Interstellar Energy Tycoon

February 1, 2030.

Hua Guo, Hui Province, Hefei City.

Huaguo University of Science and Technology, the affiliated state-level EAST Institute of Controlled Nuclear Fusion.

This morning, the institute conducted another quasi-commercial test run of the reactor.

The huge device like a big boiler started to work inside.

"The magnetic confinement temperature is 280 million degrees."

"The temperature remains steady."

"Start timing, 1 second, 2 seconds..."

"Increase the concentration of deuterium-tritium ion flow..."

"The running time is 819 seconds, the current power generation is 498 megawatts, the power consumption is 350 megawatts, and the net output power is 148 megawatts..."

"The duration was 1365 seconds... 2711 seconds... 3590 seconds. It successfully broke through the one-hour mark, breaking the previous record of 3588 seconds."

"5112 seconds, the record has increased to more than 5,000 seconds, the first wall is overheated, and the power and internal temperature need to be reduced."

"The reactor has stopped running, and the latest record is 5127.8 seconds! The new record has been greatly improved. If it can reach an unprecedented 10,000 seconds or more, it will basically declare that the controllable nuclear fusion we have studied has basically succeeded. , in the future, as long as the volume of the internal annular chamber of the reactor is increased, the heat dissipation problem of the first wall is improved, and the external net output power is increased, it can bring almost unlimited energy, the price will not be very expensive, and the cost of raw materials can be ignored. At most ten years, no, at most five years or so, energy methods such as thermal power and nuclear fission power can be eliminated, and it will be cleaner and safer.”

An engineer was very excited and authentic.

Hear him.

Lu Guangting, the person in charge of the institute, didn't have much smile on his face.

After barely smiling, he fell into silence again.

Although the breakthrough achieved today is very important, under normal circumstances, as long as it is announced to the public, not to mention a global sensation, the last domestic news hot search is still easy, because before 2026, such hot searches are often on, and Lu Guangting's The faces are all familiar to many.

but now.

Even if the major breakthrough of the research institute is announced with great fanfare today, it is estimated that it will not cause too much trouble. It is only concerned by professionals in the industry and a small number of enthusiasts. The group that arouses heated discussions will not exceed one million people. scale.

And it will no longer be seen by countless people as the hope of changing Huaguo and completely breaking the involution.

Attention has dropped by at least several orders of magnitude.

Although the research project of controllable nuclear fusion has not been sacked, and the research funding has not been reduced, but the importance of the above has been significantly reduced, and there has been no increase in funding, urging to speed up the progress of the research, and it has become a bit tepid, although it is still possible. Continue to make big and small breakthroughs, but only this level cannot satisfy Lu Guangting.

He found that his team was not in the center of attention.

If he applies for funding from above, it is not a big problem to get two or three billion a year, but it is very unlikely that five billion or tens of billions will be achieved, unless he has made multiple breakthroughs in a row and is sure to get it done in a relatively short period of time. If you want to control nuclear fusion and are willing to issue a military order, then it is possible to get hundreds of billions of research and development funds.

But Lu Guangting knew in his heart that although the team he led has managed to make EAST run continuously for more than 5,000 seconds, there is still a long way to go before real commercial use.

There are at least three hurdles that need to be overcome.

One is the continuous and stable operation time, which cannot be lower than 10,000 seconds, and can perfectly solve the internal heat dissipation problem.

Second, the temperature of the internal magnetically confined ion flow should be increased from 280 million degrees to about 500 million degrees Celsius. Only at this temperature can the reaction efficiency of deuterium and tritium reach an extremely impressive state, and the reaction efficiency will increase by at least a hundred times. Realize real nuclear fusion combustion.

The third is to realize the export of net energy, which will increase from more than 100 megawatts to more than 1,000 megawatts.

Only when the output energy power reaches the level of one gigawatt, and can generate 20 to 30 million kilowatt-hours of electricity every day, can the investment in nuclear fusion reactors be recovered in about 30 years—that is, a commercial fusion reactor The construction cost of the stack is about 100 billion, and the process of recovering the investment is quite long, even if the fuel cost in the power generation process is really not high.

But thirty years, this payback cycle, compared with unlimited energy, is still relatively cost-effective. Thirty years is thirty years. With the character of the Chinese people, even if the payback cycle takes fifty years or one hundred years. Infrastructure projects will also be approved without hesitation, just wanting to get a better future.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Guangting is confident that around 2035, he will conquer all the technologies for the commercial application of nuclear fusion, and then build dozens and hundreds of fusion reactors in China, entering the future era.

But such an era seems unlikely to come to reality now, and the scenes he was looking forward to in his mind will most likely not appear.

Because a Xingyuan Group broke out halfway!

Surprisingly, through the ingenious method of collecting stellar energy, all mankind has seen hope. At present, the collected energy power has exceeded one billion kilowatts, and more than a thousand controllable nuclear fusion power stations have taken the lead in leading mankind into interstellar immigration. The era has entered an era when space resources are too open.

Not only does it perfectly replace controllable nuclear fusion, it even brings more advantages and advantages, making controllable nuclear fusion, which has not yet been commercialized, become tasteless and tasteless with little cost performance.

That's right, it's tasteless.

Because compared with the space energy facilities of Xingyuan Group, the controllable nuclear fusion is almost completely exploded.

In terms of technical difficulty, although there are many core technologies to be overcome in the space energy facilities of Xingyuan Group, none of them are Zentraedi technology, and most of them are not too difficult.

In terms of cost, although the R\u0026D and production costs in the early stage are high, the cost in the later stage is greatly reduced. For example, the cost of a light energy harvesting converter that costs tens of millions, the payback period is shortened to only a few days or ten days, which is terrifying. , and the subsequent deployment is getting faster and faster. The commercial fusion reactor is a behemoth weighing at least tens of thousands of tons, and the cost cannot be compared from the beginning.

In terms of flexibility, Xingyuan Group's space facilities and space energy can be moved to many places, and the power supply of light beams can also take care of most areas or blind spots. No matter how powerful the controllable nuclear fusion is, it is also powered by the grid, which is impossible in time Respond and send energy to places that are too far away.

Moreover, the power generation power is still not high, even if it is improved to a very advanced level, it is still not comparable to a giant energy relay satellite.

As for the star, the sun, it emits almost infinite light energy all the time.

Therefore, there is really no need to develop controllable nuclear fusion, and it has been completely defeated.

only……

Doesn't controllable nuclear fusion have any advantages?

It really has no value of existence and promotion, is it only suitable to exist as a technology?

Compared with the energy group's space energy facilities, isn't there even one that can win?

Lu Guangting thought hard for a long time, and finally came up with two advantages.

In other words, there are two advantages that controllable nuclear fusion must come out and promote.

Advantage 1, controllable nuclear fusion can convert very common and ordinary substances, such as hydrogen and helium, into a large amount of energy, which Xingyuan Group cannot do anyway. The energy produced cannot be produced by itself. There is a big difference between the two, and they are not the same.

The second advantage is that the universe is too large, and the area that the starlight can shine is only a very small area. Even the Xingyuan Group can store the light energy through facilities such as energy trunk roads, and then apply it to the periphery of the star or even beyond. area, but no matter how far it is, there is a limit, and the loss of light energy will continue to increase with the increase of distance, so the business radiation range of Xingyuan Group, at most, extends to adjacent stars.

But if you control the controllable nuclear fusion, no matter where the spacecraft arrives or how far it drifts, relying on the energy provided by the controllable nuclear fusion, you don’t have to worry about starving to death or freezing to death, even if it wanders for tens of light years , Hundreds of light-years away, it can still survive, and the spacecraft still has power. If it only relies on the Xingyuan Group’s beam of light for energy, it will basically be cool if it runs to a place where the beam of energy cannot be illuminated. possibility of survival.

That is, there is controllable nuclear fusion.

No matter in the dark and cold deep space of the universe.

Or in the depths of a planet.

Or in other harsh environments.

As long as the fusion reactor can generate a large amount of energy, it can survive and gain a foothold well, and there is no need to worry about the lack of food or resources. As long as it has energy, it can live a comfortable and comfortable life and keep calm.

It is obviously difficult for Xingyuan Group, which relies too much on stellar energy, to do this.

All in all, in Lu Guangting's mind, controllable nuclear fusion is a technology that must be overcome by human beings and has an extremely important role. It is necessary to increase investment to overcome it as soon as possible and commercialize it. It must have high competitiveness, but it must not be put on the shelf or not used, because it is equivalent to making up for a shortcoming of human beings, and there are no serious defects and weaknesses.

However, no matter how he thinks about the problem from a grand perspective, even if the above recognizes his principles, the research and development funds are still only so small, and it is very difficult to increase it substantially. After all, the country has difficulties in the country, and there are too many places to spend money. Possibly giving him unlimited access to funds.

In addition, there is a risk that the project will fall. If there is no breakthrough, or it proves that this road is really impossible, then it will undoubtedly be a huge regret and an immeasurable loss. Lu Guangting will also feel that he is a sinner , the sinner of all mankind.

It’s just that no matter what technology and product, no matter how advanced and powerful it is, the basis for its existence and survival lies in the performance of the market.

In this regard, Xingyuan Group has gone too far too fast.

The price of energy is 30 cents per degree.

When Lu Guangting heard the news, his heart skipped a beat and he felt extremely bad.

This price is really amazing.

And there is clearly room for further decline.

If it is reduced to 20 cents, 10 cents or even lower, then the controllable nuclear fusion researched by the team that I lead may be really possible, and it will be strangled in the cradle. applied in the market.

Because the market is the most realistic, let alone a dime, even if the price is a penny lower, the one with the lower price wins. There is no other possibility. The consequence of rolling up is that the losers will be eliminated.

Lu Guangting also knew in his heart that the structure of controllable nuclear fusion is too complicated, the construction cost is too high, and the talents required are too cutting-edge. It is also difficult for the selling price to be lower than 20 cents per kilowatt-hour. This does not include the cost of the grid. If the cost of the grid is included, the terminal price will not be lower than 50 cents. It can only compete with traditional thermal power.

Facing the space energy of Xingyuan Group, it is a dead end.

what to do?

Is there a good solution?

Lu Guangting has been thinking hard for a long time, and countless brain cells have died, but he has not come up with a good plan. He only hopes that the state will allocate more funds to produce commercial controllable nuclear fusion as soon as possible.

Besides, he didn't know how to respond.

However, this afternoon, his research institute received a call from Lu Xiaoyan, the HR manager of Xingyuan Group.

He said he wanted to have a good chat with him, the person in charge.

What did Xingyuan Group want to talk to me about?

Lu Guangting muttered, not particularly willing, after all, this is a competitor who has pushed himself to the point of desperation, calling, it must not be a good thing, it must be a winner, make some demands on him, or recruit security, etc. It's like dealing with a loser.

"No matter what you say, it is impossible for me to make a compromise. Controlled nuclear fusion will never disappear and be eliminated. This technology has a future!"

Lu Guangting said inwardly, but he still answered the phone, wanting to see what Xingyuan Group really wanted to do?

"Hi, hello, I'm Lu Guangting, what can I do?"

Picking up the microphone, Lu Guangting asked.

"Professor Lu, your EAST device has made a good breakthrough today. Congratulations. This is of great significance to the energy field. It also shows that the commercialization of controllable nuclear fusion is no longer far away, and success is in sight. Man-made The sun is not a dream..."

On the phone, Lu Xiaoyan said a lot of compliments and was polite.

Listening, Lu Guangting felt a little light, and a smile was drawn on the corner of his mouth.

But he quickly returned to normal, and coughed twice: "Manager Lu, don't kill me anymore, let's get down to business, what is the purpose of your group?"

"Cooperation, we want to cooperate with your research institute on energy."

Lu Xiaoyan said: "We are willing to provide funds, talents and all kinds of support, and strive to realize the commercialization of controllable nuclear fusion within three years and officially introduce it to the market. As for the purpose, we hope to share intellectual property rights and jointly use nuclear fusion to benefit the world. all mankind."