Sichuan Shu sheep, an important research institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Mr. Zhu Bingwen, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, came to a laboratory with a very high security level.

He was only seen wearing a heavy protective suit, as if he had entered a metal lead box. After a series of permission confirmations and operations, a heavy door was opened.

He led a group of people into the lab with a device that looked like an alarm in their hands.

There is a clear sign on the heavy gate, and its main color is pale yellow, as if it is the sign of a fan blade.

Even elementary school students can recognize it at a glance, and this sign is a nuclear sign, which means that they enter a laboratory that can produce lethal nuclear radiation.

This institute is the Institute of Nuclear Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and they mainly study high-performance nuclear reactors.

From small nuclear reactors used by ships to large nuclear reactors in civilian nuclear power plants, the results of their research are used.

It is home to a large part of China's nuclear scientists and engineers. All the nuclear reactors in the world that exist theoretically have experimental devices in this place.

Zhu Bingwen came to the laboratory, where a nuclear reactor stands.

Due to his limited physical movement, he could only use his eyes to constantly observe the overall function of the nuclear reactor.

After that, Zhu Bingwen picked up a small hammer and endured the feeling of the puff on his body. Constantly tap the device with a small hammer.

With the ability he has developed over the years, it is possible to knock the echo of the device by tapping. Accurately find the location of the fault and analyze the cause of the fault by the way.

He is the only one in the entire research institute who has this ability. In order to obtain first-hand scientific research information, he also has confidence in the equipment he is researching, and does not think that there will be a nuclear leak in the reactor. I also came to the laboratory to test in person.

If you use other methods to detect, you can only find the cause by disassembling the entire equipment through a robot.

In this way, his long-term hard work will be scrapped. I don't know how long it will take to rebuild an identical reactor.

Zhu Bingwen soon learned that the reactor had stopped operating because of an accident.

He carefully recalled all the data he had learned, shook his head and said, "I didn't expect it to be because of this small problem." Causing the reactor to stop operating.

Fortunately, it was a minor problem and we were able to fix it quickly. The best news is that there is no leakage of nuclear material from the reactor.

I led the research team to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors, and I thought that there would be no problems during operation. Unexpectedly, because of this inconspicuous small problem, it caused major consequences.

The current thorium-based molten salt reactor has been successfully optimized. If we want to improve its performance in the future, every step will be difficult. This is already the optimal ratio.

Today we have to overcome this difficulty, we must repair this major reactor. He is really important to our country.

You must know that our country is not only an oil-poor country, but also a depleted uranium country. Fortunately, our country is quite rich in thorium resources.

Nuclear power generation is currently based on uranium-235 as the main raw material, and mineral deposits with high uranium content are declining rapidly. One of the nuclear fuels that can replace uranium-235 is uranium-233, but it does not exist in nature and has to be made from thorium-232. ”

After Zhu Bingwen detected the cause, he thought about how to repair the nuclear reactor. While cheering up the staff who came in with him, so that they could relax and try to repair this important nuclear reactor with him.

Soon he arranged a repair plan, and the robot brought in the parts that needed to be replaced.

Under his guidance, with the joint efforts of engineers and robots. Damaged reactor parts were replaced, and the thorium-based molten salt reactor for this experiment returned to normal.

Zhu Bingwen walked out of the laboratory, he came to the decontamination room, and through repeated decontamination, he removed the radioactive elements that may be carried on the protective clothing.

Then, with the assistance of a professional robot, he took off this protective suit and walked towards his office.

He was very emotional. At present, the proportion of power generation in China is very unbalanced. More than 65% of the country's electricity is sustained by coal resources.

At present, there are huge coal reserves in the western region, which is enough to support the country's huge electricity consumption.

But there will always be a day when resources run out, and alternative methods must be found. At present, the only way to generate electricity that can operate stably for a long time is nuclear power.

There have been many major crises of nuclear power plants in the world, but countries around the world have not given up on the development of nuclear power.

Even like Germany, it still keeps its nuclear power plants running stably, and does not shut down a healthy nuclear power plant.

Because each country now consumes a huge amount of electricity. It is simply not a conventional power generation method that can be satisfied. Shutting down a nuclear power plant is bound to be a joke. This has already been proven on an island.

Germany, for example, simply announced that it was going to abandon nuclear power plants, and the price of electricity in the country rose sharply to about double what it used to be. If nuclear power is really abandoned, it is equivalent to abandoning industrial development.

The most critical determinant for the development of nuclear power is not whether the nuclear power technology is advanced or not, but the availability of sufficient nuclear fuel.

With current state of technology, the only natural elements that can carry out nuclear fission are uranium and thorium. The simplest is uranium, but it has too few reserves. Now major scientific research institutions are focusing on thorium.

There are six types of radioactive elements before thorium: polonium, astatine, radon, francium, radium, and actinium, which cannot be fissioned under the existing technology and are very rare.

Both astatine and francium are artificially made and are largely absent from nature. The elements after uranium are also artificially made. Therefore, only thorium and uranium can be used as fission fuels.

Plutonium is also available, but it is almost non-existent in the Tian Yuan. It is a substance produced when uranium is fissioned. The half-life is very short, and its price-performance ratio is worse than uranium.

Thorium can be used as nuclear fuel because thorium-232 can absorb a neutron and decay into uranium-233, which can also be used as a fission fuel.

But from an engineering point of view, the conditions for the fission of uranium-233 are much more stringent than those of uranium-235. This kind of technical research must be solved, but fortunately, under his leadership, their scientific research team has solved these problems.

It's just that the cost of a nuclear reactor is a little higher than before, but these costs are quite acceptable.

Their laboratory has also solved many nuclear engineering details, and Zhu Bingwen still has to thank Qingci Technology for the scientific research assistance system sold.

It's a bit more expensive, but it really helps them solve a lot of big problems.

Compared with the nuclear reaction with thorium, the uranium-233 produced by this method will also contain a small amount of uranium-232 impurities, which is very radioactive, resulting in the nuclear reactor becoming unsafe.

However, through the scientific research assistance system, this problem is perfectly solved. The current thorium-based molten salt reactor produces only uranium-233, which can be completely eliminated.

The reason why Zhu Bingwen was in a hurry to study the thorium-based molten salt pile was based on the secret information he came into contact with. Now the world has entered an energy crisis.

Nuclear power generation is the most important solution to the energy crisis, but low-cost uranium used in nuclear fission reactors is being used in large quantities.

Foreign institutions optimistically predict that all natural uranium raw materials will be exhausted by the end of the century, but the situation in China is even more dire than theirs.

Natural uranium deposits, which are already scarce, are also unsatisfactory in China. Most of them are not of mining value.

His duty as a scientist is to develop a safe and stable thorium-based molten salt reactor nuclear energy system for the country.

Zhu Bingwen thought of the thorium-based molten salt reactor nuclear energy system he was developing, which was an improvement on the thorium-based molten salt reactor, which was one of the six advanced nuclear reactors of the fourth generation.

It includes three subsystems: thorium-based nuclear fuel, molten salt reactor, and comprehensive utilization of nuclear energy, which have the characteristics of high intrinsic safety, less nuclear waste, and better proliferation performance and economy.

Molten salt reactors use high-temperature molten salt as a coolant, which has thermal properties such as high temperature, low pressure, high chemical stability, and high heat capacity.

It eliminates the need for heavy and expensive pressure vessels, making it suitable for compact, lightweight and low-cost small modular reactors.

In addition, molten salt reactors use waterless cooling technology, which requires only a small amount of water to operate, enabling efficient power generation in arid regions.

Zhu Bingwen chose thorium-based molten salt reactors because they can be widely used in inland areas.

You must know that almost all nuclear power plants in China are now located in coastal areas. This is because the operation of nuclear reactors now requires a large amount of water resources, which cannot be provided in inland areas.

Nuclear power plants are concentrated in a single region, which does little to benefit the country's overall energy strategy.

Zhu Bingwen walked into the office, and immediately a colleague asked, "Old Zhu, you went to the laboratory for testing, we are all worried." It's because we're a little incompetent, and we want you to play in person at your age.

You find something wrong that is causing the experimental reactor to stop operating.

Fortunately, the thorium-based molten salt reactor we designed will hardly leak nuclear materials, and its safety is guaranteed. Otherwise, as a national treasure scientist, we will never let you go to the site to inspect it yourself. ”

Zhu Bingwen immediately said: "I designed the reactor, I believe in its safety.

The cause of the problem has been found and the damaged part has been replaced.

The specific reason is due to the overhaul of the structure of the thorium-based molten salt reactor.

As a result, the efficiency of the reactor has been overimproved, and the cause of the failure is due to this problem. ”

Some colleagues didn't understand and said in surprise: "Old Zhu, how is this possible." We do our best to improve the efficiency of the reactor, how can it still fail because of this kind of thing.

Then we will find a way to reduce the efficiency of the reactor, is this fault resolved? ”

Zhu Bingwen smiled bitterly: "How can you solve the problem so easily." We have optimized our thorium-based molten salt reactors to the best standards. Even reducing the effectiveness of any one system will have a significant impact on its safety performance.

We have to find a solution to this problem on the basis of constant efficiency. The main direction of the intersection is the heat conduction molten salt.

The reactor was so good that too much heat accumulated inside the molten salt to be transferred. Eventually, the high temperature caused damage to one of the components. ”

A colleague suggested: "Mr. Zhu, I think the cause of the problem has been discovered, and we should try it with a scientific research assistance system, and he is still very efficient in dealing with this problem." ”

Zhu Bingwen agreed: "The efficiency of the research support system has always been very high.

Finding molten salt alone is not a key secrecy technique. Just try it with a research support system. ”

After the Chinese Academy of Sciences knew the benefits of the scientific research auxiliary system, it had made a detailed plan for the use of the scientific research auxiliary system.

In addition to the key secret technology that must not be leaked. However, it is possible to spin off the technology and use a research assistance system to help with the development of insensitive technologies.