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

In the control hall, everyone was looking at Chen Yuan with almost fanatical eyes.

They couldn't believe that after reviewing some information and experimental data from the EAST tokamak, the young man not only offered suggestions for improvement but also drew up design diagrams for three improved devices on the spot.

Although detailed design drawings for the two devices below are not available, the dynamic magnetic control devices alone are enough to give one a sense of awe, like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden.

The design drawings for a device that could very well reach science fiction level!

Most importantly, after some deliberation, everyone concluded that all the information and dynamic magnetic control devices that Chen Yuan mentioned earlier could potentially be realized with the current level of technology!

"Who is he?"

"I don't know, it looks amazing."

"It's not just amazing, it's absolutely incredible!"

"Yes, that's amazing. With so little information and experimental data, he came up with such a huge improvement to the EAST toroidal converter. I think even if Tesla were reborn, he wouldn't be able to match him."

A group of researchers who did not know Chen Yuan were amazed.

They were very curious about where this incredibly talented young man had come from.

His skill level is so high that it can be described as divine.

Lu Chen is a researcher in Research Lab No. 5.

Because their research labs were close together, he had a relatively good relationship with Ma Weixing, Jiang Guowei, and others.

He remembered seeing Chen Yuan enter and exit the No. 4 research room several times before.

Lu Chen's eyes flickered, and he squeezed next to Ma Weixing, Jiang Guowei, and the others, asking, "Engineer Ma, who is he?"

Ma Weixing kept staring at Chen Yuan and casually said, "Oh, this is Chen Yuan, a specially appointed associate researcher. He just joined the company and was assigned to our fourth department."

"what?"

"He's so talented, yet he's just an ordinary researcher like you?"

Those around him looked surprised upon hearing this.

In their view, Chen Yuan's technical level was equivalent to, or even higher than, an entire nuclear fusion technology research and development team. How could someone as amazing as him be just an ordinary researcher like Ma Weixing and Jiang Guowei?

Yes, Ma Weixing is not an ordinary researcher, but a senior researcher.

Researcher is the highest professional title in the scientific research system, equivalent to professor in the university system.

They are usually academic leaders who have accumulated profound knowledge in a certain field and made original contributions.

In short, Ma Weixing is an "elite" in nuclear technology research and is a pillar of the field.

As a result, this pillar of the team was described as an ordinary scientific researcher when compared with Chen Yuan?

If an ordinary person heard this, they would probably have started criticizing it.

Ma Weixing not only didn't criticize the other party, but even said with a dreamy look, "Yes, I never thought I would have the honor of working with a genius like Chen Yuan, who is one in a thousand years. I am truly fortunate."

As soon as the words were spoken, a female researcher seemed to remember something, "Chen Yuan? Could he be the one whose parking space even the dean has to give up?"

"Wow, it was him?" Lu Chen exclaimed in surprise. "At first, I was wondering who was so awesome when I heard the dean giving up his parking space for someone. Now I finally understand the dean's intentions."

"I was puzzled at first, but I'm not now."

"If I were the dean and encountered such a brilliant genius, I would definitely be willing to give up my parking space."

"Hehe, what's a parking space? As long as a genius like this is willing to stay and work at our research institute, no one will mind if he sleeps in the dean's office."

"Comparison is the thief of joy. The EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) device took a full eight years from its approval in 1998 to its completion in 2006. Back then, our research institute collaborated with dozens of top domestic research institutions, universities, and enterprises to build it. Even the core R&D team consisted of hundreds of people. Yet, it seems he could do all the technical R&D work by himself. One person is equivalent to an entire team's eight years of R&D? Unbelievable!"

"You only considered the period from project approval to device completion of the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) system, not the technological improvements made over the past twenty years since 2006. I believe Chen Yuan's design drawings for the dynamic magnetic control device are equivalent to eight years of research and development plus twenty years of technological improvements!"

A group of people were whispering and chatting, their tone filled with a dreamy quality.

In the eyes of these researchers, Chen Yuan's actions today cannot be described as "shocking" but rather as unrealistic and dreamlike.

Correct!

People have a feeling that the dynamic magnetic control device technology drawn by Chen Yuan can only appear in dreams.

But they were absolutely certain that they were not dreaming, but witnessing it for real!

That's why everyone was so amazed, knowing it wasn't a dream.

After all, what they observed was very likely a milestone in the history of nuclear fusion research.

Besides the researchers' amazement, Andrei's gaze toward Chen Yuan was also filled with a strange feeling.

He never expected to meet such a genius here.

A super genius who has the potential to completely break through the current bottlenecks in magnetic confinement technology.

He longed to sit down with Chen Yuan and have a long talk all night, to ask him more about the improvements and future of magnetic confinement fusion.

Just as everyone was discussing this, Shen Yun rushed in from outside and announced loudly, "Someone will be coming over in a moment to have you sign a confidentiality agreement. Don't leave here, understand?"

"I heard you."

"Dean, don't worry, we know the rules."

Every researcher present knew that the technology Chen Yuan demonstrated was classified, and they wouldn't feel at ease without signing a confidentiality agreement.

After Shen Yun finished speaking, he ignored what the others were doing and went to Chen Yuan and Li Jian. "Let's go outside and talk."

As he spoke, he looked at Chu Yingying and said, "Little Chu, take this laptop with you."

Chu Yingying quickly replied, "Okay, Dean."

Subsequently, Chen Yuan left, surrounded by several leaders including Shen Yun, Li Jian, and Zhang Qian.

……

Dean's Office.

"My ancestors! My ancestors!" Shen Yun exclaimed excitedly, "How could you show off such advanced technology in public? This technology has the potential to achieve commercial controlled nuclear fusion reactors. It's top secret for any country! What are you doing?!"

Li Jian kept his head down and didn't say anything.

After all, he was the one who caused this mess.

Vice Deans Zhang Qian, Xu Gang, and Jin Sheng could only manage wry smiles.

They had heard Shen Yunrang go to the control hall to take a look, and they thought it was just a minor incident. Who knew it was so serious?

Chen Yuan sat on the sofa, seemingly unconcerned, and said, "Dean, don't get agitated, it's not that serious, it's a minor issue, a minor issue."

"This is a minor issue?"

Shen Yun wanted to get angry, but the person sitting in front of him was a "master," so he didn't dare to get angry. Otherwise, if the person ran away, he wouldn't even have time to cry.

He patiently and earnestly said, "The technology you just demonstrated is too advanced. It should be used for national defense and people's livelihood, not for unrelated researchers to see."

Li Jian said with a wry smile, "Yes, Mr. Chen, I originally thought you might just offer some constructive suggestions for improvement to the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) system, but I didn't expect..."

Chen Yuan blinked and said, "I just made a minor upgrade to the existing EAST technology; it's really not a very advanced technology."

"what?"

"Minor upgrade?"

Zhang Qian and Jin Sheng looked at each other in bewilderment.

As people who are also tech-savvy, how could they not know what level those techniques were?

What they considered to be cutting-edge technology that surpassed existing advancements, Chen Yuan described as merely a minor upgrade.

Chen Yuan explained, "Don't worry, it's really just a minor upgrade to the technology. Moreover, I didn't draw up the core designs for the three devices. Even if someone recorded the design drawings and went back to study them, they wouldn't be able to achieve any results. Instead, they would just waste a lot of money."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yun's eyes lit up and he said, "So you had a backup plan. You made me so worried."

Li Jian breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "You're right. I thought inviting you over to offer constructive suggestions for improvement had caused a lot of trouble."

Zhang Qian patted his chest and said, "That's good, that's good. This technology, which has the potential to achieve controlled nuclear fusion, must not be known to others."

"Controlled nuclear fusion cannot be achieved." Chen Yuan shook his head and said, "According to my design, the EAST toroidal reactor can be upgraded to a second-generation high-temperature superconductor with a Q value between 15 and 30. The long pulse stability time can be maintained for 3 to 7 days. It can be used as a commercial reactor, but it is impossible to achieve a permanent steady state like true controlled nuclear fusion."

Li Jian: "..."

Shen Yun: "..."

Zhang Qian and the remaining two: "..."

Q value 15 to 30?

Long pulses remain stable for 3 to 7 days?

If this isn't controlled nuclear fusion, then what is?

Q value refers to the net energy gain.

Currently, the Q value of EAST is believed to exceed 1.

Those in the know are actually aware that it's only 0.3 to 0.5.

The advantage of the EAST transducer is actually just that the long pulse duration is relatively long.

Don't say that the Q value of EAST is low; the Q values ​​of nuclear fusion devices in various countries around the world are not high.

The old and ugly National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had a Q value of only 4.13 in its eighth ignition experiment.

This data is highly controversial.

It has been discovered that the electrical energy consumed by the entire ignition device system of the old ugly country is far higher than its output.

Therefore, it's hard to say whether this is an "engineering Q value" or a "system Q value".

In short, most insiders understand that the eighth ignition of the old ugly country's ignition device is a net energy consumption, not a net gain.

Even so, the Q value obtained from the eighth ignition still shocked people both at home and abroad.

What did Chen Yuan say?

If we improve the EAST toroidal converter according to his proposed solution, the Q value can reach between 15 and 30.

Whether it's the "engineering Q value" or the "system Q value," it's enough to cause a worldwide sensation.

A Q value of 15 means that the energy output of fusion is 15 times the energy input, far exceeding the "greater than 5 for scientific break-even" and "greater than 10 for engineering break-even".

If the Q value reaches 30, the cost of EAST's power generation will be competitive with traditional energy sources, enabling true commercial use!

shocked!

Li Jian, Shen Yun, Zhang Qian, and others were stunned when they heard the two sets of data.

At this moment, they realized they had underestimated Chen Yuan's design; it wasn't just a possibility of achieving controlled nuclear fusion, but a real possibility.

Well, at least in their view, reaching this level already constitutes the achievement of controlled nuclear fusion.

Everyone was in an uproar, thinking that they should report this data as soon as possible so that their superiors would know just how amazing Chen Yuan's technology was!