Chapter 759

Germany, Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics.

In April this year, the W7-X stellarator maintained a triple product peak of 3×10 keV·s/m for 70 seconds; after more than three months of adjustments, W7-X will soon initiate a new challenge.

Lawrence and Kling were drinking afternoon tea on the balcony.

“It’s obvious the U.S. is shooting itself in the foot.”

Kling, who always believed progress comes through exchange, said: “It not only slows down ITER’s progress but also forfeits the chance to obtain China’s experimental data.”

Lawrence said: “No need to worry about the data—the U.S. has opened access to their database and is willing to share NIF and DIII-D data with all countries.”

This is also why everyone is willing to believe the U.S.—no matter how you look at it, you lose nothing.

Moreover, the U.S. NIF and DIII-D data are far ahead.

“And the U.S. will take over China’s original responsibilities for equipment and funding supply.”

“How many blank checks have they issued?” Kling sneered dismissively.

Lawrence shrugged: “Maybe. But the current situation is that China is showing signs of leading the world in fusion research—and that’s not something we want to see.”

“You’ve seen the data: Q1-NTS maintained a triple product of 3×10 keV·s/m for two minutes.”

“Yes, it’s astonishing.”

“No, I’d rather call it ‘terrifying.’ They’ve covered in one year what other devices took ten, even twenty years to achieve.”

Kling had no rebuttal.

It’s no wonder the U.S. reacted so strongly.

“But with current technology, the spherical tokamak still cannot match the power output of a conventional tokamak. I’m curious how Xu Qingzhou solved this problem.”

“Who knows.”

Lawrence smiled faintly: “Alright, let’s set aside this heavy topic. We should be more optimistic, after all, our W7-X will soon shock the world.”

The U.S. and China have achieved worldwide acclaim in the tokamak field; as representatives of the stellarator domain, they naturally refuse to fall behind.

Indeed, this period has been dedicated to final equipment testing.

Kling also smiled.

Facing the aggressive advances of the U.S. and China, they remain calm because they have confidence.

W7-X will set an even more perfect record.

On July 18, a heavy rain washed away the scorching heat of midsummer.

These past days, the Materials Research Institute completed all post-ignition inspections and began preparing to analyze the experimental data.

In the office, Xu Qingzhou rubbed his aching temples.

This experiment marked that Q1-NTS has met the physical conditions for controlled nuclear fusion ignition; next comes iterative improvement: extending steady-state operation time and reducing auxiliary system energy consumption.

Ultimately, achieving overall energy output approximately equal to input—that is, Q > 1.

“The duration of triple product maintenance is still too short.”

“True ‘intergenerational dominance’ requires transforming a fleeting flash of energy into a lasting light illuminating the city.”

The higher-ups’ message was clear: if he delivers results within a year, the demonstration reactor is still negotiable.

“But the competition remains fierce.”

Initial investment requires 30 billion; when combined with future commercial reactors, costs are estimated to exceed 100 billion.

Under the condition of ensuring fiscal stability, the state can only guarantee funding for one demonstration reactor in the short term.

This means they must achieve results before the Southwest Nuclear Physics Research Institute and the Institute of Plasma Physics, and submit a practical, feasible technical report.

Structural differences between the spherical tokamak and the conventional tokamak create three major flaws: insufficient toroidal field strength, low neutral beam injection efficiency, and high risk of divertor thermal overload.

“In the end, integration with the conventional tokamak is still necessary.”

“Find solutions gradually for the first two—focus first on solving the divertor.”