Seeing this, Qin Yi knew that there were no problems with the theoretical research on the warp engine. The next step was the most critical material issue.
The three major difficulties of the warp engine are one is theoretical research, which is the most basic thing, because theory determines the direction and height. The further science develops, the more important theory becomes. Without the support of theory, many things are useless.
Let’s continue to research the method.
The second is the issue of energy. The principle of the warp engine is actually very simple. It is nothing more than using powerful energy to resonate in space, thereby folding space, and then using powerful energy to directly open the space to form a space wormhole.
, directly and quickly crossing distant distances through space wormholes.
How much energy is needed to make space resonate, fold, and open wormholes in space? You can tell with your toes how huge the energy required is. Without powerful energy, it is absolutely impossible to support the warp engine.
of.
Fortunately, controllable nuclear fusion technology has been developed for a long time. Theoretically, the energy generated by controllable nuclear fusion is second only to the energy generated when antimatter annihilation. This is the source of stellar energy, which is enough to satisfy the warp engine.
strong energy requirements.
The third problem is the problem of materials. The second-generation anti-gravity engine is already extremely demanding on materials. The materials required for this warp engine are definitely not ordinary materials and must be theoretically degenerate materials.
Degenerate material, also called degenerate matter, is a high-density material state. The pressure of degenerate matter mainly comes from the Pauli exclusion principle, which is called degeneracy pressure.
That is, this degenerate material is a material that needs to be created from an atomic perspective.
The development of science and technology has made it possible for people to artificially synthesize materials at the atomic scale, such as atomic clusters, cluster materials, linear chains, multi-layered heterostructures, ultra-thin films, etc. These materials are characterized by low dimensions and symmetry.
The properties are reduced and the geometric features are significant.
But it is only possible. When it comes to actual operation, it is difficult to truly create the materials you need from an atomic perspective. The unit of an atom is too small. The current science and technology can only
It can be done at the nanometer level, and atoms are much smaller than nanometers.
First of all, we need to understand their size. Nano in English is nanometer, abbreviated as nano. Nano is a unit of length. 1 nanometer is one billionth of 1 meter, recorded as nm.
1 nanometer is equal to the length of 10 hydrogen atoms arranged next to each other in a row. Because the diameter of each atom is different, 1 nanometer may be equal to the length of the arrangement of dozens of atoms of other elements.
20 nanometers is approximately one-thousandth of a human hair.
What we usually call nanotechnology refers to the technology of studying the special phenomena and special functions of substances in the nanometer scale (100 nanometers to 0.1 nanometers), and creating new materials by directly manipulating and arranging atoms and molecules.
.
The emergence of nanotechnology first benefited from the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (stm), which can magnify tens of millions of times. The invention of the scanning tunneling microscope allows scientists to observe the microscopic world from a nanometer perspective.
Since the early 1990s, nanotechnology has developed rapidly. New disciplines such as nanoelectronics, nanomaterials, nanomechanics, nanobiology, etc. are constantly emerging. Nanotechnology is the future change predicted by scientists.
One of the nine sciences of history.
In fact, although today's scientists can observe atomic level information through STM technology, it can also have a certain impact on the atomic arrangement and structure.
For example, in April 1990, two scientists from IBM in North America were using STM to observe xenon atoms on the surface of metallic nickel. Inspired by the movement of the probe and xenon atoms, they tried to use the STM tip to move the xenon atoms adsorbed on the metallic nickel.
, 35 xenon atoms are arranged on the surface of nickel to form an "ibm" structure with a height of 5 atoms.
Scientists from the Huaxia Academy of Sciences also used nanotechnology to draw the world's smallest map of the Huaxia region by moving carbon atoms on the surface of graphite, which is less than 10 nanometers in size.
Since then, scientists have been enjoying moving various atoms into various patterns, including silicon atoms, sulfur atoms, iron atoms, carbon monoxide molecules, iron-based molecules...
From here we can know that what scientists can currently achieve is to move some atoms slightly and put various patterns on the surface of objects. This cannot truly create and construct the atomic structure three-dimensionally, and there is no way.
Create new materials from an atomic perspective on a large scale and quickly.
But even so, they can only simply move some atoms and arrange some atoms on the surface. Scientists have also created various complex nanomaterials, such as artificially modifying the structure of copper atoms on the surface of copper.
The arrangement can also increase the strength of copper by 5 times.
We all know that diamond is diamond, graphite, and coke. The atoms they are composed of are actually the same, that is, carbon atoms. However, the properties of these materials are very different. In terms of hardness alone, diamond is the hardest material in nature.
, while the hardness of graphite and coke is very low.
The reason for this difference is the structure of carbon atoms. In the atomic structure of diamond, each carbon atom forms a covalent bond with four other carbon atoms in sp3 hybrid orbitals, forming a regular tetrahedron.
Because the c-c bond in diamond is very strong, diamond has high hardness and extremely high melting point; and because all valence electrons are restricted in the covalent bond area and there are no free electrons, diamond does not conduct electricity.
In the graphite structure, carbon atoms in the same layer form covalent bonds through sp2 hybridization. Each carbon atom is connected to three other atoms by three covalent bonds. Six carbon atoms form a positive six-connected shape on the same plane.
rings, extending into a lamellar structure.
The bond lengths of the c-c bonds here are all 142pm, which falls exactly within the bond length range of atomic crystals, so for the same layer, it is an atomic crystal.
The carbon atoms in the same plane each have one p orbit left. They overlap each other and the electrons are relatively free, equivalent to the free electrons in metals. Therefore, graphite can conduct heat and electricity, which is the characteristic of metal crystals.
To put it simply and easily understood, the carbon atom structure of diamond is three-dimensional. All carbon atoms directly form regular tetrahedrons with each other, which is a three-dimensional structure.
The structure of graphite is that carbon atoms form regular hexagonal rings on the same plane, forming a sheet structure, that is, layers of carbon atoms, but there are no connections between the carbon atoms between layers. This is
Flat structure.
A three-dimensional regular tetrahedron structure and a planar regular hexagonal structure cause the material properties of diamond and graphite to be very different, and their values are also different.
The selling price of diamond is calculated in carats, while the price of graphite is calculated in tons. The difference in value is hundreds of millions of times!
If you want to develop materials for use in warp engines, you need to build materials from an atomic three-dimensional perspective and turn decay into magic. For example, turning the atomic perspective of iron into a regular tetrahedral three-dimensional structure like diamond, then
What kind of material will come out?
This science and technology is also the technology that Xinghan materials scientists are most interested in researching at present. Various powerful new materials are also emerging in endlessly. However, so far, scientists have only been able to demonstrate that moving a few atoms forms a flat atomic layer.
, there is no way to truly perform three-dimensional atomic construction.
Now that the first two conditions have matured, there is only one final step left before the warp drive can become a reality, which is to develop powerful degenerate materials that can support the warp drive.
Once degenerate materials can be researched and warp engines are manufactured, even though the starry sky in the universe is vast, it will no longer be able to stop the progress of the descendants of Yan and Huang.
Soon, accompanied by Liu Peiqiang, Qin Yi came to the Xinghan National Institute of Materials Science and found the head of the institute, Ren Qing. Ren Qing was an old man from the Galaxy Technology Group era and was the first to join the Galaxy Technology Group.
the scientist.
At this time, Ren Qing, like Qin Yi, was already in her 70s, but as before, time had not left any traces on her body, and she was still very beautiful.
All this is naturally due to the effect of the genetic optimization fluid. She injected the genetic optimization fluid relatively early, and the effect is naturally very good. She looks the same in her 70s as she does in her 20s.
But for a scientist of her age, according to the standards on earth, this is the peak moment of a scientist's life.
Without genetic optimization fluid, the average life span of a person is about 80 years old. The first 30 years are basically in the learning stage, and then it will take more than ten years to explore and accumulate on the road of science, and by 40
The peak stage is when you are close to 50 years old.
With experience, accumulation, and foundation, a person can still be very energetic, have a quick and active brain, good health, and can fight for a long time. But once this age is passed, whether it is the body or the brain, problems will arise.
If there is a big landslide, then the value of scientists will be greatly reduced.
After being injected with the gene optimization fluid, the genes have been optimized. Not only does the life span become longer, but more importantly, it can develop the brain, strengthen the body, and have a strong body and a smart brain.
They have a long lifespan and are very healthy, which means that after being injected with genetic optimization fluid, their golden period may be hundreds, thousands, or even longer.
This is of great significance in promoting the development of science and technology. Think about it, if an outstanding scientist like Einstein could live hundreds or thousands of years, to what extent would the level of human science and technology rise?
, it’s hard for anyone to say.
But one thing is certain. The substantial increase in average life expectancy is of extraordinary significance in promoting the progress of science and technology and civilization.
On the earth, the more developed countries and regions are, the longer the average life expectancy is, and vice versa, because the accumulation and inheritance of knowledge requires time and process. The more science and technology develops, the breadth and depth of it will increase.
The bigger it is, the more it needs to learn, and lifespan will become the most important constraint.