Great Country Academician

As the general manager of a super project like controllable nuclear fusion, Xu Chuan still had to make at least two preparations when considering some key issues.

As for the actual control test of the plasma turbulent numerical control model, he also considered different situations.

It would be the best if the EAST device in Luyang can be successfully applied for.

After all, the EAST device is very complete and can complete the entire testing process to the greatest extent.

If Luyang refuses, at least some other methods are needed.

Of course, relatively speaking, it is definitely not as perfect as using the EAST device in Luyang, and the time will be delayed.

On the sofa, upon hearing what Xu Chuan said, Peng Hongxi sat up straight: "What do you think?"

Xu Chuan smiled and said, "I have several ideas, but I don't know which one is more suitable."

On the side, Gao Hongming asked: "Academician Xu, you said that if we can help anything, we will definitely do our best to do it."

Xu Chuan thought for a while, organized his words and said, "The first method is still to borrow a controllable nuclear fusion reactor to complete the experiment. This is the fastest way."

Hearing this, both Peng Hongxi and Gao Hongming cast puzzled looks.

They have read the previous information. At present, only the EAST device in Luyang is capable of completing the actual measurement experiment of the plasma turbulent numerical control model in China. The other experimental reactors are either too old and can only be used as experimental reactors, or It is still under construction, not yet completed.

Xu Chuan glanced at the two, and continued: "Although only the EAST device in Luyang can complete the ignition and plasma operation experiments in China, Huaguo is not the only country in the world that is researching controllable nuclear fusion reactors."

"Maybe you can try to find other countries to trade."

After a pause, he added: "This method should be the fastest if it succeeds, but it also has shortcomings."

"The control model of high-temperature and high-pressure plasma turbulence is very important in controllable nuclear fusion technology. If we apply for control experiments at experimental reactors in other countries, our fusion progress will be exposed to a certain extent."

Hearing this, both Peng Hongxi and Gao Hongming frowned slightly.

The first method proposed by Xu Chuan is indeed feasible, and if it succeeds, it should be the fastest one.

However, the shortcomings are just as he said, which will expose the research progress of domestic controllable nuclear fusion to a certain extent, and may arouse the attention and vigilance of other countries.

After thinking about it, Peng Hongxi asked, "What about other methods?"

Xu Chuan said calmly, "Buy!"

"Buy a complete controllable nuclear fusion reactor directly from abroad!"

"The tokamak device is the mainstream route of previous international research. Many countries have researched it. It is not required to buy the latest equipment from other countries, and it is enough to buy the equipment they retired."

"As long as the ignition experiment and plasma turbulence control can be carried out, we will improve it after we buy it back. This is also a relatively short method, but it needs to spend some money."

Peng Hongxi thought for a while, and said: "This is indeed a feasible method, but it will cost a lot of money, and it may not be available for purchase."

"After all, it is a controllable nuclear fusion reactor. Even if it is decommissioned, it has high research value. If you just use money, you may not be able to buy it."

Xu Chuan smiled and said, "Then how about adding technology? For example, using high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting materials as the transaction object."

Peng Hongxi glanced at Xu Chuan, and said softly: "But isn't this material your own technology?"

For controllable nuclear fusion reactors, superconducting materials are also quite critical core materials.

High-temperature superconducting materials with excellent performance can not only save a lot of money, but also improve the control performance of controllable nuclear fusion reactors to a certain extent.

If high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting materials are used as one of the trading technologies, I believe that many countries will be tempted.

After all, although the decommissioned controllable nuclear fusion reactor is precious, it is not something that cannot be sold at all.

However, high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting materials are different. At present, all superconducting materials on the market can be said to crush other high-temperature superconducting materials in terms of critical temperature, critical magnetic field, or critical current. guide material.

If this material is used as a magnetic field confinement generator for a controllable nuclear fusion reactor, the most direct change is that the superconducting material that originally needs to be frozen with liquid helium can be replaced by liquid nitrogen.

The price of liquid helium is more than a hundred times that of liquid nitrogen.

That alone can save a ton of money.

More importantly, the magnetic field confinement device made of high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting material can generate a stronger confinement magnetic field. This is also very important for controlled nuclear fusion.

However, the Qixia controllable nuclear fusion project is a national project, and the high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting material is the private property of the young man in front of him.

If it is for sale, for the amount of high-temperature superconducting materials needed for a controllable nuclear fusion reactor, it will cost at least hundreds of millions of funds, or even more.

Peng Hongxi has never seen such a practice of using his own private things to trade in exchange for decommissioned controllable nuclear fusion reactors to promote the development of national projects, at least he has never seen such a large-scale dedication.

For others, it's good enough not to find a way to pack the country's things into their own pockets, let alone use their own assets to subsidize the country.

On the side, Gao Hongming didn't think about this, or he thought about it, but he knew that the country would definitely not let this suffer.

"Well, Academician Xu, isn't the high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting material a great help to controllable nuclear fusion? With this transaction, will it also promote the development progress of other countries to a large extent?"

Compared with Peng Hongxi, he is more concerned about whether the domestic controllable nuclear fusion business can lead other countries.

Xu Chuan smiled and said: "Although the performance of high-temperature copper-carbon-silver composite superconducting materials is good enough, it is not that there are no substitutes."

"The controllable nuclear fusion reactor is different from the large-scale strong particle collider. The latter pursues the ultimate control of the magnetic field. The former only needs to restrain the high-temperature plasma turbulence in the chamber."

"And it was meant to be sold externally, so it doesn't affect much. Don't worry, this relationship is not very big."

Hearing this, Gao Hongming nodded and said, "In this case, it is indeed feasible to buy a piece of equipment and come back."

Xu Chuan said with a smile: "Actually, foreign ones are not necessary, and domestic ones are also acceptable. I have seen that some tokamak devices under construction can also meet the performance parameters. It is just that the hope of buying from China is not expected to be purchased from abroad. Buy big."

To be honest, there are actually a lot of domestic tokamak devices, but half of them are experimental research types, which cannot be ignited and can only be used for some experiments; the other half are under construction.

Although most of these under construction meet the requirements, it is impossible for him to dismantle other people's project equipment to solve his own problems.

What's more, Chen Mingji from Luyang is in charge of the tokamak field in China. If he doesn't nod his head in agreement, it is estimated that it will be difficult to buy it.

As for the decommissioned old equipment, there is currently no one that meets the requirements in China. After all, the development of controllable nuclear fusion in China is still relatively short.

So he is more optimistic about buying from abroad.

Peng Hongxi thought for a while, and said, "Then do you have a goal to buy?"

Xu Chuan thought for a while, and said: "The Tore Supra superconducting fusion device in France, the T-15 fusion reactor in Tsarist Russia, the old ASDEX device in the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Germany, and the ASDEX device in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States." Carter C-Mod compact fusion reactor."

"At the moment, I am considering negotiating one of these four. Among them, the Alcatel C-Mod compact fusion reactor and the ASDEX fusion reactor are the two I am more optimistic about."

"They each have their own unique advantages. The former is the world's only compact high-magnetic field nuclear fusion tokamak device, and the latter is relatively more complete and easier to modify because of the profound background of the Planck Institute of Plasma Physics. .”

"And both of them are currently fully retired, so it will be easier to negotiate."

"Of course, if you have other considerations and choices, you can also talk about it."

Peng Hongxi thought about it for a while, and asked: "It's not a problem to buy one back. It's a trivial matter to spend some money. It's just that we are also building a fusion reactor now. Although it will take two or three years to complete the project, but for For a project like controlled nuclear fusion, two or three years is not long, will two fusion reactors be a bit redundant by then?"

Xu Chuan smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. If it is said that the purchase of the fusion reactor device is to be carried out, then I will adjust the project on Qixia Mountain later."

"Huh?" Peng Hongxi looked suspiciously and looked over.

Xu Chuan continued: "If the purchase of equipment is successful, I will modify the plan for the fusion reactor at the Qixia project base and design it directly as a large-scale demonstration reactor!"

"If all goes well, this will also be the first commercial pile! At that time, it can directly transform itself into Jinling and even the entire Jiangsu Province to provide electricity."

Hearing this, both Peng Hongxi and Gao Hongming couldn't help but gasped, they were shocked.

This change, even for them, can be said to be extremely crazy.

Although the four test reactors, experimental reactors, demonstration reactors, and commercial reactors all refer to controllable nuclear fusion reactors, the concepts can be completely different.

Generally speaking, test reactors can only do periodical or certain types of research.

For example, most of the old equipment in China, such as Circulator No. 1 HL-1, mainly researches the auxiliary heating and driving system, as well as the projectile injection system and ultrasonic molecular beam injection and feeding technology.

The experimental reactor is relatively complete, such as the EAST device, which can conduct a full set of fusion experiments and has a full set of equipment except for the actual power generation operation.

Of course, the experimental devices that can meet the most basic experimental requirements of plasma experiments are actually called experimental reactors. In theory, experimental reactors and experimental reactors are actually similar. However, it can still be distinguished according to the degree of perfection.

As for demonstration reactors and commercial reactors, they are another level of equipment.

The standard of the demonstration reactor is "equipment that realizes a series of links of controllable nuclear fusion from plasma confinement to fusion reaction to electrical energy output."

Since the world's first controllable nuclear fusion experimental reactor was the Williamshampton Nuclear Fusion Laboratory (WIFER) in the country where the sun never sets, since its construction in 1956 and the start of research, the research on controllable nuclear fusion has gone through seven years. more than ten years.

As of today, various experimental stacks have emerged in various countries, ranging from magnetic confinement routes to inertial confinement routes, from tokamaks to stellarators, and to laser fusion devices.

The total number of experimental sites all over the world exceeds three digits.

But whether it is the United States, China, or the European Union, no country or institution can complete the construction of a demonstration reactor for controllable nuclear fusion.

As for the arrangement of the demonstration reactor, it only stays in the PPT and the planning schedule at present.

Therefore, for Xu Chuan's idea of ​​directly building the Qixia Controllable Nuclear Fusion Project into a demonstration reactor, both of them couldn't help feeling shocked and crazy in their hearts.

Swallowing the air dryly, Peng Hongxi asked with a trace of hesitation and concern: "Isn't it a bit too fast to directly change the demonstration reactor? We haven't finished the experimental reactor yet."

I have to say that the young man in front of me is really brave, or crazy.

Before the experimental reactor was completed and no breakthrough results were made, it was directly thought of going to the demonstration reactor in one step.

If he didn't know his character and academic character, Peng Hongxi would even directly doubt whether he was crazy.

After all, this arrangement and plan sounds really crazy.

Xu Chuan smiled and said, "It's indeed a bit fast, but I'm sure I'm sure."

"And it's actually not that urgent now. The park is still under construction, and the related equipment is still being purchased. This is just a temporary idea. If it doesn't work, it can be changed at that time."

"The key now is how we can test the plasma turbulence model in hand, which is a very critical step in the controllable nuclear fusion project. If we can take this critical step, we will not be far from the demonstration reactor. "

"As for other problems, they can also be carried out on the experimental piles bought back. It is considered that some extra money was spent in order to save the original construction time."

Hearing this, Peng Hongxi nodded. If you think about it this way, it is indeed a good way to buy a device and come back.

After thinking for a while, he said, "If that's the case, then the purchase of equipment will be on the agenda. For us, the sooner we can get the equipment, the better."

Xu Chuan thought for a while, and said: "In addition to the fusion reactor, the numerical control model of plasma turbulence requires a large-scale supercomputing to drive, and the daily construction of the supercomputing center has to be advanced. Then this time is scheduled for half a year to a year or so. suitable."

"As for the time in between, after we determine which equipment can be purchased, we can first create optimized devices such as the superconducting plasma orbit and superconducting coils of the modified reactor."

"As long as the equipment is delivered, we can carry out the group transfer test as soon as possible."

"Using the lunar calendar now, it is the end of 2019. If it goes well, the first round of ignition experiments planned to start in early 21 should be about the same."