What's more interesting is that while Lu Zhou was drinking coffee and leisurely watching Perry who was speaking to reporters in the video, Perry, who was sitting in the office of the U.S. Department of Energy, which was far away on the other side of the Pacific Ocean at this moment, was also staring at Lu Zhou's photo at the moment.

Although his expression is not as leisurely as his......

Just half a month ago, the Jinling Institute of Controlled Fusion in Huaguo made a breakthrough in long-term plasma confinement, which shook the entire plasma physics community.

In the past half a month, he has received at least thirty written letters about this matter.

Some of them were sent by the National Academy of Sciences, and some were sent from the PPPL laboratory in Princeton.

In particular, the joint letter from the American Academy of Sciences even has the signature of Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate in physics and former secretary of energy.

In addition to telling the importance of controlled nuclear fusion as the energy source of the future, there is only one central idea to be expressed in these long texts - that is, money.

In addition to that, there is intelligence from the CIA, although it is all something that is not nutritious.

More than Lu Zhou's own information and the dazzling academic honors and titles he has obtained, what he wants to know more is how far China has come in controlled nuclear fusion technology, and how far it is from mature controlled fusion technology.

The headache is that it all happened so suddenly.

Until the STAR device successfully completes the one-hour magnetic confinement time, no one believes that they will succeed, not even the Chinese themselves.

Didn't you say that it would be difficult to even two minutes?

This sentence was said by the person in charge of the Huaguo International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Implementation Center!

"What a bunch of ......"

Throwing the document in his hand on the table, Perry couldn't help but curse.

He doesn't need to be told about the importance of controlled nuclear fusion technology, he knows it better than anyone else.

However, he also knows better than anyone how big the pit is.

Rather than the C.I.A. report and some unnutritious advice, he now needs the advice of professionals.

Leaning back in the office chair and pondering for a while, Perry, who had made a decision in his heart, stood up from the chair with both hands on the armrests, pushed the door open and walked out of the office.

Looking at the assistant sitting at the desk at the door of his office, he opened his mouth and ordered.

"Convene the NIF project director, as well as the person in charge of the controlled fusion project of the PPPL laboratory...... No matter where they are now, I hope to see them here at this time the day after tomorrow. ”

"I see."

Seeing Perry's serious expression and realizing that this matter was important, the assistant immediately reached for the phone.

Perry nodded, ready to leave.

Before starting the meeting, he had to make a trip to the White House.

But at this moment, he suddenly remembered something, so he stopped at the door and looked back at the assistant who was on the phone.

"Also, contact the CIA, remember to ask them to send someone who is reliable."

……

About six or seven years ago, the failure of the ignition of the $3.5 billion NIF severely damaged the entire US controlled fusion research industry, and even the prospects of the entire international controlled nuclear fusion research were clouded.

The entire technical route of inertial restraint has almost been abolished, and if it were not for the fact that this laser ignition device could still carry out a nuclear test, it would have been completely cut down by the budget committee of the Congress.

So far, it seems that the tokamak can still cheat money, but the funding is not as easy as before.

Especially in the context of countries passing the buck on funding issues and the United States intending to withdraw from ITER, the future of the entire controllable fusion industry can be described as bleak.

However, no one expected that the light under the Purple Mountain would illuminate the whole world......

At this very moment, Ed Moses, director of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is sitting in his office at the Department of Energy.

Sitting next to him was Terry Brog, head of the Controlled Fusion Program at the PPPL Laboratory in Princeton, and several other experts in the field of controlled fusion, whom he was familiar with.

This is not the first time they have been summoned by the authorities.

Normally, every month or two, they would be summoned by the Department of Energy or the Congressional Budget Committee to ask them what was going on with the budget being overrun.

For those of them who burn money, arguing with bureaucrats over projects and funding has become almost part of their daily research work.

Unlike in the past, however, this time the DOE does not seem to be calling them for the budget......

The two exchanged glances, and saw a bit of surprise in each other's eyes.

Obviously, it's not just the Department of Energy sitting here, but also a man in a suit with a modest facial expression that doesn't fit in with his surroundings no matter how he looks.

"I'll introduce myself, my name is Helms, and I'm from the CIA."

Hearing the CIA, Ed Moses' eyebrows were raised and he said with interest.

"When did the CIA become interested in NIF?"

"I'm not interested in NIF, or rather, I'm more interested in the PPPL lab in comparison," turning the ballpoint pen in his hand, the man named Helms looked at Brogg next to him, "Mr. Terry Brog, I heard that you used to work with Professor Lu Zhou, is that so?" ”

Brog nodded, "Yes." ”

Helms: "What kind of man do you think he is?" ”

Brog replied: "You should ask his tutor or student about this, I don't have much contact with him in my daily life, and the only communication is basically about work. ”

"I'm asking about work," Helms flipped through the notes on his desk, "and our people noticed that about two years ago, a sum of money went into the project's research account through an overseas account. ”

Brog: "During his tenure at Princeton, he served as a consultant for the He-3 project at PPPL Laboratories. Because it was difficult to continue the research on the issue of funding, he advanced the insufficient part of the money himself. ”

Helms asked: "Can you explain the content of the He-3 project in detail?" ”

Brog: "About emitting He-3 particles to observe the movement of the plasma inside the fusion device...... If you're suspicious that this project is delivering key technology to the STAR Institute, you don't have to be so suspicious. This technology is important for the study of controlled nuclear fusion, but the research itself is public. If you don't understand what I mean, you can go back and consult your physics professor. ”

Helms turned the ballpoint pen in his hand and made a few notes on the paper: "I'm sorry that I studied psychology in college, not physics. ”

Brogg muttered quietly, "I should have studied in high school." ”

Not knowing whether he really didn't hear it, or pretending not to hear it, Helms ignored Brog's words, and his gaze stayed on his and Moses' faces for a moment.

"If it weren't for the technology in the PPPL lab, I wonder why a research institute that was founded less than a year ago, could have achieved such incredible results with a stellar simulator converted from old equipment."

Ed Moses coughed lightly: "The problem is very simple, the Chinese are willing to spend money on this technology, although most of the problems we encounter cannot be solved by spending money, but when the money is used correctly by the right people, the situation is completely different." ”

Perry, who was sitting at the conference table, grimaced: "You don't have any less money than them, you mean, you didn't use the money in the right place?" ”

Ed Moses looked to the side with an embarrassed expression, "Of course I didn't mean that, I can guarantee that every penny was spent in the right place, but ...... Trial and error are also part of the research. ”

Leaving Ed Moses in his hands, Helms looked at the notebook in his hand and continued to ask many questions with a blank face.

This includes the cooperation with ITER, as well as the STAR Stellarum Institute.

The meeting lasted about two hours.

After the meeting was dismissed, Perry dismissed the experts who had come to the meeting, leaving Helms behind and asking.

"What do you think?"

This Mr. Helms had previously served in the diplomatic service, and although Perry may not necessarily take his opinion to heart, it is still possible to refer to it.

Looking at the notebook in his hand, Helms pondered for a moment before speaking.

"According to our intelligence, Huaguo has launched the Controlled Fusion Demonstration Reactor project. However, from the inquiries just now, apart from the paper disclosed in the journal Science, our experts know almost nothing about the STAR Institute. ”

"Based on the above clues, we can conclude that the Chinese people, including the CFTER project, have borrowed a lot of technology and experience from the ITER project, but they have not shared their own research or have reservations about stealing the technology from us. I don't think that's reasonable. ”

Perry raised his eyebrows with interest: "So? ”

"So, I'd suggest that we negotiate with the Chinese side and get the STAR Institute to disclose more technical details," Helms said after a pause at this point, earnestly, "or, kick them out of the ITER project entirely." ”

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(It's the beginning of the month again~~~ Everyone is actively voting~~~)

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