Building a Sci-Fi Empire: Starting with Cold Nuclear Fusion

After the meal.

After washing the pots and pans, Chen Yuan returned to the living room and chatted with Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping.

The tutorial was supposed to continue in the afternoon, but Tang Zhiping saw how advanced Chen Yuan's cochlear implant technology was and knew that Chen Yuan no longer needed to learn about it. So, he wisely decided not to continue teaching.

Zhang Shulin sighed slightly, "Xiao Chen, I really don't know how your brain works. Invention is a very difficult thing in the eyes of others. Nowadays, a research and development project often requires a research and development team of dozens or hundreds of people to work together for several years before it is possible to produce some results. But you are able to invent and create technologies that are far ahead of the competition by yourself across different industries. I can only say that you are really too amazing... well, you are really too outstanding."

Tang Zhiping agreed, "That's right. You studied applied physics, and then you got a job in new energy R&D at Xinghe Company. Not only that, you were able to develop two different types of nuclear batteries, but now you can also deliver such a result in the field of cochlear implants? I've seen many geniuses, but none are as incredible as you. I'd like to ask, what area are you planning to research next?"

"You two are too kind," Chen Yuan said modestly. "I was just lucky that my design caught your eye. As for my next step... to be honest, I don't have any direction yet. You know I'm new to the workforce and don't have much money for research. However, I am quite interested in nuclear fusion."

He is indeed interested in nuclear fusion.

Or, to put it another way, once Chen Yuan understood that quantum computing could not "create something from nothing," he roughly understood that it was possible to develop cold fusion. To "upgrade" cold fusion, he needed to master knowledge of nuclear fusion, and ideally have the blueprints for a nuclear fusion reactor, and then hand them over to quantum computing for "upgrading."

Because of his deep interest in cold nuclear fusion, Chen Yuan took advantage of his casual conversation with Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping to try to steer the conversation toward nuclear fusion, hoping to obtain nuclear fusion reactor design drawings and related information from Zhang Shulin, an expert in nuclear energy.

"Oh?" Zhang Shulin's interest was piqued. "You're very interested in nuclear fusion?"

Chen Yuan hummed in agreement and said, "I study applied physics, and nuclear fusion falls into this category. I have a general understanding of the basic principles. It is nothing more than a physical reaction in which the interaction between atomic nuclei causes a change in mass and releases energy, and the process does not involve the transfer of electrons or the breaking and recombination of chemical bonds. However, although nuclear fusion has been studied globally for decades, no country has been able to achieve controlled nuclear fusion. I think it would be such a glorious thing if our country could build a controlled nuclear fusion reactor. Therefore, I am very interested in it."

Zhang Shulin agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "With current technology, achieving controlled nuclear fusion is almost impossible. As we all know, nuclear fusion requires a very important condition: extremely high temperatures for atoms to undergo fusion. These temperatures range from ten million to one billion degrees Celsius. Our materials simply cannot withstand such high temperatures. Therefore, current research on controlled nuclear fusion is still in the experimental stage. We can only use large conventional tokamaks to run short pulses and conduct a series of experiments to raise the plasma temperature to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius. Without the tokamak toroidal magnetic confinement device, it is simply impossible to do so."

Chen Yuan understood these principles.

While hydrogen bombs also involve nuclear fusion reactions, they are not controlled nuclear fusion. Rather, they are more like "igniting" atoms to initiate a fusion reaction and release enormous amounts of energy.

Typically, a hydrogen bomb contains a small atomic bomb, either externally or internally.

This small atomic bomb was called a "trigger system" or "primary".

Its function is to provide the extremely high temperature environment required for the fusion reaction of the hydrogen bomb.

The reason for this is that the hydrogen bomb's explosion principle is thermonuclear fusion, which requires temperatures of tens of millions of degrees Celsius to trigger.

Since such high temperatures cannot be generated naturally on Earth, an atomic bomb explosion is needed to ignite the ignition.

From this perspective, the hydrogen bomb is not a controlled nuclear fusion.

What Chen Yuan needs now is knowledge related to nuclear fusion reaction design. However, controlled nuclear fusion has not yet been developed, so it is almost impossible for him to obtain this type of design blueprint. Nevertheless, several nuclear fusion experimental reactors have been built in various countries around the world.

For example, an artificial sun is a large-scale thermonuclear fusion reactor. However, this reactor requires a lot of electricity to start up, and it is currently in a "spending deficit" stage. The energy consumed is more than the energy released by fusion. Therefore, this kind of thermonuclear fusion reactor can only be used for research and cannot be applied to reality.

His goal is to design the thermonuclear fusion reactor, which is like an artificial sun.

However, the design technology of this thermonuclear fusion reactor is very advanced and classified, and he doesn't know if he can get his hands on it.

Chen Yuan tried to say, "Professor Zhang, I remember that our country's EAST tokamak is a fully superconducting tokamak device, right?"

Professor Zhang nodded and said, "Yes, it's a fully superconducting tokamak device."

Chen Yuan blinked and asked, "Does the design blueprint for the Oriental Superconducting Tokamak involve any classified information?"

Zhang Shulin was taken aback, and looked at him with a puzzled expression, asking, "Why are you asking this?"

Tang Zhiping also looked puzzled.

The core technology of EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) is an achievement of a major national scientific research project, which usually involves sensitive technology fields.

Therefore, its core technical information must be kept confidential.

Chen Yuan said half-jokingly, "I'm very interested in the design of the EAST toroidal converter. It would be great if I could see the design drawings. It's a pity, how could ordinary R&D personnel like us possibly see this kind of confidential technology?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shulin did not immediately respond, but stared at Chen Yuan's face for a long while.

Suddenly, he stood up and said, "You guys keep chatting, I'm going to the restroom."

Got it!

It seems there's no hope of seeing the design drawings for the EAST toroidal converter.

Helpless, Chen Yuan wondered if he could settle for second best and just get some high-end nuclear fusion technology information.

While he was thinking, Tang Zhiping glanced at his phone and suddenly said, "Our company's people are here, Xiao Chen. I'll go down and meet them. We'll sign the contract later. If you're worried, you can contact a lawyer to come and check if there are any problems with our company's contract."

Chen Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll hire a lawyer."

This doesn't mean he doesn't trust Tang Zhiping's company, but rather that since he hopes his cochlear implant design can benefit people with hearing impairments worldwide, he wants to ensure that there won't be any problems whatsoever.

He then searched online for the phone numbers of nearby law firms, called a few more, and finally invited a lawyer over.

About an hour later, Conno Company and their lawyers arrived one after the other.

To Chen Yuan's surprise, Tian Zhongshu, the boss of Kangnuo Company, actually came in person, just for this cooperation.

The lawyer Zhang, whom Chen Yuan hired at great expense, is a middle-aged man who is currently reviewing the contract.

Taking the opportunity, Tanaka said, "Mr. Chen, we will help you apply for a patent for your cochlear implant technology. It will still be under your name, and we have written this into the contract. In addition, our company can also agree to the few requests you have made. After the product is mass-produced and launched in the future, we will set aside 30% of the sales revenue of this cochlear implant to establish a charitable foundation to care for people with hearing impairments. The company will manage it directly. At that time, we will provide cochlear implants, pay for some surgical fees, etc., to help people with hearing impairments return to a normal life."

Chen Yuan blinked and said, "Thirty percent of sales revenue?"

Tang Zhiping laughed and said, "You initially asked for 30% of the profit, but after discussing it with the boss, we felt that since you are such a noble person, we couldn't just leave without showing any appreciation. So we changed the profit to 30% of the sales revenue."

Tanaka Shu nodded and said, "Benefiting society is also my original intention in founding the company. In fact, over the years, our company has been contributing to people with hearing impairments, such as donating cochlear implants to impoverished people with hearing impairments, helping them with implantation surgery, and providing speech rehabilitation training. Now that you have made this request, Mr. Chen, it coincides with my original intention in founding the company, so I will naturally give it my full support."

He paused for a moment, then said, "For charitable causes like this, you might not believe it just by us saying it. So once the contract is signed, I will contact social media to make this public and let the whole society supervise us. You may need to do an interview, since you are the one providing the technology. It's not troublesome; it's just a matter of talking to the reporter about why you are willing to provide the technology but not accept payment."

Chen Yuan laughed and said, "Is this so I can leave my name after doing a good deed?"

"Haha," Tanaka laughed loudly, "You could say that, but actually, I hope to set an example for society in this way, so that more capable people will care for people with hearing impairments. What do you think?"

Chen Yuan agreed, saying, "It's also my wish to get more people to care for people with hearing impairments, so I agree."

Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping nodded slightly, seemingly praising Chen Yuan's character.

Chen Yuan added, "Regarding the human trials, my requirements are..."

Tanaka said, "It's all written in these contracts. I even brought the application form for human trial volunteers. Ask your friend if she's willing. If she is, we expect to enter the human trial stage once the cochlear implant is manufactured and tested and verified."

Chen Yuan said, "Okay, I'll ask her tonight. I should be able to give you an answer tonight, or at the latest, by tomorrow."

Tanaka wrote, "Okay."

After discussing the details, Attorney Zhang also finished reviewing the contract.

He said, "There's no problem with the contract."

Chen Yuan said, "Okay, Mr. Tian, ​​shall we sign the contract?"

Tanaka wrote, "Okay."

Subsequently, Chen Yuan signed a contract with Kangnuo Company.

After the contract was signed, Tanaka handed the application form for human experiment volunteers to Chen Yuan, and after exchanging pleasantries for a while, he got up and left with his people.

After Chen Yuan paid the lawyer's fees, Attorney Zhang got up to leave.

There were only three people left in the room.

Chen Yuan originally wanted to talk to Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping about nuclear fusion technology.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Shulin suddenly said, "Xiao Chen, after seeing the design drawings of the EAST toroidal converter, can you offer some guidance?"

Tang Zhiping glanced at his old friend in surprise, seemingly not understanding why the other party asked such a question.

Ok?

What does this sentence mean?

Not only Tang Zhiping was confused, but Chen Yuan was as well. He didn't know why Zhang Shulin asked this question, but he still thought about it carefully before giving a cautious answer: "I dare not say that I will definitely give constructive suggestions, but if I can find anything that can be improved, I will still say it."

Zhang Shulin hummed in agreement and said calmly, "When I went to the restroom just now, I had a conversation with a very important person. After careful consideration, he decided to let you see the design drawings of the EAST (Electronic Tokamak) system. However, you need to sign a confidentiality agreement, and if you conduct any research and development based on these drawings, you cannot apply for patents externally. The technology can only be handed over to us. Do you understand what that means?"

Tang Zhiping's gaze turned serious, realizing that the important figure Zhang Shulin had just mentioned was likely of very high status.

Furthermore, he was certain of one thing: the reason Zhang Shulin dared to say such a thing was probably because the bigwigs had already ordered a comprehensive background check on Chen Yuan to ensure there were no problems, which was why they were willing to let Chen Yuan see the design drawings of the Oriental Super Ring.

So why would a big shot be willing to show the Oriental Superconducting Tokamak design drawings to Chen Yuan, an unknown nobody?

Tang Zhiping believed it was related to Chen Yuan's exceptional talent. His ability to make cutting-edge creations and inventions across fields showed that he was exceptionally sharp-minded. He thought that after reviewing the EAST design, Chen Yuan might be able to offer constructive suggestions, which is why Tang Zhiping agreed to the project.

If Chen Yuan reviews the Oriental Super Ring design but fails to offer any constructive suggestions, it's not a big deal, since a confidentiality agreement has been signed and the information will not be leaked.

Chen Yuan naturally understood the principles Tang Zhiping was pondering, and he also knew that once research on nuclear fusion was conducted, the technology could only be handed over to the government and could not be leaked to others, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

To be honest, even if Zhang Shulin hadn't said that, Chen Yuan would never have handed over the nuclear fusion technology he might develop in the future to an outsider.

He thought about it carefully and said in a half-serious, half-joking tone, "If I really make some progress in thermonuclear fusion research in the future, I am willing to hand over all the technology. But what about cold fusion? I hope that the technology of cold fusion can be mastered by ourselves."

"Haha, you're so funny."

"That's right! Cold fusion has been proven to be pseudoscience; how could it possibly be possible!"

Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping both laughed, thinking Chen Yuan was joking.

Chen Yuan looked at him seriously and said, "Professor Zhang, I hope you can give me a definite answer, and that this clause should be written into the contract."

Ok?

Are you taking this so seriously?

Do you really think you can turn the pseudoscientific cold fusion into reality?

Neither Zhang Shulin nor Tang Zhiping believed such a thing.

Even so, Zhang Shulin still said cautiously, "I can't make the decision on this matter; I need to consult with that important person."

Chen Yuan said, "Okay, go ask him."

Zhang Shulin didn't say anything more and went to the balcony to make a phone call.

About three minutes later, he returned from the balcony, and the first thing he said upon entering the house was, "This is perfectly fine."

You agreed?

Did you really agree?

Chen Yuan's heart pounded. He was finally going to get the blueprints for the EAST toroidal reactor and "derive" the cold fusion technology!