"Unfold the ultra-thin solar film!" Fan Yihang stood on the bridge of the Pixiu, issuing an order, in order to solve the energy problem of space smelting, Lu Qiujian led the team to update the design of the solar film with nanotechnology.

"The ultra-thin solar film has been expanded!" This newly developed ultra-thin solar film is less than one micron thick, and the area of a single unfolded is more than two square kilometers, and it is lightweight and large, and it will not bring too high costs even for transplanetary travel, so it is perfect for use in the field of space smelting.

"Adjust the angle of the solar film array, the specific orientation is A54.62, B251.65" Fan Yihang reported a long list of numbers based on the results analyzed by the Pixiu shipboard supercomputer and artificial intelligence.

"The orientation adjustment is complete!" The astronauts outside the spacecraft also immediately completed the position adjustment according to his instructions! Several ultra-thin solar films provide a large solar energy collection area; although the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is much farther away from the Sun than the Earth, and the density of solar energy here is relatively low, with such a vast collection area, it is still possible to collect enough solar energy to melt the ore and complete the preliminary refining.

However, this method is not foolproof, and the damage caused by radiation and tiny meteors in the space environment to the ultra-thin solar film is the biggest problem in the smelting process! Of course, Xihe has also made detailed preparations for this, and they have added an automatic repair function to the ultra-thin solar film, which can minimize this loss.

The ultra-thin solar film, which covers an area of more than 10 square kilometers, projects the collected solar energy onto a solar generator in the center of the film, which then supplies power to the high-frequency electric furnace! The electrolysis method has become the best choice for mankind's first space smelting.

The mountains of platinum ore in the smelting furnace began to change slowly under the action of catalysts and high temperatures, and the ore became red and shiny, and finally turned into a reddish liquid!

Then Fan Yihang began the second round of work, removing impurities in the liquid and refining platinum, nickel and iron with high purity.

For those impurities with a higher vapor pressure than the base metal, they can be removed by volatilization, while others can be separated by centrifuges! And there are ultra-thin solar films to provide a steady stream of energy, and these are not a problem! Spreading such a large area of solar films on the earth may also cause all kinds of problems! But in the vast universe, the most indispensable thing is space! This is even more cost-effective than carrying nuclear fusion fuel.

Moreover, there are many advantages to smelting in a gravity-free and atmosphere-free environment, there is no furnace gas to pollute the material in a vacuum, there is no oxygen, which can prevent the re-oxidation of gaseous metals, and can also reduce the temperature of metal reduction and evaporation! A small experiment that has only been completed in the laboratory of the space station has been verified on a large scale here.

Soon the first platinum was smelted, and they naturally formed a sphere in a gravityless environment, and if anyone measured this sphere with various measuring instruments, they would be surprised to find that this platinum sphere is more standard than most artificial spheres!

"If calculated according to the current market price! The cost of our voyage alone will come back!" Standing on the surface of the asteroid, Fan Yihang, who was wearing a spacesuit, easily lifted this platinum ball, in a gravity-free environment, every astronaut here is a strong man!

"But it's a pity that when we return to Earth, platinum will probably fall to the price of cabbage, right?" Yi Meng made a gesture of spreading her hands, ruthlessly interrupting Fan Yihang's YY, but in an instant she herself got up again, "When we return to Earth this time, how about I say that I will replace all the floor tiles of my house with platinum? Is it enough to pull the wind?"

"I said, eldest sister, you also have to consider a problem! This platinum is a metal that conducts electricity and heat well!" Now it was Fan Yihang's turn to strike her, "If you pile up a pile of platinum at home, the house will become a stove in a few minutes in summer, and a refrigerator in winter! If you encounter electricity leakage or something! Then it is even more dense than gold! If it is made to the size of floor tiles, that tiler can pick it up? I remember that your house is really on the nineteenth floor, right? If everyone on the nineteenth floor uses platinum floor tiles, this building will definitely be crushed!" No developer would have done that high load on the floor slabs!"

"I said you kid can't make me happy for a while?" If this is on Earth, I'm afraid Yi Meng will do it! Don't you know that interrupting a woman's fantasy is a big sin?

Didn't you interrupt me first? Fan Yihang didn't dare to answer, and turned to other questions, he easily held the platinum ball weighing dozens of tons in his right hand, "Captain Yi, such a small volume is not easy to transport! Let's step up smelting to squeeze this asteroid dry, and then melt the small platinum ball together to make a big ball and then transport it back!"

"This is your job! My task is just to send you here and pull you back!" After speaking, Yi Meng snatched the platinum ball, like a female dragon with starry eyes and holding the platinum ball to watch non-stop, if it wasn't for the cover of the spacesuit mask, all the space miners would have been able to see her drooling.

After an unimaginably short period of time compared to the mining and smelting process on Earth, the poor asteroid was completely swallowed up by these space miners, and the original huge asteroid had disappeared, leaving only three giant metal balls of different sizes in its place!

They contain most of the original platinum, iron, and nickel on this asteroid! Among them, the platinum ball is the densest and the most largest! The iron ball with the lowest density and lowest price is the smallest, but even the smallest iron ball will be a huge fortune to be transported back to Earth.

"I can finally return to Earth!" "After working in such a vast, silent and uninhabited environment, after a long time, everyone's psychology will inevitably have all kinds of negative changes, and now that the work is completed, they can't wait to return to Earth.

"Haha, we will definitely make a sensation in the world when we go back this time!" The information on the earth was also sent to them through special channels, and they were also aware of the changes in the platinum market on the earth, "Thinking about the expressions of those foreign platinum speculators in the future, I can't help but want to laugh! That must be interesting!" )