Chapter 18: transform the stellarator
Half a month later. In the Nuclear Physics Laboratory of Sandaokou University. Lü Yongchang was sitting quietly in an office allocated to him alone. He frowned slightly, and the pen in his hand was quickly calculating some formulas on the A4 paper in front of him. Half a month had passed, and the room - temperature superconducting wire made of carbon - nanotube material had been manufactured. One had to say that the power of the national machine was extremely huge! The moment it was known that the room - temperature superconducting material technology had been broken through, Minister Hong personally issued the manufacturing order. Although Lü Yongchang had a complete carbon - nanotube preparation plan, due to the manufacturing process at this time, only Xiasheng Group, a company specialized in manufacturing high - tech equipment in Xiaguo, could mass - produce superconducting wires that met the standards. As for those foreign companies... Hong Qiming wasn't stupid. If he really gave them the order,估计 within a few days, several Western powers should be able to "master" the room - temperature superconducting technology! Stimulated by a large amount of funds and administrative orders, the production capacity of Xiasheng Group for manufacturing carbon - nanotube wires continued to expand! In just half a month, hundreds of millions of yuan worth of room - temperature superconducting wires were transported to the Nuclear Physics Laboratory of Sandaokou University. At this time, an old - style stellarator device had been installed in the Nuclear Physics Laboratory. However, the spiral wires on the outer layer of the stellarator had all been removed by the staff. As for the inner cavity of the stellarator, it had been replaced with a newly manufactured one a few days ago. The material used for the new inner cavity was, of course, the new material that Lü Yongchang had deduced on the blackboard! According to the material tests, the inner cavity of the reactor made of this new material could perfectly resist the hundreds of millions of degrees of high temperature generated during the nuclear fusion reaction! In addition, when Fang Xu was conducting material tests, he was surprised to find that this new material could also perfectly withstand the irradiation damage caused by nuclear fusion. While being pleasantly surprised, Fang Xu also felt a trace of admiration for Lü Yongchang in his heart. Such a powerful material was actually deduced on paper by a sophomore undergraduate! Fang Xu couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed. He really felt that he had lived his age in vain! Lü Yongchang naturally didn't know what Fang Xu was thinking. At this moment, he was sitting in the office carefully checking the size parameters of this stellarator. According to Fang Xu, this stellarator was originally used by a research institute in Country D. As for why it wasn't used anymore... it naturally came back to the original problem. The manufacturing difficulty of the stellarator was extremely high! Unlike the regular spiral shape of the Tokamak, the shape of the stellarator was like a chaotic ball of wool! The position of each wire needed to be calculated rigorously to ensure that it could generate a magnetic field at a specific angle! At this moment, Lü Yongchang was exactly doing this work. He needed to calculate the precise position of each superconducting wire according to the size parameters of the stellarator, ensuring that a closed and twisted toroidal magnetic cage could be formed in the inner cavity of the stellarator to confine the extremely high - temperature plasma. ... "Whoosh..." Lü Yongchang gently put down the pen in his hand and let out a long breath. After several days of calculation, he finally achieved gratifying results. According to his calculation results, these superconducting coils could provide a strong magnetic field with an intensity of up to 100T. This would be the most powerful artificial magnetic field on Earth! This 100T strong magnetic field could perfectly confine the hundreds of millions of degrees of fusion plasma in the center of the inner cavity of the reactor! He stood up, walked slowly to the door of the office, and gently turned the doorknob. The sound of the office door opening attracted Fang Xu's attention. "Hmm? Have you finished the calculation task?" Seeing the relaxed expression on Lü Yongchang's face, a flash of surprise appeared in Fang Xu's eyes, and he immediately asked. It had only been a few days? At most, it was just over three days, right? Could Lü Yongchang complete such a complex calculation task within three days? Fang Xu didn't believe it in his heart. As if seeing the doubt in Fang Xu's eyes, Lü Yongchang chuckled and said, "Of course I've finished it!" As he spoke, he handed a stack of A4 papers in his hand to Fang Xu, "How about... you check it?" Fang Xu took the A4 papers handed over by Lü Yongchang in surprise. When he saw the dense calculation formulas on them, Fang Xu swallowed slightly. Although he really didn't want to admit it, he seemed to not quite understand the calculation method above. "Ahem... I believe your calculation results!" As he spoke, Fang Xu returned the stack of A4 papers to Lü Yongchang with a serious face, "How about... let Tianhe - 1 verify your calculation results?" Lü Yongchang was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly, agreeing to Fang Xu's proposal. Regarding matters related to controlled nuclear fusion, all research resources were given priority to the Nuclear Physics Laboratory of Sandaokou University. As soon as the application was submitted, the usage time of Tianhe - 1 was allocated. Fang Xu carefully input each result calculated by Lü Yongchang into the computer, and then Tianhe - 1 performed the operation. At this time, the role of the supercomputer was fully demonstrated. In just half an hour, the operation results appeared in front of Fang Xu and Lü Yongchang. It was a success! ... The emergence of the superconducting wire layout plan meant that the stellarator transformation plan had reached its final step. Coil brackets at specific angles were installed outside the stellarator. These brackets could play the role of fixing the coils. After all, for the stellarator, once there was the slightest position deviation of the external superconducting coils, it meant a disaster. Once the internal toroidal magnetic cage was damaged, the hundreds of millions of degrees of plasma would directly touch the surface of the inner cavity! Surely no one would want to see such a consequence! Therefore, when completing the final transformation work of the stellarator, both Lü Yongchang and Fang Xu were extremely vigilant, for fear of any small mistakes. ... Three days later. The transformation work of the old stellarator was completely completed. "Yongchang, when shall we start the first ignition experiment?" Fang Xu's voice came from the side. Unconsciously, Fang Xu had already regarded Lü Yongchang as his superior. Before making each research decision, he would first ask Lü Yongchang's opinion. "Right now!" A flash of light appeared in Lü Yongchang's eyes. He moved his gaze away from the calculated A4 papers on the desk and said in a deep voice, "Academician Fang, report it. "This afternoon, we will start the first ignition experiment!" With Fang Xu's application to Hong Qiming for the first ignition experiment, some changes also occurred in Sandaokou University. Dozens of special - forces soldiers entered Sandaokou University in civilian clothes, and all the main roads leading to the Nuclear Physics Laboratory were blocked. Even on some high - rise buildings near the Nuclear Physics Laboratory, snipers had already set up sniper rifles and observation equipment in advance. It was no exaggeration to say that at this time, not even a bird could fly safely over the Nuclear Physics Laboratory! All of this was to ensure that the controlled nuclear fusion experiment would not be interfered with by any external unknown factors!