As the birthplace of China's controllable nuclear fusion project, the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics had a pivotal influence in the field of controllable nuclear fusion in China.
Not only was the HL-2A, the first large-scale tokamak with a divertor configuration in China, but it also played a pivotal role in China's participation in the ITER project.
As a witness to this historic moment, Pan Changhong could be said to be one of the veterans of China's controllable nuclear fusion industry.
Even though he had retired for many years, he was still concerned about the development of China's controllable nuclear fusion industry.
Because of this, when Lu Zhou invited him, he agreed without any hesitation.
In this country of 1.4 billion people, energy was always a top priority.
If the energy problem could be solved, many other problems would no longer be a problem.
The stellarator didn't necessarily mean the future of controllable nuclear fusion. However, if the stellarator was chosen in the future, China couldn't be out of touch with the rest of the world in this field.
Otherwise, it would take another ten or even fifty years to catch up.
"Oh, what a rare visitor." Academician Zhou Chengfu saw Academician Pan Changhong at his office door and smiled. He said, "What brings you here?"
"Good news." Academician Pan Changhong smiled and sat down on the sofa.
Academician Zhou smiled and said, "Oh? What good news? Tell me. "
"We reached an agreement with the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany. If everything goes well, they will agree to sell us the WEGA machine."
After Academician Zhou heard Academician Pan, he still had a smile on his face, but it was a bit strange.
"… Oh? The WEGA machine? "
"Yeah, the prototype of the Wendelstein 7-X." Academician Pan didn't notice the strange smile on Academician Zhou's face. He nodded and said, "I didn't expect Professor Lu to actually agree to this. Honestly, I'm still quite surprised."
Even though it was a win-win situation, and the Max Planck Institute really needed this carbon-based superconducting magnet, the Chinese side still had a slight advantage in the end.
After all, even though the WEGA machine had been discontinued, as the predecessor of the Wendelstein machine, it still contained many key technologies.
Mastering these technologies would greatly shorten the time it would take for China's researchers to catch up with the world's cutting-edge research.
Academician Zhou was not as happy as Academician Pan. Instead, he asked thoughtfully, "If they're willing to sell this equipment, they probably spent a lot of money, right?"
Academician Pan: "It's not about the money. If we buy it back and digest the technology inside, we'll be able to catch up with the international cutting-edge research in a short period of time. Even if we can't immediately reach the level of Japan and Germany, it shouldn't be a problem for us to surpass Australia. "
Academician Zhou picked up the vacuum flask on the table and took a sip of tea. He suddenly raised his eyebrows and spoke casually.
"Is that necessary?"
When Academician Pan heard this, he paused for a second and frowned.
"What … Is there a need?"
Academician Zhou put down the vacuum flask and spoke slowly.
"We're already at the forefront of the world in the field of tokamaks. Instead of catching up to others in the stellarator field, it's better to walk our own path. Is it really necessary to spend hundreds of millions to support other people's research? "
When Academician Pan heard this, he was stunned.
He didn't expect his former colleague, his old friend, who also looked forward to the future of controllable nuclear fusion, to say something like this.
No matter how the media flattered them, no matter how arrogant or optimistic the public was, as a researcher, they should remain objective and calm. They should carefully look at in-progress results and should never be complacent.
However, from Academician Zhou's tone, Academician Zhou could hear a hint of disapproval or disdain.
I hope it's just my imagination …
Academician Pan put away the smile on his face and changed his expression. He ended the previous topic and coughed.
"I'm not here to argue with you about the superiority of the technology route. Regardless of whether the tokamak or the stellarator is easier to achieve, we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. The United States is the same, they're following both technology routes. We fell behind on the stellarator, but now that Professor Lu helped us fight for this opportunity, we can't miss it. "
He paused for a second and continued.
"We want to organize a delegation to Germany. I want to borrow about 20 researchers from you. I've already made a list, and I hope you can approve it. "
Academician Zhou didn't even look at the list. He said expressionlessly, "The stellarator isn't in our research plan, so I'm sorry I can't help you."
Academician Pan's eyes narrowed. "You don't plan on letting them go?"
Academician Zhou said calmly, "We have our own plans, we don't need to cooperate with you."
Academician Pan slapped his thigh and stood up. "Okay then, I'll take the list to Beijing and ask Minister Wang for the people."
Academician Zhou stared at Academician Pan and said, "Old Pan, are you really going to help him and go against me?"
Academician Pan also looked at him and spoke.
"Zhou Chengfu, you've changed. You haven't made any progress academically, but you've improved your methods of forming cliques. "
"Changed? I've never changed, "Academician Zhou said expressionlessly." I just don't want to mess around with you guys. "
When it came to tokamak research, he was an authority in this field. Even those in power had to listen to his opinions. Since he was in power, he would obviously spare no effort to ensure that the tokamak technology was the dominant technology in China's controllable nuclear fusion research.
He didn't deny that he had his own selfish motives, but he also believed that what he was doing was the right thing.
Putting the eggs in two baskets might be able to share the risks, but putting all the eggs in one basket naturally had its benefits.
Not to mention, this basket was his.
The reason why China's controllable nuclear fusion project was able to surpass the United Kingdom and the United States in the tokamak and set one exciting world record after another was inseparable from the high concentration of resources in this technical route. It was also inseparable from Academician Zhou's leadership.
Research on the stellarator?
Of course I can.
But don't even think about getting support from me.
Especially Lu Zhou, this Nobel Prize laureate that came out of nowhere. Not only did he suddenly announce that he wanted to participate in controllable nuclear fusion research, but he also didn't even tell Academician Zhou that he was working for.
What Academician Zhou was most afraid of was that this young man used "flowery words" to gain the trust of the country's higher-ups.
Even though Lu Zhou didn't oppose him, now that there were two voices in the controllable nuclear fusion field, it was a challenge to Academician Zhou's authority.
Academician Pan said angrily, "What do you mean you're messing around? Are you sure that your path is the right one, and the other paths aren't? I think you're messing around! "
Academician Zhou put his hands behind his back and said expressionlessly, "I'm sure that my choice is correct."
Jia Liang, who was standing on the side, saw that the atmosphere wasn't right, so he quickly smiled and tried to mediate the situation.
"This … Academician Pan, it's not that we don't want to help, it's that we really can't help you. Academician Zhou's temper is a bit straightforward, so his words might be a bit harsh. But you know that we're all working on the tokamak. If you suddenly want us to understand the stellarator, we won't be able to find a suitable candidate. "
Academician Zhou didn't say anything. He just slowly sipped his tea. He didn't deny Jia Liang's explanation, nor did he make a statement.
Seeing this, Jia Liang immediately understood. He smiled and continued to speak.
"How about … you go to Lu Yang and ask again? Maybe they'll be able to spare some people? "
Academician Pan was trying to mediate the situation, but in reality, he was already kicking Lu Zhou out.
Academician Pan smiled, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. However, he didn't get angry.
"Okay, you're sending us off, right?"
"Since I'm not welcome here, then I'm afraid there's nothing I can say."
Academician Pan looked at Zhou Chengfu and turned around to leave.
Zhou Chengfu looked at Academician Pan's back and spoke expressionlessly.
"Goodbye."
After Academician Pan left, the office quieted down.
Staring at the closed door, Jia Liang withdrew the smile on his face and asked worriedly.
"He's not really going to ask the minister for people, right?"
"Hmph."
Zhou Chengfu slammed the vacuum flask on the table, snorted, and said nonchalantly.
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