Scholar’s Advanced Technological System

Shangjing City.

A programme on controllable nuclear fusion is under way in the CTV Road to Science studio.

“Welcome to this issue of Science Road, I am the host Cheng Nan. ”

“We can always see descriptions of controlled nuclear fusion in films and television or literature about science fiction. And the word controllable nuclear fusion also seems to condense all our fantasies about energy...”

“The theme of this program is the future-controlled nuclear fusion that will give us a divine future. ”

“To this end, we have specifically invited the Director of China's International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Implementation Center, as well as the Chief Engineer, Dean Zhou Shengfu of the Southwest Institute of Physics, to explain to us about the past and present life of controlled nuclear fusion… Welcome! ”

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Led by the host, the audience at the scene inspired a warm round of applause.

Walking behind the scenes of the studio, Zhou Shengfu smiled and nodded to the audience, then, at the invitation of the host, sat on the couch.

Over the past few days, he had a meeting in Beijing and ran into an invitation from the "Road to Science" section. Since he hasn't been very busy lately, he turned around.

Although scientists and actors are different and do not need this kind of exposure, it is also necessary for them, researchers working in future disciplines, to be properly interviewed.

After all, with so much money, they have to let the public know what they have done and what their research can change.

“As the audience here may have heard, just a few months ago, the STAR device, a copycat located in Jinling City, successfully completed the ignition experiment. Taking into account this imitator, including Tokamak devices such as the magnetic constraint HT-7 and EAST, the divine light of inertial constraint, and the recently proposed anti-field hoop, our national scientists have come to the forefront of the world with almost all the technological routes for controlled nuclear fusion research. ”

“Prior to the STAR device, our country's research on star mimetics was almost blank. I would like to ask you what your opinion is on this country's first simulator device. ”

Hearing this problem, Zhou Shengfu smiled and said modestly: “It is too exaggerated to say that ignition. After all, tritium is expensive. Before we solve the problems of tritium retention and plasma irradiation damage to the first wall material, we usually experiment with hydrogen. ”

Moderator: “Do you know anything about STAR devices? ”

Zhou Shengfu smiled slightly: “I don't know much, but I think I do. ”

Moderator: "Can you tell us about the features of this STAR device? ”

Hearing this question, Zhou Shengfu opened the corner of his mouth with a slight curve and said.

“To characterize, as you said, it is probably the first star imitator in the true sense of the country. ”

“As for its prototype, you may not have heard of it, but I can tell you, it's actually a German WEGA device. The device was probably decommissioned from 2013 and has been in Frankfurt, Germany, ever since. Later, when Professor Lu went to Germany to study, he was probably just in the spotlight, so he lobbied in both countries and spent 500 million euros on research to buy it from the Germans. ”

The host had a surprise look on his face: "500 million euros? RMB would cost almost 4 billion... Is research on controlled fusion so expensive? ”

The audience also looked surprised.

Four billion!

Poverty limits their imagination.

Zhou Shengfu smiled and didn't feel much for the number he said.

“It depends on what you compare to. It must be a lot more expensive than studying mathematics, but it's still a little cheaper than the space station and the Hadron collider. ”

Of course, it's hard to say exactly how much that is.

Moderator: “Do you think the STAR device, after the rebirth of Nirvana, will be able to replicate the 30 minute miracle created by the Spiral 7-X? ”

Seems not very satisfied with the word Nirvana rebirth, Zhou Shengfu's consciousness frowned, but soon realized that it was in the show, and then instantly his eyebrows stretched.

“30 minutes?” Shaking his head with a smile, Zhou Shengfuyun said softly, “It's not easy to run for two minutes in a row. ”

The host looked at Zhou Shengfu with surprise and continued: “Don't you like this STAR device? ”

Hearing this question, Zhou Shengfu said, “It's not that I don't like it. The reason the spiral stone 7-X is able to complete a 30-minute long plasma constraint is mainly due to its special outer field coil design, as well as the most critical water-cooled filter. ”

“This water-cooled filter, although available on the WEGA device, is more than 20 years old, far worse than the one currently serving on the spiral. If the STAR imitator intends to replicate the success of the Spiral 7-X, he will at least have to innovate on the cooling unit, but obviously he did not. ”

That is not what he said, the success of the spiral stone in the 30-minute long constraint was largely due to the water-cooled filter, at least as claimed by the Germans outside.

And that newly designed water-cooled filter, naturally, will not appear on the WEGA device.

Not to mention, even without looking at these factors, it's been almost two months since the scientific review article came out, and so far the STAR Institute has been quiet.

Now Zhou Shengfu can basically be sure that instead of the fact that the Ark doesn't want to rebut him, the STAR device simply can't do it.

And that's exactly why, when he says that, he's out of pressure.

“… Currently, the mainstream of international controllable fusion research is Tokamak, followed by the inertial constraints of laser ignition and the anti-field hoops you have just mentioned. ”

“Theoretically, every technological route is workable, and as long as we solve the problems we face along that route, as well as the problems we are about to face, the ultimate end point is the fusion energy we seek. It's like pickups and sedans, all four wheels, just past the toll station, just as fast. ”

The metaphor of this image made me laugh, and the audience on the scene showed a smile.

Paused for a moment, Zhou Shengfu continued.

“Starmimetics are too difficult to engineer, compared to Tokamak's simpler design and relatively less difficult to engineer. ”

“It is not necessary for us to try every technological route, rather than try every possibility, to concentrate our limited resources in the few directions most likely to be achieved. ”

“This is a pragmatic choice over random attempts without rules! ”

……

After the interview, recalling the applause in the previous studio, Zhou Shengfu, who left the studio, was relaxed and just couldn't say how happy he was.

Though speaking on such a science show had not been very substantive, his mind was relieved to think that the bird did not bird his young man.

At this point, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

When he touched the phone, he saw that Jia Liang was the only one calling, so he pressed the on button and affixed the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Zhou, Director Zhou! ”

“What is it?” Zhou Shengfu frowned when he heard the panicked voice.

“It's the STAR Institute! ”

Zhou Shengfu impatiently said: “Give me a word and finish what happened to the STAR Institute. ”

“Just yesterday, they restarted the experiment! ”

Hearing this, Zhou Cheng Shengfu was anxious to ask.

“They restarted the experiment? How come I haven't heard anything? Tell me, how was his experiment? Thirty minutes? ”

Listen to the problem like a bead cannon, Jia Liang's face showed a bitter smile.

“Not thirty minutes...”

Hearing was not thirty minutes, Zhou Shengfu relieved.

However, his breath is not half as relaxed as it should be.

Jia Liangcai, on the other side of the phone, continued to speak in an unbelievable tone of bitterness.

“… I read in the Golden Ring Journal that they seem to have put magnetic restraint time in place for an hour…”