All human activities are now inseparable from energy.

From the current automated and intelligent manufacturing factories to the development of the moon and the solar system, to the human beings themselves, all activities are inseparable from energy.

However, the research on energy itself has not stopped.

A year ago, the energy used was mainly from fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas, plus clean energy such as nuclear, solar, and hydropower.

In terms of energy volume, solar energy has the largest proportion, even coal, oil, natural gas, hydropower, biomass energy, etc., which can be said to be indirect, or secondary solar energy.

There is also only nuclear power and other energy sources that do not come from solar energy.

Due to the huge amount of solar energy provided by the sun, human beings have been studying how to use solar energy efficiently.

At the beginning, we tried to use solar energy on the earth, then we tried to use solar energy, and then we tried to use solar power plants, and finally we worked on the pillar of light.

Now, after the light pillar project matures, in the solar system, human beings no longer worry about the problem of energy depletion, as long as the sun does not go out, human beings will have a steady stream of energy.

According to the existing plan, it is to continuously optimize the light pillar project, and the light pillar project will fully cover the entire solar system, so as to form a complete energy network, so that human beings can use the energy provided by the light pillar project anywhere in the solar system.

Comparatively speaking, the core of the light pillar project is the sun, which only collects and transmits solar energy.

Once the sun is in condition, or extinguished, the pillar of light project loses its meaning.

To put it simply, the light pillar project is controllable, that is, the collection and transmission of solar energy is controllable, but the sun itself is uncontrollable.

From this point of view, this is intolerable to human beings.

At present, we are optimizing and perfecting the light pillar project, and at the same time, we are also making every effort to develop nuclear energy, including fission energy and fusion energy.

Relatively speaking, the development of fission energy has been very good, and now many backup energy sources are provided by fission nuclear power plants.

However, fission energy has a big drawback, that is, nuclear fission requires not much nuclear fuel compared to the entire universe, which makes it impossible to use fission energy on a large scale.

But fusion energy is different.

In the universe, every star lit up is a giant fusion pile.

To develop controlled nuclear fusion, to put it simply, is to master the sun, or the stars themselves.

Then consider the proportion of hydrogen and helium in the universe.

It can be said that as long as human beings master the technology of controlled nuclear fusion, then human beings can get rid of the shackles of the solar system and truly achieve energy freedom.

In general, what is being done now is to optimize and improve the light pillar project, and then to develop fission technology and controlled nuclear fusion technology.

You know, the Pillar of Light project can be replicated in other star systems.

For example, if human beings reach Proxima Centauri, which is closest to the solar system, they can completely replicate the pillar of light project, so that the pillar of light project covers the entire Proxima Centauri, and even the entire South Gate 2.

In this way, the energy problem is solved.

When the energy problem is solved, there is a basis for solving other problems.

To put it simply, the light pillar project can fully mobilize the energy generated by the star.

As for the development of fission energy and fusion energy, it is necessary to grasp the initiative of energy and the source of energy control.

Speaking of which, the current research on fission energy can be said to have just begun, and there are only so many fission materials that can be controlled.

Compared with controlled nuclear fission technology, controlled nuclear fusion technology is even more unbearable.

So far, no controlled nuclear fusion technology has been developed, let alone controlled fusion materials.

Whether it is fission energy or fusion energy, it releases the energy in the nucleus, and what it obtains is the energy stored in the nucleus.

The above is access to energy.

In addition to the study of the ways and means of obtaining energy, there is also the study of energy, or energy itself.

According to the current basic theory, energy does not appear or disappear out of thin air, and some are only transferred in matter.

The question is, whether there is a certain pattern in the flow of energy.

At present, there are many scientific research teams studying the flow of energy, but the progress is not obvious.

However, it is certain that the study of the flow of energy involves the nature of the universe, and once the flow of energy is clarified, it is not far from revealing the nature of the universe.

In the underground planting area of Yuecheng, after Su Zhe and the others discussed the issue of energy for a while, the seven of them came to the bean sprout processing workshop.

The sprouts are harvested, washed, and then packaged into small portions.

The entire processing process of the sprouts is fully automated, with no human intervention at all.

Zhou Dashi pointed to the bean sprouts that had been packed and said, "These bean sprouts can be fried and eaten after washing." ”

There are not many finished bean sprouts harvested from an acre of land.

In the past, it would have been unimaginable to grow sprouts on a large scale on the moon like this.

If nothing else, its energy consumption is not sustainable.

Compared to growing bean sprouts on earth, it is less cost-effective.

As many people say, planting on the earth and transporting it to the moon does not consume less energy when planting on the moon.

And that's for now.

With the Light Pillar Project, I don't care much about the amount of energy consumed.

Fan Xiaoming nodded and said, "Looking at these sparkling bean sprouts, I really want to taste the taste of these bean sprouts." ”

Looking at these harvested sprouts, it feels very good.

Zuo Dajun asked Zhou Dashi, "Where will these bean sprouts go, will people on the moon eat these bean sprouts?" ”

He still knows something about the underground planting area of Moon City.

In the planting area, in addition to the related facilities, the seeds and the like in the planting area, such as the land, water, air, etc., are all produced using the resources of the moon itself.

Zhou Dashi replied, "No, in the short term, crops and foods produced on the earth will not be eaten by people, just now the people on the moon, everything they eat is transported from the earth, as for the production of these bean sprouts, some of them will be used for research, and most of them will be used to feed pigs, in fact, feeding pigs is also part of the research." ”

Fan Xiaoming explained: "In a short period of time, we people will not eat food that is not produced outside the earth, which requires a long period of research and will only be promoted on a large scale after determining the food safety of the food produced outside the earth." ”

The environment outside the earth is different from the earth.

For example, gravity, radiation, and so on.

These need to be precipitated over time, and only after it is basically determined that these outputs are basically harmless will they be made available for human use.

The reason for this is that human beings now have a relatively limited demand for food.

Right now, there are only so many people on Earth.

With the deindustrialization of the planet, agriculture developed.

In particular, if it is planted on the earth in the same way that it is planted on the moon, how much will it produce in agriculture?

You know, the same way on Earth consumes far less energy than growing on the Moon, and most importantly, the output on Earth is "safe".

In other words, for a long time, the agricultural output on the planet will be sufficient for all human beings.

It is only in the case of a large-scale explosion of human population that there will be a situation where the earth's agricultural output will not be enough.

With this time, it is estimated that the output of agriculture outside the earth is also ripe, and it can be eaten with confidence.

Bao Qizheng nodded and said: "This is also for the sake of the safety of our human beings, but then again, this is also because we are too cautious, so these bean sprouts planted are actually not fundamentally different from the bean sprouts grown on the earth, of course, there are still subtle places, even if there is a problem with human consumption, with our current medical level, we also have the ability to cure people." ”

In his opinion, the main reason why he is so cautious now is the problem of people's concepts.

As far as the underground planting area of Moon City is concerned.

Although the land, water, and air all come from the moon itself, they are all screened through a process, and it is no exaggeration to say that every molecule and atom of these substances has been screened.

The radioactive material was removed.

Theoretically, the land, water, and air in the growing area are not much different from the earth.

In other words, the crops grown are also safe.

But theory is theory, and no one really lets it go all at once.

The main reason for this is that the output of the earth's agriculture now fully meets the current demand, especially after the breakthrough of related technologies.

Zuo Dajun shook his head and said: "You can't say that, after all, these are not produced on the earth, and there are still some risks, anyway, the food output on the earth is completely enough now, and we are not in a hurry to eat these, take your time, anyway, we have enough time." ”

Zhou Dashi said: "Take one step at a time, as long as the sun is not extinguished, we have a steady stream of energy for us to squander, and after a long time, the relevant technology will be mature, and slowly everyone will accept it." ”

It is difficult to get people to accept food produced outside the earth for a while, after all, the preconceived notions have been formed.

Getting people to accept these outputs is either mandatory or changes over time.

In the former, if the general environment changes and the earth's output is insufficient, then everyone will inevitably accept the output from outside the earth.

However, this is unlikely.

With the current level of science and technology, the earth's environment will not be worse than that of the moon, and its output will not be worse than that of the earth.

Except in very special cases, which are left artificial.

As it stands, no one is going to force people to eat it.

The latter can only rely on time.

Over time, people's perceptions have changed.

The group walked towards the breeding area as they spoke.

The breeding area has the same structure as the planting area, with 500 layers in a space of 500 meters, and the area of each layer is 100 square kilometers.

The breeding area is more abundant.

What chickens, ducks, geese, pigs and stuff.

Bao Qizheng said: "That's the case, we have the conditions to do this, in fact, after a period of time, people will slowly accept the output outside the earth, besides, human beings out of the earth, out of the solar system, facing this day is a matter of time, it is not realistic for human beings to go to Proxima Centauri and rely on the output of the earth." ”

"It is certain to accept it in the future, but it is not realistic to accept it in the short term, just like the artificial womb technology, which can only be used for the rapid reproduction of livestock, and it will not work to increase the population, not technically, but ethically not allowed." Zuo Dajun said.

He agreed with Mr. Bao.

It is only a matter of time before humanity takes this step, but it will take a process.

Fan Xiaoming looked at the underground passage and said: "Actually, it's too early to say this, maybe you don't need to plant these crops or breed these meats in the future, with the development of science and technology, these will be directly manufactured in the factory in the future, and what kind of ingredients can be made for you." ”

This scenario is possible.

Like flour.

The normal procedure is to plant wheat, wheat to flour.

In this process, growing wheat is a relatively long process.

With the development of science and technology, flour can be made directly in the factory.

The mill can synthesize water, carbon dioxide and other substances through a series of steps to finally produce flour.

Nothing more than the need is related to synthetic technology, material raw materials, energy.

In fact, the relevant synthesis technology is not difficult, as long as the growth mechanism of wheat is analyzed, and then industrialized.

As for resources, raw materials and energy, there is no shortage of them.

In other words, with the relevant technology, with the energy and resource raw materials, there is a continuous supply of food.

This is not his imagination, and there are many scientific research teams working in this direction.

In his opinion, in a few years, such an industry will be able to form a scale.

It's like artificial meat from the past.

That's just artificial meat made with soy protein and some ingredients.

This kind of non-compliance can directly turn inorganic matter into food after a series of steps.

Xu Zhengping said: "Yes, this is a general direction, for example, artificial sugar, artificial protein, artificial fat amino acids, etc., it is estimated that it will not be possible to produce food on a large scale for a period of time, and there is no need for only these plantings." ”

That being said, there is still a long way to go before it can be realized.

To put it more bluntly, it's plant simulant.

For example, the whole mechanism of wheat growth.

Once the mechanism is understood, large-scale production is possible.

Zuo Dajun nodded, "This...... It's possible, but it's more difficult for people to accept the food they produce. ”

"It's difficult, but it's only a matter of time." Bao Qizheng said, "It may be difficult for a generation like ours to accept, but the new generation will not find these strange, whether it is food produced in a traditional way outside the earth, or food produced in factories, it is not a problem for the new generation, if you want me to say, many things are not easy for us to accept now, and it may be normal for the new generation." ”

Society is evolving, and many things are changing.

What is not acceptable to modern people may be accepted by people in the future.

In the eyes of modern people, what they eat should be grown in the field, or raised. This is the modern way of viewing.

In the future, it may not be the case, what is eaten may be produced directly in the factory.