Chapter 1709 The Distance of the Sun (Finale)
Events unfolded almost exactly as Attila Holder had predicted.
After the official start of construction, the construction progress of the "Junneng No. 1" demonstration reactor changed almost every day.
Even the severe cold in western Liaoning in winter has no effect on it.
The massive base is like a precision-running clock, with every gear fitting seamlessly and operating efficiently.
November 2016, 11: All 20 giant D-shaped superconducting magnet toroidal field coils were installed, positioned, and fixed, and the powerful magnetic field framework was formed;
On December 12, all the fan-shaped segments of the vacuum chamber using full tungsten armor were hoisted and spliced. The laser welding robot completed the welding of all the main welds. After testing, the weld quality all met the highest standards.
On December 12, the tokamak system's "spark plug," the central solenoid, and the neutral beam injection antenna were installed.
On December 12, the poloidal field coil assembly for finely controlling the shape and position of the plasma was completed;
On December 12, the upper part and top cover of the cryostat were hoisted and tightly sealed to the base. Thus, the giant "thermos" that encloses the entire core is completely closed.
On December 12, the first wall of the vacuum chamber facing the high-temperature plasma, the tritium breeder blanket module, and the divertor were installed.
On January 2017, 1, the "blood vessels" and "nerves" of the "JuNeng No. 21," that is, the pipes and cables connecting the superconducting feeder system, cryogenic cooling pipelines, vacuum pump system, heating system, and tens of thousands of sensors, were connected;
On January 1, all external system tests passed successfully, and the physical interface of the reactor core was officially closed and entered the final sealing state;
On February 2, after three phases of precision pumping operations lasting nearly a month, the vacuum level inside the vacuum chamber and cryostat successfully reached an extremely high vacuum environment of 23e-1.0 Pa. On the same day, the first integrated system joint commissioning was successfully completed, with all subsystems responding normally.
On February 2, the second integrated system joint debugging was successfully completed, simulating the entire process from startup to steady-state operation. The "Junneng No. 25" was officially declared to be ready for ignition.
Four days later, March 2017, 3.
Security around the Dalinghhe base was raised to the highest level, and the PAP mobile detachment even set up a blockade area 15 kilometers away from the surrounding area.
Not to mention humans, even slightly larger animals cannot pass through the cordon composed of automatic alarm systems, drones and armored patrol vehicles.
In the skies above, an Air Force fighter aviation brigade and an Army helicopter brigade were responsible for conducting uninterrupted patrols within their respective altitude ranges, striving to eliminate all potential threats and hidden dangers...
……
At the same time, inside the base, technicians from the Nuclear Industry Group and Luzhou Institute of Material Science were conducting the final inspection before ignition.
Although the previous two joint commissionings went very smoothly, this time it was the real "ignition" and no one dared to slack off.
In the conventional island integrated control room, about one kilometer away from the main body of the reactor, Chang Haonan was sitting in the commander-in-chief seat, his eyes fixed on the data and curves that were constantly refreshing on the large screen in front of him.
On the internal communication channel, reports from various systems came one after another:
"The superconducting magnet system self-test is complete and the status is normal."
"Cryogenic system ready, start injecting liquid nitrogen into the cryostat."
"Report: The temperature at each monitoring point continues to drop, and the coil cooling process is in line with expectations."
"Superconducting state confirmed! All toroidal field coils and poloidal field coils have entered the superconducting state!"
"The coil begins to energize, and the current increases..."
"Toroidal magnetic field strength has reached the set value of 17.5 Tesla! Magnetic field configuration is being adjusted... Locking complete!"
"The background vacuum of the vacuum chamber is maintained at 1.0e-8Pa, which is stable."
"The magnetohydrodynamic generator set has been preheated and is ready for operation."
"..."
Until the final preparation steps are completed——
Neutrons collide with lithium in the tritium multiplication module, producing tritium, the fuel for fusion. This is then mixed with the already stored deuterium fuel and injected into the vacuum chamber used to contain the high-energy plasma...
In the control room, everyone's eyes were focused on the value representing plasma energy in the center of the main screen.
It is currently a calm straight line.
So, there is only one last step left...
Close your eyelids and wait to wake up.
Chang Haonan placed one palm in front of him and felt his heart beating violently in his chest.
Then, next to the microphone:
"Attention all units, the Ju Neng No. 1 demonstration reactor, ignite!"
Peng Juexian, who was sitting behind the front console, immediately opened the protective lock cover and pressed the start button.
At that moment, he recalled the days when he crunched hard bread and calculated data in the reactor physics laboratory, remembered his colleagues arguing fiercely over a key parameter, and remembered the countless nights he spent pulling all-nighters at the test site...
From fission to fusion, from being controlled by others to leading the forefront, this road has taken too long.
And today, China is finally reaching an unprecedented milestone on behalf of all mankind...
On the other side, the command from the button press travels through optical cables and electrical cables to the core of the vacuum chamber.
Powerful energy instantly surges into the tiny fuel pellet.
On the main screen, the curve representing plasma energy suddenly shot up!
Inside the vacuum chamber, the microscopic world is undergoing earth-shaking changes.
Under extremely high temperature and pressure, the deuterium nuclei and tritium nuclei overcome the electrostatic repulsion between each other and collide violently.
A miniature "sun" was instantly ignited in the electromagnetic cage built by humans!
The equivalent temperature soared to over 1.5 million degrees Celsius in a short period of time.
However, the violent energy did not wreak havoc, but was firmly restrained by the magnetic field created by the 18 D-shaped superconducting magnets, as docile as a sheep.
On the screen, a simulation representing the plasma state shows a bright and stable ring-shaped light band, which is now running according to the guidance of magnetic lines, converting disordered energy into controllable heat flow.
The only sounds in the control room were the gentle hum of equipment and the occasional, muted report.
"Report!" About a minute later, Liang Jianguo stared at the monitoring screen in front of him, his voice filled with suppressed excitement. "The edge plasma thickness is starting to decrease, and the turbulence suppression effect is significant. The magnetic confinement scheme is effective! The plasma is operating stably and well!"
A brief and restrained applause broke out in the control room, but soon died down.
Everything is far from over.
A few minutes later, Liang Jianguo's voice sounded again:
"Fusion neutron flux detected. Tritium recovery system detected new tritium, and the concentration is increasing!"
This indicates that the neutrons released by the fusion reaction have returned to the tritium breeding device and come into contact with the liquid lithium.
The two produce new tritium, which is then sent back into the vacuum chamber.
This is an extremely critical signal, which means that the reactor no longer needs external neutron intervention and the tritium self-sustaining cycle can be successfully established.
Chang Haonan checked all the key parameters again and confirmed that everything was within expectations or even better than expected.
Chang Haonan issued a new order: "Shut down the external neutron source!"
The most critical moment has arrived.
This is the final step in verifying whether the reactor can truly achieve self-sustaining combustion.
Peng Juexian took a deep breath and turned the neutron source shielding handle from "OFF" to "ON".
The external neutron supply was completely cut off.
Everyone's heart tightened, their eyes fixed on the screen.
At the moment the shield was activated, several key curves representing plasma density, temperature, position and neutron yield showed extremely subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuations.
One second...two seconds...three seconds...
The fluctuations gradually subsided.
All curves remain within the preset green safety zone with amazing stability.
300 seconds.
For a full five minutes, without the continuous "ignition" of an external neutron source, the fusion reaction relied on itself to maintain itself, working continuously and stably under strong magnetic confinement.
all the best.
When the time came, Chang Haonan slowly stood up from the command seat.
All the people in the control room stood up in unison as if they had heard a silent command.
Chang Haonan's gaze swept across every face filled with anticipation, nervousness and infinite pride.
"I declare that the 'Junneng No. 1' magnetic confinement fusion demonstration reactor has been successfully ignited!"
His voice resounded throughout the control center and was transmitted through the dedicated line to every corner of the base:
"The reactor has achieved self-sustaining combustion and is operating stably. It has been successfully connected to the No. 1 magnetohydrodynamic generator unit and is currently outputting 25500 megawatts!"
"It is expected that once all four generator sets are connected, the total output power will exceed the designed capacity of 100,000 megawatts!"
A brief, profound silence.
Immediately, thunderous cheers, applause, and excited shouts intertwined together.
People hugged each other, high-fived each other, and many people jumped up excitedly, tears in their eyes.
All the pressure, tension, and countless days and nights of hard work turned into incomparable joy and pride at this moment.
Amidst the boiling celebration, Chang Haonan slowly sat back in his seat, his breathing a little rapid due to excitement.
He opened the work notebook he carried with him, turned to a new page, picked up a pen, and carefully wrote a line:
【August 2017, 3. 】
【Humanity is 1.2 kilometers away from the sun.】
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(End of text)
