Chapter 157: Xuanming-1'—Fusion Energy Verification Machine

The field usually used for testing mechs and missiles was cleared out today.

In the center of the field, a silver-white, container-sized module stood quietly, its surface covered with various pipe interfaces and monitoring probes.

The side of the module was spray-painted with large red characters: "Xuanming-1—Fusion Energy Verification Machine."

A thirty-meter radius around the module was designated as a restricted area, with yellow and black warning tape pulled around it.

Outside the tape, almost the entire core team of the institute had arrived, along with several special observers invited from the Navy and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Wang Hao arrived first, circling the module for the fifth time, clicking his tongue: "Old Zhao, this thing of yours... it really looks like a giant refrigerator."

Zhao Kaiyuan ignored him, busy with his team performing final system checks.

His eyes were bloodshot; he had been busy researching and barely slept well this past month, but today his spirit was still extremely high.

"Final self-check of the magnetic confinement system," he said into the communicator. "Coil current stability?"

"Fluctuation is less than three in ten thousand, qualified," came the response from inside the module.

"First-wall temperature?"

"Uniform heating in progress, currently 187 degrees Celsius, 13 degrees away from operating temperature."

"Plasma fuel injection system?"

"Three redundant systems all ready, deuterium-tritium mixing ratio calibrated."

"Control system?"

"'Torch Dragon' subsystem has taken over, ready to start at any time."

Zhao Kaiyuan let out a long breath and turned to Feng Yan: "President Feng, the system is ready; we can proceed with the ignition experiment."

Feng Yan nodded and walked to the main seat in the observation area to sit down.

Chen Guang, Li Yang, Wang Hao, Engineer Zhao, Li Kui, and others took their seats in turn.

Several military observers sat on the other side, their expressions serious but expectant.

"Start," Feng Yan said.

Zhao Kaiyuan took a deep breath and picked up the red microphone on the console; the thing was designed a bit like a fighter jet's missile launch joystick.

"Xuanming-1, first ignition experiment, starting now."

He pushed down the control lever.

A low hum came from inside the module, like thunder in the distance.

On the monitoring screen, the curve representing magnetic field strength began to climb: 1 Tesla, 3 Tesla, 5 Tesla...

"Superconducting coils operating normally," Zhao Kaiyuan reported. "Liquid helium cooling system pressure stable."

7 Tesla.

"Reached design field strength," Zhao Kaiyuan's voice was tight. "Plasma injection... starting."

In the corner of the screen, the indicator light representing fuel flow turned green.

"Plasma heating system started... Ohmic heating phase complete... Neutral beam injection starting..."

A series of professional terms popped out of his mouth.

In the observation area, except for an all-rounder like Chen Guang, the others basically only understood the gist.

Wang Hao simply took out a bag of melon seeds and asked Li Yang in a low voice: "Brother Li, what step is this? Brother Hao here doesn't understand."

Li Yang stared at the screen: "Heating the fuel to a temperature where fusion can occur. You can understand it as... the preparation stage before boiling water."

"Boiling water needs to be this complicated?"

"What we're boiling is 'boiling water' at hundreds of millions of degrees."

Wang Hao shut up.

On the monitoring screen, the curve representing plasma temperature began to soar.

The unit was "kilo-electron volts," a very abstract concept for ordinary people, but everyone present understood the significance of that line climbing.

100 keV... 500 keV... 1 MeV...

"Temperature reached fusion threshold," Zhao Kaiyuan's voice suppressed his excitement. "Confinement stability?"

"Turbulence level lower than expected, magnetic surface structure complete," the researcher in front of the console replied.

"Energy output monitoring started."

Everyone held their breath.

Whether fusion reaction occurs depends on neutron flux and energy output.

Theoretically, deuterium-tritium fusion produces 14.1 MeV high-energy neutrons; monitoring the quantity and energy of these neutrons can determine if the reaction is sustained.

On the screen, a new data window popped up.

Neutron flux: 10^12 n/cm2·s... 10^13... 10^14...

"Fusion reaction confirmed," Zhao Kaiyuan said, his voice steady, but his hand holding the microphone was trembling slightly.

"Energy output... starting to climb."

The numbers on the power meter began to jump: 100 kW... 500 kW... 1 MW...

In the observation area, a Navy Major General couldn't help but stand up: "How long has it been?"

"From ignition to now, 47 seconds," Zhao Kaiyuan replied.

"Design target operating time?"

"300 seconds."

This was the longest sustained operating time record for a small fusion device publicly reported internationally.

The goal of Zhao Kaiyuan's team was to tie this record; if they could exceed it, it would be a record-breaking achievement.

Time passed second by second.

Wang Hao had long stopped eating melon seeds; he stared at the timer on the screen: 100 seconds, 150 seconds, 200 seconds...

The power stabilized at around 1.2 MW, equivalent to the output of a small gas turbine.

For a device the size of a container, this power density was already quite astonishing.

"Plasma density stable."

"First-wall temperature normal, no hot spots found."

"Neutron irradiation dose within expected range."

Various monitoring data kept coming in, all green lights.

250 seconds.

Zhao Kaiyuan's forehead began to sweat.

Because the temperature in the control room was constantly rising; although the fusion reactor was well-insulated, heat was still being dissipated.

280 seconds.

An expert from the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense looked at his watch, then at the data on the screen, and whispered to his companion: "Almost tied the record."

290 seconds.

300 seconds.

The moment the timer jumped past 300, applause broke out in the observation area.

But the experiment didn't stop.

Zhao Kaiyuan and his team members exchanged a look and nodded.

The experiment continued.

310 seconds, 320 seconds, 350 seconds...

Already 50 seconds past the public record.

The power remained stable, and there was no sign of neutron flux decay.

"Status of first-wall material?" Zhao Kaiyuan asked.

"Simulated 'Dark Crystal' coating area, temperature distribution uniform, infrared monitoring found no abnormalities," the researcher in charge of material monitoring reported.

"The tungsten alloy area in the control group is starting to show local hot spots."

Engineer Zhao and Li Kui looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.

The material they provided held up.

400 seconds.

Already 100 seconds past the record.

The numbers on the power meter suddenly jumped: 1.2 MW... 1.25 MW... 1.3 MW...

"What's going on?" Feng Yan asked.

Zhao Kaiyuan stared at the data stream: "The plasma confinement state is self-optimizing; it's possible the turbulence level has further decreased, and the energy confinement time has been extended."

He quickly operated the console to pull up more detailed physical parameters.

"Indeed," he looked up, his eyes full of disbelief.

"'Torch Dragon's' real-time control system is fine-tuning the magnetic field configuration based on sensor data... It's 'learning' how to better confine the plasma!"

Chen Guang adjusted his glasses: "I gave the system a basic feedback control algorithm, but I didn't expect the effect to be this good."

"It's too good!" Zhao Kaiyuan's voice was a bit excited.

"Now the energy gain factor Q value... is estimated to be around 0.5!"

Those in the observation area who knew the field gasped.

Q value, the ratio of fusion output power to input power.

Q > 1 means net energy output, which is the threshold for the practical application of fusion energy.

Currently, for all fusion devices worldwide, the Q value is far less than 1—the input energy is much more than the output.

And Xuanming-1, a verification machine, reached a Q value of 0.5 on its first ignition!

"Continue operation," Feng Yan said in a deep voice. "See how long it can hold."

450 seconds.

500 seconds.

Power stabilized at 1.3 MW.

Neutron monitoring showed that the irradiation dose borne by the first wall had already exceeded the "limit test" standards of many materials labs.

But the simulated 'Dark Crystal' coating area remained firm.

550 seconds.

600 seconds.

The moment the timer jumped past 600, Zhao Kaiyuan raised his hand: "Experiment time reached the preset upper limit. Prepare shutdown procedure."

"Wait," Feng Yan said. "Run for another 60 seconds."

"But..."

"If the material can hold, keep going."

Zhao Kaiyuan gritted his teeth: "Understood."

Another 60 seconds.

A full 660 seconds, 11 minutes.

When Zhao Kaiyuan finally started the shutdown procedure, everyone in the observation area stood up.

Thunderous applause.

Wang Hao was the first to rush off the observation area and run to the side of the module; although he was blocked outside the cordon by staff, he still stood on tiptoe to look inside:

"Kaiyuan! Awesome! 11 minutes!!"

Zhao Kaiyuan walked out of the control room and took off his goggles.

His face was covered in sweat, but his smile was as bright as if he had just won the lottery.

"Success?" Feng Yan walked over.

"Exceeded expectations," Zhao Kaiyuan pulled up the final data report.

"Operating time 660 seconds, more than twice the public record."

"Stable output power 1.3 MW, peak 1.35 MW. Energy gain factor Q value finally stabilized at 0.52."

"First-wall material, simulated 'Dark Crystal' coating area, neutron irradiation damage is almost negligible."

He paused and added: "And, throughout the entire operation, the 'Torch Dragon' control system achieved real-time optimization of the plasma."

"If we give the system more data training, the Q value can still increase."

The Navy Major General walked over and patted Zhao Kaiyuan's shoulder hard: "Director Zhao, this breakthrough of yours... the significance is too great."

"Just the first step," Zhao Kaiyuan was very clear-headed.

"This is just a verification machine; it's still a distance from practical application. The liquid helium cooling system is too bulky, the fuel cycle and processing haven't been solved, and there's the issue of tritium self-sufficiency..."

"But it proves the path is viable," Feng Yan said. "Next is engineering optimization. How long to build a practical 'Xuanming' core?"

Zhao Kaiyuan thought about it: "If the material supply keeps up and the energy and materials teams cooperate fully, three months."

"Three months later, we can produce the first 'engineering prototype,' with a volume reduced by 30% compared to the current one, power increased to 5 MW, and operating time extended to the hour level."

"Good," Feng Yan turned to face the team.

"Did you all hear that?"

"Three months."

"For these three months, all resources will be tilted toward the 'Xuanming' project."

"Chen Guang, your AI team continue to optimize the control system."

"Li Yang, Wang Hao, you start designing new equipment platforms based on fusion energy."

"Old Zhao, Master Li, I leave the materials to you."

The tasks were assigned, but no one was in a hurry to leave.

Everyone gathered around the module, looking at this "giant refrigerator" that had just created history.

The surface of the module was still radiating residual heat, and the indicator lights on the monitoring probes flashed rhythmically, as if breathing.

Wang Hao suddenly remembered something: "Kaiyuan, this thing... can it be used as an engine for my missile?"

Everyone looked at him.

"I'm serious!" Wang Hao gestured.

"Look, fusion energy density is millions of times higher than chemical energy."

"If we could install a small 'Xuanming' on a missile, the endurance, holy crap, I'm telling you, flying around the Earth ten times would be enough!"

"Speed? As fast as you want! Anyway, the energy is enough!"

Zhao Kaiyuan couldn't laugh or cry: "Haozi, a fusion reactor isn't a battery; it can't output huge power instantly..."

"But it can power an electric propulsion engine!" Wang Hao's eyes lit up.

"Ion propulsion! Plasma propulsion! As long as there's enough electricity, you can push however you want!"

"Use traditional engines inside the atmosphere, and use electric propulsion once out of the atmosphere, infinite endurance! Infinite orbital changes!"

He became more excited as he spoke, starting to draw orbits in the air: "Think about it, a missile, first use chemical power to rush out of the atmosphere, then deploy solar panels."

"No, the fusion reactor itself can supply power, start the electric propulsion system, slowly accelerate in near-Earth space, accelerate, accelerate."

"Once the speed reaches tens of kilometers per second, turn around and dive! That kinetic energy, what armor can withstand it?!"

Li Yang listened, and also became serious: "Theoretically feasible. The specific impulse of electric propulsion is more than ten times that of a chemical engine, which is indeed suitable for space maneuvering."

"But electric propulsion has low thrust and slow acceleration..."

"That's why it's called a 'cruise missile'!" Wang Hao said.

"Slowly accelerate, fly for a day, two days, a week... by the time it reaches the target's head, the speed will have already increased to the point where even ghosts can't catch it!"

Chen Guang adjusted his glasses: "Need to solve space heat dissipation, radiation protection, stability of the miniaturized fusion reactor..."

"Then solve it step by step!" Wang Hao waved his arms. "We've even created 'Xuanming,' are we still afraid of these?"

Feng Yan watched the team members start discussing heatedly again and smiled.

He walked to the side of the still-warm module and placed his palm on the metal surface.

Warm.

This warmth came from plasma at hundreds of millions of degrees, from a dream humanity had been chasing for half a century, and from the sweat of this team not sleeping or resting for the past month.

"Three months," he whispered to himself.

Then he turned around and said to the crowd who were still arguing about the details of the electric propulsion missile:

"Don't just discuss. Haozi, write your idea just now into a project proposal."

"Old Li, Guangzi, you cooperate to do a technical feasibility analysis. Next Monday, I want to see a preliminary plan."

Wang Hao stood at attention with a snap: "Yes! Guarantee to complete the mission!"

The sun set, and the lights on the test field turned on.

The module was carefully transported back to the lab; next, it would undergo comprehensive disassembly and analysis, every part, every material would be carefully checked to accumulate data for the next, better "Xuanming." ===== CHAPTER 158 =====