Chapter 1428 Standing High and Seeing Far

Anyone who has been a teacher knows that it is actually awkward to meet students face to face outside of the classroom, office, or laboratory.

Therefore, Chang Haonan and Peng Juexian did not disturb the conversation between the two students, but quietly walked around them.

It was not until they entered the elevator that Peng Juexian spoke again:

"What movie were those two boys discussing just now...Is that the promotional window you just mentioned?"

In terms of age alone, he and Chang Haonan are actually not from the same generation, so he doesn't know much about the activities of these young people.

The latter then explained:

"Transformers 2 is very popular recently. It is said that the cinemas are packed with people... Just think about it, the things in American science fiction movies have been made by us in the blink of an eye. How can the contrast effect be bad?"

Peng Juexian had never seen this movie, so he actually had no intuitive idea about it.

Judging from the reactions of the two students just now, the other party's statement is probably quite reasonable.

So I nodded as well.

For a moment, the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.

Fortunately, there are not many floors in the Torch Laboratory, and the elevator quickly reached the top floor.

This is an area with stricter control. Even the staff of the Torch Laboratory need to swipe a special ID card to enter here.

"Academician Chang, let's get back to the topic."

After they sat down, Peng Juexian's tone finally became serious:

"With our participation and supervision, ITER has moved much faster than expected. Around mid-September, our delegation will be able to start the first test on the verification equipment in the Netherlands... According to the agreement, two-thirds of this cycle can be allocated to you... In fact, due to some adjustments on the part of the Eastern Super Ring, the operation may be even more."

At this point, he pulled out a document of several dozen pages from his briefcase:

"The reason why I came here suddenly this time is, first, to give you this official test procedure book, and second, I want you to make some preparations in advance, including strict test procedures, and if necessary, you can send up to two people to accompany the team and directly participate in the test process. However, since there is no time for training, you cannot do it yourself."

In fact, when Chang Haonan heard Peng Juexian coming to find him just now, he had already guessed the other party's purpose.

As for the materials the other party wanted, they had already been prepared.

It is currently placed in the drawer at the lower right corner of the table.

With a "bang", he placed a plastic file box on his desk.

It sounds like there's a lot of stuff in there.

"It's all here..."

While the other party was opening the lid of the box, Chang Haonan continued to add:

"In addition to the tritium release module that I mentioned to you a long time ago, I also have another test arrangement for the reactor startup module. I originally planned to let you do as much as you can, but if the time allocated to me can be extended a little, it is entirely possible to complete it all in this cycle."

"Reactor startup module?"

Peng Juexian paused:

"Is it related to your Juntian plan?"

Then he turned the file box 180 degrees, and the searching action changed from sequential order to reverse order.

Chang Haonan nodded frankly:

"It is expected to be used as a power source for the space reactor. The modified reactor at Jincheng 504 Factory does not have sufficient testing conditions, and the risk is also a bit high. We might as well just put it in the Netherlands to make it, and then use it in China after the feasibility verification is completed..."

This explanation obviously did not answer Peng Juexian's doubts:

"The reactor start-up neutron source should be considered a mature technology in the industry. Currently, it is basically based on the discrete ordinate calculation method of Framatome... For example, in the Ling'ao Phase II reactor core, it only needs to build a neutron source into the 08# guide tube of the C08 and N1 components in advance. Why..."

The problem ends here.

Because he finally found the "Space Reactor Startup Module Verification Instructions" in the file box.

After opening it, the first thing that catches your eye is a seemingly ordinary hexagonal cross-section, in which about a hundred fuel assemblies are densely arranged.

In fact, as long as it is a fission scheme, whether it uses liquid cooling or gas cooling, the core is actually the same.

But if you look closely, you can still find an essential difference -

"and many more……"

Peng Juexian checked again as quickly as possible to make sure that it was not his eyes that were blurring out:

"Where is your core neutron source?"

Generally speaking, in the initial stage of reactor physical startup, the neutron injection rate in the reactor is very low and is not enough to reach the range of the source range detection instrument.

Therefore, technicians usually insert metal rods containing materials such as californium-252 into the reactor core, and use the core neutron source to increase the neutron flux of the reactor core to a certain level, so that the source range detection instrument can effectively count the changes in the neutron flux, thereby assisting the core startup.

The Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 that he just mentioned is a typical example of this type of plan.

However, there are no relevant markings on the schematic diagram in front of me.

"This is the key part that needs to be tested... According to the principles of the Juntian Project, in order to ensure safety, the space reactor should remain shut down before entering orbit and ensure that it cannot enter a critical state under any circumstances."

Chang Haonan leaned back slightly, letting his upper body sink into the back of the seat:

"And you know, any engineering solution has a probability of failure. It is impossible to guarantee 100% reliability. The only way is to remove the firewood from the bottom of the cauldron and avoid this possibility in principle... After removing the core neutron source, even if the launch fails and the reactor happens to reach critical conditions when immersed in rainwater or sand, it is impossible to achieve spontaneous criticality."

Peng Juexian certainly understood this principle, but the established plan formed over the years always had its reasons.

So he frowned:

"But in the absence of a core neutron source, very few neutrons are produced by spontaneous fission during the startup process, and even fewer can pass through the shielding layer, which is not enough to reach the detection threshold of the source range detection equipment. This means that most of the startup process must be completed without monitoring, and this process will be very slow..."

Chang Haonan raised his hand to interrupt him:

"So we plan to launch during a solar peak, using high-energy cosmic rays as the neutron source."

Then he took out another document from the file box.

"Typically, cosmic rays are mainly composed of 90% protons and 9% alpha particles. When these high-energy particles hit the fuel in the reactor, nuclear reactions such as spallation reactions will occur, thereby producing secondary neutrons, so in principle they have the potential to help start the reactor core," he said.

"What we need to do in this test is to simulate a space radiation environment and examine the relationship between the amount of secondary neutrons produced by the core under irradiation and the intensity of cosmic rays..."

"..."

The entire plan consists of tens of thousands of words, and with charts and appendices, it is more than a hundred pages. Of course, it is impossible to explain it all in the office.

But Peng Juexian is a veteran in this field after all, and he quickly understood Chang Haonan's meaning.

After considering for a while, he gave an evaluation:

“This idea is very bold.”

The latter did not respond, but just waited for his further reaction.

About half a minute later, Peng Juexian took a deep breath and suggested:

"How about this? The first team will test the tritium release process according to the original plan. I will do your startup plan without a core neutron source after I bring the second team over. How do you think?"

The Juntian Project is a long-term project, and Chang Haonan doesn't care about just a month or so.

Instead, he was somewhat curious about the other party's itinerary:

"Why didn't you follow right away?"

The style of this question was somewhat different from the previous ones, so much so that Peng Juexian was unable to react immediately.

But then he smiled:

"Yes, I was invited to attend the 60th anniversary celebration of the National Day this year, so I plan to go there after the National Day holiday... But don't worry, the first team will be led by Comrade Fang Jianming. He also participated in the entire negotiation between us and ITER, and his ability and experience are absolutely in place..."

Then, the topic changed:

"By the way, Academician Chang, you should have been invited as well. Why don't we go together then?"

However, Chang Haonan waved his hand

"This year... I'm afraid it's not very convenient."

In fact, he wanted to say that he was specially invited and his itinerary for the day was different from that of most people.

However, seeing that Peng Juexian was very excited, he was worried that speaking too bluntly would offend him, so he was vague.

But when other people hear this sentence, it has a different meaning.

"The first batch of visitor invitations should have been finalized in May. Haven't you received it yet?"

Peng Juexian was surprised:

"Could it be that the protocol team forgot?"

Although the two had only known each other for less than two years, he had already heard of many of Chang Haonan's glorious deeds.

For example, in 1999, the latter, who had just graduated at the time, was specially invited to be a guest at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Day.

Now, ten years have passed, and even if we only consider those achievements that have been circulated to the outside world, the other party's contribution and status have risen by more than an order of magnitude.

Even in the first batch of invitation lists, he will definitely be at the top.

How could I be left behind?

Therefore, even Peng Juexian himself felt that this question was really outrageous, and before Chang Haonan could answer, he added:

"Or... do you have other plans this year and it's inconvenient for you to attend the ceremony?"

This speculation is obviously more reasonable.

After all, others have already seen it once, so the novelty is much weaker than that of someone like him who is participating for the first time.

If there is something important that you can't get away from, it's normal not to attend.

"That won't happen. National Day is such a big event, we have to be there to participate."

Chang Haonan had no choice but to explain further:

"It's just that my invitation category has changed this time, so I'm not on the same list as you guys... If nothing unexpected happens, I will probably receive the official notification at the end of August."

Peng Juexian was stunned for a moment when he heard this answer.

One of the terms was unfamiliar to him:

"Invited to classify?"

Although objectively, there are differences in the location and content of the viewing seats due to different identities, and different categories of spectators receive invitations in batches at different times, but after all, it is the backdrop of national celebration, so there will not be any form of grading of the invitees in public.

Even in actual operation, the invitation letters and viewing passes obtained by "ordinary mass representatives" and "special contribution groups" are exactly the same.

Except for one situation.

"You mean..."

After a period of confusion, Peng Juexian finally reacted and pointed upwards.

Now that everything has been said, Chang Haonan has nothing to worry about.

He said with emotion:

"Stand high and see far..."