"Hello."
Just as the three of them were looking at each other in bewilderment, a highly mechanical, synthesized electronic voice sounded from their helmets.
"Holy crap!" *3
Bai Yixuan was the first to react: "You are... Yi?"
"Yes," the synthesized mechanical voice sounded again. "Shall we begin the lunar palace construction plan?"
Unlike Zero, One's voice is extremely rigid.
Bai Yixuan and his teammates exchanged a glance and then said in a deep voice, "First, begin immediately!"
The moment the order was given, the entire Moon Palace base came back to life.
only……
Everything seemed to be fast-forwarded.
The speed of the rock cuttings collection vehicle suddenly increased several times.
Watching the collection vehicle crash straight into the moon rock in front of her, Xia Wanyi's eyes widened slightly, and she couldn't help but let out a gasp.
But the next second, the collection vehicle drew a beautiful arc perfectly, bypassing the moon rock in front of it!
Not only the collection vehicle, but the transport efficiency of the tracked device also increased several times in an instant.
In the beginning, in order to distinguish the types of ore, the tracked transport was done in a staggered manner.
But now...
Several tracks moved swiftly without stopping, and the seemingly chaotic ore sorting process exuded an indescribable sense of order.
"Holy crap..." Hong Fan stared blankly at the scene before him. "This is too outrageous..."
Bai Yixuan's eyes were filled with amazement.
This is only weak artificial intelligence!
If it's zero...
He shivered slightly.
He finally understood why the Xia Kingdom had developed so rapidly during this period!
...
Earth.
"Professor, One has already started working normally."
Zero's voice rang out in the office.
Lu Yongchang's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
"Okay, I understand."
"By the way, Zero, please contact Academician Wei Rong for me."
“Tell him I’m going to the carbon nanoparticle lab right away.”
"Yes, Professor."
...
Carbon nanoparticle laboratory.
"Hello, Professor Lü."
As soon as Lü Yongchang entered the laboratory, a middle-aged man with graying temples approached him: "Let me introduce myself, I am..."
“Academician Wei, I recognize you!” Lü Yongchang smiled and reached out to grasp Wei Rong’s outstretched right hand, shaking it vigorously before saying in a deep voice, “The situation is urgent, so I won’t waste any more words.”
Wei Rong's expression instantly turned serious: "Professor Lü, please speak."
"The problem of the cable material for the space elevator has not yet been solved."
Upon hearing Lü Yongchang's words, Wei Rong's expression shifted slightly: "Professor Lü means... that you plan to use carbon nanotubes to make the cables for the space elevator?"
Lü Yongchang nodded in satisfaction.
It's so easy to talk to smart people; they understand you with just one sentence.
"How about it? Is it possible?"
Wei Rong frowned, looking somewhat conflicted.
After a moment of contemplation, he nodded, then quickly shook his head.
"Theoretically speaking, this possibility exists."
"Professor Lü, as you know, carbon nanotubes have a tensile strength of 200 GPa, which is about 100 times that of steel, but their density is only one-sixth that of steel."
"Theoretically speaking, this is indeed an ideal material for a space elevator."
"However... there are significant problems with the current carbon nanotube manufacturing process; most carbon nanotubes cannot even reach the centimeter scale."
"Moreover, the strength of carbon nanotubes is currently mainly reflected at the microscopic level."
"At the macro level, due to various reasons, its tensile strength is significantly reduced in numerical value."
Lü Yongchang nodded slightly.
He was naturally very clear about these mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes.
After all, among room-temperature superconducting materials, he chose carbon nanotubes.
However, at that time, he utilized the excellent electrical properties of carbon nanotubes.
After a moment of contemplation, he chuckled softly, "It's normal to have problems; we just need to solve them."
"The key point is that, currently, carbon nanotubes are the most likely material to become the cable for a space elevator, and that's enough."
Wei Rong was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously, his eyes revealing a hint of admiration: "Well said, Professor."
...
Standing at the experimental table, Lü Yongchang silently looked at the carbon nanotube sample he had prepared for the first time.
The carbon nanotubes are approximately one meter long and have a tensile strength of 80 GPa.
Logically speaking, this is already an extremely excellent carbon nanotube.
But this is clearly insufficient to meet the requirements of a space elevator.
Space elevators, as an essential technology for planetary civilizations to reach the universe, contain extremely high levels of technological sophistication.
One end of the elevator is on the ground, and the other end is in geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers away, connected by only a cable.
As for why it doesn't fall down... the principle is very simple.
The cable only needs to be kept taut by the centrifugal force generated by the Earth's rotation, which is equal to or greater than the downward gravitational force.
Of course, while maintaining the above conditions, the overall center of mass of the elevator should be equal to or higher than the geostationary orbit.
Considering the weight of the cable itself and the various transportation equipment built on the cable, the only way to keep the elevator's overall center of mass in a geostationary orbit is to increase the mass of the balancing object at the other end, or to lengthen the cable.
If the balancing object is located exactly in geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, its mass would need to be infinitely large to prevent it from falling, which is obviously impractical.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the highest point of a space elevator is usually about 90,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface.
Under these conditions, the cable connecting the two ends, which is the most important material for the space elevator, needs to withstand extremely high tensile forces!
Of course, besides tensile strength, there are many other conditions that a cable must meet, such as material stability and resistance to damage.
“This is already the strongest carbon nanotube ever manufactured in the laboratory.” Wei Rong’s voice came from the side, interrupting Lü Yongchang’s thoughts.
He slowly shook his head: "Not enough, far from enough."
Wei Rong gave a bitter smile.
Of course he knew it wasn't enough.
For a space elevator, a tensile strength of 80 GPa is clearly far from sufficient.
It's important to know that even the most basic space elevator requires cables to have a tensile strength of at least 100 GPa!
“At least 1000 GPa…” Lu Yongchang muttered to himself.
Upon hearing this, Wei Rong's eyes widened in surprise.
1000 GPa?!
This is simply wishful thinking!
"Professor Lü, this is probably a bit..." Wei Rong's face showed some difficulty.
It wasn't that he was trying to discourage us; as a materials science academician specializing in carbon nanotubes, he was extremely familiar with their properties.
1000 GPa, while not entirely impossible, the likelihood of achieving that intensity is...
Wei Rong shook his head helplessly, trying to persuade Lü Yongchang.
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