Inside the ground command center of the Moon colony, the staff were busy.
Today was an extraordinary day. The nuclear fusion generator installed on the surface of the Moon would officially start to generate electricity. This not only meant that the power shortage problem of the Moon colony would be completely solved, but the excess power could also be sent to Celestial City through long-distance transmission, and then to the surface.
"Are you ready?"
"Of course."
"Then let's get started." Jiang Chen nodded and gestured for Calvin to start.
The entire command center was like a clockwork. Everyone took out ten times or twenty times the energy and worked hard at their posts. Various parameters flashed on the large screen in the center. Every move of the nuclear fusion generator hundreds of thousands of kilometers away could be monitored here.
"Magnetic confinement device activated, helium-3 fuel loaded into the reaction chamber!"
"Magnetic confinement device operating normally."
"Superfluid thermal circulation device activated … stable operation."
"Deuterium fuel filled!"
"…"
"Ignite!"
The signal lights all jumped to green, and Calvin immediately pressed the red button. The progress bars on the holographic screen were instantly filled, and the power output instantly reached a terrifying 5,000 MW. In the spherical reaction chamber dozens of kilometers away, the magnetic confinement body had already turned into a blinding light ball, and its internal reaction temperature also exceeded a terrifying 10 million degrees!
It was no exaggeration to say that it was equivalent to a small sun.
If the violently reacting atoms broke through the shackles of magnetic confinement, the power would be no less than detonating a million-ton hydrogen bomb. If it was on Earth, it would be enough to erase a modern city from the map.
However, all the people present were confident.
As early as the completion of the nuclear fusion generator in Penglai City, Celestial Trade had already secretly used it without the knowledge of the international community. It wasn't the first time anyone here operated a nuclear fusion generator, but this nuclear fusion generator was independently produced by Future Heavy Industries and located hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
5,000 MW was far from the limit of this nuclear fusion generator. As the fuel continued to be filled, the output power of the electricity continued to rise. And the reaction temperature also broke through 15 million degrees. After a slight drop, it stabilized at 14 million degrees.
Calvin breathed a sigh of relief, a smile blossomed on his face, and he picked up the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder and announced to everyone.
"No. 01 nuclear fusion generator has been successfully switched on!"
Deafening cheers erupted in the command room. The staff got down from their seats, high-fived and waved their fists as they cheered for victory.
Due to the situation, a smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face.
Unlike most nuclear power plants, after absorbing the technology from the apocalypse, Celestial Trade abandoned the inefficient steam turbine design and adopted the relatively cutting-edge thermionic reactor.
To put it simply, the yin and yang poles were connected by wires. The cathode was heated to release electrons, and the anode absorbed electrons to form a circular circuit. However, the entire device was definitely not that simple. It was just like how a simple nuclear power plant was to boil water, but in reality, the technical connotation involved was far more than just boiling water.
How to solve the power limit, how to recycle the heat absorbed by the anode to generate electricity … These were all problems that had yet to be solved in the modern world. If there were no accidents, in another thirty to fifty years, controllable nuclear fusion technology would also be born in the modern world, and it would most likely use steam engines to boil water to generate electricity. However, because neutrons were easily absorbed by light materials, compared to nuclear fission, a secondary heat exchanger could be eliminated.
At the same time, the same cheers sounded on the Moon colony hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
A continuous stream of electricity was transmitted from the nuclear fusion generator to all areas of the colony, replacing the solar generators that had to be shut down for two weeks. The reaction temperature had reached a certain level. As long as the fuel supply in the reaction chamber was maintained, the fusion reaction could continue.
Although the high temperature of tens of millions of degrees was frightening, this generator was far safer than any nuclear power plant in the modern world. The thermonuclear reaction between helium-3 and deuterium would only produce non-radioactive protons, so when helium-3 was used as an energy source, it would not produce radiation. Even if an accident occurred, the cost of rescue would not be high.
Taking a step back, there was no air on the Moon. Even if the reactor exploded, it would not form an earth-shattering shock wave. The lethality of nuclear weapons in a vacuum environment was extremely limited, far less than its explosive yield.
"Congratulations." Jiang Chen smiled and shook Calvin's hand. "Excellent command."
"Thanks to your promotion." Calvin modestly accepted the praise.
After a pause, Jiang Chen continued.
"I plan to restructure part of Celestial Trade's business."
Calvin looked at Jiang Chen, puzzled. He didn't understand why Jiang Chen told him this. The Space Launch Center he managed was only a very remote department in Celestial Trade. Although the budget was astonishing, it was almost outside of the core of power.
Jiang Chen didn't explain but continued.
"The restructuring part is mainly in the aerospace business. The Space Launch Center will be abolished and replaced by the newly established Space Department. The department will be responsible for the interstellar colonization plan and all projects in the group that involve the development of outer space resources. "
"And I hope you will be the manager of the Space Department."
Calvin first paused, then his brain was occupied by dizzying joy.
"Thank you for the promotion. I will not let you down!"
Jiang Chen smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"I believe you won't let me down."
…
In mid-February, Celestial Trade spent 2 billion Xin New dollars to acquire Pannu Power Company, which supplied power to all of Pannu Islands. It aggressively changed its name to Global Power Company and integrated the power generation companies and grid units in Xin.
At the same time, Celestial Trade's engineering ships once again sailed to the equator line and began construction under the base station of the space elevator. They were ambitiously preparing to build a submarine cable extending from the equator line to Ange Island and integrating it into the national grid of Xin.
Everything was paving the way for the long-distance power transmission plan of the Moon Nuclear Fusion Power Station.
Jiang Chen obviously wasn't satisfied with the domestic power market of Xin. While the submarine cable was under construction, he went to the governments of Moro and Country F and asked them to open up their domestic power markets.
Without much effort, Jiang Chen easily pulled the two vassal countries onto his chariot. Both Country F and Moro agreed to cooperate with Xin to build a transnational submarine cable and connect it to their own power grid. Country F's electricity bill was the highest in the world. The poorer the country, the worse it was. They certainly wouldn't refuse Celestial Trade that could lower their domestic electricity prices.
What's more, they didn't have the confidence to refuse. Celestial Trade's garrison in City M hadn't been completely withdrawn yet.
As for Moro, there was no need to talk about it. Santos simply recognized his identity as a little brother. How could he refuse the request of the suzerain? What's more, oil prices had soared recently. Moro, which relied on oil imports, was already facing the problem of energy shortage. How could they refuse Jiang Chen?
After pulling in Country F and Moro, Jiang Chen then went to Malaysia …
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