Great Power Technology

June 29, waters near Yongxia Island.

Ye Zhou came to the island again, but this time he was not here to see the H-20, but to watch the first fire test of the Type 055D-3 destroyer.

Just as he expected, the subtext of what Chen Hao told him before about "modifying the ship's comprehensive power system and adding an energy storage module on the 055D" was to officially implement the electromagnetic gun on the ship. Now, one and a half months have passed. In the past, this 055D without a hull number has obviously accomplished its goal.

At this moment, Ye Zhou stood quietly on the deck of the No. 002 aircraft carrier, waiting for the 055D not far away to make final pre-launch preparations.

Next to him stood the chief engineer of this transformation—or rather, the chief engineer of the entire Chinese ship's all-electric system, Ma Weiming.

Officially under his leadership, the soon-to-be-launched aircraft carrier No. 003 solved the problem of electromagnetic ejection. When everyone thought it was impossible, it successfully used conventional power generator turbines to support the high-power-consuming electromagnetic ejection system.

In addition, he is also the chief designer of the entire Chinese Navy's integrated power system. Every Chinese ship that cuts through the waves on the sea has his efforts condensed in it.

In front of such people, even Ye Zhou has no confidence to take credit and be proud.

Seagulls landed on the side of No. 002 and were disturbed by passing ground staff, adding a bit of life to this giant steel island.

Ye Zhou followed the seagull away with his eyes, then looked back, looked at Ma Weiming and said:

"Mr. Ma, have all the key technical problems of our electromagnetic gun been solved this time? Why do I feel like it was developed quietly? I haven't heard of any breakthroughs before."

Ma Weiming on the side heard Ye Zhou's words and asked with a gentle smile:

"I guess what you want to ask is about capacitance and ion ablation, right?"

Ye Zhou nodded.

In fact, contrary to what some people think, the so-called electromagnetic gun is not an energy weapon, but a kinetic energy weapon. Its principle is to accelerate the shell through the electromagnetic force of the guide rail to a speed far exceeding the initial velocity of a traditional artillery. Kinetic killing effect.

According to the latest public results, the latest electromagnetic railgun can now accelerate the projectile to a maximum speed of 4,300 meters per second, which is close to 5 times the muzzle velocity of traditional naval guns. At this speed, even if the projectile is not loaded with explosives, it can Deal devastating blows to enemy units.

However, to achieve this effect, we still face two extremely difficult difficulties to overcome.

The first is the problem of ultra-high power capacitors. Simply put, the greater the potential difference, the greater the current released in a short period of time, and the greater the current, the greater the power of the electromagnetic gun.

This has nothing to do with battery energy storage. For example, the battery power of a mobile phone can fully support more than 50 launches of electromagnetic artillery shells with power up to AK-47 standards. But how to release the power at once is the problem. The essential.

In addition to the problem of capacitors, electromagnetic guns also face a more serious and destructive problem, which is the skin effect.

To explain in one sentence, the skin effect is the process of electromagnetic heat generation. This heat is enough to cause severe ablation of the projectile and the electromagnetic guide rail, and even directly plasmaize the tail of the projectile during launch.

Such electromagnetic ablation is unavoidable during the launch of the electromagnetic gun. If you want to overcome this difficulty, you must make a breakthrough in materials science and use materials that are extremely resistant to high-temperature ablation and have sufficient strength to manufacture the guide rails. and cannonballs.

But where do such shells come from? According to Ye Zhou's understanding, currently, even in the world, there is no material that can withstand such high-temperature ablation. Otherwise, Chou Country would not have suspended its promising electromagnetic gun project.

Thinking of this, Ye Zhou looked at Ma Weiming, his eyes waiting expectantly for the other party's answer.

After a pause, Ma Weiming said:

"Actually, the solutions to these two problems are all related to you. This is why today I specifically asked my superiors to apply and invite you to witness this result."

"Is it related to me?"

Ye Zhou was stunned for a moment, looking slightly confused.

He did provide a series of scientific and technological achievements, including batteries and highly heat-resistant materials, but the effects of these scientific and technological achievements are relatively limited. Logically speaking, they should not have much to do with the electromagnetic gun.

Seeing Ye Zhou's expression, Ma Weiming smiled slightly, and then continued to explain:

"It seems that you still don't know how big a wave the things you brought out have caused, but that's normal. I heard that you always finish one project and then start the next without stopping, without having time to look back - like this It’s good, you explore the road in front, and we pave the road in the back, so that the road can get wider and wider.”

"Let's go back to the issue of electromagnetic guns. In fact, you also know that the two biggest difficulties with current electromagnetic rail guns are capacitance and ablation. Let's talk about capacitance first."

"Actually, we had already solved the capacitor problem in 2016 - my electromagnetic ejection system was formed at that time. To be honest, the electromagnetic gun is actually just a by-product of electromagnetic ejection."

"However, the capacitor problem has been solved. To put the electromagnetic gun on the ship, we still face another problem, and that is capacitor charging."

"You also know that on an aircraft carrier, it is not difficult for us to charge the electromagnetic track, because the aircraft carrier itself is large and the power of the generator is large, and it can withstand high power consumption units like the electromagnetic track. "

"But the destroyer can't do it. Let's not talk about whether it is large enough. At least when we first designed it, we didn't consider such a high-energy-consuming weapon."

"If we want to put high-energy-consuming weapons on the ship, we must solve the problem of current stability—this involves the transformation of the entire ship's comprehensive electrical system."

"At that time, our direction was to use more powerful generators and more energy storage batteries. However, this plan required changes to the entire ship's layout, and even occupied space for other combat modules."

"We revised many drafts, but in the end we did not reach a finalized design plan. Instead, we could only postpone the shipboard plan - until the next generation destroyer is launched."

"However, your sulfur-silicon battery gives us a new option."

"We can directly add energy storage modules based on the existing power generation to store redundant power during combat readiness cruises to cope with power peaks in high-power-consuming units."

"This is the transformation of the integrated power system we mentioned before. The 055D-3 ship you see now is the result of our transformation."

After listening to Ma Weiming's explanation, Ye Zhou nodded deeply.

He lacked understanding of the ship's power system itself, so he didn't know that such a small battery could actually change the entire navy's equipment service plan.

He wanted to ask a question, but Ma Weiming had already continued:

"In addition to the innovation of the integrated power system brought by batteries, there is also a major breakthrough in the ceramic-fluororesin compound previously produced by Sanchi Research Institute. The properties of this compound are very peculiar. We have optimized it based on its molecular composition. A new generation of negative thermal expansion materials has been developed.”

"Of course, I'm not an expert in materials science, so I can't explain the specific situation to you. In short, the final result is that this material can not only withstand high-temperature ablation, but can also shrink at high temperatures, thus enhancing the structural strength and improving Rail stability.”

"When did this result appear?"

Ye Zhou asked curiously.

"Probably more than three months ago - didn't you receive the notice? I remember that the project team was still judging the awards internally and gave out a large bonus."

"Well, I should have received it, but I really didn't pay attention."

Ye Zhou smiled sheepishly, and Ma Weiming sighed with emotion when he saw his expression.

"I haven't seen anyone like you in years."

"Actually, to be honest, the reasons I gave to my superiors for inviting you over to see the electromagnetic gun today are all excuses. The real reason is that I haven't seen you before, so I want to meet you."

"I live in Rongcheng now. If you have time, you can always find me there - I can also find you."

Ma Weiming nodded slightly and replied:

"I will definitely visit you again if I have the opportunity in the future, but I am satisfied after seeing you today."

"Don't say that, in fact your contribution to our navy"

"No, I'm not talking about contribution."

Ma Weiming interrupted Ye Zhou.

"Of course, in terms of contribution, you are much older than me. I have the highest confidentiality authority, so I am very aware of the strategic significance of the project you are undertaking under the Kunlun Mountains."

"But that's not what I care about."

"That is."

"I just want to see if you can continue on this path."

"This is not an easy path to take. Even if you are a genius, even if you are constantly coming up with technologies that change the entire world, you will always face pressure from all directions."

"Economic, policy, and public opinion. Some pressures are not directly put on you, but you will still feel struggling."

"Before I met you, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to walk. Fortunately, I don't have to worry now."

"You are much more pure than I expected."

As he spoke, Ma Weiming raised his head.

"Okay, I'm not good at saying these words. Anyway, your big toy will be tested soon."

"The electromagnetic gun, although some people always say it is useless, in my opinion, it is a weapon that will completely change the pattern of naval warfare."

"Its potential is too great. Maybe one day, combined with more advanced fire control radars, its performance will exceed that of current missiles. Is it not certain that the era of big guns and giant ships will come back?"

Ye Zhou nodded deeply and said nothing.

He didn't know the difference between the "big cannon ship" described by Ma Weiming and the big cannon ship in history, but

When that era comes, the ocean that the Chinese Navy will sail should be the Sea of ​​Stars, right?