Chapter 383 I, Xu Chuan, make money!
Jinling, Qixia Mountain Controlled Nuclear Fusion Engineering Base.
Less than half a month has passed since the Dawn Device broke the world record and completed the 45-minute high-density plasma operation experiment.
Relevant inspection and data analysis work has been completed, and engineers and researchers are now optimizing the water-cooled divertor, external high-temperature superconducting coil, and plasma turbulence numerical control model of the Daybreak fusion device step by step.
This work is expected to take about one and a half months according to plan.
During this period, Xu Chuan did not continue to stay in the park.
It is enough to leave these relatively simple tasks to others. As for him, there are other things that need to be solved.
For example, mathematics is used to solve problems such as magnetic surface tearing, plasma magnetic islands, and distortion that will occur during the deuterium and tritium operation of the Tokamak device.
If some replacements can be found for the previous transformation work, then there is almost no replaceability for the latter work.
At least you can't find it in the country.
Although there are many domestic mathematicians, there are really no famous mathematicians in areas such as fluid mechanics and turbulence.
This can actually be seen from the field of CFD.
It can be said that more than 95% of domestic CFD software currently relies on imports.
ANSYS Fluent, ANSYSCFX, STAR-CCM, Comsol, and XFLOW, which account for more than 90% of the market, are all foreign.
The dependence on industrial software is really too serious.
If those manufacturers directly kill CFD software, most of the domestic manufacturers in this industry may be paralyzed.
But Xu Chuan had nothing to do about this.
Although he can be said to be a master in the field of fluid mechanics, and can even be said to be among the top five or three in the world in this field of mathematics, he cannot change it.
Because this is an area that has formed a system and is difficult to change in a short period of time.
At least for now, yes.
On the other side, the United States.
In a certain conference room of the Energy Center, the new director Dan Brouillette was looking at the investigation report in his hand with a headache on his face.
The recent earth-shaking changes in the field of controllable nuclear fusion have made him, the person in charge of the energy industry, a little confused and unable to understand the situation.
First of all, China's Daybreak Fusion Device achieved operation for forty-five minutes, shining brightly and dazzlingly like a shooting star in the dark night.
Subsequently, the half-hour operation results of Germany's advanced stellarator Helix 7X also spread with media reports. Although it was not as good as China's Dawn, it also set off a wave in this field again.
China and Europe have successively made breakthrough progress in the field of controllable nuclear fusion. On the contrary, they, who had been leading the way, are now lagging behind.
What confused Dan Brouillette was that originally everyone was still playing around with the second-level running time, but why did it suddenly move into half an hour or even close to an hour?
What about the promise of controlled nuclear fusion lasting fifty years?
If this trend continues, it may not be possible in the next twenty years.
Just at this time, the door of the office opened, and the assistant hurriedly walked in, handed him an investigation document, and at the same time reported the report:
"This is the latest investigation report. According to the CIA's investigation, the reason why the Planck Plasma Institute achieved a running time of thirty minutes is that they replaced the external field coil of the Spiral Stone 7X and replaced it with the superconducting material, greatly improving the strength of the confinement magnetic field.”
"The high-temperature superconducting materials they replaced came from the Sichuan-Hai Materials Research Institute under the name of Professor Xu"
Looking through the information in his hand and listening to the assistant's report, Dan Brouillette couldn't help but feel a headache again.
Recently, his ears have been buzzing when he hears this name, and he can't avoid it everywhere!
After flipping through the investigation report in his hand, Dan Brouillette pinched the bridge of his nose.
Judging from this report, the ASDEX device sold by the Planck Plasma Laboratory is not the key. The key lies in the high-temperature superconducting material and the possible mathematical control model of plasma turbulence.
The key to all this lies in Professor Xu.
He developed high-temperature superconducting materials, and he also made the plasma turbulence control model
Fuck, why weren’t such talents forced to stay in the United States?
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Brouillette thought about a solution.
At this time, the assistant across the desk said: "Boss, I have some ideas about this matter."
Hearing this, Brouillette looked up at his assistant and asked, "What do you think?"
Compared to him, this assistant has been with Energy Management for a long time, and his opinions may be useful for reference.
At least he doesn't have any good solutions now. Unless they can get technology or materials from Professor Xu, it will be very difficult for them to catch up and overtake.
Assistant McAdam said: "Use ITER to put pressure on China and let them disclose high-temperature superconducting material technology and control models."
"From our survey, the main factors that enable China and Europe to achieve running times of 45 minutes and 30 minutes are basically here."
"China is a member of ITER. According to the original agreement, the member states are focusing on the technologies related to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Fusion Reactor project, such as device operation plans, magnetic confinement theory and modeling, overall plasma performance and control, and materials physics. When conducting research on technology and other aspects, it needs to be shared and provided to ITER”
"Now, it is obvious that China has not done this. Their high-temperature superconducting materials and control models have not been provided to ITER. They use ITER's sharing agreement to draw technology from ITER to strengthen themselves, but they do not share their own research. This is obviously a violation of the agreement.”
After a pause, McAdam continued: "In addition, we can also investigate Professor Xu through monopoly law."
"According to our investigation, the high-temperature superconducting materials he developed have obviously monopolized the global market. Now there is only one high-temperature superconducting material supplier on the market. Perhaps we can use monopoly laws to force the other party to relax its focus on high-temperature superconducting materials." Licensing of Superconducting Materials ”
Listening to the assistant's words, Dan Brouillette tapped his index finger lightly on the wooden desk.
He is very clear about ITER's technology sharing agreement. In fact, this is a piece of waste paper for the member states participating in ITER.
Whether it is the United States, Europe, or their old rival Tsarist Russia, everyone will never really provide their core technology to ITER.
It is precisely because of this that the development and progress of ITER is so slow.
Otherwise, how could a large-scale international cooperation organization that has assembled more than half of the human race have been studying for decades and not even completed the construction of a reactor?
But now this piece of waste paper seems to be a possible reason.
Of course, if the United States alone is relying on it, it may be a bit difficult to force the other party to hand over technology.
But it doesn’t matter. I believe that from this standpoint, both the EU and other countries in ITER will stand by them.
After thinking for a moment, Brouillette raised his head, looked at his assistant, and said: "Contact the allies of other ITER member states. We will raise this issue in a targeted manner at the next meeting. I believe they should also be interested."< br>
"In addition, collect more technologies that China has obtained from the ITER project, whether they are public or traded, these are all evidence."
On the other side, the capital of China.
In the building on the north side of Chang'an Street, the old man who lives here all year round looked at Qin Anguo who was reading letters in the office with calm eyes. 【Dear】
[Hello, in the past few months, the Qixia Mountain Controlled Nuclear Fusion Project has ushered in tremendous development, from the completion of the industrial park to the acceptance operation of the Dawn Fusion Device to the forty-five-minute high-density plasma As a result, we have achieved miracles and achievements one after another. 】
[Reviewing the entire process of nuclear fusion research, at this moment, our leadership in controllable nuclear fusion research has reached the pinnacle of the world. I believe that we are no longer far away from the true application of controllable nuclear fusion technology. Far, at least, we are already on the right path. 】
[Of course, I also believe that you already know these tasks. 】
[As for the potential of controllable nuclear fusion technology, I believe you can understand it without me introducing it too much. It has many important meanings and has a profound impact on the development and future of human civilization. 】
[I believe you know those long-term effects better than I do, and from an economic perspective, nuclear fusion is a cheaper energy source than nuclear fission. 】
[Theoretically, a one-million-kilowatt nuclear fusion power plant only consumes 300 kilograms of deuterium per year; while a one-million-kilowatt fission nuclear power plant requires about 35 tons of nuclear fuel. 】
[The cost of producing one kilogram of enriched uranium is close to 100,000 yuan, while the cost of producing one kilogram of deuterium is only 2,000 yuan. 】
[Therefore, from an economic perspective alone, controllable nuclear fusion power generation has great advantages. 】
[According to the plan, after completing forty-five minutes of high-density plasma operation, the next task of the Daybreak Fusion Device will be to actually use deuterium and tritium raw materials to conduct ignition operation experiments. 】
[It will be the first real step in opening the door to controllable nuclear fusion. 】
【.】
Looking through the letter in his hand, Qin Anguo smiled bitterly and shook his head.
This is really his style.
The entire letter, in fact, is the same as the letter he wrote last time when he was working on the "Nuclear Energy Beta Radiation Energy Concentration and Conversion to Electric Energy Project". It can be condensed into one sentence!
"I, Xu Chuan, make money!"
The last time he wrote here was to ask for money and scientific research funds, and it's the same this time. I really don't know if there will be a next time.
Of course, in fact he knew what was going on before he came here.
As the person in charge of science and technology, he was already holding relevant meetings 45 minutes after the Dawn Fusion Device was built.
Including the top-level meetings, he attended them two or three times.
For China, a major energy country, it is necessary to find a new energy source that can replace coal and oil.
Nuclear energy is a good route, whether it is nuclear fission or nuclear fusion, both are options.
Especially the former. After Xuchuan solved the problem of nuclear waste, nuclear fission power generation has become a truly clean energy source. Large-scale construction of nuclear fission power plants can also alleviate China's energy demand to a certain extent.
However, nuclear fission power generation has great shortcomings. First of all, the investment in building a nuclear fission power station is quite huge. To build a 1 million kilowatt nuclear power plant, the investment needs to be almost 20 billion.
If we want to rely on nuclear fission power generation to achieve energy self-sufficiency, it can be said that the investment required is quite large.
At least not in a short time.
And nuclear fission power generation is not without danger. Although Academician Xu solved the problem of difficult nuclear waste disposal, the lessons learned from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are right in front of us.
The large-scale construction of nuclear power plants also puts great pressure on safety and other aspects.
Therefore, it is necessary to invest in research and development of nuclear fusion technology.
And Academician Xu may also be worried about this issue. He is worried that now that the nuclear waste problem has been solved, the country's need for nuclear fusion may not be so urgent. He also specifically put nuclear fusion and nuclear fission in the letter. Compared together.
To be honest, controllable nuclear fusion must be carried out, especially with the current lead, there is no reason for China not to continue to maintain its lead.
But what I have to say is that this thing is really a bottomless black hole.
A letter, a total of 20 billion in funds, and it is only the second phase of investment. There will be several subsequent phases, no one knows.
And according to the way Academician Xu uses money, it is doubtful in Qin Anguo's opinion whether these two billion can last for a year.
After all, it has only been more than a year and less than a year and a half since the establishment of the Qixia Mountain Controlled Nuclear Fusion Project, and within this year and a half, the first batch of 16 billion funds has already bottomed out.
There are still many projects, such as the purchase of ASDEX equipment and the purchase of high-temperature superconducting materials, all of which are paid in installments or not paid at all.
If it were to be paid in full, I'm afraid the 20 billion funds would be gone.
Of course, the gains are also huge. Forty-five minutes of high-density plasma operation has directly advanced everyone's original record of seconds by an order of magnitude.
Originally, they were still fighting with Western countries such as Europe and the United States, but now they are directly crushed.
I have to say, this is really cool!
Although the German side also made a half-hour stellarator operation a few days ago, in fact, insiders know that this is very different from the forty-five minutes of the Dawn Fusion Device.
Not just time, but fusion temperature.
The operating temperature of the Daybreak Fusion Device is 120 million degrees Celsius, while the operating temperature of the Spiral Stone 7X is only less than 30 million degrees Celsius, which can even be said to be only a fraction.
But then again, the speed at which this money is spent is really distressing.
China’s economy is indeed huge, but there are also many places to spend money.
A guaranteed investment of at least 20 billion a year is still a single project. Not to mention China, the United States or the entire European Union cannot sustain it for a few years.
Putting aside those international and industry predictions about controllable nuclear fusion technology, according to his understanding of controllable nuclear fusion, twenty years can be said to be a very short time to successfully develop this technology. .
20 billion a year, 400 billion in 20 years.
This is still the most conservative estimate. After all, the investment in the early stage of controllable nuclear fusion technology is far less than that in the later stage.
Especially after starting the real deuterium and tritium experimental fusion, each experimental run will cause a certain degree of damage to the first wall material and fusion device.
And replacing these damaged things at one time may cost hundreds of millions, or even more.
According to his estimation, it is possible to spend trillions in twenty years.
Of course, if controllable nuclear fusion can really be solved.
Then this investment is definitely the most rewarding.
The value that controllable nuclear fusion can create is in the trillions.
PS: In yesterday’s chapter, I entered the dark room ˋ(°▽,°). I haven’t encountered this in a while. I was suddenly locked in yesterday and I didn’t react for a while.