"That's right."
After hearing this, Lu Zhou leaned on the office chair and made a helpless expression.
It is no exaggeration to say that compared to the latter, the former can only be regarded as a toy.
Speaking of this, Professor Burton Richter's expression was a little complicated.
Some people also expressed concern that human beings are going further and further down the road of seeking death.
It took about three days for researchers from the STAR Stellar Simulator Institute to complete the collection of experimental data.
In response to Academician Pan's inquiry, Lu Zhou just smiled faintly.
First find a way to build the reactor's plasma orbit, external field coil, water-cooled divertor and other devices that can be manufactured. For example, the cladding material of the first wall and other problems that cannot be solved technically for the time being will be solved. Then just make it and install it.
At the same time, just as the paper published in Science successfully pushed the word controllable nuclear fusion to the forefront of global media attention, a letter written by Lu Zhou himself also appeared in the Elder On the desk in the hospital.
He picked up the phone and took a look at it. He saw that it was Academician Pan calling, so Lu Zhou pressed the connect button.
Hearing the affirmative reply from Lu Zhou, Academician Pan on the other end of the phone took a deep breath and was extremely shocked.
"It's not too early. Many things can be done while researching. You don't have to wait until everything is ready to start construction. What's more, the most critical superconducting magnets and control solutions have been solved by us. The radiation-resistant material of the first wall , I believe it is only a matter of time. As long as conditions permit, I am more than 80% sure that this demonstration pile can be built."
As for the plan for the demonstration reactor, it will always stay on the timetable of major research institutions.
It seems that I have to write another letter.
At least as far as the information he learned, there were still many key issues that remained unresolved.
In an uncertain tone, Academician Pan asked, "Is it too early to start building a demonstration reactor now?"
Although experiments in controllable fusion research have been carried out for half a century, and various experimental reactors have emerged in endlessly, neither the Princeton Institute of Plasma Physics nor the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Research has been able to complete the demonstration of controllable nuclear fusion. heap.
Just a year ago, research on tokamak projects in various countries were still competing for breakthroughs in seconds.
“… When a colleague of mine told me that someone had achieved magnetic confinement of plasma for more than an hour, my first reaction was that it was a funny joke. Until he found out about it in the latest issue of Science That paper, and putting it in front of me.”
And almost as soon as the call was connected, Lao Pan's smiling voice came from the other end of the phone.
Upon hearing this, Academician Pan looked slightly moved and confirmed in an unbelievable tone.
Even without taking into account his own Nobel Prize halo, good academic reputation, and his past cooperative relationship with the editorial department of Science, the weight behind the word controllable nuclear fusion alone is enough for the editor of Science The department took it seriously.
"You guys can do it. You've hit Lao Zhou's face so hard this time. He just has a headache right now. Why don't you swallow the spit back?"
At the same time, Lu Zhou, who was responsible for summarizing these data, also completed the writing of a related paper, and finally submitted this paper, signed by more than 30 people, to the editorial department of the journal Science.
Not surprisingly, for a long time, this demonstration reactor will become a model project for controllable nuclear fusion reactors in China and even the world.
In addition to academia, the success of the STAR device has also attracted widespread attention from ordinary people, and has triggered heated discussions on the Internet.
Regardless of whether the U.S. Department of Energy pays attention to it or not, the results achieved by the STAR device have attracted the attention of China's top leaders.
The former is only an experimental device that can meet the most basic experimental needs of plasma experiments, while the latter is a demonstration reaction device that requires a series of links from plasma confinement to fusion reaction to electric energy output.
"It is absolutely impossible for WEGA to achieve this level, even the upgraded Spiral Stone 7-X cannot do it."
But no matter what, CTV paid the greatest attention to this major scientific breakthrough from a political perspective.
Although the one-hour high-density plasma magnetic confinement experiment is worthy of celebration, no matter what, starting this demonstration reactor now is a step too far.
"Even now, I am still full of surprise. Especially when I learned that this device was modified based on the WEGA device, I was even more shocked."
It is no exaggeration to say that with this achievement alone, their research in the field of controllable nuclear fusion has already set the world apart by a large margin.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhou's eyes couldn't help but drift to the pen on the corner of the table.
But even if he said it was an accidental injury, probably no one would believe it.
Hearing how confident Lu Zhou was on the other end of the phone, he was even a little worried now, whether this guy was inflated.
In terms of pronunciation, experimental pile and demonstration pile seem to be pronounced very similar, but they are two completely different things.
After a pause, Academician Pan put on a serious tone and continued: "To be honest, I was surprised when I heard that you set the target for the second experiment at thirty minutes. Now I didn't expect that I would still I underestimated your ability. I’m afraid even the Germans themselves didn’t expect that their WEGA devices could be recycled to such an extent.”
However, with the publication of this paper, the research results of research institutions in various countries have been greatly separated.
"What's next? What are you going to do next?"
What is the concept of one hour
"Demonstration pile?"
Although the time has only doubled, the difficulty is not as simple as one plus one equals two.
There were no problems with the data itself, and there was no long wait. The paper passed the review quickly and was successfully published in the latest issue of Science.
"According to comments from industry insiders, this technological breakthrough is expected to open a new chapter for the research on controllable nuclear fusion..."
It was this letter that touched the sensitive nerves of countless people...
Lu Zhou, who was holding the phone, nodded.
With the publication of that paper, when people learned about the miracle that happened on the STAR device, almost the entire plasma physics community was excited about it.
Although if the pulse ignition power generation method is used, there is no need to achieve such a long restraint time, but the shock brought by this one hour still shocked all scholars who paid attention to this device.
Sitting in front of the camera was Burton Richter, the 1976 Nobel Prize winner, consultant to Triple Alpha, and professor at Stanford University. When asked by a CBS reporter what he thought of the STAR device, he used three difficult words: The word "believe" expresses the shock in my heart.
In the latest issue of the news broadcast, CCTV devoted a special time to a comprehensive report on this matter.
However, the specifications of the demonstration reactor and the experimental reactor are completely different, and the costs of the two are not at the same order of magnitude.
"We have led the research on controllable nuclear fusion for half a century, but we are likely to lose in the last few seconds. I am not kidding, the Department of Energy should take it seriously..."
And the funds he had on hand were almost spent.
"In the experiment, the research team led by Professor Lu Zhou, a well-known Chinese scholar and Nobel Prize winner, successfully completed the one-hour plasma confinement time."
"I think China is already ahead of the world in the research of controllable nuclear fusion. If the most critical problems of superconducting materials and plasma control solutions have been effectively solved, they only need to solve the problem of plasma radiation Depending on the damage effect on the first wall material, it may not take too long to complete a true fusion reactor. After all, converting thermal energy into electrical energy is not difficult in itself."
Hearing this question, Lu Zhou smiled lightly and expressed his plan: "Next time, I plan to be serious."
Some people are indifferent. After all, this is not the first time they have seen news about controllable fusion. Twenty years ago, someone said that controllable fusion power generation would be possible within twenty years at the latest. However, until now, no one has fulfilled their original promise.
"A few days ago, China's Jinling STAR Stellar Simulator Research Institute published a paper in Science, disclosing the relevant details of their latest controlled fusion experiment."
He turned his face towards me, can you blame him
In the news, the central media quoted an interview with a foreign media as usual.
For others, it is not easy to submit articles to world-class journals such as Nature and Science. However, for Lu Zhou, it is not that difficult.
Just when he had just finished posting the manuscript, his cell phone rang.
…
Some people liked it and thought it was a big step towards the future.