Rebirth of science and technology academic master

Chapter 289 Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Just because the Nobel Prize dinner is over doesn’t mean it’s over.

According to the Nobel Prize awarding process, after the dinner, there will be a Nobel lecture the next day.

Qin Yuanqing went to the lecture hall of the School of Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences alone and gave a thirty-minute lecture on the theme of "The Light of Controlled Nuclear Fusion".

When he first arrived at the lecture hall, the lecture hall was packed with people, even more crowded than the Nobel Dinner, but no one complained.

Those who came to listen to the lecture were not only physics scholars from all over the world, but also students from Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and even some local citizens who were interested in science.

According to the practice of previous Nobel lectures, the lectures here are not entirely professional in nature. Even if you have no knowledge in the relevant field, you can still understand what the people on the stage are saying.

Of course, it is not just a complete science popularization.

Simply put, the purpose of the Nobel Lecture is to allow scholars in the same field but in different directions to understand at a glance what work the Nobel Prize winners have done or are doing, what the significance of the work is, and its impact on academia and society. What does it mean to the world?

This may sound simple, but it's not easy to actually do it.

Qin Yuanqing did not teach mathematics or theoretical physics, but controlled nuclear fusion!

From the perspective of human development, every huge improvement in social productivity brings about earth-shaking changes in the energy field.

The first industrial revolution was the age of steam. The power of steam brought about earth-shaking changes to society and greatly improved social productivity. The second industrial revolution was the widespread application of electricity and was marked by electricity. The third industrial revolution is oil!

Many people are saying that the fourth industrial revolution is the computer revolution, but it has not been recognized. The essence is because there is no breakthrough in the energy field. In the end, it is still oil, and oil resources are gradually showing crisis, and new energy is not enough to represent industry. The energy from which revolutions are born.

As an energy source for the fourth industrial revolution, controllable nuclear fusion is undoubtedly the best choice. Controllable nuclear fusion can provide humans with a steady stream of energy, allowing humans to have inexhaustible electricity without worrying about oil depletion.

In the 1950s, after the first hydrogen bomb exploded successfully, most scientists optimistically estimated that humans could use controllable nuclear fusion energy within 10 to 20 years. At that time, all nuclear powers kept secret When studying controllable nuclear fusion, everyone agreed that whoever masters controllable nuclear fusion technology first will be the next world hegemon.

But until the 1960s, everyone found that it was impossible to do it. So after discussing it at a meeting in Europe, they found that everyone was the same, and no one was even half a step ahead. So in total, everyone thought that it would be possible in about 50 years. Create controllable nuclear fusion. Since that meeting, magnetic confinement controllable nuclear fusion has been completely declassified and made available to the academic community for open research!

There are two milestones in magnetic confinement fusion: first, the Tokamak configuration proposed by the former Soviet Union, which created plasma parameters that directly surpassed all magnetic mirrors, stellarator and other configurations at that time, thus becoming the mainstream of magnetic confinement fusion; second, It was in 1982 that the high-constraint mode (H-mode) was discovered on the Deutsche ASDEX tokamak, which could directly reduce the size of the device by about half, thus greatly reducing the project cost.

Of course, the sad thing is that how to realize commercialization of controllable nuclear fusion has always been a proposition for fifty years. After all, the controllable nuclear fusion experiment for a few seconds or tens of seconds has no commercial significance at all and is just an experimental product.

"Hello, Professor Qin, regarding the 'controllable nuclear fusion' you just reported, how long do you think it will take for us humans to master the commercialization of controllable nuclear fusion and put it into practical use?" asked a citizen.

Qin Yuanqing pondered for a moment, "If we want to give controllable nuclear fusion a time to actually use it, then I think it will not exceed 20 years, that is, around 2030, we will be able to have controllable nuclear fusion provide a steady stream of energy for us humans. of energy.”

Everyone cheered, and it was obvious that Qin Yuanqing's optimism infected them.

After finishing the report, Qin Yuanqing introduced the Nobel Prize trip. In the next week, he will take his parents, wife and children to Norway, Denmark, and Germany. It is a rare opportunity to travel with them. Naturally, he wouldn't just go back to China.

European countries are not large in area. The area of ​​Europe as a whole is about the same as that of China. You can visit several places in a week.

In the international metropolis of Paris, I had a good time shopping, and then took a plane at Paris Airport to go back to my country.

After the plane landed, I received a warm welcome outside the ramp of the plane.

Although it was snowing in Beijing at this time and the temperature was relatively low, it could not resist the warm hearts of people and went to the airport in person to greet this young man who had brought great honor to China.

Looking at the people holding red flags and applauding and cheering enthusiastically, Qin Yuanqing was a little flattered. It was the first time he won the Fields Medal without such a big battle. Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Qin Yuanqing was embarrassed to just give up. After leaving like this, I gave a speech at the airport. The speech was not long, only 5 minutes, and then I waved goodbye to the enthusiastic people.

The bodyguards were already waiting at the airport, and the group got into two cars and went home directly.

This time his parents will live in the capital for half a month, and then they will go home with their cousin, which will save Qin Yuanqing from worrying.

Qin Yuanqing did not go home so early. This year he planned to go back until the 27th day of the lunar calendar. Last year he did not go home to celebrate the New Year. This year he plans to go home as a family to celebrate the New Year. The whole family is also more festive.

On the first day that Qin Yuanqing returned to school, the school held a grand celebration ceremony to celebrate that Qin Yuanqing and Mr. Yang jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Then Qin Yuanqing and Mr. Yang had a tacit understanding of how to win the Nobel Prize. Donate to the school and establish a fund to encourage scientific researchers to engage in theoretical physics research. Every year, some outstanding scientific researchers will receive awards from the foundation. It also supports young scholars to study abroad, visit, and communicate with other countries. Exchange with top scholars to improve your own level.

Qin Yuanqing also donated a US$1 million prize from the Clay Institute for solving millennium problems to the School of Science to establish a scholarship foundation to help students and teachers concentrate on their studies.

Then he was busy forming a year-end assessment team to assess the school's faculty and staff. The Automotive Research Institute and the Aero Engine Research Institute were self-contained systems that he did not need to worry about. Naturally, there were special assessment teams and procedures for assessment. Qin Yuanqing only needed to explain. That's fine, Xu Jiayi will naturally handle it.

After being promoted to executive vice president, Qin Yuanqing asked Xu Jiayi to serve as the dean of the Automotive Research Institute and the executive vice dean of the Aerospace Engine Research Institute. Qin Yuanqing was still very relieved about Xu Jiayi.

But it's different at Shuimu University. Qin Yuanqing personally serves as the leader of the assessment team this year, and the deans of each college serve as deputy team leaders, plus the personnel department, logistics department, etc. to form an assessment team.

Qin Yuanqing emphasized at the first assessment team meeting that the assessment should be carried out strictly in accordance with the assessment requirements and procedures. Personal emotions are absolutely not allowed to be involved. The assessment scores will be as many points as they should be, and they will be as high as they should be.

There are more than 15,000 faculty and staff in Shuimu University. This assessment work is very large. It is still stressful to complete all assessments in less than a month.

And during this period, there must be various letters in the mailbox. These letters must be read and investigated one by one. After all, not all reporting letters are facts. On the contrary, most of the reporting letters are speculations, hearsay, and investigation. There seems to be no real evidence.

The various honorary appraisals organized by the school have also begun. With last year's example, the faculty and staff are much more enthusiastic about this year's honorary appraisal. After all, the little talk can bring tens of thousands more bonuses, and the appraisal of professional titles also has priority.

So much so that by the time the entire assessment team was on track, New Year's Day had arrived unknowingly. New Year's Day is a three-day holiday, but Qin Yuanqing is busier than ever. On behalf of the Aero Engine Research Institute, the Gefeng Aviation Engine technology buyout was signed with the military. However, unlike the Everest Aviation Engine, the Gefeng Aviation Engine has a complete technology buyout. The cost is 10 billion, only half!

Qin Yuanqing would not be too little. After all, with a complete set of technologies for the Everest aircraft engine, the Gefeng aircraft engine is much easier. The investment in research and development is not large, and the prototypes are paid for by the military.

With the addition of 10 billion, the Aero Engine Research Institute's account once again exceeded 20 billion, approaching 30 billion in cash, which can be said to be richer than the school's account.

Principal Chen's eyes were red, and he approached Qin Yuanqing again to see if he could get some of the dividends, and even roped in the First Air Group.

In the Aero Engine Research Institute, Qin Yuanqing originally invested 2 billion for 51% of the shares, and Shuimu University held 40% of the shares based on its site and scientific research personnel.

Not to mention dividing all the money in the account, as long as 10 billion is used to divide it, the school will be able to distribute 4 billion, which will be much richer in the new year!

"Principal Chen, you don't know how to do it. Our college is currently working hard on public relations for the large-scale strategic transport aircraft project. It is estimated that the investment will be 30 to 40 billion. I am still worried about how to raise other funds."

When Qin Yuanqing heard this, he immediately quit. Are you kidding? When he established the Aero Engine Research Institute, he never thought about any dividends. The reason why he held 51% of the absolute controlling stake was that he did not want laymen to lead experts and be influenced by the outside world. .

As for dividends now, don't even think about it. The aeroengine for a strategic transport aircraft alone costs almost 10 million US dollars to make. If you build just one, you can't escape at least 2 to 3 billion US dollars.

"In this case, let's raise 10 billion from all parties!" Qin Yuanqing said.

But when Principal Chen heard this, his expression changed. Damn, you are being asked for money instead of asking for money. How is this possible! You only manage more than a thousand people, while I need to manage 15,000 faculty and staff, and there are so many other things. Wherever there is money, there is not even a penny.