Just when everyone was silent, a scientist suddenly had an idea and seemed to think of something extraordinary. He shouted urgently:
"That green light drone! The technology of that drone completely surpasses ours, but there is still no controllable nuclear fusion device inside, only a fission engine!"
"They are a real interstellar civilization, but they cannot implement fusion technology in a small spacecraft with a diameter of two meters."
"Two meters in diameter...it's actually not that small, but it can't hold a fusion device."
"This may also show that... small-scale controllable nuclear fusion is difficult!"
"The smaller it is, the harder it is!"
"Yes, that must be the case!" Another scientist took over the topic excitedly: "Green light civilization cannot be without fusion technology, but it cannot miniaturize nuclear fusion technology."
"As the great sage of the Nix civilization said, a small device like a tokamak... is really difficult and may be a crooked path!"
In fact, the "Tokamak" device is actually not that small. It is as high as a few floors. It would cost tens of billions to build just one. As a result, it has become what people call a small toy.
But as for nuclear fusion, it is really just a small toy. At most, it can only ignite plasma. It is undoubtedly impossible to achieve stable power generation.
Small machines that are too delicate will definitely be more difficult for humans.
For such a difficult thing, it is definitely easier to do a big one than a small one, and of course it is more expensive.
"Actually, it doesn't matter. The new human civilization has to use the efforts of the whole family to complete it. What does 'money' mean?" one of the electromagnetic experts joked.
The key is... humans don't care whether it can succeed, whether there is a chance of success, funding, resources.
"Humanity's first computer covered an area of 170 square meters and weighed 30 tons. It was a huge monster. But if the scientists at that time were forced to condense all the equipment into a modern small personal computer, they would definitely not be able to do it...
…”
"Even if it takes a hundred or two hundred years, it is impossible to reach the sky in one step. Therefore, the bigger the device, the better. Isn't it difficult to just build a small machine?" Professor Ding Yidong complained.
There was a strange atmosphere in the conference room. People felt that these words were a bit strange, but they seemed to make some sense...
Regardless of the budget issue, as long as it is successful, even if it is a bottomless pit, the new human civilization will have to fill it!
Based on the information left by the Nix civilization, a group of great scientists began to discuss how to solve this huge problem and how to improve the success rate of implementation...
The more I think about the "Great Filter", the more terrifying it becomes. Not only from the social aspect, but also from the technical aspect.
The theory of nuclear fusion is too simple and brings too many mindsets.
The Nix civilization also fell into the trap of "magnetic confinement". They subconsciously believed that they could control the starry beast of "nuclear fusion" with current technical means.
But in fact, it is not possible...or in other words, it is extremely difficult with the current means!
In discussions with experts, Yu Yifeng understood several major problems that are almost unsolvable with current technology.
The first major problem: The "magnetic field strength" created by humans is not enough.
Judging from the formula of the magnetic field strength of an electromagnet, as long as the current flowing in is infinite or the coil density is infinite, the magnetic induction intensity can be infinite.
However, in practical applications, due to the mechanism of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic medium inside the electromagnet, the direction of the magnetic field generated by the internal molecular current turns to the same direction, so there is a magnetic saturation problem.
Therefore, when the applied current and coil density reach a certain level, the magnetic field will not increase further.
Hundreds of Teslas are the current limit of the laboratory, and this magnetic field strength is far from enough.
Without a large enough magnetic field, it will be difficult to contain the violent plasma during fusion, which can easily cause damage to the instrument.
This is the first big problem, and it has almost no solution. Because its essence involves the movement of electrons inside atoms. Humans can only bypass the "magnetic saturation problem" by superimposing multiple magnetic rings, but in this way
, which increases the difficulty of plasma control.
The second big problem is the problem of neutron radiation.
Each deuterium and tritium fusion will produce a neutron with an energy of 14MeV. These high-energy neutrons can easily break the metal bonds in the first wall material, produce a large number of defects, cause radiation swelling, embrittlement, creep and other problems, making the material
Totally unusable.
In the end, Nix Civilization failed to find a very suitable material that could resist neutrons for a long time.
They can only solve the problem by constantly replacing broken materials, causing a lot of economic losses, and this is how most of the money is burned.
These two problems involve atoms themselves and are almost unsolvable problems.
Of course there are all kinds of other little problems here and there...
“Isn’t our super alloy material good?”
Yu Yifeng understood these two key points and couldn't help but ask: "These are variants of alien materials, can't they block neutron radiation?!"
"No!" One of the materials scientists categorically shook his head and said: "No matter how awesome super alloys are, they are still ordinary materials, composed of ordinary elements. Ordinary materials have their limitations, even real alien materials can't do it!"
"It's impossible for them to survive neutron radiation. Even if it lasts longer, it will only be a few more hours or days..."
"...If we really want to achieve power generation, it must be calculated on an annual basis! We can't just cut off the power for maintenance every few days, right?"
Yu Yifeng nodded helplessly.
Well, these problems are indeed very troublesome. Unless there is a huge breakthrough in some theories...
But where did the breakthrough come from? Humanity is still resting on the laurels of quantum mechanics and relativity!
"Then what is not an ordinary material? The shell of Noah? Or the floor of Noah? Can that purple metal-like substance withstand neutron radiation?"
"Uh..." The professor's eyes widened, but he didn't expect this.
After a long time, he replied: "Maybe, but I haven't tried it yet... Can we dismantle some floors to resist neutron radiation?"
The floor inside the Noah is not as hard as the outer shell of the spacecraft. It can still be destroyed. For example, a supernova explosion will create a large number of holes in it.
However, even if it can withstand some neutron radiation, only one problem has been solved, and most of them have not been solved.
There are now two paths for people to choose: the first is to continue to study magnetic constraints along the path of the Nix civilization, while at the same time developing other basic technologies and eliminating various shortcomings. I don’t know how long this path will take.
Article 2...
"We are ready to give up the idea of magnetic confinement and even the idea of controllability!"
Professor Ding Yidong took the lead in delivering a report. When he said this, his face flushed, and he felt like he was eager to give it a try.
Yu Yifeng's scalp suddenly became numb, and he thought of something strange. He had the same expression when the lunar base handed over the "Gigaton Helium-3 Bomb Propulsion Plan"...
Sure enough, Professor Ding Yidong shouted at the top of his lungs the next moment: "Controllable and uncontrollable are word games in themselves. What is controllable? What is uncontrollable? There is no clear definition at all!"
"Is a hydrogen bomb controllable? A hydrogen bomb is controllable when used in war!"
"Why should we be obsessed with something like a tokamak? Even if it can really generate electricity, we don't know how long it will take and how much electricity it can generate? There is no point in being obsessed with controlled nuclear fusion. We can definitely use it.
...Incompletely controlled nuclear fusion as power!"
"We... simply use a hydrogen bomb to explode and generate electricity!"
When he shouted this sentence, even the people behind him started making noises.
"A hydrogen bomb explodes to generate electricity? How?" Yu Yifeng was startled and asked subconsciously.
Professor Ding Yidong continued loudly: "We only need to create a container that is large and hard enough to fully absorb the yield of a hydrogen bomb explosion...
"A nuclear bomb explodes in a metal container. As long as the metal container is large enough and hard enough, we can directly eat this part of the explosion energy... Of course, it's not just hydrogen bombs, there are other nuclear bombs!"
These words were like a loud bell that struck in Yu Yifeng's head. He felt that his whole head was noisy, and he could not hear clearly what Ding Yidong was roaring behind him.
Looking at the big scientists standing behind him, they seemed to have no objections.
They have discussed it in advance, and even the most prudent scholars believe that this plan seems to be more stable than the serious Tokamak.