Chapter 156: Energy Revolution, Miniaturized Fusion Energy—The

Zhao Kaiyuan stood before the massive data screen, where colorful curves pulsed like an electrocardiogram.

He held a stack of freshly printed reports in his hand, the paper crinkling as he gripped it.

"Over the past seventy-two hours, the 'Torch Dragon Eye' laser array has had a cumulative runtime of 4.2 hours, and the power consumption..." He paused, reading out the number.

"Equivalent to 37% of Zhoushan City's total daily power consumption."

Wang Hao, who had just slipped in, nearly tripped over the threshold upon hearing this: "H-how much? 37%? Guangzi, this isn't a laser you've got there, it's an electric tiger!"

Chen Guang adjusted his glasses: "In an actual combat environment, if we encounter saturation attacks, running all six lasers at full power for one hour would reach 210% of Zhoushan City's daily power consumption."

"That's the electricity for two cities," Li Yang added. "And they'd have to be industrial cities at that."

"What's more troublesome is the deep sea." Zhao Kaiyuan pulled up another set of data.

"After the 'Jiaolong' mech activates its energy shield, its endurance plummets from 72 hours to 8 hours."

"If it engages in high-mobility combat underwater, that time is cut in half again."

He looked at Feng Yan: "Brother Feng, this isn't a technical problem; it's a physical one."

"Existing chemical batteries, fuel cells, and even our pride and joy, the 'Dragon Heart' micro-fission reactor, lack the energy density to support full-power operation for this new equipment."

Feng Yan stared at the glaring curves: "Then what about the progress of the 'Xuanming' project?"

"Stalled," Zhao Kaiyuan said bluntly.

"We understand the principles of fusion, and we have designs for miniaturization, but two critical bottlenecks remain unresolved."

He walked to the whiteboard and drew a simple schematic of a tokamak device.

"First, the magnetic field." Zhao Kaiyuan circled the coil section with a red marker.

"To confine plasma at hundreds of millions of degrees, the magnetic field strength must reach at least 8 Tesla."

"Traditional low-temperature superconducting magnets can do it, but they require a massive liquid helium cooling system. That system alone is larger than a truck, so how can we talk about 'miniaturization'?"

"What about high-temperature superconducting materials?" Li Yang asked.

"There's progress, but it's not mature." Zhao Kaiyuan pulled up the material data.

"The latest second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape can reach a field strength of 5 Tesla in the liquid nitrogen temperature zone (77K), but its current-carrying capacity decays sharply as the magnetic field increases."

"If we want to reach 8 Tesla, we either have to make the coils extremely thick and heavy, or..."

He paused: "Find an entirely new superconducting mechanism."

The conference room fell silent.

Wang Hao scratched his head: "And the second one?"

"Second is the first-wall material." Zhao Kaiyuan drew the inner wall of the reaction chamber on the whiteboard.

"The high-energy neutrons produced by the fusion reaction bombard the wall at a magnitude of 10 to the 14th power per square centimeter per second."

"What does that mean?"

"It's equivalent to ten trillion tiny bullets hitting this wall every second."

"Any existing material would rapidly embrittle, swell, and fail under such bombardment."

He put down the pen: "We've tried seventeen schemes: tungsten alloys, vanadium alloys, silicon carbide composites, and we even tried nano-diamond coatings."

"... In laboratory simulations, the best ones only lasted 300 hours."

"And the design life for a fusion energy core needs to be at least 50,000 hours."

Chen Guang suddenly spoke up: "'Dark Crystal'."

Everyone looked at him.

"Engineer Zhao mentioned before that the microstructure of 'Dark Crystal' can disperse and absorb extreme pressure." Chen Guang pulled up an electron microscope image of the deep-sea mineral.

"High-energy neutron bombardment is essentially a form of 'pressure'—a momentum impact at the microscopic scale. If this property of 'Dark Crystal' is also effective against neutrons..."

Engineer Zhao and Li Kui exchanged a look.

"Theoretically feasible," Engineer Zhao said slowly.

"But it requires experimental verification. And the 'Dark Crystal' samples we have on hand are only enough for a few micro-tests."

"Then do the tests first," Feng Yan decided.

"Old Zhao, Master Li, focus your efforts on overcoming this problem. I will coordinate with the deep-sea sampling team to dive again for more samples."

"We don't necessarily have to dive again," Li Kui said suddenly. "We had a breakthrough in our laboratory simulations yesterday."

He pulled a tablet from his bag and brought up a video.

The video showed internal monitoring of a high-pressure reactor.

Inside the vessel, some dark gray powder slowly settled and aggregated in the high-temperature, high-pressure fluid, eventually forming a thin film on the vessel wall.

"This is the 39th test simulating the deep-sea hydrothermal environment," Li Kui explained.

"We adjusted the ion concentration gradient, kept the pH in a narrow range of 2.8-3.2, maintained the temperature at 350 degrees Celsius, and the pressure at 350 atmospheres."

"Then, we observed the initial formation of a 'Dark Crystal'-like structure."

"Although the film is only a few microns thick, under an electron microscope, its nano-scale 'mosaic' structure is 71% similar to real deep-sea 'Dark Crystal'."

"It's not good enough yet, but it proves this path is viable," Engineer Zhao continued.

"If you give us another three months to optimize the parameters and scale up, we should be able to produce gram-level, high-quality 'Dark Crystal' simulation material in the lab."

Three months.

In the conference room, everyone calculated the time in their heads.

"The fusion project can't wait three months," Zhao Kaiyuan shook his head.

"Our original plan was to test the first 'Xuanming' prototype next month."

"Then solve the magnetic field problem first," Li Yang said.

"Can high-temperature superconducting materials be compensated for by structural design?"

"For example, instead of a single coil, use multi-layer nesting? Or change the magnetic field configuration?"

He walked to the whiteboard and began drawing a new schematic: "Traditional tokamaks are toroidal, but if we want to miniaturize, perhaps we should consider a Spherical Tokamak configuration."

"This configuration has a low aspect ratio and high magnetic field utilization efficiency, allowing the coils to be made more compact under the same field strength."

Zhao Kaiyuan's eyes lit up: "The engineering difficulty of a spherical tokamak is high, but it does have theoretical advantages. The problem is... we've never done it."

"Then do it," Feng Yan said. "Since the founding of the institute, is there anything we haven't done?"

For the next two hours, the energy, materials, and mechanical design teams huddled together, filling the whiteboard and screens with sketches, formulas, and parameter tables.

Although Wang Hao only had a superficial understanding of superconducting physics, he had a different line of thought.

"Listen, everyone," he tapped the whiteboard.

"Are we overcomplicating this? Do we really have to stuff the fusion reactor into a box?"

"What do you mean?" Zhao Kaiyuan looked at him.

"I mean, maybe 'miniaturization' doesn't necessarily have to mean 'micro-sizing'," Wang Hao gestured.

"For example, let's build a 'Mobile Energy Truck'!"

"As big as a heavy truck, with a full-version fusion reactor mounted on it. Wherever it drives, it supplies power!"

"Laser array needs power?"

"Drive over there!"

"Mech troops need charging?"

"Drive over there!"

"Isn't that more realistic than stuffing a fusion reactor into the belly of a mech?"

Li Yang thought about it: "It makes sense. The 'Jiaolong' deep-sea mech could drag an energy umbilical cord, and the 'Torch Dragon Eye' laser array could be equipped with a dedicated fusion power truck."

"Solve the energy problem first, then slowly research how to make the reactor smaller."

"But mobility will be affected," Chen Guang pointed out.

"A mech dragging an umbilical cord will have reduced tactical flexibility. The power truck is also a high-value target that needs extra protection."

"Then solve it in stages," Feng Yan concluded.

"Haozi's mobile power truck plan will serve as a transition; start designing it immediately."

"Engineer Zhao and Kaiyuan will continue to focus on the miniaturized core; that is the long-term direction. We'll walk on two legs."

The tasks were assigned.

Over the next few days, a strange scene appeared in the institute.

In the East District lab, Zhao Kaiyuan and his team were busy tinkering with various superconducting coils and magnetic field measurement equipment.

White smoke rose from the liquid helium in the cryogenic Dewar flasks, high-temperature superconducting tapes were wound into strange shapes, and sparks flew on the test bench while the magnetic field meters went off the charts.

In the West District workshop, Wang Hao and Li Yang were retrofitting a decommissioned missile launcher vehicle.

The vehicle body was lengthened and reinforced, and a huge module was installed in the rear—that would be the future "home" of the fusion reactor.

Wang Hao even gave the vehicle a name: "Xuanming No. 1 Mobile Power Platform," or "Electric Camel" for short.

"Why call it a camel?" a young researcher asked.

"Because it can carry a load!" Wang Hao patted the vehicle body.

"Carrying a fusion reactor all over the world, what else would you call it if not a camel?"

Chen Guang spent most of his time at the Zhoushan base, optimizing the energy management algorithms for the laser array.

He discovered that the power consumption curve of the lasers at different power levels was not linear; power consumption at 90% power was 65% of that at 100% power.

This meant that if they could appropriately reduce the output power while ensuring interception effectiveness, they could save a significant amount of electricity.

"But we can't lower it too much," he reported to Feng Yan over the phone.

"My analysis of the 'Pioneer' missile wreckage shows that its thermal insulation coating begins to fail at 1700 degrees Celsius, and to reach that temperature, the laser power must be maintained at at least 82% of its rated value."

"So there is an 18% optimization space," Feng Yan said. "Keep digging."

Meanwhile, in Engineer Zhao and Li Kui's materials lab, the 47th 'Dark Crystal' simulation experiment was underway.

The parameter combination for this run was something Li Kui had calculated over three sleepless nights:

The temperature gradient was controlled more precisely, the fluid velocity was reduced to 0.3 cm per second, and a slowly rotating stirring paddle was added to the reactor to simulate the turbulence of deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

72 hours later, the vessel was opened.

A layer of dark gray sediment about 0.5 mm thick was evenly distributed on the inner wall.

Sampled, prepared, and sent for inspection.

Under the electron microscope, the similarity between this material and natural 'Dark Crystal' reached 83%.

More importantly, neutron irradiation simulation tests showed that its radiation resistance was an order of magnitude higher than the best tungsten alloy.

"Still not perfect, but good enough," Engineer Zhao looked at the data, a smile finally appearing on his face.

"At least it can solve the 'initial survival' problem of the first-wall material. Let's get the fusion reactor started first, then slowly improve the material's lifespan."

He sent the sample to Zhao Kaiyuan.

Three days later, the energy team sent word: the small test chamber lined with this simulated 'Dark Crystal' material had operated stably for 500 hours under simulated fusion neutron irradiation without showing any obvious damage.

"500 hours is enough for a principle verification," Zhao Kaiyuan said at the project meeting.

"We can build a 'verification machine' first. We won't aim for long life; we'll just prove whether the technical route is feasible."

"Once we have this foundation, we'll optimize the materials and increase the lifespan."

"How long to build the verification machine?" Feng Yan asked.

"Part processing has already begun, and the core components are expected to arrive within two weeks," Zhao Kaiyuan pulled up the schedule.

"If everything goes smoothly, we can conduct the first 'ignition' experiment in one month."

One month.

This was a timeframe everyone could accept.

After the meeting, Wang Hao dragged Li Yang to see his "Electric Camel."

The vehicle was almost fully retrofitted.

The interior of the module was filled with various brackets, pipeline interfaces, and cooling pipes. Wang Hao even added a holographic display system to the cab to monitor the status of the fusion reactor in real-time.

"Look, this is the fuel injection port," he pointed to an interface with multiple safety locks.

"This is the power output; we designed six sets of interfaces, capable of powering six lasers simultaneously."

"This is the cooling system, water-cooled plus air-cooled dual backup..."

Li Yang walked around the vehicle: "The center of gravity is a bit high; it's easy to tip over when off-roading."

"That's why I added an active hydraulic leveling system!" Wang Hao proudly pressed a button, and the vehicle's four suspensions began to extend and retract independently.

"Look, it automatically stays level! Even if it's parked on a hillside, the fusion reactor will stay rock steady!"

"What about power output stability? A fusion reactor isn't a battery; its output fluctuates."

"That's why here—" Wang Hao opened a cabinet filled with dense capacitor arrays and power regulation modules.

"Buffering and voltage stabilization system! Guaranteed to make the output current steadier than the power in an operating room!"

As the two were discussing, Chen Guang returned from Zhoushan.

He went straight to Feng Yan and handed him a report.

"New discovery," Chen Guang said.

"While analyzing the orbital data of the 'Pioneer' missile wreckage, 'Torch Dragon' discovered a pattern:"

"Before the missile performs a high-G maneuver, there is always an extremely short 'energy accumulation' phase—about 0.05 seconds."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that even for a Mach 20 missile, its energy is not infinite," Chen Guang pulled up a data chart.

"Every major orbital change consumes propellant and reduces speed."

"If we can predict the timing of its maneuvers and intercept it the moment it 'charges up,' our success rate will increase significantly."

"How to predict it?"

"Through changes in the thermal distribution on the missile body," Chen Guang zoomed in on the infrared image.

"Look here, before the missile makes a left turn, the aerodynamic control surface on the right side heats up 0.02 seconds earlier than the left."

"Although the temperature difference is very small, our infrared sensor resolution is high enough to capture it."

Feng Yan looked at the subtle thermal images: "So, for the next interception, we can strike 'smarter' rather than 'harder'."

"Yes," Chen Guang nodded. "Energy consumption can be reduced by another 10% or so."

10% doesn't sound like much.

But within the entire defense system, it could be the difference between surviving the first round of saturation attacks or not.

In the evening, Feng Yan stood on the top floor of the institute's main building, watching the busy courtyard below.

The lights in the East District lab were still on; that was Zhao Kaiyuan's team debugging the superconducting coils.

In the West District workshop, welding sparks flashed from time to time; Wang Hao's "Electric Camel" was undergoing final assembly.

The windows of the materials lab emitted a soft light; Engineer Zhao and Li Kui were likely still optimizing the preparation parameters for the 'Dark Crystal'.

In the distance, on the test field, the laser array was undergoing low-power trial runs, the beams cutting through the night sky like silent lightning.

The "Wall of Sighs" of energy was still there.

But on that wall, the first crack had already appeared.

Feng Yan took out his phone and sent a message to the Navy:

"In one month, we will have a 'New Energy Demonstration.' If you are interested, you can send someone to take a look."

Sent. 【160】 He put away his phone and turned to go downstairs. 【161】 It seems there is still a lot to do. ===== CHAPTER 157 =====

He put away his phone and turned to head downstairs.

It seems there is still a lot to do.