I am devoted to scientific research, but you want to trick me into having a love relationship?

Chapter 745 Controlled Nuclear Fusion? This Advantage Is On My Side
The movements of the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics were, of course, immediately relayed to the Institute of Plasma Physics.

As Li Gang walked into the meeting room, he heard everyone's expressions varied, and they were whispering among themselves, a mixture of worry, anxiety, and amazement.

He sat down and said in a deep voice, "You've also received the news from the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics, haven't you?"

"Although I knew they were planning something big, I didn't expect them to move so fast. Wow, on the order of 3×10 keV·s/m."

Professor Xiao Chenghan nodded, somewhat wistfully.

Running steadily under high load for 300 seconds is, without exaggeration, enough to make history.

A member of the magnetic confinement team said from the side, "Their independently developed high-power neutral beam heating and microwave gyroscope system is working quite well."

"I'm curious what kind of first-wall material they used that could increase neutron irradiation intensity by 10 times," someone chimed in.

"Who knows? But after we installed the nanoporous tungsten membrane and the quantum sensing monitoring system, the neutron radiation can be increased by at least 15 to 20 times compared to before," someone said with a laugh.

Xiao Chenghan said, "The ignition threshold of the Lawson criterion has now been met in the Circulation 3, so the next step is to achieve net energy gain."

Net energy gain, which is Q>1.

The Lawson criterion means that the energy released by the fusion reaction is greater than the energy lost by the plasma itself due to radiation and heat conduction, but this does not represent the overall net energy gain of the device, that is, the ability to generate electricity.

Because heating systems, magnet cooling, and so on all require external energy.

The device is not only a reaction core, but also has various supporting facilities. Even if the fusion reaction can meet Lawson's criterion, if the supporting facilities consume a lot of electricity, exceeding the electricity output of the fusion reaction, controlled nuclear fusion will still be a losing proposition.

Simply put, in order to generate 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity, you need to input 120 kilowatt-hours of electricity first.

The key to the US NIF's ability to achieve four net gains is single instantaneous ignition, avoiding continuous energy consumption.

As long as I'm fast enough and avoid the huge consumption of supporting facilities, I can achieve net gains.

"If we hadn't upgraded the first wall and the quantum sensing detection system, we probably would be at this point by now," one researcher said regretfully.

"No, it should be faster than them."

"It's different. We have a longer-term vision. In the short term, Circulation 3 does have an advantage, but in the long run, we have more development potential."

They chatted briefly.

Li Gang waved his hand, indicating that he would say a few words.

"There's no need for us to underestimate ourselves. At the very least, based on the current results, our current technical approach is quite feasible. Once successful, its performance will far surpass that of the current device."

"If all goes well, all the upgrades can be completed within two months."

"Alright, everyone, instead of dwelling on the past, we should spend more time on the experiments."

Time is indeed of the essence.

The technological achievements of this period will, to a certain extent, determine whose technology will lead the controlled nuclear fusion in the future of Xia Kingdom.

If they fall too far behind, the China Fusion Engineering Experimental Reactor (CFETR) in China might directly adopt the Circulation 3 technology.

"Yes, we should proceed steadily and at our own pace."

"It remains to be seen who will emerge victorious."

While Li Gang and others were having a meeting, in Chengdu, at the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics.

office.

"Professor, Sichuan Observation would like to conduct another interview with you, would you mind?" Shao Yilin knocked on the door and came in.

Zhang Zhigao pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Let Lao Xie handle this interview; I won't join in."

Having been a leader for so many years, he understands that as the person directly in charge, it is better to keep the credit to oneself and let the core staff take the lead, while he occasionally adds some key points.

“Okay, I’ll go and coordinate with Professor Xie.” Shao Yilin nodded.

"Any news from the Institute of Plasma Physics?" Zhang Zhigao was riding high, having achieved a breakthrough in fusion with a product of 3×10 keV·s/m, far ahead of the competition, and received a congratulatory letter from the ministry.

Under his leadership, the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics became the focus of the world.

Shao Yilin replied, "No, only some small projects are still underway. The main equipment is shut down and is still undergoing upgrades and renovations."

Zhang Zhigao grunted in response.

"Professor, I'll go now."

Seeing that Zhang Zhigao had nothing else to do, Shao Yilin left the office.

"Okay." Zhang Zhigao nodded.

At the doorway, Shao Yilin sighed.

"I hope the professor made the right choice."

He supported a complete overhaul of the monitoring system, believing that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one. However, his mentor, Zhang Zhigao, strongly advocated for a simple upgrade based on the existing system.

Inside the office.

"Li Gang ultimately couldn't maintain his composure and was too greedy for quick success in developing the quantum sensing monitoring system and the nanoporous tungsten membrane."

Zhang Zhigao gazed leisurely out the window, took a sip of tea, and smiled faintly to himself.

That saying is true: taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble.

Rough words are not rough.

As it turned out, his decision was correct.

Just yesterday, my former boss called to say that the ministry plans to increase their investment budget in controlled nuclear fusion.

"We must speed things up and continue to widen the gap with the Institute of Plasma Physics. After all, CFETR will definitely be the only demonstration reactor project in the short term."

Zhang Zhigao's gaze darkened; he had to seize control of CFETR.

The field of controlled nuclear fusion is bustling with activity, and everyone in the materials research institute is working diligently to advance the integration and installation work at their respective posts.

Time seemed to be accelerated, and on the last day of April, Xu Qingzhou finally had a full weekend.

8 pm.

"I'm back." Xu Qingzhou pushed open the door and entered the house. Returning to her familiar home, the tension that had been building up during the day finally eased.

Just today, they completed the joint debugging of the plasma and control system, injected deuterium-tritium fuel, preheated it to 5000 million degrees Celsius, and then used the AI ​​control center in conjunction with quantum sensing data to dynamically adjust the magnetic field and heating power.

Half the time was spent adjusting the plasma temperature.

For example, EAST took several months to successfully reach 5000 million degrees Celsius.
Next, there will be about a week of full-system vacuum and cold testing.

"have eaten?"

"Yeah, I just grabbed a bite at the cafeteria."

As Xu Qingzhou spoke, his gaze unconsciously fell on the girl on the sofa who was looking at documents on a tablet.

Song Yao wore a tank top today, her long, black hair cascading down, revealing her delicate collarbones, and her two long legs crossed, making her incredibly alluring.

In late April, there was a week of sunny and warm weather with temperatures above 25°C, and they had already changed into their summer pajamas.

"I strongly suspect this girl is seducing me."

As Xu Qingzhou approached, Song Yao pulled her legs back to make room for him, and then placed her legs in Xu Qingzhou's lap after he sat down.

(End of this chapter)