Chapter 518 The Boiling World of Plasma Physics

It took about three days for the researchers of the STAR Stellarator Institute to complete the collation of the experimental data.

At the same time, Lu Zhou, who was in charge of summarizing these data, also completed the writing of the relevant paper, and finally submitted this paper, signed by more than 30 people, to the editorial department of the "Science" journal.

Just when he had just finished posting the manuscript, the phone rang.

Picking up the phone and looking at it, it was Academician Pan calling, so Lu Zhou pressed the connect button.

And almost as soon as the phone was connected, Lao Pan's voice full of laughter came from the other end of the phone.

"You guys can do it. You've hurt Lao Zhou's face this time. Just swallow the spittle that he spit out because he's having a headache right now."

Hearing this sentence, Lu Zhou leaned back on the office chair and made a helpless expression.

Can you blame him for bringing your face closer?

But even if he said it was an accidental injury, probably no one would believe it.

After pausing for a moment, Academician Pan changed into a serious tone and continued: "To be honest, I was already surprised when I heard that you set the goal of the second experiment at 30 minutes. Now I didn't expect that I would still I underestimated your ability, I am afraid that the Germans themselves did not expect that their WEGA devices can be recycled to such an extent."

Although the time has only doubled, the difficulty is not as simple as one plus one equals two.

It is no exaggeration to say that with this achievement alone, their research in the field of controllable nuclear fusion has left the world far behind.

"What's next? What are you going to do next?"

Hearing this question, Lu Zhou smiled lightly, and said his plan: "Next time, I plan to play for real."

Hearing this sentence, Academician Pan was slightly moved, and confirmed in a tone of disbelief.

"Demonstration pile?"

Lu Zhou, who was holding the phone, nodded.

"That's right."

Hearing the affirmative answer from Lu Zhou, Academician Pan on the other end of the phone gasped, the shock in his heart couldn't be further increased.

In terms of pronunciation, the experimental pile and the demonstration pile seem to sound similar, but they are completely different things.

The former is only an experimental device that can meet the most basic experimental requirements of plasma experiments, while the latter is a demonstration reaction device that requires a series of links from plasma confinement to fusion reaction to electrical energy output.

Not surprisingly, for a long time, this demonstration reactor will become a model project for Huaguo and even the world's controllable nuclear fusion reactors.

It is no exaggeration to say that compared to the latter, the former can only be regarded as a toy.

Although controllable fusion research experiments have been carried out for half a century, and various experimental stacks emerge 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.

And the plans for demonstration reactors will always remain on the timetables of major research institutions.

With an unsure tone, Academician Pan asked, "Is it too early to start building demonstration reactors?"

Although the one-hour high-density plasma magnetic confinement experiment is worthy of congratulations, no matter how you say it, it is too big a step to start building this demonstration reactor now.

At least as far as the information he has learned is concerned, there are still many key issues that have not been resolved.

Hearing that Lu Zhou on the other end of the phone is so confident, he is even a little worried now, whether this guy is inflated.

Regarding Academician Pan's question, Lu Zhou just smiled lightly.

"It won't be 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 schemes have already been solved by us. The radiation-resistant materials for the first wall , I believe it is only a matter of time. As long as conditions permit, I am more than 80% sure that I can build this demonstration pile."

First find a way to manufacture the plasma orbit of the reactor, the external field coil, the water-cooled divertor, etc., which can not be solved technically, such as the cladding material of the first wall, until it is solved Then make it out and put it on.

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.

And the funds in his hands are almost spent.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhou's eyes could not help but drift to the pen on the corner of the table.

It seems that I have to write another letter.

...

For others, it is not an easy task to contribute to world-class top journals such as "Nature" and "Science", but for Lu Zhou, it is not so difficult.

Even without considering his own Nobel Prize aura and good academic reputation, as well as his past cooperative relationship with the editorial department of "Science", the weight behind the word "controllable nuclear fusion" is enough for the editor of "Science" The Ministry took it seriously.

There was nothing wrong with the data itself, and there was no waiting too long. The paper quickly passed the review and was successfully published in the latest issue of "Science".

And 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 overjoyed.

What is the concept of one hour?

Just a year ago, research on tokamak projects in various countries was still competing for breakthroughs in seconds.

However, with the publication of this paper, the research results of research institutions in various countries have been thrown away by a large margin.

Although if the pulse ignition power generation method is used, such a long restraint time may not be required, but the shock brought by this one hour still shocked all the scholars who paid attention to this device.

In addition to the academic circles, the success of the STAR device has also attracted widespread attention from the general public, which has sparked heated discussions on the Internet.

Some people praised it, thinking that this is a big step towards the future.

Some people also expressed concern that human beings are going further and further down the road of death.

Some people are indifferent, after all, this is not the first time they have seen the news of controllable fusion. Twenty years ago, someone said that controllable fusion power generation could be realized in twenty years at the latest, but no one has fulfilled the original promise until now.

But in any case, for this major scientific breakthrough, CTV stood at the height of politics and gave the greatest degree of attention.

In the latest issue of the news broadcast, CCTV used a special feature to conduct a comprehensive report on this matter.

"A few days ago, Huaguo Jinling STAR Stellarator Institute published a paper on Science, disclosing the details of their latest controllable fusion experiment."

"In the experiment, the research team led by Professor Lu Zhou, a well-known Chinese scholar and Nobel laureate, successfully completed one hour of plasma confinement time."

"According to industry insiders, the breakthrough of this technology is expected to open a new chapter for the research of controllable nuclear fusion..."

In the news, the central media, as usual, quoted an interview with foreign media.

Sitting in front of the camera is the 1976 Nobel laureate, Triple Alpha consultant, and Stanford University professor Burton Richter. When asked by a CBS reporter for his opinion on the STAR device, he used three difficult Believe in this word, express the shock in my heart.

"...when a colleague of mine told me that someone had magnetically confined plasmas for more than an hour, my first reaction was that it was a funny joke. Until he found out in the latest issue of Science took that paper and put it in front of me."

"Even now, I am still full of surprises. Especially when I learned that this device was modified on the basis of the WEGA device, I was even more shocked."

"It is absolutely impossible for WEGA to achieve this level, even the upgraded Spiral Stone 7-X cannot."

"I think Huaguo is already ahead of the world in the research of controllable nuclear fusion. If the most critical superconducting materials and plasma control solutions have been effectively solved, they only need to solve the problem of plasma radiation. According to the damage effect of the first wall material, it may not take too long to complete a fusion reactor in the true sense. After all, converting heat energy into electrical energy is not a difficult thing in itself.”

Having said that, Professor Burton Richter's expression was a bit complicated.

"We have led the way in controlled nuclear fusion research for half a century, but we are likely to lose in the last few seconds. I'm not kidding, the Department of Energy should pay attention..."

Regardless of whether the U.S. Department of Energy pays attention to it or not, the achievements of the STAR device have already attracted the attention of Huaguo's high-level officials.

At the same time, when 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 courtyard desk.

It was also this letter that touched the sensitive nerves of countless people...