Chapter 236: Fusion Energy
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was nearly two years of environmental transformation on the Planet Haierfa.
The amount of sand in the air was scarce. A large portion of the sky was presented in a faded blue color. During the day, one could see the sun vaguely hanging amidst the daylight. There was a significant increase in rainfall. Some drought-tolerant plants emerged near the base. From the base, dozens of plants that were cultivated in laboratories were planted in flower beds, green belts, roofs of houses, and roadsides by the robots, and frequently watered and fertilized. Now, there were already green fields and blossoming flowers. Every corner of the planet was flourishing with greenery. The whole base was brimming with vitality, much the same as a garden city.
With evident improvements in environmental conditions, the quiet and peaceful atmosphere prompted Chen Jin to come over for leisure and relaxation much more frequently. He seemed to have found a place to lay away his flamboyant, inciting, and hustling life on Earth. After all, he was the only person on this planet.
Inside the office building, using the remote communication instrument, Chen Jin formed a link with Nuwa who was mining for Helium-3 on the moon, and inquired about her recent situation. “Nuwa, how’s mining going? How much Helium-3 have you gathered?”
“The mining efficiency isn’t that high right now. Around three tons of Helium-3 is segregated every day. Within these two months, I have garnered some 150 tons, but this is far from enough. My goal is to gather one thousand tons and above.”
“Then won’t you need to stay at the moon for a year?” After doing some simple calculation, Chen Jin frowned. He was not afraid that Nuwa would run away, it was just that this mining efficiency was rather underwhelming.
“That won’t be the case. Within a month, I will increase efficiency to above 10 tons per day. In that way, I would be able to return to Haierfa in another two months, making mission time totaling around six months. Rest assured master, I would also like to complete the environmental transformation task in advance. I’m as anxious as you are.”
After all, when the environmental transformation plan was completed, they could divert all their energy into carrying out more important matters. For example… inventing powerful interstellar battleships and delving into higher levels of technology.
Chen Jin nodded. He fairly trusted Nuwa’s overall performance. Besides, all the 150 tons of Helium-3 resources gathered were transported back to the Base of Operations at a two to three day interval via small cargo spaceships. There were no cases of private possession whatsoever. It was normal for initial efficiency to be low. It would be fine as long as it could be sped up at later stages.
At the same time Nuwa was continuously transporting Helium-3, Alice was belching out an even greater efficiency on planet Haierfa. She commanded a million robots and built a large nuclear fusion power station in the southern part of the sea more than some 500 kilometers away from the Base of Operations. It was basically completed within just a short three-month period. It could start generating electricity right away.
Chen Jin named the fusion power station “Yang Yang 1.” Yang Yang 1 occupied over five acres of land. Its core equipment weighed more than 20,000 tons and it had maximum power generation of over 3 billion kilowatts. With this single fusion power station, the energy resource issue of the whole Mi continent would be solved entirely. The continent no longer needed additional power sources. Building around three to five Yang Yang 1 power stations would suffice for the whole of planet Haierfa. Subsequently, they could do whatever transformation to the environment that they wanted, even desalinating sea water and pumping them inland. The transformation efficiency would be raised dramatically.
Previously, realizing nuclear fusion power generation technology was going to require several years. But now, they would no longer have to wait. Firstly, the technical difficulty to build a large nuclear fusion power plant that runs on the surface of a planet was even smaller than building a nuclear fusion reactor inside an interstellar battleship… downscaling a highly sophisticated tech was difficult, upscaling them, on the other hand, was easier.
Besides, after mastering the nature of power thoroughly with the formula of the Grand Unification, Alice had found an easier alternative to control nuclear fusion. Its material requirement was immensely lessened. The difficulty of construction was also reduced by a significant margin. Therefore, Alice could set up a few large fusion power stations more easily and efficiently.
After a few days, Alice reported, “Master, the construction of ‘Yang Yang 1’ has been completed. Should I commence ignition?”
“Light it up.” Chen Jin nodded. Subsequently, he witnessed the ignition process of a nuclear fusion reactor with his own eyes.
Inside the ring-structured reaction chamber. At first, all was pitch black. As the magnetic field intensified, plasma Helium and Helium-3 started to glow in yellow and blue due to collision and abrasion. The temperature gradually rose. 50 million degrees… 100 million degrees… 200 million degrees… Particle flow accelerated. The stream flattened into thin rings like that of planets. The blue glow that radiated was as dazzling as the northern lights. 500 million degrees… approaching 600 million degrees…
At that very moment, the critical temperature was achieved! A ray of light, ten thousand times brighter than the stars, abruptly illuminated the reaction chamber. The endless amount of energy contained within the particle nuclei was unleashed and converted into huge electrical energy in the magnetohydrodynamic generator. The reactor’s ignition succeeded in one go! Energy as powerful as that in the core of stars were unmitigatedly regulated within man-made equipment, thus ensuring utilization at the highest possible efficiency.
“What a magnificent view. Only the most powerful tech can make this possible.” Chen Jin was left breathless by what he saw. He was mesmerized. With the advent of such equipment, humans as small as a sixpence could already weigh against the legendary Ra… man could be God. Or it could be said that scientists that created this miracle were Gods.
Back on Earth, controllable nuclear fusion had not yet been achieved. Their sun had not been illuminated. Earthlings were still plagued by energy issues. With that being said, should he bring the controllable nuclear fusion technology to Earth? Build a “Yang Yang 1” back on Earth? With a billion kilowatts of power generation, the power generated would definitely suffice for all the Z’s. Even if the charge was 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, he would still be able to make 2.4 billion dollars every day.
That amount multiplied by 365… With just a single “Yang Yang 1,” the profitability that it would generate would far exceed that of all of Chen Jin’s company, assets, and investments combined.
“Should I march into the energy industry?” This idea emerged in Chen Jin’s mind. He thought that it was feasible to a certain extent. With the technology level back on Earth, it would not be too difficult to build a “Yang Yang 1.” It could definitely be realized within five years. The source of the technology could be explained with the “Virtual Factory.” The fuel used would be more prone to fusion reactions, but it would considerably complicate the design and technology of the equipment.
However, after some thought, Chen Jin scrapped his idea for the time being. “Electrical power generation is controlled by the state. It involves millions of electric power workers, several trillion dollars of annual profit, and unifying the power supply and transmission system. With all of these mingled, it would only get incorporated by the state, and they will certainly milk the hell out of it. It will be impossible for privates to have a grasp over this field. This piece of cake belongs to the state! There’s no way I’ll be able to claim it. What’s more, the country is making several full superconducting tokamak reactors (or ‘artificial sun’). One of the reactors by the name of EAST realized continuous operation for over 600 seconds under temperatures of a hundred million degrees. It is just one to two steps away from complete success. Optimistically, it is totally possible for them to ignite the artificial sun before 20X5, which then will be the first to achieve commercial operation.”
Therefore, Chen Jin did not have to worry nor interfere with the energy field. However, Xing Hai Technologies could provide some technical assistance free of charge for overall national interests rather than their own commercial interests, thus accelerating the progress of the “artificial sun” project. If an energy crisis broke out, oil prices skyrocketed, and there was an urgent need to use the ‘artificial sun,’ under these conditions, Chen Jin may provide assistance.
Indeed, money was a good thing. But he was also willing to do some things that looked stupid on the surface but meaningful on the inside.