My science and technology museum

"The controllable nuclear fusion device contains a number of core components, and it will probably take us a long time to develop them all."

"Dean."

“Are we really not considering purchasing some components from overseas?”

Thursday, April 6, 2028.

Binjiang City.

Ping County.

Future Technology Nuclear Fusion Research Institute.

In the central space where the nuclear fusion device should have been located, Pei Hongyin asked about the project.

At present, the laboratory is basically completed, but various equipment is needed to carry out experiments.

If you choose to purchase from overseas, the efficiency will undoubtedly be much faster.

But Xu Lei shook his head.

"no."

"The current mainstream nuclear fusion devices are basically tokamak superconducting magnetic confinement, but we use a composite design of magnetic confinement and inertial confinement."

“Rushly purchasing other people’s components will only make the final effect of the device unsatisfactory.”

Xu Lei knew that Pei Hongyin really wanted to build a nuclear fusion device as soon as possible and completely solve human energy problems.

Let the world's attention gather.

But as the saying goes, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and you must be cautious about any steps in the nuclear fusion device.

Make sure nothing goes wrong.

Otherwise, even a small mistake may cause the entire project to fail.

So after saying this, he turned around and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, Mr. Pei, it's not difficult to manufacture these components with our company's capabilities."

"Just let the departments do what they want."

"I will let Xingtong conduct real-time testing to ensure that our project does not go astray."

Now there are dozens of main scientific researchers in the entire institute, who are responsible for core components such as the central superconducting magnet of the controllable nuclear fusion device and the superconducting radiation-resistant materials for the low-temperature controller vacuum chamber.

Although these need to be manufactured from scratch, it is a completely new research direction.

But relying on the detailed models and Xingtong's assistance, as well as his personal participation, I believe it won't be too troublesome to manufacture these components.

By then, as long as all core components are in place, the installation of the nuclear fusion device can be officially started.

in addition.

Now that Xu Lei has unlocked the relevant technology, he will definitely build a 100% domestic nuclear fusion device and will never purchase components produced by overseas companies.

In fact, Pei Hongyin also understood what Xu Lei said.

But he was really anxious.

After hearing these words in my heart, I quickly adjusted my state: "With your words, Dean, I feel relieved. Next, I will supervise the manufacturing of each core component."

Xu Lei undoubtedly trusted Pei Hongyin's own abilities.

Besides, he had already studied the model of the device.

Let him be responsible for the manufacturing of the core components of the device, and Xu Lei can free up his hands to solve another equally important matter first.

That is, superconducting radiation-resistant materials.

To realize nuclear fusion power generation, how to achieve hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius and stable long-term plasma confinement control are two particularly difficult problems.

Continuous, stable and highly confineable high-performance ultra-high temperature plasma is the core of controllable nuclear fusion.

The collision of particles at high temperatures causes the particles to cross the magnetic field lines in batches and escape carrying energy.

The plasma boundary gradually blurs.

Finally, it got out of the magnetic cage and hit the inner wall of the reaction chamber.

The device designed as a complex composite as soon as possible can improve the performance many times compared to the mainstream tokamak, and the density and maintenance time of the plasma are even more unimaginable.

But the material requirements of the reaction chamber are also extremely important.

This is related to whether the device can operate stably for a long time.

To achieve perfection, the material must have good radiation resistance.

During the construction phase of the institute, Xu Lei handed over the task of researching superconducting radiation-resistant materials to Gu Sanlin.

Ask him and his team to temporarily stop all projects at hand and focus all their energy on this material.

How to ensure that the material still maintains its original performance under irradiation is a very difficult scientific research project.

It is basically impossible to conquer easily.

Therefore, after several months of research, Gu Sanlin still made no major progress.

The synthesized materials failed to meet the test requirements.

Under this situation, Xu Lei could only spend more time on material issues and use the relevant knowledge in his mind to conduct research and optimization.

Otherwise, the nuclear fusion device will still not be completed.

However, it is worth mentioning that Yang Senping's efficiency is quite good.

When the first batch of ilmenite was mined from the moon and transported to the ground via a space elevator, half of it was directly transported to Binjiang City.

Waiting for the next step of helium-3 resource extraction.

At this point in the simple conversation, Xu Lei stopped wasting time and told Pei Hongyin where he was going before turning around and leaving.

Since the research of materials requires high-temperature synthesis, the newly built research institute is obviously unable to meet this condition.

Therefore, during this period, Gu Sanlin's research site was still in Longhu High-tech Park.

Pei Hongyin naturally understood what Xu Lei was busy with during this period, but he also understood the importance of the material, so he didn't say much.

Just as Xu Lei explained.

Now his main job is to be responsible for the manufacturing of core components.

These components can meet the testing requirements, making it the first controllable nuclear fusion device for adults.

…

After driving away from the Future Technology Fusion Research Institute, it didn't take long for Xu Lei to return to the company's Longhu Hi-Tech Park Research Center and go straight to Gu Sanlin's materials laboratory.

"How's the situation?"

As soon as Xu Lei entered, he noticed Gu Sanlin who was wearing operating clothes. Unfortunately, he looked expressionless, holding a report in his hand with regret in his eyes.

Apparently he had just finished experimenting with the material.

Although Xu Lei almost guessed the result, he still stepped forward and said hello.

"I'm sorry, Dean, I've let you down." Seeing that it was Xu Lei coming over, Gu Sanlin forced out a bitter smile and replied in a self-deprecating tone.

Speaking of which, this was the first time that Xu Lei saw Gu Sanlin in a state of shock.

He is completely different from the former high-spirited top scientist in the field of materials.

Because Gu Sanlin created quantum computers, space elevator Star Pupil Machinery and other special materials needed in related fields, which was enough to prove his own ability and that he was a scientist worthy of careful cultivation.

Moreover, compared to other scientific researchers in the research center, he is not too old.

It can be said to have great potential.

This time, Xu Lei gave him the task of developing superconducting radiation-resistant materials with the intention of giving guidance and training.

A lot of relevant knowledge points were explained to him.

And they basically come from the nuclear fusion technology in Xu Lei's mind.

However, the idea is beautiful, but the reality is a bit unbearable.

In the past few months, although Gu Sanlin led the team to try several material synthesis solutions, the final test results failed to meet the requirements.

It cannot be used in nuclear fusion devices.

Perhaps Gu Sanlin's ability will be able to overcome the problem of superconducting materials sooner or later, but this time cannot be accurately fixed.

Not to mention that the company is currently competing with the joint research group.

Pei Hongyin alone will definitely not wait for a long time because of material problems.

As the saying goes, when you see the light, you can no longer merge into the darkness. Now that Pei Hongyin has seen the new nuclear fusion design, his interest has been completely aroused, and he just wants to build the device as soon as possible and start experiments.

Faced with this complicated situation, Xu Lei obviously had no other choice.

The synthesis of superconducting radiation-resistant materials can only be done by yourself.

Although he has no deep experience in the field of materials, he has detailed knowledge of nuclear fusion technology in his mind that is enough to help him carry out practical operations.

At least the chance of successfully synthesizing the materials is much higher than Gu Sanlin's.

"You've done a great job, leave it to me next." Thinking of this, Xu Lei casually took the test report from Gu Sanlin's hand and patted him on the shoulder to express comfort.

Look around.

Judging from the various data given in the report alone, there is indeed a long way to go before materials can actually be used in nuclear fusion devices.

But Xu Lei is quite confident.

But Xu Lei didn't notice that just after he said these words, Gu Sanlin's eyes suddenly became hot.

Everyone was still in disbelief.

"Dean."

"Are you finally going to take matters into your own hands?"

"I know that your attainments in the field of materials are absolutely unparalleled."

In Xu Lei's external speech, he has only learned a little bit in many fields and is a beginner.

And this includes the field of materials.

But Gu Sanlin still didn't believe it.

I thought that every time I could suddenly open up my ideas under Xu Lei's inadvertent guidance, so that I could complete the project's material requirements in a short period of time.

This is definitely not a coincidence.

The most likely reason is that Xu Lei has profound research in the field of materials.

He is obviously omniscient and omnipotent, but he hides his own level.

This is a question worth pondering.

Fortunately, he soon figured out the reason.

Obviously Xu Lei didn't want to steal all the limelight and leave more opportunities to them, scientific researchers.

But although the other party, Gu Sanlin, was very moved, he also wanted to truly see Xu Lei's level.

Now we finally have this opportunity, and it is to synthesize superconducting materials for controllable nuclear fusion devices.

How could he not be excited?

However, Xu Lei was relatively confused about Gu Sanlin's performance, and did not expect that the other party would have such a big reaction.

But considering that synthesizing superconducting materials is not a simple matter, and he really didn't want to waste time, he didn't say anything more, but went to the materials laboratory after changing into operating clothes.

As for Gu Sanlin, he followed closely behind.

According to the technical knowledge in my mind, the superconducting radiation-resistant materials used in nuclear fusion devices are mainly special alloy materials made of tungsten copper and other metals.

It needs to be synthesized in a high temperature environment.

Because Gu Sanlin and his team have been conducting research on material synthesis in the past few months, there is definitely no shortage of raw materials, which can fully meet Xu Lei's needs for this experiment.

Speaking of which, Xu Lei was personally responsible for many projects, but he was directly involved in the synthesis of materials in only a handful of them.

In addition, everyone also wanted to see the true level of their dean in the field of materials, so they entered the laboratory with Gu Sanlin to observe Xu Lei's operations.

certainly.

Xu Lei definitely does not need to be responsible for the specific hands-on process.

Most of the time, he still focuses on commanding.

that's all.

With the official start of the material synthesis experiment, the atmosphere in the entire laboratory suddenly became serious.

All attention is focused on Xu Lei.

"Prepare to add raw materials, pay attention to temperature monitoring."

…

"Add catalyst."

“Adjust the temperature, increase the RPM.

…

"Add more."

"High and low temperature cooling."

As Xu Lei issued instructions one after another, raw materials were put into the high-temperature furnace, and the temperature and time as well as the speed of the high-temperature furnace were strictly controlled.

Until multiple times of high and low temperature cooling, the final product is obtained.

It seems that Xu Lei's job is very easy, but in fact the whole process takes more than ten hours and requires real-time monitoring of various data.

If there is any small mistake in the process, the resulting material will be defective.

Failed to pass final test.

This is a big test for both the body and the spirit.

If you start researching it from scratch, the complexity is simply unimaginable, and it basically depends on luck to synthesize it.

But Xu Lei is different.

Relying on the technical knowledge in your mind, as long as you are careful enough, you will basically not fail.

The scientific researchers who had watched the whole process were filled with shock at this moment. They never expected that their dean's research in the field of materials was much more powerful than Gu Sanlin's.

After the final cooling, I couldn't help but whisper a few words.

"I really didn't expect the dean to be so good at materials, easily reaching a level that Professor Gu cannot."

"It seems that our dean is really an all-round academician!"

"This experiment was really worth it. I feel that my understanding of the material has become much clearer."

"The dean has good intentions. He usually behaves so low-key. He obviously wants to give us more experimental opportunities to improve our level. Unfortunately, we have failed to live up to the dean's expectations."

"Do you think you can pass the test this time?"

"I feel there must be no problem. Haven't you seen the dean's confidence?"

The whispers of several scientific researchers around him naturally could not escape Xu Lei's ears, but at this time, he just wanted to test the synthesized materials as soon as possible.

As long as the data obtained from the test meets the material requirements for the nuclear fusion device, Gu Sanlin and others can then start mass production.

The main reason may be that due to the particularity of the materials, there are often very few usable materials synthesized each time.

These are definitely not enough to build a nuclear fusion device.

It must be synthesized in large quantities.

When his thoughts reached this point, Xu Lei turned around and said to Gu Sanlin without any mincing words: "Take the materials and test them as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, Dean, the data results will be available soon." Gu Sanlin quickly replied.

He had experimented so many times during this period and was quite familiar with the various processes of materials. Before Xu Lei could tell him, he had already arranged for someone to take out the materials and send them to the testing room.

Next, this material will be tested for its superconducting radiation resistance performance in a high-temperature environment. Based on the advanced equipment in the laboratory, conclusions can be drawn in a short time.

…

Facts have proved that Xu Lei’s decision to personally participate in material synthesis was correct.

Not long after.

When the material test data report came out, everyone present took a breath.

Because this newly synthesized new material not only fully meets the theoretical requirements of a controllable nuclear fusion device, it even exceeds it by a lot.

Using this material to build a reaction chamber will have a longer life.

Ensure the stable operation of nuclear fusion devices.

Even Gu Sanlin was so shocked that the hands holding the report trembled slightly because of the excitement.

Previously, he did think that Xu Lei had in-depth research in the field of materials, but he really did not expect to achieve such results in just one experiment. It was really unimaginable.

After all, he has conducted many experiments in the past few months and knows how difficult it is.

Any slight difference will cause the material data to drop.

But Xu Lei didn't seem to see any difficulties with this remote experiment.

Only then did Gu Sanlin realize that he was still far from Xu Lei in the field of materials that he was proud of.

"The data obtained from material testing has far exceeded the target value. This material is fully capable of being used in controllable nuclear fusion devices. This is definitely the best news I have heard in recent months."

Xu Lei didn't think about what Gu Sanlin was thinking, and immediately ordered new content the next second to pull him out of this joy.

"This is just the beginning."

"Next, we need to synthesize more of this superconducting radiation-resistant material and transport it to the institute."

"So your task is still very heavy."

It is no exaggeration to say that Gu Sanlin and other scientific researchers are now in a state of extreme excitement as if they have been injected with blood.

So there was nothing wrong with Xu Lei's arrangement.

He nodded quickly and answered in unison.

"Don't worry, Dean, we will definitely go all out to ensure the development of the nuclear fusion project."

Seeing that the day passed like this, Xu Lei couldn't help but feel a little tired after temporarily solving the problem of superconducting radiation-resistant materials.

Then, after exchanging a few words with Gu Sanlin, he left temporarily, preparing to return to his room to have a good rest.

After all, the subsequent manufacturing and installation of nuclear fusion components is a tough battle.

——

Time flies by like a fleeting moment.

With sufficient relevant materials provided by Gu Sanlin, with the joint efforts of Xu Lei, Pei Hongyin and scientific researchers from various departments, core components such as the central magnet ring of the nuclear fusion device and the superconducting magnet low-temperature control vacuum chamber were completed. manufacture.

Although the whole process was very tiring, everyone's face was always filled with passionate fighting spirit.

Because they know that the world's first nuclear fusion device is about to be born.

And it's still in their hands.

The next step for the Future Science and Technology Nuclear Fusion Research Institute is to assemble the core components and then ignite them to formally test the effect of the fusion reaction.

October.

For the public, the holidays have just passed.

But in the Future Technology Nuclear Fusion Research Institute, it is always at work.

"Dean."

"At present, the center magnet, rings and magnets of the vacuum chamber have been installed, and the low-temperature controller will be assembled soon."

"It is expected that the experiment will be officially started in three days."

"Everyone has been waiting for this day for a long time."

In the space where the nuclear fusion device of the institute is located, Pei Hongyin looked at the big guy in front of him on the third floor platform, which was nine meters in diameter and four stories high. He did not hide the smile on his face when he spoke.

But because the nuclear fusion device of Future Technology adopts a composite design, it looks like a huge, somewhat special twist.

This is very different in appearance from other laboratory tokamak devices.

Although the device in front of us is not the largest in the world's laboratories, the energy it outputs is definitely true controllable nuclear fusion, which is the advantage of the stellarator.

Once the experiment is successful, the nuclear fusion device can be scaled down again so that it can be used in more fields.

Faced with Pei Hongyin's report, Xu Lei did not respond directly. Instead, he stared intently at the low-temperature controller being assembled.

The so-called cryogenic controller is a device that isolates the vacuum reaction chamber from the ultra-high temperature of the magnet. Without this device, when the nuclear fusion reaction starts, the temperature exceeding one billion degrees will be enough to completely destroy the entire institute.

Using this low-temperature controller to wrap the core reaction chamber and magnets can ensure that the outside temperature is normal and safe.

However, when this device is installed, the diameter of the nuclear fusion reactor will also reach 30 meters.

"Let's set it three days later. The time will be announced later." After being immersed in it for more than ten seconds, Xu Lei looked back at Pei Hongyin to make a decision.

But I have to say that seeing that his nuclear fusion device was about to be officially launched, Xu Lei was still a little worried.

Relying on the technical knowledge in their minds, they can indeed reproduce a real nuclear fusion device and make it operate stably and continuously. However, these core components are manufactured by them after all, and no one can guarantee whether there will be any problems during the experiment. .

If it cannot run continuously, it will mark the failure of this experiment.

Need to start over.

After working hard for so long, Xu Lei definitely didn't want all his hard work to go to waste.

However, now we can only see the results in three days.

"You have to have confidence in yourself, Dean. Anyway, I am very confident that it can work this time." Perhaps because he saw Xu Lei's slightly solemn expression, Pei Hongyin did not forget to say this when he got the order to leave.

In response, Xu Lei raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a smile.

same day.

As photos of the future technology nuclear fusion device appeared on the Internet, and a post was posted through the institute's official account saying that the device would be officially launched in three days to carry out experiments, the originally calm network suddenly exploded.

Netizens never expected that Future Technology would complete the construction of a nuclear fusion device in such a short period of time.

I don’t know how much faster this speed is than the artificial sun project back then.

As soon as possible, there were many critical voices, thinking that something built so quickly would definitely not work, but it also attracted the attention of many viewers.

Everyone wants to see what the final experimental results will be.

Will technology create miracles again in the future, or will it be forced to end hastily?

At the same time, at this time, the international joint project of artificial sun located in Luyang Science Island also ushered in great progress.