Too much attraction.

Even he can see this problem, it's impossible not to see it from above.