The evolution of insect swarms from XNUMX million years ago

Chapter 220 Nuclear Energy Rocket
The last problem is the propulsion of space creatures.

The space biological template is different from launch vehicles like the Cornerstone series, which are staggering in size and require long-term operation. To promote its operation, a propulsion method different from traditional chemical energy rockets is needed.

In space, since there is no medium such as air, if you want to achieve propulsion, you must continue to consume a certain working medium, referred to as working fluid, which is also the so-called propulsion working fluid.

Since the working medium needs to be continuously consumed, rockets and other rockets need to carry a large amount of propelling medium to supply the continuous consumption. Especially chemical energy rockets require a large amount of propelling medium, so that the main part of the rocket is basically a huge fuel tank. .

In later generations, the term used to measure the propulsion efficiency of a propellant was called specific impulse, which is the impulse produced per unit amount of propellant. The specific impulse of chemical rocket engines is actually relatively low. This is also the reason why it needs to carry a large amount of propellant.

Compared with the chemical energy produced by combustion, nuclear energy is undoubtedly a more efficient energy. However, the operation principle of a nuclear reactor determines that it cannot be directly promoted and still requires the conversion of traditional working fluids.

Nuclear reactors produce thermal energy, and the combustion of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen also produces thermal energy. If the thermal energy of the reactor can be used to heat the working fluid and its expansion can be used to generate thrust, the process can be used in a more efficient way than chemical energy rockets. quality and advance.

The design of this kind of nuclear energy rocket began to be researched after Lin Yi obtained the biological nuclear fission reactor. At present, there are some clues.

In terms of working fluid, Lin Yi still chose the more familiar liquid hydrogen. Not only is it easy to obtain, its lower molecular weight can also increase the injection speed to a higher level and obtain a larger injection speed.

The way nuclear rockets work is not particularly complicated. Simply put, liquid hydrogen is continuously pumped into the reactor core through the structure, and then the heated hydrogen is ejected from a special nozzle structure at an extremely high speed.

Among them, the heating and ejection parts are quite simple for Lin Yi. The only difficulty is pumping the propellant, that is, the liquid hydrogen into the rear structure, which is a little troublesome.

In terms of mechanical structure, a simple turbopump can solve the problem, and the same type of turbopump used in chemical energy liquid rocket engines can do the job, but in terms of biological structure, the shaft cannot grow out no matter what.

Therefore, in the previous Corner Stone series, Lin Yi adopted the method of continuously delivering liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen through high-pressure gas bags, but now, under continuous operation conditions, high-pressure gas is no longer suitable.

Finally, after some thought, Lin Yi adopted multiple developed heart-like structures for continuous pumping, matched with thermal energy synthesis cells, and used the thermal energy generated by nuclear fission to continuously drive.

In a sense, although the efficiency is reduced, it saves the process of transporting a part of the hydrogen back to the turbine pump to drive the turbine pump, maximizing the use of thermal energy. The specific advantages and disadvantages are not yet known.

Theoretically, the specific impulse of this nuclear rocket engine is twice that of traditional chemical rocket engines, and its service life and duration exceed that of traditional chemical rocket engines.

The complex structure and high cost make them unsuitable for one-time launch vehicles, but they are suitable for space creatures that require long-term use. Speaking of space creatures, the template previously provided by Bao was almost hollow because of its incomplete genetic sequence. This required Lin Yi to design its internal structure by himself to achieve the highest efficiency.

The first point is that in order to achieve a longer endurance, most of the space must be fuel tanks, or to be precise, the propulsion medium storage tank structure. It is completely unrealistic for the fuel to account for only a small part of the total as in a planet.

As for the external structure, because he has no relevant experience, Lin Yi does not plan to make too many changes for the time being. It still maintains a carrot shape that does not look dignified at all, and even has a somewhat abstract shape - but under the funny appearance, it is devastating. the essence of.

Although it is not as sharp as the grades on the planet, it has been planned for a long time that the new space creatures will be equipped with weapons. Lin Yi's idea is to install a huge electromagnetic railgun on the central axis of the organism, penetrating at least one third of the front of the organism, occupying the center of the entire front half of the body structure of the space organism.

Coincidentally, the first biological nuclear fission reactor group was installed in the center of the biological body. The large number of electric plate column muscle mechanisms at its front end can well convert chemical energy into bioelectric energy required for electromagnetic gun launch.

The gap in the front half of the overall structure and most of the back half are all working medium storage tank structures, which are composed of a special bladder-like structure. A diaphragm structure similar to a ship's watertight cabin is also installed inside, just in case.

A large number of heart-like biological pump structures are located throughout the body and are used to transport the propellant in these tanks, which is liquid hydrogen. These structures also consider emergency situations after being hit, so the distances are relatively spread out.

As for the tail, there are four huge nuclear rocket engines, each of which has a separate nuclear fission reactor, but shares a circulation system to allow the related structures to occupy as little space as possible.

The tail of the space creature has four main nozzles for propulsion and a large number of small nozzles for disguise, allowing the space creature to flexibly change its attitude and aim the muzzle at the central axis at the location of possible enemies.
In order to integrate all of this, the body of space creatures has several special biological computer brains similar to Bao's brain, as well as a large number of special neural aggregation structures, which are relayed and combined through space synapses throughout the body.

In a sense, space creatures are also an aggregation of multiple creatures, rather than individual creatures. But the biological structure still allows it to accommodate its members without any complexity, making its own structure more compact than mechanical structures of the same level.

As for the life-support system, thermal energy synthesis, radiation synthesis and photosynthesis are sufficient. Coupled with the continuous energy generated by nuclear reactors, space creatures can survive in space for a long time.

Everything constitutes a brand new space creature that has not changed much on the outside, but has been completely transformed on the inside. It can be called a living miracle.

With a large number of electromagnetic gun structures shooting components and nutrients into space, the first such new version of space creature soon began to be assembled in the orbit of Mars - this would mean that Lin Yi's level of technology has officially surpassed him. The human civilization in which we lived in previous lives.

(End of this chapter)