The evolution of insect swarms from XNUMX million years ago

Chapter 217 Bioreactor

This mummy seems to be left behind by a genetic sequence storage structure similar to a mother's nest. It is formed by the entwining rhizome structure of a Bao individual, or several individuals, with a huge sphere inside.

The roots of the mushroom carpet clung to it, dissolved its tissue, absorbed it, and began to analyze the gene sequence - and the results of the analysis of its gene sequence were quickly presented to Lin Yi.

Unfortunately, the half-life of the gene sequence has passed, the gene chain has collapsed, and only scattered base pairs are left. But for Lin Yi now, it's not a problem. These base pairs were quickly analyzed one by one by Lin Yi and connected in series to finally form a complete gene sequence.

This gene sequence is not the entire sequence, but only a small amount of remnants left in the structure that was recorded in large quantities. Moreover, the gene sequence that was finally pieced together still has some missing parts, but its overall complexity and the performance of the materials used are still impressive. Lin Yi was shocked.

These two points of the new structure are actually no less than the genetic template of space creatures at that time. In some aspects, it is even better. From this point alone, we can see that it is not simple.

After a preliminary inspection, Lin Yi concluded that this thing seemed to be related to energy acquisition, which was exactly what he needed now.

The main body of the structure consists of a huge cylindrical sac-like structure, or the overall structure is similar to a capsule. Its inner wall is made of tissue with extremely strong heat resistance, and there is no living cell tissue.

As for the way it obtains energy, Lin Yi has already guessed it.

Melanin and related radiation synthesis structures are present in the cell tissues closest to the structure, which seem to be used to withstand intense radiation energy.

There are also other structures, such as a large number of circulatory systems scattered around the tissues that appear to be used for heat dissipation, and a large number of thermal energy synthesis structures similar to those of thermophilic bacteria, all of which illustrate that the overall structure of all these can generate a large amount of heat and radiation, and Convert it into energy that can be used by biological cells.

Combined with the shapes of other auxiliary structures, etc., everything shows that this structure, or a simple organism, is a biological nuclear reactor!
Judging from the structural details, it is not a relatively advanced fusion reactor, but a relatively low-efficiency nuclear fission reactor, using the chain reaction of uranium fission to continuously and controllably obtain energy.

This biological fission reactor structure, the filling and operation of the main core part seems to rely on a special refining system based on a large number of special cells containing melanin.

This system seems to be able to directly extract uranium ore into enriched uranium-235 that can be used as reactor fuel, and inject it into the reactor core for use as fuel, providing a steady stream of heat and radiation energy.

In later generations of nuclear fission reactors, the entire fission process is controllable. The core of this process is a structure called a control rod, which absorbs high-energy neutrons and regulates the fission rate, that is, the reactor operating power. .

The control rod itself is made of materials that can absorb neutrons, and controls the reactor by adjusting its position in a simple and crude way.

When it is embedded deeper, more neutrons are absorbed, and the chain reaction slows down, and the output power decreases. When it is embedded shallower, fewer neutrons are absorbed, and the chain reaction slows down. It speeds up and the output power increases. In this biological version of the fission reactor, it is not easy to realize this structure - high-energy neutrons have extremely strong penetrating power and can directly destroy gene chains, which is quite fatal to living things.

To complete the control of this process, you first need a component called a moderator in the fission reactor - generally composed of heavy water, which is a compound of heavy hydrogen and oxygen, to wrap the uranium fuel rod and produce the fission reaction High-energy neutrons decelerate into low-speed neutrons.

In this way, on the one hand, it is easier to control the chain reaction, and on the other hand, the killing effect of neutrons on cells will also be weakened. As long as some special structural materials are used, the fission rate can be controlled.

In this structure, there is obviously a part for placing the moderator, and it is most likely that it is also a liquid substance, such as water or heavy water. It plays the role of decelerating high-energy neutrons into low-speed neutrons.

In this biological fission reactor, the control rod structure adopts a special structure - its surface has a large number of scale-like structures that can be opened and closed, and the outer shell of the structure is composed of materials that can absorb neutrons.

When the scale structure is closed, the entire control rod can absorb neutrons and slow down the fission rate. When it opens, it can reduce the absorption of neutrons and speed up the fission rate. By adjusting the opening angle of the scale structure, the fission rate can be controlled.

But then, there is another problem - nuclear fission produces heat and radiation energy, and the normal operation of living organisms requires chemical energy. How to efficiently convert the energy generated by fission reactors into the energy needed for the operation of living organisms is also a problem.

What humans in later generations have excelled at is electrical energy. The way to convert the substances produced by nuclear fission into electrical energy is to boil water, that is, to use the large amount of heat energy generated by nuclear fission to boil water, and then use the water vapor to generate electricity.

But biological structures obviously cannot do this. It is not that they are incompatible with electrical energy, but a fatal problem - biological structures cannot grow axes anyway, and cannot use the energy generated by steam.

This part of the gene sequence is a synthesis system composed of a large number of special cells similar to thermophilic bacteria that use thermal energy to synthesize chemical energy, which cooperates with the cooling circulation system to evenly export and absorb heat.

Radiant energy is absorbed in large quantities using the radiosynthesis that Lin Yi is familiar with. Taken together, the almost inexhaustible energy of nuclear fission reactions is used to power the daily cycles of living things.

There is no doubt that this system can effectively solve the energy problem, especially for behemoths such as space creatures. With fission reactors as energy sources, it can support more functions and even equip weapon systems.

This set of biological fission reactor structures was immediately fully absorbed and analyzed by Lin Yi, and he was ready to use it. He now has many ideas based on this structure that are ready to be implemented, and is just waiting for the completion of the first such biological nuclear fission reactor structure. Analysis and production.

Although there is currently no relevant demand, Lin Yi started researching a special weapon system for use in outer space and low-gravity environments at the same time as he obtained the structural gene sequence related to the biological nuclear fission reactor, preparing to use it with space. Use biological structures to become a true interstellar battleship.

(End of this chapter)