Outside of the STAR-2 demonstration reactor base, a helicopter landed smoothly on an open space.
Even though Lu Zhou hated this type of transportation, he had to admit that this was the fastest option.
After getting off the helicopter, Lu Zhou didn't stop at all. He grabbed his laptop bag and walked toward the base.
He walked through the construction site in the center of the base and went straight to the main building. He then found Academician Wang Zengguang's office.
Lu Zhou was standing at the door. He knocked on the door and walked in.
When Academician Wang Zengguang saw Lu Zhou walk in, he put down the pen in his hand and smiled.
"Oh? You're back already? Academician Li Jiangang told me to tell you that the ICRF antenna they are responsible for improving is ready. It basically meets your requirements.
"Everything is going smoothly on our side. We might even be able to build what you want before the end of the year.
"The most important part is the liquid lithium neutron recovery system. Can you guys do it?"
When Academician Wang said this, he smiled. He was just joking. He didn't mean to rush Lu Zhou.
He knew very well that the reason why the road under his feet was so smooth was because Lu Zhou had paved the way for them.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that from the plasma turbulence model to the LPC-1 material, Lu Zhou's research results had saved them at least 20 years of time.
Therefore, even if there was no progress on the most important liquid lithium neutron recovery system, this was completely acceptable.
After all, a person's energy was limited.
However, Lu Zhou's answer was beyond his expectations.
Lu Zhou took out a stack of documents from his laptop bag and spoke.
"I should be the one asking you that. The design work is done. Whether or not we can build it depends on you guys."
"Already?"
Academician Wang suddenly stood up from his chair in surprise. He quickly walked around his desk and took the stack of blueprints from Lu Zhou's hands. He then carefully read through them.
Time ticked by just like that.
When Academician Wang looked at the blueprints in his hand, his expression became more and more serious.
Noticing the change in his expression, Lu Zhou yawned and asked, "Is there a problem?"
Academician Wang shook his head. "No."
Or rather …
It was so perfect that he couldn't come up with any suggestions to improve it.
As for the engineering difficulty, it was also within an acceptable range.
Academician Wang closed the blueprint in his hand and looked at Lu Zhou.
"You're a genius."
Hearing this, Lu Zhou smiled embarrassedly.
"This isn't just me, it's the work of all the researchers at the STAR research institute …"
Of course, there was also the system.
Even if he didn't use points, he could still solve these problems.
However, it would take a lot of time, and it was impossible to do it so perfectly in one go.
However, Academician Wang didn't seem to buy Lu Zhou's modesty. He waved his hand with an "I understand" expression.
"Yes, yes, yes. This is everyone's contribution. I believe you."
Lu Zhou: "…?"
What do you know?
…
It was mid-November. The weather was slightly cold, and the red bricks of the Forbidden City were covered with frost.
At this moment, in a quiet sanatorium not too far away from the Forbidden City, a chessboard was placed under a willow tree that was so thick that two people would need to hug it together.
On this rare sunny day, two old men were sitting across from each other, playing chess.
The red and black sides were fighting back and forth, and the battle was extremely tense.
However, at this moment, the situation suddenly took a turn.
"Checkmate!"
With this excited shout, the red side's horse kicked the black side's elephant and formed a triangle with the chariot, forcing the black side's pawn into a corner of the palace.
Without a doubt, the outcome of the battle was clear.
The old man stared at the chessboard and began to think to himself. "I shouldn't have moved this pawn, if I flew this elephant —"
When the old man saw that he was about to touch the chessboard, he immediately stopped him.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? It's fine if someone else wants to go back, but you can't!"
The old man's hand touched the chessboard and paused for a second. He then smiled and let go of the chess piece.
"Chief Designer Ren is right. I've lost this game!"
Sitting across from him was Academician Ren Changming, the former chief designer of China's lunar exploration project.
"Have you been busy lately?"
Old man: "I'm busy, but I'm not busy either."
Ren Changming: "I see you're pretty free, you even have time to play chess with me."
The old man shook his head and said, "The international situation isn't looking good, I'm just taking a break from my busy schedule."
Ren Changming: "I heard that Jinling is doing controllable nuclear fusion?"
The old man nodded and said, "Yeah."
Even though many old experts weren't optimistic about this project, he felt like it was worth a try.
Maybe this technology could be the key to solving the problem?
"Controllable nuclear fusion …" Ren Changming said emotionally, "I've discussed this with Mr. Qiao before. We both thought that in 20 years, one of the United States and the Soviet Union would be able to do it, and we would be able to catch up. But now, 20 years have passed, and it's going to be another 20 years soon. We don't know when this will end. "
Back in the 1990s, everyone was working on inertial confinement fusion. They claimed that ignition would take 10 years and commercial production would take 20 years. Seeing the dawn of controllable fusion rising, China obviously didn't want to be left behind. In 1993, the ICF project was quickly launched, and it was included in the 863 Plan. It followed the international hot spots and launched technical attacks on inertial confinement fusion. It even became a "thousand-person battle".
However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected. The United States' NIF ignition failed, and it poured a bucket of cold water on inertial confinement fusion. The originally tepid tokamak gradually became popular, and the once popular inertial confinement fusion gradually became unmentioned.
If it weren't for the fact that the laser ignition technology could still be used in the military, the investment in inertial confinement fusion would be completely wasted.
Everything that was happening now was like a cycle of the past.
Even though Ren Changming wasn't in the nuclear engineering field, he had seen it all.
To be honest, compared to optimism, he was more worried.
Of course, deep in his heart, he still hoped that this project could be successfully completed.
"The person in charge is Lu Zhou?"
Old man: "You know him?"
"More than know him." When the old academician heard Lu Zhou's name, he had a nostalgic look on his face. He smiled and said, "It was probably a few years ago. This kid was still studying at Jin Ling University back then, and I already knew him.
"It was an expert interview for a mathematical modeling competition. I sat in the judge's seat, and I asked him what he thought about the future of the moon landing project. This kid was very interesting. He was different from the other interviewees, and he asked me what I thought about the Great Wall of China. You talked about history and the future with me, and you even talked about it clearly and logically. "
"At the time, I could tell that he was a genius. Studying mathematics at Jin Ling University was a waste. Therefore, I personally went to Jin Ling University and tried to get him to work at Yan University. I asked him if he wanted to learn how to build rockets from me. Guess what he said to me?"
The old man smiled and asked, "What did he say?"
Ren Changming slapped his thigh and smiled as he said, "He said, Professor Ren, I don't want to go to space yet!"
"Hahaha …"
The two old men laughed heartily.
Ren Changming couldn't help but feel a little melancholy as he talked about the past.
Back then, he could run all over the world. Now, even if he wanted to run around, he couldn't walk.
After laughing enough, Ren Changming stopped and sighed with emotion.
"After that, it was pretty much like what you saw. This kid isn't simple. Even though he didn't go to space, he was no different from going to space."
At this point, Ren Changming paused for a moment before continuing.
"If he didn't succeed, don't be disappointed. After all, scientific research isn't infrastructure. The input and output aren't necessarily proportional. Compared to his present, I'm more optimistic about his future. Unlike us old men who are going to visit God soon, his scientific research career has just begun. He still has a long way to go. "
The old man understood the hidden meaning behind Old Mister Ren's words and smiled faintly. "Of course I know. You can rest assured about this."
Ren Changming nodded in relief.
Even though he was just preparing for a rainy day, he still had to say these words.
If even he didn't say anything, then no one else would.
At this moment, a guard walked over from the side and reported to the old man.
"Director Lu is outside."
The old man nodded and said, "Let him in."
"Yes, sir!"
The guard saluted and turned around to walk out of the courtyard.
They didn't have to wait for long before Director Lu walked in excitedly with the guards following him.
The old man noticed the letter in his hand and the excited expression on his face. He smiled and said, "What made you so excited?"
Director Lu said excitedly, "There's good news from Haizhou! The demonstration team project has entered the final stage! I have a letter from Professor Lu! "
The second Ren Changming heard this, he had a look of surprise on his face.
The chess piece in his hand landed on the chessboard. The old man was moved, and he stood up.
"What did he say in the letter?"
Director Lu took a deep breath and restrained the excitement in his voice.
"The demonstration reactor project has entered the countdown. It is expected to be conducted at the end of December! Requesting approval from the Communist Party of China! "
Hearing this news, the old man laughed heartily and said "good" three times.
Withdrawing his smile, he straightened his expression and ordered in a deep voice.
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