Chapter 1671 Why did you come to us?

Time passes by every second under highly intense monitoring and precise control.

On the large screen in the main control room, a striking timer number kept jumping:

500...

1000...

2000...

The plasma in the HL-2A device, under the strong magnetic field confinement and continuous energy injection, is like a tamed miniature sun, continuously emitting amazing light and heat.

The central electron temperature is steadily maintained at above 5000 million degrees Celsius, and the plasma current is stable at 1.15 megaamperes.

This has far surpassed the previous record of 100-second H-mode operation held by EAST, and is still being refreshed.

However, challenges also loom.

"The heat load on the divertor target plate continues to rise! Infrared imaging shows that the temperature in some areas has exceeded 1800 degrees Celsius! Approaching the Level alarm threshold!"

Under long-term high-power operation, even with the protection of the boronized wall, the high-temperature plasma still severely erodes the material, especially the divertor area. The impurities generated are brought into the plasma core and radiate a large amount of energy, which not only loses energy but also cools the plasma.

"A small amount of neon gas is injected to provide active radiative cooling, with the goal of reducing peak heat load by 15%."

Zhou Xintong stared at the heat load distribution diagram and made a quick decision.

This is one of the common coping strategies.

"Inject neon gas and set the flow rate."

Operator execution.

The spectrometer immediately showed a surge in the intensity of the spectral lines representing neon.

Neon gas is ionized under high temperature and its ions radiate energy in the edge area of the plasma, like an invisible "sunshade" in front of the scorching target plate.

On the infrared image, the reddest and hottest areas of the target plate became visibly darker, and the temperature readings began to drop.

"The heat load has decreased, and the effect is obvious, but the total power of impurity radiation is still high."

"Continue to monitor and repeat neon injection or adjust injection location if necessary."

After saying this, Zhou Xintong sighed secretly.

In fact, at this point, he basically believed the authenticity of the information.

If their plasma control strategy had not been nearly perfect, they would never have been able to achieve such exaggerated results.

He also had to admit that the current performance of HL2A and the level of the Southwest Institute of Physics limited the entire experiment from going further.

"Then let's see how far we can go..."

Zhou Xintong's competitive spirit gradually ignited.

"The current profile has shifted slightly. Pay attention to the LHCD driving efficiency." He reminded again.

"Received. Adjusting the low-noise injection angle and spectrum." The engineer's fingers tapped rapidly on the console, trying to optimize the current drive efficiency and maintain the stability of the plasma current.

But after the thousandth digit of the timer jumped to "3", the situation finally took a turn for the worse.

The monitoring station representing the stability of the magnetic fluid began to flash yellow lights, and the signal curves of several magnetic probes also shook wildly at the same time!

"Alarm, the boundary local mode has erupted again! The estimated energy release is 0.75 megajoules!" Kuang Zhongxin's voice resounded throughout the main control room.

The release of 0.75 megajoules of energy will instantly dump a large amount of particles and energy onto the divertor target plate.

At the very least, it will damage the wall deposition film formed in the preparation stage. At worst, it may trigger a chain reaction and cause a "major rupture" of the plasma, resulting in the direct end of the experiment.

Everyone's heart instantly rose to their throat.

"Neutral beam injection, power instantly increased to 120%! Suppress the edge pressure gradient!"

Zhou Xintong also gave a solution.

Unlike the previous time, this key method of using high-energy particle beams to actively "flatten" edge pressure spikes and suppress large ELMs is emphasized in the data.

"NBI power overrun, 120%! Inject!" The operator's voice was almost drowned out by the heartbeats of the crowd.

On the monitoring screen, the peak signal representing the ELM intensity was about to reach its peak when it was forcibly pressed down by a powerful force! The shaking quickly subsided and the alarm was lifted.

"The boundary local mode is suppressed, and the divertor withstands the energy impact within a safe range."

At this moment, Kuang Zhongxin felt that his work clothes on the back were soaked with cold sweat.

But at this point, everyone knew what was going on.

The plasma's stability is already quite poor and it is unlikely to survive the next eruption.

Zhou Xintong glanced at the timer.

3750 seconds.

It had already far surpassed the previous world record by twenty times, and was almost at the limit he had estimated.

"Stay alert. How efficient is the helium ash extraction system?" he asked.

“The efficiency is stable and the helium ash concentration is controlled below the threshold,” reported the engineer in charge of the system.

The last few hundred seconds seemed to be stretched infinitely.

The superconducting magnet system began to emit an unusual hum, and the rate of liquid helium consumption increased significantly, which was a sign that the superconducting state was approaching its limit.

"Increased risk of coil quench," the cryogenic system operator warned.

Compared with plasma at tens of millions of degrees, the liquid helium environment at more than minus 200 degrees is actually one of the biggest risks.

Because once the resistance of the coil increases, the powerful thermal effect of the current will instantly melt everything.

This is almost the only accident that could result in damage to the device itself.

Zhou Xintong knew it had to end.

He decisively ordered: "Start the plasma current slow decline program, and inject a buffer helium layer."

Inside the sealed vacuum chamber, the brightness of the bright white plasma ring began to fade and its volume gradually shrank.

When the timer finally stopped at 4175 seconds, the last ray of light went out in the vacuum chamber.

All heating systems and current drive systems were shut down one after another, leaving only the equipment maintaining vacuum and cooling still humming.

The control room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's eyes turned to the final data summary screen.

But no one spoke.

Because everyone is waiting for the final announcement.

Zhou Xintong took a deep breath:

"In this experiment, the plasma duration was 4175 seconds, the peak equivalent temperature of the central electron was 5220 million degrees Celsius, and the Q value for the entire process was 1.08. Net energy gain was confirmed..."

After a brief silence, the cheers and applause that had been suppressed for a long time finally erupted like a volcano.

One hour and ten minutes! This is an unprecedented milestone in the history of magnetic confinement fusion!

Although the temperature of 5220 million degrees Celsius is still lower than the previous record set by EAST, it is far higher than the 1500 million degrees Celsius at the center of the sun, and has undoubtedly crossed the threshold of fusion.

And more importantly.

The theory in that material, wherever it came from.

It can be basically confirmed that they are credible and accurate.

Amid the cheers, Zhou Xintong remained lucid for the last time:

"Thank you all for your hard work! This is a historic breakthrough! But let's put the celebrations aside for now. Safety team, immediately carry out the standard post-shutdown inspection process to confirm the status of all systems, especially the damage to the divertor target plate and first wall. Data analysis team, immediately begin a complete data backup and preliminary compilation! We must ensure every detail is accurate!"

The excited crowd immediately gathered their minds and threw themselves back into the intense finishing work, but the curves of their mouths and the joy in their voices could not be concealed no matter what.

They know that this heavy data will be the most powerful declaration of China's fusion industry.

At this moment, Kuang Zhongxin, who had been lost in thought at his workstation for a long time, suddenly stood up, walked over to Zhou Xintong and the other two team leaders, and whispered, "Director, the test was a success, and everyone is very excited... But I've been wondering why such an important verification task fell to us, the HL-2A?"

"What I mean is, in terms of device performance and team experience, Luzhou..."

He didn't finish his words, but his meaning was clear.

Although the Southwest Institute of Physics and HL-2A are also important forces in the country, the recognized leaders are the Institute of Plasma Physics in Luzhou and the EAST device.

Normally, this groundbreaking technology verification should be carried out by the strongest team using the most advanced equipment.

Song Jinhang beside him also nodded and said:

"Yes, and since we got the information until now, aside from the necessary oversight from the confidentiality department, the higher-ups... including the leadership of the Science and Technology Commission and the Nuclear Industry Group, and even the top academicians in the domestic fusion field, haven't seemed to have specifically inquired about our progress."

"Even the decision to conduct a one-hour test was our own decision based on the data."

The smile on Zhou Xintong's face slowly faded.

He glanced around at the team that was busy finishing up, then looked at the outline of the huge HL-2A device outside the main control room and was silent for a few seconds.

In fact, this was also the question he had been thinking about for the past month.

I even asked my superiors about this in the name of Southwest Institute of Physics, but did not receive any positive answer.

Finally, Zhou Xintong spoke slowly.

"You're right." The voice was deep but insightful. "The value of this data far exceeds our experiment itself... and the reason our superiors gave it to us instead of the Luzhou Plasma Research Institute..."

He paused, his gaze seeming to penetrate the wall and look towards the distant east.

"I'm afraid there is only one reasonable explanation..."

Ding Xuan's expression changed slightly, and he continued:

"You mean... there's a more important mission in Luzhou?"

The other two people put on "shocked faces" when they heard this.

It was hard to imagine anything more important than the 4200 seconds they had just achieved.

Only Zhou Xintong nodded firmly:

"Just wait and see... The spring of our fusion industry is probably coming..."