Chapter 416 Affirmation
Wu Tong would certainly not let herself down in such an important occasion. She adjusted the microphone and said in a deep voice: "In the field of controlled nuclear fusion, everyone is my predecessor. I will just briefly explain the advantages of controlled nuclear fusion here to stimulate discussion." This was her respect for those who are working in fusion and are working tirelessly for the advancement of the domestic fusion industry.
Wu Tong has always respected the pioneers in the industry. Many of her progress and research and development are based on the foundation laid by her predecessors.
"Einstein's mass-energy equation E=mc2 tells us that even if there is only a little bit of mass, as long as it triggers a reaction at the atomic nucleus level, it can release huge energy in an instant. Because even though the mass is only one gram, multiplied by the square of the speed of light, the energy is very huge. This is the principle that the sun can burn stably for billions of years, and it is also the reason why most stars in the vast universe emit light and heat.
Nuclear fusion is inherently safe, meaning it is always safe.
According to the principle of nuclear fusion, the first step is to heat hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium to hundreds of millions of degrees, which is very difficult to maintain, but easy to stop. Its products are only helium and neutrons - helium is originally clean, and neutrons can be absorbed by water, and their energy will turn water into steam for power generation.
Therefore, nuclear fusion facilities do not release carbon dioxide and do not contain long-lived radioactive elements. They are a clean and cost-effective energy source that can even be built in city centers.
As fusionists, the most important factor for us to grow the sun is definitely that another advantage of nuclear fusion is that resources are unlimited.
One liter of seawater can extract 0.03 grams of deuterium, releasing more energy than the energy produced by burning 340 liters of gasoline. There are 400,000 tons of deuterium in the world's seawater - enough for human use for 10 billion years, which is longer than the lifespan of the sun and the earth.
Moreover, nuclear fusion power plants consume very little resources and have a high power density. A fusion power plant only needs 150 kilograms of heavy water and 150 kilograms of lithium per year, while a 1 million kilowatt coal power plant burns 2 million tons of coal per year, and a fission power plant needs 30 tons of uranium per year.
Clean, cheap, pollution-free, abundant and endless energy is our long-cherished dream. Humankind has been on the journey of more than half a century in the research of controlled nuclear fusion of hydrogen. Among the solutions to achieve controlled nuclear fusion, magnetic confinement is considered to be the most suitable way to solve the energy problem.
Controlled nuclear fusion technology is not only the cradle of human advanced technology, but more importantly, it can truly reflect the destiny of mankind. It is also a technical difficulty that we must overcome! "
"At present, the research in China is mainly based on magnetic confinement, inertial confinement, and tokamaks. This time, the Jinwu project is not going to take the conventional route. Of course, the stellarator device should be familiar to all of you seniors!"
"Ling Yun?"
"Germany's WEGA? Spiral Stone X--7?" Suddenly, two voices sounded almost at the same time. They were Academician Wan from the South China Institute and Academician He from the Southwest Institute.
As leaders in the field of fusion, they are well-informed about the information in the field of fusion at home and abroad. When Wu Tong mentioned the stellarator device, they immediately reacted. This was also the same reaction of the participants who were a little slower, but had sharp information and a solid foundation.
However, instead of using the mature experience of the tokamak, they explored the unpopular stellarator device. This is a common problem for young scholars when doing projects. Do they want to do whatever they want? Does the country also want to use such a huge project to play with a kid? Has the higher-ups forgotten Lingyun's failure?
Some of the impatient ones couldn't help but blurt out what they wanted to say, but were stopped by their more rational and sensitive companions. However, at this moment, the room was completely silent, and almost questioning eyes were once again focused on Wu Tong. If they couldn't give them enough reasons to stand firm and couldn't convince them, I'm afraid the project would end here. They would never accompany the young people to fool around and make fun of their lifelong pursuits!
"I know that the Tokamak device is the mainstream of research for a long time. It is normal for you to have doubts about me. However, as fusion experts, you should all be aware of the superiority of the stellarator device! Or let me ask you a question without any courtesy. Do you think that the Tokamak device is successful and that the demonstration reactor ignition is possible?"
The question was raised, and the scene became even quieter. Professionals actually understand professional matters better. Although there is no shortage of praise for ITRE at home and abroad, and there are also many domestic media cheering for every achievement of EAST, it seems that the realization of controlled nuclear fusion is just around the corner...
However, the academicians and scholars who are actually working in this field are relatively more cautious.
Because many things may seem exciting to laymen, but to experts, they are not even considered as phased achievements. They have long since stopped expressing their sorrow and lament that the Tokamak device, which has been measured in seconds for many years, may be a dead end.
"Mr. Wu, are you more optimistic about the stellarator device?" After a long silence, Academician He of the Southwest Institute spoke first. He had received a subtle reminder from his teacher that the person in charge of this fusion project might exceed his expectations. However, the teacher pointed out to him that he should trust his superiors, who would not joke about such a serious matter. If necessary, he must represent and support the decision of the superiors.
Until now, he finally understood what the teacher had said. First, the project leader was beyond the expectations of ordinary people, and second, the choice of engineering that supported the project was beyond their expectations. They actually had to abandon the tokamak device that they had worked on for many years and replace it with a stellarator device!
This means that the higher-ups have given up the huge investment in scientific research, and they are willing to sacrifice the sunk cost! The higher-ups are willing to support the project at all costs, so does that mean that they are more optimistic about the stellarator device? Or are they more optimistic about Wu Tong who proposed the project? Then, the weight that Mr. Wu represents may be even greater than he imagined, as the higher-ups are willing to support the project with all their strength!
Therefore, when Academician He asked this question, he already used a respectful title. He put Wu Tong on the same level as them. Although Wu Tong was young, he was indeed on the same level as them. As a newly elected academician of the Academy of Sciences this year, to be frank, Wu Tong's weight in the mathematics community was greater than theirs.
Academician He was not the only one who thought of this. Those with a keen sense of smell and quick reaction all had similar thoughts at the same time. Several familiar masters exchanged glances with each other and then turned their inquiring gazes to Wu Tong again.
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