Chereads / In the Era of Catastrophe: I Light Up the Ray of Hope with Technology / Chapter 27 - Chapter 28 Magnetohydrodynamic Generator

Chapter 27 - Chapter 28 Magnetohydrodynamic Generator

The concept of magnetohydrodynamic generator actually appeared very early.

It is a device that generates electricity based on the Hall effect by using the relative motion of a conductive fluid, such as air or liquid, and a magnetic field.

Since the step of mechanical energy conversion is omitted, its power generation efficiency is also significantly improved.

In fact, in his previous life, he had envisioned using this technology to generate electricity.

However, due to the tight schedule, there was no extra time for in-depth research, so they had no choice but to choose the relatively simple method of boiling water to generate electricity.

But this time... he has absolutely plenty of time!

There was a flash of excitement in Lu Yongchang's eyes. He reached out and grabbed a piece of white paper and spread it flat on his desk.

"Brother Xu, come and take a look at this plan!"

As he spoke, Lu Yongchang picked up the pen beside him, uncapped it, and started drawing directly on the white paper!

Seeing Lu Yongchang's actions, Fang Xu showed some doubt in his eyes.

This... is a simple way to generate electricity by boiling water. Is there any other solution needed?

There are so many controlled nuclear fission power stations in Xia Country, can't we just copy any plan?

Thinking this in his mind, Fang Xu took a step forward and looked carefully at the white A4 paper in front of Lu Yongchang.

Looking at the straight and neat lines on the paper, Fang Xu's eyes showed a hint of amazement.

"Your drawing skills are... amazing!"

Lu Yongchang paused for a moment, then explained with a smile: "Well! I just learned it blindly. Otherwise, how did I draw those simple diagrams on the blackboard?"

Fang Xu nodded with admiration.

This is not something you can learn just by saying it!

At least, he can't.

Not to mention him, even among the academicians of the Academy of Sciences, there are probably not many people whose drawing skills can reach this level!

The office gradually fell into silence.

Apart from the two people's breathing, the only sound was the rustling sound of Lu Yongchang's pen scratching on the white paper.

"This is..."

Fang Xu's eyebrows suddenly raised.

As the lines on the drawing gradually became more complete, he figured out what Lu Yongchang was drawing!

"Magnetic fluid generator?"

Without stopping his actions, Lu Yongchang chuckled and nodded, saying, "Yes! It's a magnetohydrodynamic generator!"

"In my opinion, this is the most suitable device for controlled nuclear fusion, no doubt about it!"

Fang Xu frowned instantly.

After a moment's silence, he said in a heavy tone, "Yongchang, I know that the magnetohydrodynamic generator has a high power generation efficiency."

"But... the magnetohydrodynamic generator has several fatal flaws. The technology is not yet mature enough!"

"Wouldn't it be a bit... too reckless to rashly use it in controlled nuclear fusion?"

The pen in Lu Yongchang's hand suddenly stopped.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Fang Xu, then smiled and shook his head: "Difficult?"

"There are only two difficulties that currently limit magnetohydrodynamic power generation technology."

"First, magnetohydrodynamic power generation technology requires an inert gas containing trace amounts of alkali metals such as potassium and cesium as a working fluid."

"Second, the high temperature environment in which the magnetohydrodynamic generator operates normally."

"Am I right?"

Fang Xu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded gently: "This first one is still a little difficult to solve at the moment."

"We don't have the technology to produce inert gases on a large scale yet."

"According to current technology, if we use a magnetohydrodynamic generator, even if the working fluid can be recycled, the cost will far exceed our expectations!"

Lu Yongchang stared at Fang Xu meaningfully, with a faint smile in his eyes.

"Brother Xu, are you sure that we don't have the technology to produce inert gas yet?"

Fang Xu frowned slightly, and after carefully recalling it in his mind, he slowly shook his head: "I am sure that, at least as of last week, I have not seen relevant technology in Xiaguo or even in international journals!"

Lu Yongchang didn't say anything, but just looked at Fang Xu deeply, then picked up the pen again and started writing on the paper.

Seeing this scene, Fang Xu frowned even deeper, and an inexplicable feeling of irritation came from the bottom of his heart.

He had a vague premonition.

It seems that I have overlooked something extremely important!

But Fang Xu couldn't figure out what it was exactly.

"Yongchang?"

Fang Xu's eyes showed a bit of anxiety, and he whispered to Lu Yongchang in front of him: "What kind of technology is it? Tell me quickly!"

Lu Yongchang still didn't say anything, but just tapped the desk lightly with the tip of his pen.

Fang Xu, whose attention was attracted by Lu Yongchang's actions, lowered his head and looked at the white paper in front of him.

A line of beautiful pen handwriting appeared on the white paper.

1 2 H+ 1 3 H→ 2 4 He+ 0 1 n+17.6MeV

This is... the reaction formula for deuterium-tritium fusion!

Looking at this extremely familiar reaction pattern, Fang Xu was stunned on the spot.

His lips trembled slightly, and a smile gradually appeared on both sides of his cheeks.

"I see! I see!"

No wonder he always felt that he had overlooked something important!

After considering all the external factors, he overlooked the most important internal factor!

Unlike ordinary thermal power plants and nuclear fission power plants, deuterium-tritium fusion itself produces helium!

Hydrogen-2 and hydrogen-3 undergo a fusion reaction under high temperature conditions to produce helium-4 and neutrons. This is simply high school physics knowledge, but... this academician just ignored it!

Fang Xu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "In this case, the first difficulty has been solved."

The smile in Lu Yongchang's eyes became more and more obvious: "The second difficulty, is it still a difficulty for us now?"

Fang Xu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reached out and slapped his head!

"Oh my! My brain! What's going on with it lately!?"

The new materials in the stellarator reactor can withstand the high temperatures of controlled nuclear fusion. Does that mean they cannot withstand the "low temperatures" of 2000-3000K when the magnetohydrodynamic generator is operating?

The more Fang Xu thought about it, the more excited he became. He put his hands behind his back and kept circling around Lu Yongchang's office.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"A deuterium-tritium fusion reactor can produce helium! It's a high-temperature gas of hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius!"

"We don't even have to expend energy heating it up!"

"This is simply, this is simply the perfect power generation solution!"

Lu Yongchang chuckled and handed the schematic on the table to Fang Xu: "Brother Xu, see if our Sandaokou University has any talent in this area. If there is... make a prototype as soon as possible!"

"We will strive to complete the first controlled nuclear fusion demonstration reactor within half a year!"

Fang Xu was excited. He reached out to take the sketch handed over by Lu Yongchang and nodded vigorously!

"good!"

"Don't worry, leave this matter to me!"

"I promise that within two months, you will be able to see a prototype of the magnetohydrodynamic generator!"