"Of course, this track is called the Tower of Babel, and the building next to it is a controllable nuclear fusion reactor, and it is a stellar simulator route, and it is said that it has successfully generated electricity last month, and in the future, it can not only supply electricity for the Tower of Babel, but also solve the electricity consumption for the entire Antania."

Wang Tang raised his glasses and said that although his myopia had been completely cured after joining Star Alliance, this habit could not be changed.

The other four people called the PEI one after another, called up the relevant information, and figured out what the stellarum route was.

The progress of controlled nuclear fusion is the most far-reaching technological breakthrough on the eve of the Great Voyage, but strictly speaking, it is just a byproduct of the technological progress of the ion engine.

Relying on the system of cosmic constant transformation equations brought by Xia Ming's passage through the stargate, mankind has mastered a new dimension of calculating plasma motion, which makes the ion engine a universal power for human beings to invite the "inland sea" of the solar system, and at the same time surpasses the biggest difficulty of controllable nuclear fusion.

Another big challenge to be overcome for systems of equations to be applied to controlled nuclear fusion is to increase computing power by a factor of 10,000. Based on the 10 billion times per second of Huaxia "Tianhe X", it has to be increased to 100 trillion times, which is 1 times 10 to the 22nd power, and using the old Huaxia table counting method, it is 100 yuan.

This level cannot be achieved by simply stacking more chips to do parallel computing, Lin Cheng first asked Qianyan to help through the initial testing stage, and then used the primary optical brain made of gallium nitride semiconductor on top.

The computing problem was solved, and IEI used the optical brain architecture to get the silicon carbide neuron chip, and the intelligent control was further improved. By this time, controlled nuclear fusion had finally opened its doors to humanity.

The controllable nuclear fusion of Starlink did not follow the inertial confinement and tokamak route, the former still did not solve the problem of the reaction vessel, and the latter because of the use of plasma as the other stage of the magnetic field, there is a huge risk, once the magnetic field pole is unexpectedly terminated, a huge disaster will occur.

The stellarite route is theoretically the safest and most reliable, and its technical principle is to imitate the nuclear fusion of stars, but to replace the gravitational constraints of stars with magnetic field constraints, and only this route can be regarded as a real "artificial sun". Like the ion engine, the magnetic field poles are external, and no plasma is required to provide the magnetic poles.

Previously, China, the United States and Europe did not take this route, because the coil design and layout of the external magnetic field need to be extremely accurate and exquisite, and the requirements for engineering technology are too high.

But now, the ion engine's intelligent magnetic field-controlled array provides a solid foundation for the stellar simulator route, coupled with greatly improved supercomputing and intelligent technology, controlled nuclear fusion finally played a practical movement on November 17, 2022.

Dongfang Sheng, the host of controlled nuclear fusion research, and his team won the second Stargate Award, the first of which is the improvement of the ion engine.

The Stargate Award is a "human-machine collaboration" award specially set up to promote the application of GEI in scientific research after the establishment of the Stargate Alliance. As long as GEI participates in technological advancements, they can participate. Ten entries are selected each year, regardless of the field of science. After the introduction of this award, the Nobel Prize began to decline, which of course is off topic.

Controlled nuclear fusion is undoubtedly the most significant impact on humanity, but it does not turn the world upside down as soon as it succeeds, nor does it mean that energy costs zero. Scientists are still studying how to safer and more efficiently draw out the electricity emitted by the plasma in the reactor, and the preparation and storage process of deuterium and tritium also needs to be further improved, so Starlink has not made a big report to the public.

What's more, nuclear fusion is still the first generation, it is a reaction of deuterium and tritium, and neutron radiation also needs to be strictly protected. It is not until the second generation of nuclear fusion, that is, the reaction of deuterium and helium-3, that neutron radiation is weakened to a relatively safe level. And then to the third generation of nuclear fusion, helium-3 and helium-3 reaction, that is the real ideal pollution-free nuclear fusion.

Now mankind has just crossed the threshold of the first generation of nuclear fusion, and it will be another theoretical fifty years to develop to the third generation.

"When we're done training, we're going to launch from this Tower of Babel?"

"Well, how many times the G-force do you have to bear, why do I think it's not reliable at all?"

"The thought of riding a rocket into the sky makes my legs weak, not to mention being directly bounced into the sky by this electromagnetic slingshot."

"Would you like to know a little bit of technology? How is this different from an ejection aircraft on an aircraft carrier? ”

The attention of the five people quickly shifted from controlled nuclear fusion to the "Tower of Babel" in front of them, the controllable nuclear fusion reactor belongs to Starlink's newly established Star Nuclear Energy Company, and this Tower of Babel is an asset of Kunpeng.

For Xia Ming's Stargate Alliance, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing mankind at the moment, the most pressing issue is not controlled nuclear fusion, but an economically reliable "space springboard".

If you still use rockets to launch spaceships or cargo, you can't wait for the gate of Homo Sins to collapse, and the governments of all countries will already go bankrupt.

The cost of launching the rocket remains at $10,000 per kilogram. Even with the help of intelligent control and ion engines, rocket recovery technology has matured, and the cost has been cut by up to half. Other costs, such as the difficulty of mass production of rockets, the limitation of the launch window by the weather, etc., cannot be reduced.

The Kunpeng company presided over by Lou Xinghai regards electromagnetic orbital launch as a new generation of launch technology, although the US General Motors Group has made progress in this regard by relying on the technology accumulation of the long-nail electromagnetic railgun, but it is still not as good as the progress of the Kunpeng company. After all, with the full assistance of Qianyan, there is support from ion engines, controlled nuclear fusion, photobrain technology, and a new generation of semiconductors.

In principle, the technology of electromagnetic orbital launch is mature enough, and the spike railgun can accelerate 500 kilograms of tungsten rod to more than 30 times the speed of sound, which translates to nearly 10 kilometers per second, which can already overcome gravity.

The acceleration of electromagnetic orbit launch is as high as tens of thousands of G, not to mention ordinary silicon-based semiconductors, even gallium nitride or silicon carbide cannot bear it. And under such a high G-force, the parts will shatter, the chamber will twist, and it will not work properly at all.

If there is no control circuit, there is no engine for attitude adjustment, and all that can be shot into space is a cannonball, and it is impossible to control where it flies, which makes no sense.

In terms of semiconductors and circuits, graphene is a direction, but this direction is just emerging. In terms of materials and components, this is a completely new topic. In short, there is still a long way to go to launch satellites or spacecraft from electromagnetic orbits.

But right now, the Star Alliance, and even the human race, can't afford to wait.

Lou Xinghai came up with two ideas, one is to learn from Xia Ming's feat of controlling the earth's orbit with the scavenger, and deploy a number of "cargo docking systems" in a certain layer of the earth's orbit, which is actually an intelligently controlled space trailer. Through accurate calculations, the electromagnetic orbit directly launches uncontrolled and unpowered cargo into a certain layer of low-earth orbit, and then the nearest space trailer picks up the cargo.

The feasibility of the idea was so high that the UNOC (Space Council) quickly approved a resolution to open up the corresponding Earth orbit as an "access zone". When the technology matures, the cost of launching will be reduced to less than $10 per kilogram, which will untie the rope around the necks of governments.

Lou Xinghai's other idea is a little hairy, he proposed that the existing space circuits and materials only need to be strengthened and improved, and if the thrust of the ion engine can be further improved, the electromagnetic orbit can be used to launch manned spacecraft.

Lou Xinghai said: "Just think of this as an aircraft ejection take-off on an aircraft carrier, the thrust of the ion engine, coupled with the ejection of the electromagnetic orbit, can allow the spacecraft to enter the earth's orbit within the allowable overload range of the human body and precision parts." ”

The cost of this option is much more expensive than launching cargo directly into space from an electromagnetic orbit, about $50 to $100 per kilogram, but it is much cheaper than launching a manned spacecraft with a rocket. It should be tempting for the UNOC, which plans to transport more people into space.

If you don't think about security......

The UNOC's reply was to wait for further technical verification by Kunpeng, but Musk and Bezos were very active, and their companies started working on this idea first. Of course, the initial biological experiments were not ideal, and a few orangutans became victims of the new era of astronautics, provoking animal protectors to shout why not use humans for experiments first......

Wang said: "We will go to the sky in a month, and the electromagnetic catapult manned spacecraft should not be mature at that time. ”

"Time flies so fast, it's been three months since we've been here," Wu Kang said with emotion, turning around and looking back, Antania is no longer the big construction site they just came to, with high-rise buildings rising from the ground, crisscrossing the road, rail cars and trams shuttling endlessly.

An Daoyuan urged: "Let's go, the family is settled, we have to go all out and get a good score in the final exam!" ”

The five of them had just returned to Antania after a week's sabbatical and began their final intensive training in preparation for their trip to Homo Sin.

Although they are afraid of this and that, if they do not do well in the final exam and fail to be selected to heaven, it will be a huge failure for them.

In addition to her personal face, what she is most afraid of is that she will not be able to keep up with her.

At this moment, the figure of a short-haired woman flashed in everyone's hearts, bright, healthy, and vibrant, chasing the future without stopping.

The five of them got on a driverless tram and quickly disappeared into Antanya, which was already in its infancy.

Antania was built almost at the speed of a military camp, and by now, in addition to the Xu Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, the core of Starlink, dozens of corporate headquarters and research institutes have moved here.

Char Heavy Industries, whose business covers power armor to robots, is the most familiar to military fans, IEI, a company that researches neuronal chips and EI technology, a cicada company that popularizes EI to individuals, an illusion company that is responsible for turning real-world data into a virtual world, and SynaCyber, which introduces AR and alfalfa engines and various advanced technologies into games, are all old foundations in Xia Ming's early days.

Unveiled the curtain of mankind's march into the asteroid belt, and let Xia Ming complete the "return of the star gate", the Kunpeng company is of course famous, although the star nuclear energy is very new, it is also remembered by the world because it first completed the research on the practical application of controlled nuclear fusion. Although Anchorage is not well known, the company with the most sophisticated human neural data model, which has swallowed up Ellillo, monopolized 80% of the global neurological reagent market, and advanced neuromedicine and drug research into a new era, is as eye-catching as Microsoft or Google in the eyes of any pharmaceutical practitioner.

Some other companies, such as Zhiling Company, which leads the trend of gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductor technology, Carbon Cell Company, which specializes in graphene research, Extreme Company, which leads battery technology with a new generation of fuel cells, photovoltaic cells and flywheel batteries, and Tang's Company, which has advanced biochemical manufacturing processes and explores new directions for materials, all emerged after the establishment of Starlink, which also made governments fully realize how deep the technical background of Xia Ming and Starlink is.

As for some minor companies, such as the aircraft company acquired by Xia Ming, the jet engine company, and even the media company, although they are not leaders in each field, they are also technological leaders, but in Antania, they are only obscure small players.

In addition to enterprises, Sinterstar University and several professional colleges have also begun to take shape. The Special Service Academy where Wu Kangan Daoyuan and others studied is a military academy. Here, countless young people like Wu Kangan Daoyuan have embarked on a path that is different from the direction led by various governments, preparing for the great sea of stars.

The star behind her was just a faint starlight, the girl closed her eyes, snuggled in Xia Ming's arms, and said a little weakly: "See, I'll process the image and send it to you." ”

Xia Ming patted Xiao Huan's helmet and ordered Su Yu, who was acting as the driver: "Evacuate at full speed!" ”

Received the image sent by Xiao Huan. Looking at the celestial bodies hidden in the depths of darkness, with a long axis of hundreds of kilometers and a horizontal axis of twenty or thirty kilometers, with a regular appearance and obvious artificial creation, Xia Ming bared his teeth and muttered: "This is a big guy." (To be continued.) )