Technological Hegemony

"start!"

Following Luo Jia's order, the double-helix stellarator fusion reactor, located 117 meters underground, started its first operation.

Fusion takes place inside the reactor, and people cannot see the reaction process from the outside. The most intuitive manifestation is the constantly beating temperature on the screen.

Five thousand degrees!

Twenty thousand degrees!

One hundred and fifty thousand degrees Celsius!

The temperature is rising sharply, and it will soon exceed the limits of ordinary people's imagination.

The boiling point of water at standard pressure is 100 degrees Celsius, the melting point of iron is 1,535 degrees, and the melting point of tungsten is 3,422 degrees. The temperature of controllable fusion can easily reach tens of millions Celsius, or even hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius.

All the materials known so far cannot resist the high temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees. According to normal logic, the outer wall of the reaction furnace will be melted soon because it cannot resist the high temperature, eventually leading to disaster.

However, this is where the science is interesting. To explain it with the simplest example, it is taking a bath.

As we all know, the temperature of water vapor is 100 degrees Celsius. When we take a bath, white water vapor curls up, passes over our body, and forms a layer of white water mist on the mirror. During the bath, we come into contact with One hundred degrees of water vapor, but are we harmed?

Obviously not, because there is a problem of energy density involved.

Hot water of more than 50 degrees can scald you like a pig, but you can bear the steam of 100 degrees. It is precisely because the density of steam and water is different that the results are also different.

Of course, if you die and enter the relatively dense water vapor, after about 30 minutes, the delicious steamed human beings can be served on the table.

In addition, the shell of the fusion reactor is not in direct contact with the high-temperature plasma. The plasma is confined in the longitudinal magnetic field. The charged particles perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field are subjected to the Lorentz force and move in a circle. If there is a plasma current, then the charged particles The particle has a motion component along the direction of the magnetic force line, and the circular motion will become a spiral motion.

Anyway, charged particles cannot fly out of the plasma membrane, only neutrons can fly out, which is the phenomenon of neutron bombardment mentioned by Luo Jia before. The solution to neutron bombardment depends on more advanced reactants and supercomputers forcibly cracking it. The law of motion makes fine adjustments to the magnetic field.

In short, the plasma is confined in the vacuum chamber, and the heat is also confined in it. Although the controllable fusion temperature is exaggerated, it is very safe.

"Breaking 1 million degrees Celsius!"

"No issues with the reactor so far! The core temperature is steadily increasing!"

"As expected of Xingchen Technology, you know, this is their first fusion experiment, and they can do it to such a degree!"

Everyone was surprised and said that failure is the mother of success. However, this law does not seem to apply to Xingchen Technology. They are a group of men with overdeveloped minds, and they are also a group of lucky men. The double helix stellarator is the first time The test ran more smoothly than anyone expected.

"After all, it is the design of energy civilization. The double-helix stellarator has existed in energy civilization for more than four epochs. It is a very mature product. Even if it is weakened according to the earth's technology, there will be no problems."

"However, the double-helix stellarator is not the strongest technology of energy civilization. It is said that before the era of war, energy civilization used antimatter as an energy source, and the power of antimatter is many, many times greater than controllable fusion.

It's a pity that in the later era of civilization annihilation, all technologies related to antimatter disappeared mysteriously. "

Luo Jia thought in his heart that he was quite disapproving of everyone's surprise, and if he copied the technology of energy civilization and made mistakes, Luo Jia should doubt his IQ.

"Three million degrees Celsius! Mr. Luo, how do you measure the fusion temperature?" someone asked.

Luo Jia smiled slightly, "To measure things like nuclear fusion, of course we can't use a resistance temperature detector. The method we use is to emit laser light into the plasma. After all, the temperature is different, the optical properties are different, and the spectrum is also different."

"Look at you asking this question, Star Technology has a lithography machine production line, and their optical department has long been the number one in the world!" Someone praised the optical department of Star Technology.

"It's not wrong. Senior Lu Chengfeng is the top star in the domestic optical field, and Zhang Yuechuan's strength is obvious to all. As for the laser project, I heard that Wen Chengling has been in charge of it for the past two years."

"Wen Chengling? Two brothers, one engaged in life sciences, the other engaged in lasers, those two brothers who disappeared for some reason?"

"It's them. I heard that because their parents died in Amazon, they couldn't think about it for a while, so they lived in seclusion in Brazil. They were just invited back by Xingchen Technology two years ago."

"This is the attraction. Star Technology is now the company that scientists in the world most want to join. There is no one. Even Japanese and Korean scientists have come here. Luo Jia and the others have also made contributions to the East Asian Union."

Everyone whispered, everyone praised Xingchen Optics, but they didn't know much about the Wen family brothers, mainly because the Wen family brothers deliberately concealed the past. For them, it was an unbearable period. The sad past also completely changed the fate of the two geniuses, turning the two once simple scientists into one of the few ruthless scientists among scientists, who dared to step forward on the ground full of corpses and blood without any hesitation kind.

"Ten million degrees!" A few minutes later, someone exclaimed again.

As for how high the temperature of nuclear fusion needs to be, there is actually no fixed number. The core temperature of the sun is 15 million degrees, which is lower than most artificial fusion devices, but can you say that the temperature of the sun is not high enough?

To understand the issue of nuclear fusion temperature, we first need to know what nuclear fusion is.

Nuclear fusion is a process in which light nuclei collide with each other and fuse with each other through strong interactions to become heavy nuclei. Since the binding energy of heavy nuclei is greater than that of light nuclei, a large amount of energy will be released.

So how does nuclear fusion happen?

As we all know, the atomic nucleus is positively charged. At a lower temperature, the nucleus is surrounded by electrons, and electrons are more in the way, just like when you and your girlfriend are making love to each other, there is an uninterested light bulb next to you. You want to have something to do with your girlfriend. , it is best to get rid of the light bulbs around you first, so at this time, you need to resort to the first condition of nuclear fusion, plasma.

Plasma is the fourth state of matter. In a high-temperature state, the atomic nucleus will be separated from the electrons, and the light bulbs that are in the way around you will be thrown away. You, the atomic nucleus, finally have the opportunity to be alone with the atomic nucleus named girlfriend.

Of course, in the great business of picking up girls, it’s not enough to just get along alone. There is electrostatic repulsion between atomic nuclei. Even if you get close to your girlfriend occasionally, it’s nothing more than cuddling and getting angry, and nothing can be done.

So, how to overcome the electrostatic repulsion, so that you and your girlfriend can truly blend in harmony, body and mind?

This requires two conditions, one is high temperature and the other is high pressure.

Now, the truth has finally come to light. Although the sun's core temperature is only 15 million degrees, it is the sun after all, and its core pressure is as high as 2.5 million atmospheres!

If the heat is not enough, the pressure can be combined, so the sun can easily achieve nuclear fusion. Earth scientists can't create such a sky-defying pressure, so they have to increase the temperature as much as possible. When the pressure is not enough, the temperature can be combined. starter

Therefore, nuclear fusion is actually to desperately increase the pressure and temperature, forcing the atomic nuclei to fuse with each other, just like when you went back to your hometown, your parents forced you to go on a blind date and get married. starter

There is no fixed temperature or fixed pressure for nuclear fusion. Everything is adjusted according to the situation. If you want the reactor to output high energy, you should increase the temperature and pressure, otherwise, you should lower the temperature and pressure.

"Fifty million degrees!"

"The operating status of EAST has been reached!"

Everyone couldn't help exclaiming, the full name of EAST is full superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device, located in the Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, before the double-helix stellarator fusion device of Xingchen Technology, EAST is the world's most powerful Tokamak fusion device.

The highest record of EATS is continuous operation for ten seconds at 100 million degrees Celsius, and 10.6 seconds for stable operation at 50 million degrees Celsius. This is the world record so far.

It is not difficult to see from this that fusion reactors operate at extremely high temperatures, and the difficulty will increase accordingly. EAST can run for a hundred seconds at 50 million degrees, and can only run for ten seconds at 100 million degrees.

The ambition of Xingchen Technology obviously does not stop at 50 million degrees, and the number on the screen is still climbing rapidly.

"Seventy million degrees!"

"Mr. Luo, what is your test temperature setting?" Finally someone couldn't help but ask.

Luo Jia turned her head, glanced at everyone's faces, and said flatly, "150 million degrees Celsius."

Boom~

The feeling of sudden blood congestion in the brain made everyone dizzy. You must know that the super tokamak fusion device ITER, which has not yet been built, weighs 23,000 tons and has concentrated the world's top scientific research forces, is operating at its limit. The temperature is only 150 million degrees Celsius, and the first fusion experiment of Xingchen Technology rushed towards a record high! ?

France's ITER and China's CFETR have not yet been built. In the face of future fusion devices, the combined performance is not as good as the double-helix stellarator of Xingchen Technology. What kind of madness is this! ?

You should know that both ITER and CFETR are super fusion reactors weighing tens of thousands of tons, while the double-helix stellarator is just a small test reactor, weighing only 142 tons.

It has to be said that the gap between different civilizations is too great. It is difficult for people on earth who are still in the stage of primary planetary civilization to imagine the development of the cosmic society.

"100 million degrees! It's reached 100 million degrees Celsius!"

"The fusion device remains stable!"

"The temperature is still increasing rapidly. It's unbelievable. What kind of magic did Star Technology use!?"

Everyone exclaimed in a low voice. Inside the double-helix stellarator, under the unimaginably terrifying high temperature and pressure, the atomic nucleus is undergoing a fierce fusion reaction.

When the fusion device really climbed to the predetermined high temperature of 150 million degrees, the people at the scene became silent instead. They didn't want to make a sound and destroy the sacred meaning of this night.

150 million degrees, this is a brand new record, the previous highest record was at 100 million degrees Celsius, running for ten seconds, this record was also created by Chinese scientific researchers.

However, with the addition of Xingchen Technology, the old records are completely dead. According to Luo Jia's words, the reason why all records exist is to be broken!

One minute…

three minutes…

five minutes…

ten minutes…

"Okay, let's finish it." Luo Jia said casually to Dr. Xie Tian in the communicator: "The first experiment doesn't need to run for too long, the important thing is to collect data."

It wasn't until Dr. Xie Tian executed the order that the temperature of the reactor began to drop, and everyone woke up like a dream.

This is not a question of how many lamb kebabs can be roasted at a temperature of 150 million degrees after the reactor has been running for ten minutes, but that Xingchen Technology has been able to retract and retract freely, perfectly controlling every step of the fusion reaction! It's like walking in a garden!

Long live!

People could no longer bear the excitement in their hearts, embraced each other, shouted loudly, and shed hot tears.

This is an epic miracle. Human beings without controllable fusion are like children lying on the earth's crib. Controllable fusion is the long-awaited pair of wings that will help human beings grow up and reach the stars. and the distance.

The unstoppable history is rolling in. On March 5th, the seventh year since Star Technology was founded, the test of the double-helix stellarator was successful!

...

"The test was successful, Luo Jia's fusion reactor test was successful!"

"It ran for a full ten minutes, and it was still Luo Jia who took the initiative to end the operation. He said there was no rush. The first time was mainly to collect data, and the durability test of the fusion reactor will be done later."

"Can you imagine? When Luo Jia said that he was not in a hurry, the expressions of those bosses of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, they looked at Luo Jia, they were looking at a monster! The eyeballs were so hanging that they fell to the ground!"

"Now all the experts are in a frenzy! They're celebrating like crazy, drinking champagne glass after glass."

"General, are you listening, General?"

Lu Junlin immediately called the general who was far away in the capital to report the good news of the success of the experiment, and the general stayed up all night, sitting on the sofa in the living room and waiting, looking at the wall clock.

"Well, I'm listening." The general said after a moment of silence: "I have already understood what you said, congratulate Luo Jia for me, and invite me to let him come to the capital after finishing the business in Chengdu. , I would like to buy him a drink or two."

"You bought him a drink?" Lu Junlin was slightly taken aback.

"Is there something wrong?" The general said disapprovingly, "Tonight's success is not only the success of Luo Jia and Xingchen Technology, but also the success of our entire Chinese nation!"

"The greatest glory of being a soldier is nothing more than being loyal to the country, shrouding the body in horse leather, resisting foreign enemies, and expanding the territory!"

"In the century of humiliation in modern times, every inch of land that has been lost is like a sharp knife, deeply inserted in the hearts of us soldiers. We only hate that the international order has been established, and we are unable to get back what we lost."

"But Luo Jia gave me hope. He kept saying that the earth is too small. If human beings want to develop, they must go to the sea of ​​stars. Our China has already missed the first era of great navigation. In the second era of great voyages, we, Huaxia, should be in charge!"

"For this reason, Luo Jia also told me a story."

"A story?" Lu Junlin showed a puzzled expression on his face.

"Yes, Luo Jia told me a story written by Liu Cixin called Xiyang. It said that in a parallel world, when Zheng He sailed to the West in the Ming Dynasty, he returned without reaching Africa. Instead, he decided to go on. They bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and finally arrived in Europe, then pointed their sword at London and bombarded Amsterdam, and established the Ming Dynasty across Eurasia.”

"In a blink of an eye, hundreds of years have passed, and China's rule has spread to every corner of the world. Everyone is proud of speaking Chinese, learning Chinese etiquette, and being proud of marrying a Chinese. Opera, Chinese painting, calligraphy, and poetry have swept the world."

Lu Junlin was dumbfounded. He had only read Liu Cixin's books, just like 90% of people who claim to be science fiction fans have only read Three-Body Problems. Lu Junlin didn't read many science fiction works, and he didn't know Liu Cixin. He even wrote such flirtatious things, he is deeply emotional, and he is also a nationalist.

However, when he thought about it carefully, Lu Junlin couldn't help his heart beat faster and his blood was racing. As a soldier, whenever he thought of the humiliation of the modern century, he couldn't help but get red eyes.

Mao Zedong once said that although Russia's territory is vast, not an inch is superfluous.

Huaxia is not like this! ?

At this time, the general said excitedly: "Luo Jia said that he will open the road to the stars and the sea, and our soldiers will complete the expedition that we failed to complete hundreds of years ago in the second era of great navigation! For China Nation, expand the territory!"

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