Chapter 310 - 239: 3-Step Plan

Chapter 310: Chapter 239: 3-Step Plan

The car drove north, heading toward the place that represented the pinnacle of Huaxia’s scientific research—the Huaxia Science Academy.

Although Chen Lin had dealt with his fair share of academicians and researchers from the Science Academy recently, this was the first time he had ever truly set foot inside its gates.

Outside the car window, gray buildings that looked ordinary but bore plaques for various "National Key Laboratories" sped past.

Chen Lin knew full well that ’behind every window here, there might be a genius capable of changing the world’.

However, time was tight and the mission was critical today, so Vice Minister Liao hadn’t arranged any tours. The car pulled up directly in front of an office building, and the two of them headed straight for a large conference room on the third floor.

The moment they pushed open the conference room doors, a wave of heat mixed with the low murmur of discussion washed over them.

The room was already packed.

Chen Lin did a quick scan—there were at least thirty or forty people.

The lineup was quite impressive.

In the row on the left sat scholars with receding hairlines and refined, academic demeanors. Judging by the nameplates in front of them, most were from the Science Academy’s Institute of Material Sciences in Anhui Province, also known as the famous "Science Island"—the headquarters for Huaxia’s controlled nuclear fusion research.

In the middle were several men in suits. Though they also wore glasses, their gazes were much sharper. They were the leaders and technical representatives from the fusion energy development company—in other words, the "construction team" responsible for turning blueprints into reality.

On the right were coordinating staff from the Technology Division, as well as professors from related fields at several top universities.

The moment Liao Yixin walked in with Chen Lin, the previously noisy conference room fell instantly silent.

SWISH—

Dozens of gazes shot over in unison.

Although footage of Chen Lin receiving his award yesterday had already spread across the nation, the expressions of those present varied as they laid eyes on the "man of the hour" in person.

Most were curious. After all, a twenty-one-year-old winner of the first prize of a national award was as rare as a giant panda.

Some were full of admiration. This was especially true for the young doctoral students who had read Chen Lin’s AI paper; they practically had stars in their eyes.

Of course, a very small minority, particularly a few highly senior professors, watched him with scrutiny and even a hint of imperceptible doubt.

After all, controlled nuclear fusion was the holy grail of physics, and the mathematical problems involved were exceedingly complex and highly specialized.

’Could a young man with a background in AI and applied mathematics really handle the mess in plasma physics?’

"Everyone, allow me to make an introduction."

Liao Yixin walked to the head of the table but didn’t sit down. Instead, he pointed to Chen Lin, his voice resonant.

"This is Professor Chen Lin, who just received the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Yesterday, the leadership specifically instructed us to invite Professor Chen here to help us overcome the mathematical challenges in the engineering reactor’s design."

After the brief introduction, Chen Lin was seated to the right of Vice Minister Liao—the prime seat at the table.

Chen Lin showed no sign of being intimidated. He sat down with composure and opened the laptop in front of him.

"Time is precious, so let’s get straight to business," Liao Yixin said decisively. "First, let’s have Researcher Zhang from Science Island update Professor Chen, and everyone else here, on our latest progress."

A researcher with salt-and-pepper hair and thick-lensed glasses stood up and turned on the projector.

A complex roadmap appeared on the screen.

"Professor Chen, although you’re a mathematics expert, I’ll still briefly introduce the background," Researcher Zhang said, looking at Chen Lin with a sincere tone. "This will help you understand the physical essence of the problem."

Chen Lin nodded, putting on an expression of rapt attention. In truth, to avoid looking foolish, he had already spent the previous night devouring every piece of public information he could find with the help of his system.

"As everyone knows, controlled nuclear fusion, commonly known as the ’Artificial Sun,’ is the ultimate solution to humanity’s energy crisis."

The laser pointer in Researcher Zhang’s hand swept across the screen.

"In this field, we in Huaxia are following a ’three-step’ strategy."

"The first step is scientific validation. We have already made very solid progress here. Both our self-built EAST all-superconducting Tokamak Device and the ’China Circulator No. 3’ have achieved major breakthroughs. We can not only create temperatures of over one hundred million degrees here on Earth—that’s nearly ten times the temperature of the sun’s core—but we can also keep that violent plasma stable for hundreds or even thousands of seconds."

As he spoke, a sense of pride filled Researcher Zhang’s voice. "This proves that, in terms of scientific principles, magnetic confinement fusion is completely feasible. The path is open."

Chen Lin nodded slightly. He’d seen this part in the news. The "Artificial Sun" was indeed a source of national pride.

"Right now, we are at the crucial juncture of the second step—transitioning from ’scientific experiment’ to ’power generation demonstration’."

Researcher Zhang switched to the next slide. A design schematic for a massive, sci-fi-esque, donut-shaped device appeared on the screen.

"This is the core device we are currently building—BEST (Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak)."

"Its mission is singular: to verify that the ’energy output is greater than the energy input,’ in other words, to achieve net energy gain (Q>1). Only by achieving this can fusion power become a viable enterprise rather than a money-losing venture."

"Currently, the BEST device has entered the final assembly stage, with ignition projected for 2027."

At this point, Researcher Zhang’s tone shifted. His brow furrowed, and his expression turned grave.

"However, we cannot afford to focus only on 2027."

"According to the national energy strategy, we must build the world’s first true engineering test reactor (CFETR) around 2035 and achieve grid-connected power generation."

"The problem lies with the design of this 2035 engineering reactor."

Researcher Zhang sighed and pointed to a complex magnetic field topology diagram on the screen.

"To achieve commercial power generation, the engineering reactor’s plasma volume and confinement time must both be an order of magnitude greater than BEST’s. This leads to an extreme mathematical problem—"

"In such an extreme, nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic environment, how do we design a magnetic field control algorithm that can predict and suppress the eruption of ’Edge-Localized Modes,’ or ELMs, in real time?"

"Right now, ELM bursts are like solar flares. Though brief, their energy density is extremely high, capable of burning through our first-wall materials in an instant. If this problem isn’t solved on a mathematical level, the 2035 engineering reactor will be a powder keg waiting to explode."

Researcher Zhang looked at Chen Lin, his gaze intense.

"We’ve tried every existing mathematical tool, including MHD and kinetic simulations, but in such a high-dimensional, multi-scale chaotic system, the computational load is staggering. Real-time control is simply impossible."