Chapter 1666 Let’s talk about the fusion reactor

As Lan Xinzhi left the office, only Chang Haonan and Luan Wenjie were left in the room.

The air seemed to be quiet, with only the faint background sounds of the city outside the window.

Chang Haonan withdrew his gaze from the closed door and looked back at Luan Wenjie.

"Director Luan," his eyes fell on the map of China behind Luan Wenjie's desk, "Now that the problem with the NS equations has been solved, I think... it's time to officially put the planning and construction of the fusion demonstration reactor on the agenda."

Seeing the other party talking about the topic of fusion reactors, Luan Wenjie showed a somewhat helpless expression:

"To be honest, Comrade Haonan, even when I first learned that you had solved the NS equations, I didn't expect it to be a breakthrough at the level of a 'general solution,' and that it would come so quickly... This... far exceeded my expectations."

Chang Haonan also smiled and replied:

"Actually, when I first started, my plan was to first prove the existence and smoothness of the solution, and then consider solving the problem... However, during the deduction process, some inspiration emerged, which made me think that perhaps I could try to go all the way and directly find a general solution that describes the overall behavior. With some... necessary luck, I finally succeeded."

He omitted the details of the "feasible ideas" prompted by the system.

This is not a deliberate concealment, but it is difficult to express and has no impact on the understanding of the technical path itself.

Luan Wenjie naturally would not believe the understatement of the so-called "a little luck", but he knew very well that inspiration and accumulation are indispensable for top scientific research breakthroughs.

He did not dwell on this detail and returned directly to the topic:

"Before you came, I privately consulted several core technical personnel from the Luzhou Institute of Material Science and the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics."

"Although everyone we interviewed said it was hard to imagine completely solving the magnetohydrodynamic problems of magnetically confined plasmas in a short period of time, they all agreed that if we could truly accurately predict and control plasma behavior, then even with existing devices like HL-2A or EAST, we would be fully confident in pushing the stable operation time of fusion plasmas down to the hour level."

Chang Haonan nodded. This was exactly the engineering feedback he expected:

"That's exactly what I was thinking. While the demonstration reactor project is progressing as planned, we can immediately conduct tests of plasma control algorithms based on new theories on the HL-2A device in Chengdu. This is an excellent verification and training platform."

"At the same time?" Luan Wenjie keenly caught the word and quipped half-jokingly, "Dual advancement during the engineering phase doesn't seem like your style."

It is true that the other party was very radical in the past, but when it came to the implementation stage, they basically followed the business process.

"It's a different time now, Director Luan," Chang Haonan replied firmly. "The technical foundation is different now."

Luan Wenjie was not proficient in nuclear theory and nuclear engineering, but he still acted like he was all ears.

"After we cracked the anomalous plasma transport phenomenon caused by random magnetic fields, the main obstacle limiting the duration of plasma steady-state is the 'rapid thermal quenching' problem."

Chang Haonan also considered his words carefully and explained in a way that was as easy to understand as possible:

"Among the three major limits that trigger rapid thermal quenching, the plasma density limit is relatively well-defined, and its peak value is generally difficult to reach under existing confinement conditions. The current limit is an input quantity that can be actively controlled by feedback and is relatively easy to manage. Finally, the pressure limit, which has long plagued the academic community, is the ratio of plasma pressure to confining magnetic pressure, which triggers global collapse when it reaches a critical value."

"This specific pressure limit perfectly fits the applicable range of magnetohydrodynamics. Its physical mechanism is precisely the outbreak of macroscopic fluid instabilities (such as twisting modes and tearing modes) when plasma is confined by a strong magnetic field. Now, the general solution of the NS equations provides us with the ultimate tool to predict and control such instabilities."

"So theoretically, I think there are no insurmountable obstacles. What remains is to start engineering practice, that is, to build the demonstration reactor itself."

Luan Wenjie was silent.

His eyes fell on a blank document title next to the progress bar of the XS-1 space reactor project on the computer screen - "Controlled Nuclear Fusion Demonstration Reactor (CFETR) Project Proposal".

The only sound in the office was the low, humming sound of the air conditioner.

After half a minute, he spoke again:

"I must admit," he raised his head, speaking frankly, "Currently, the preparations within the Industrial Construction Commission and the Nuclear Industry Group for the demonstration reactor, especially the preliminary research and resource allocation at the engineering level, are still insufficient... After all, none of us dared to really bet on a breakthrough in the NS equations so quickly."

He looked directly at Chang Haonan and asked, "So, what key conditions do you estimate we need to build this demonstration reactor?"

Chang Haonan said with understanding: "The demonstration reactor is a century-long project, a long-term strategic undertaking. It's essential to do solid preparatory work upfront. A little time for advance preparation is not a big deal."

Then the topic changed and went into technical details.

"However, you raise a crucial point. The demonstration reactor is fundamentally different from previous verification devices, such as EAST or HL-2A. It is not simply a 'container' for high-temperature plasma, but a complete energy facility capable of continuously outputting electricity. Therefore, the construction requirements are far higher than those of the previous ones."

Luan Wenjie knew that Chang Haonan was going to talk about the main point next, so he habitually took out a notebook.

Sure enough, Chang Haonan quickly reached out and began to check off the key items one by one:

"First, the first-wall material requires extremely high resistance to radiation swelling, extremely low hydrogen and helium retention rates, excellent thermal shock resistance, and the lowest possible sputtering erosion rate. Tungsten alloy is currently the most mature option. Fortunately, when we previously assisted the French in renovating the WEST device, we verified a high-performance tungsten-copper composite material solution. This technology can be directly transferred here. We just need to further expand the production scale and optimize the joining process."

"Next is a low-loss, high-current conductor, preferably a superconducting wire. We've already made some progress in this area. Li Yabo is collaborating closely with the State Key Laboratory of Superconductivity on the final engineering sprint based on the high-voltage copper-oxide superconducting material they discovered last year. Progress is currently smooth, and we hope to provide a reliable superconducting tape option for the demonstration reactor engineering design phase."

Seeing that the first two problems seemed to have been solved, Luan Wenjie relaxed and interrupted, "Are you letting him take the lead this time?"

Chang Haonan was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, to avoid further gossip..."

What the two were talking about was naturally the previous selection of academicians.

Although Li Yabo was successfully nominated, the lack of a complete project with his own name is indeed a hidden danger.

After some small talk, Chang Haonan extended his third finger again:

"Third, and by far the most challenging, is the strong background magnetic field system," he emphasized. "To achieve efficient confinement and high-pressure operation, we need a steady-state, ultra-strong background magnetic field of 12 or even 15 T or higher. China has some foundations in Nb6-1Sn and NbTi magnet engineering, but achieving giant magnets exceeding 10 T and meeting the complex geometry and extremely high electromagnetic stress requirements of fusion reactors may take some time."

Luan Wenjie quickly and seriously wrote it down.

However, Chang Haonan then changed the subject and proposed a possible shortcut:

"However, if we can completely reverse the balance of power with the United States in a relatively short period of time, Europe, especially Switzerland and Germany, will have ready-made technical components developed for large-scale scientific research equipment that we can directly use."

After listening to this, Luan Wenjie stopped writing and fell into thought.

"After the precise strikes of the 'Crucible' list, Washington probably doesn't have many cards left to play. And we," he looked up at Chang Haonan, "are the strategic initiative brought by the Beacon Project and the universal solution to the NS equation in your hands. The window for a complete reversal of the balance of power is not far away."

He paused, his eyes sharp:

"However, we should despise the enemy strategically and take him seriously tactically. To prevent certain countries from going down a dead end, we must proceed on two legs, relying on our own strengths while seeking opportunities for international cooperation."

Chang Haonan nodded in agreement.

"So what about site selection?" Luan Wenjie asked again. "Fusion reactors involve nuclear materials, after all. Although you emphasize their inherent safety advantages over fission reactors, the social impact still needs to be considered."

"The inherent safety of fusion reactors is undeniable," Chang Haonan explained. "The tritium fuel has a short half-life, and its total quantity is strictly controlled. Furthermore, the fusion reaction itself carries no risk of a runaway chain reaction. Even in the most extreme case of a vacuum chamber rupture, the reaction would immediately cease due to fuel dilution, and the radioactive consequences would be far less severe than those of fission reactors. Furthermore, its requirements for the natural environment, such as water resources and geology, are much more relaxed than those of fission reactors, allowing for greater flexibility in site selection."

Having said that, he stood up and walked to Luan Wenjie's desk, raising his hand and slowly groping on the map of China on the wall:

"My suggestion is that in order to minimize potential geopolitical risks, especially to guard against extreme measures that may be taken by certain countries, the demonstration reactor should be located deep inland, away from the main coastline and the western border."

"At the same time, active defense systems should be incorporated into the overall planning during the site selection and demonstration phase. For example, air defense and anti-missile systems capable of intercepting high-speed targets in near-space should be deployed as part of the defense-in-depth system."

Luan Wenjie's gaze followed Chang Haonan's finger as it moved on the map, and finally stopped at an area of mountains in Guizhou Province on the map.

Then his eyes drifted towards the upper right.

After a few minutes, he finally nodded slowly. "How about just writing 'eastern Guizhou Province' or northwestern Liaoning Province' in the suggestion?"