Chapter 673 - 654: Super

Hefei, EAST Comprehensive Laboratory.

Ai Quan hurried past a nondescript building, within which lay the nation’s and even the world’s most advanced Tokamak nuclear fusion device: EAST.

The scientists from the Nuclear Science Institute who specialized in mushroom clouds had generally grasped the progress of EAST and, while amazed at the imagination of the local team, they couldn’t help but sigh.

There were many innovative ideas in the approach of EAST that were highly feasible in theory, allowing a glimpse of the dawn of controlled nuclear fusion.

However, the shortfalls in material and control technology posed the greatest obstacles as there were no conditions worldwide that could meet the requirements, so EAST could only wait.

Wait for breakthroughs in superconductivity, strong magnets, lasers, materials, and other areas, then gradually increase the ignition time until one day it could stably output a significant amount of energy.

These fundamental scientific challenges were destined to require an extended period of waiting, with a predicted successful experiment in 2050 contingent on the pace of research in other areas; otherwise, it would remain mere speculation.

By contrast, the super hydrogen bomb project had progressed rapidly, finalizing the selection of four different plans.

For the most feasible Plan 1, some liquid deuterium and liquid helium-3 samples had been transported from the northwest to construct an experimental device right there.

Ultimately, all four experimental devices would be sent to the Moon, placed around the UK’s nuclear bomb test site, and using a hydrogen bomb as a trigger, they would attempt to cause nuclear fusion involving helium-3 through a special configuration.

The energy capture rates of Plans 4 to 1 were designed to vary between 0.85% and 2.2%, but if Plan 3, with a reaction rate surpassing 1%, was successful, those above were willing to use it as the basis for designing a super hydrogen bomb with a yield of a billion tons.

This was far from the maximum energy capture rate of helium-3, but it was satisfying enough; in fact, Ai Quan was quite anxious about Plan 4, personally crafted by Yu Min, wondering if it could even ignite helium-3.

Yu Min’s energy was limited, so he only proposed the most conservative Plan 4. He led Plan 2, while the EAST Team was responsible for Plans 1 and 3.

But in reality, none of the teams felt much confidence, all preparing to either abandon their plans or wait for subsequent experiments.

As usual, Ai Quan, with a heavy heart, pushed open the door to the office area, only to find that the atmosphere was different today.

There was no tense silence or hurried footsteps, nor was there a group of people seriously gathering around the blackboard to debate non-stop, with chalk dust scattered all over the floor.

Fu Mingdong seemed incredibly excited, vigorously shaking the documents in his hands.

Next to him, Yu Min sat in his wheelchair, also full of smiles, as were most of the others, as if they had encountered some great news.

"Director Ai, quick, come take a look at the good news!"

Fu Mingdong walked over beaming with joy, pointing at a stack of A4 papers.

"Experts arise from the masses, who would have thought that one day, we who work on the cutting edge of physics would also benefit from the market!"

"What’s the situation?"

Ai Quan muttered as he took the documents and saw that it was actually a technical specification sheet provided by a supplier, with the noticeable ’XAP’ letters and the flat ’X’ logo that was clearly separated above and below; he often saw this logo.

Below, there were no specific device models, just two technologies listed:

Over 150T (Tesla, the unit of magnetic field strength) super-strong artificial magnetic field and precision control technology;

A type of amplification technology based on gaseous plasma that allows for laser power to be magnified by over a hundred times through multiple reflections.

The following are just some simple related data, indicating the potential and current development stage of the two technologies mentioned above. Of course, the most important part is the indication that equipment customized for EAST can be provided, but it requires a chief engineer-level person to discuss in person.

At the bottom of each page of the information, there was also a stamp from the General Equipment Department and a steel seal marked "Top Secret," indicating that it was for internal use only and strictly forbidden to be shared outside.

Just from a cursory glance, Ai Quan fully understood the necessity of such precautions.

The first technology, with magnetic fields exceeding 150 Tesla, was truly astonishing. The magnetic field strength of MRI machines doesn’t surpass 1.5 or 2T, and the current laboratory limit is also not over 20T, with domestic efforts focusing on technology related to 35T to 40T.

One can imagine how difficult it would be to achieve 150T, and from the documents, it seemed that the devices provided by New Yuan were not too excessive in size or power consumption.

The second technology, codenamed "Trampoline," a plasma mirror technique he had never heard of, also prompted wonder with its potential to magnify power by a thousand times, especially since New Yuan had already made considerable technological achievements.

He finally understood why everyone was so excited. Strong magnets and lasers are exactly the main technologies for igniting a tokamak fusion device. If the information was accurate, EAST would raise the feasibility of controllable nuclear fusion a notch higher after an upgrade.

"What do you think? Just got the internal briefing. Next month, no, I am going there in a fortnight to see for myself. It’s hard to believe that a private company would delve into such high-end technology!"

Fu Mingdong was excited, while Ai Quan immediately thought of more:

"But every action of a company is aimed at profit, what are they developing these two technologies for? Do rockets and spaceships need these?"

"Of course, cough cough..."

Fu Mingdong lowered his voice, although everyone in the office was cleared to know, he was still extra cautious:

"The strong magnetic technology should be a subsystem technology of the ’Trampoline.’ The main purpose is to enhance laser power. What I know is United Mining plans to use lasers to smelt ores on the Moon, creating a super laser satellite that can irradiate the ore directly from space."

"Then this thing is basically..."

Ai Quan, who came from an equipment design background, instantly thought of its potential use as a weapon when imagining a smelting satellite in Earth’s orbit.

Having the capability to smelt raw ore, the output power must be over 10 megawatts for that to be sufficient, and hence doing some other things probably wouldn’t be too different.

Fu Mingdong nodded in agreement. Although he was not in the same system as lasers, he had some basics in high energy physics and could guess the implications quite accurately.

However, he wasn’t too concerned about the weapons system, being mainly excited about EAST getting a significant hardware upgrade.

"Wait a second, if New Yuan becomes an important component supplier for EAST, doesn’t that mean they are part of the nuclear fusion project? Could this be..."

"It might be fine for other companies, but New Yuan... I think they are more reliable than some state-owned enterprises, at least they don’t have foreign executives or overseas assets. Besides, if they can take part in that, then joining EAST wouldn’t be much different.

And their nuclear department is quite powerful too, their fission technology is top-notch. Their lead figures might not be inferior to you or me. It’s also a good thing for them to join in. Elder Yu thinks very highly of Professor Cheng, saying he is a leading figure among the younger generation."

"That makes sense, tsk, aviation, aerospace, automobiles, electronics, and now adding lasers and nuclear fusion—what is this, Umbrella or Stark Industries?"