Black technology: a super empire spanning two worlds

Chapter 402 [Demystifying Technology]

However, speed and acceleration have different physical meanings. With such slow acceleration, it would take about 10 hours to accelerate from zero to a speed of 74 kilometers per hour, and it would also take about 10 hours to decelerate from a speed of 74 kilometers per hour.

The acceleration and deceleration phases take about 20 hours, roughly a day.

Because a colossal object weighing millions of tons can move through the air at a very high speed, its acceleration cannot be too fast.

The Earth's rotation speed is supersonic, reaching 463 meters per second, and the speed at which the sun carries the Earth around the Milky Way is even more outrageous.

Therefore, it is clear that a multi-million-ton airborne base can eventually reach a speed of 74 kilometers per hour, or even as fast as a high-speed train at 300 kilometers per hour, but acceleration is not an option. It must be slow, almost to the point of being a snail's pace, accumulating little by little.

If we were to compare the ability of a supercar to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in a few seconds, or even the terrifying acceleration of a supersonic aircraft, to a colossal aerial base, what kind of powerful engine would be needed to propel such a massive object to such speeds? Absolutely impossible!

Even if we assume there really is such an amazing engine, no material is strong enough to withstand such terrifying inertial kinetic energy; the entire base structure would disintegrate in mid-air.

While an average acceleration of 0.000571 m/s² is indeed slow, it is more than enough to generate a thrust of several hundred tons.

Furthermore, such acceleration doesn't produce any sense of being pushed back. People walking on the base can't even feel the acceleration. It's basically no different from being on the ground. They can do whatever they want without being affected by any acceleration.

In addition, the overall strength requirements for the base structure materials can be significantly reduced.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if a house were built on the surface of an aerial base using the standards of a rural homestead, such a structure would be as stable as a rock and would not sway at all.

The aerial base envisioned by Xiao Yu didn't actually use too many groundbreaking technologies; only room-temperature superconducting materials and controlled nuclear fusion could be considered groundbreaking technologies.

Even the main alloy steel materials used in the air base don't meet the standards of aircraft carrier decks.

It's fair to say that the steel used in the current skyscrapers is perfectly adequate.

At this moment, Xiao Yu looked at Zhao Heyang and smiled: "...To put it bluntly, building a medium-sized aerial base with a capacity of 2 million tons is not as mysterious as you might imagine, nor as difficult as you might think. It may seem extremely futuristic, but you can just think of it as a flying skyscraper. It would only weigh less than three Burj Khalifas or two and a half Shanghai Towers combined."

Xiao Yu added, "If humans have the ability to build such skyscrapers, then they can certainly build aerial bases with a capacity of millions or even tens of millions of tons. In terms of structural strength requirements, they can even be lower than the central building."

Zhao Heyang asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "It's very simple. Take the Central Building for example. The main building is several hundred meters high, and the load-bearing area is small. But if the Central Building is 'laid down' and becomes shorter, it has a larger load-bearing area, and the stress per unit area is less. Of course, the strength requirements for steel building materials can be lower."

"By the same logic, we can just let the air base fly 'lying down,' or reduce the height and number of floors of the base buildings and spread out a larger area, so that the stress points are all from the downward pull of gravity."

"Letting the base 'lie down' means a larger stress-bearing area, resulting in lower stress per unit area for local structures, and therefore lower requirements for materials."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Heyang immediately realized what was going on and replied with a smile, "That makes sense, that makes sense. Moreover, the base surface can be equipped with larger and longer takeoff runways, and it wouldn't be a problem to even allow large transport aircraft like the Y-20 to land."

Xiao Yu nodded and smiled, "That makes sense." After a moment, Zhao Heyang said excitedly, "When we received the materials and reports you submitted a few days ago, we all thought it was simply a pipe dream. But after your systematic deconstruction and demystification, we increasingly feel that this seemingly fantastical thing is not as difficult to achieve as the military thinks."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu smiled and said, "It wasn't that difficult to begin with. The key is that the technical nodes have all been established, and both economic and technical feasibility have been met."

"Now there are only two technical points left: cheaper room temperature superconducting materials and our partner institutions to develop controlled nuclear fusion technology. Once these two technical nodes are established, there will be no problem."

"AVIC Linfei is very confident in reducing costs and increasing efficiency in room temperature superconducting materials. We are just waiting for our competitors to 'light up' the controlled fusion technology."

Zhao Heyang laughed and said, "Haha, we should just wait for AVIC Linfei Company to bring down the price of room temperature superconducting materials. Didn't you say that if we can't achieve controlled nuclear fusion, fission nuclear energy can serve as a substitute?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu nodded and smiled, "That's right. Fission nuclear energy is sufficient, but fusion energy is definitely a better solution."

Controlled nuclear fusion is undoubtedly the optimal solution for energy modules, and it poses no risk of radiation. The main products of nuclear fusion reactions are helium and neutrons. Helium is an inert gas and is non-radioactive. Although neutrons have some radioactivity, their short half-life and effective absorption and treatment within the reactor prevent the production of long-lived radioactive waste.

In terms of safety, nuclear fusion is also more advanced. Nuclear fission is based on a chain reaction, and if it gets out of control, it may lead to serious accidents such as nuclear meltdown.

Nuclear fusion reactions require extreme conditions, such as temperatures exceeding 1 million degrees Celsius, to be sustained. Once these conditions are not met, the reaction will stop immediately, eliminating the risk of a chain reaction going out of control. This "self-limiting" property makes fusion reactors inherently safer.

Furthermore, fission reactions produce large amounts of greenhouse gases and harmful substances, polluting the environment. Nuclear fusion reactions, on the other hand, do not produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide or emit harmful substances, making them a truly clean energy solution.

Moreover, fusion nuclear energy has a higher energy efficiency ratio.

However, even without fusion energy, fission energy is sufficient to support the energy requirements of the airborne base.

Although fission energy carries high potential risks, it is not a problem as long as it is developed according to the standards of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines; otherwise, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines would never have been developed.

An hour later, Zhao Heyang took his leave of AVIC Linfei Company to return and report to his work.

After this meeting and further detailed understanding, the military was truly impressed, and the meeting and discussions achieved a very good "demystification" effect on the technology.

Everyone initially thought Xiao Yu was crazy. How could such a thing be made in the 21st century? It might not be possible even a hundred years from now. It must require a lot of cutting-edge technology that is ahead of its time to make it possible.

But now, after the "demystification of technology," and after taking it all in again, I suddenly realize that it's not as unattainable as I imagined; it's something that can be made no matter how you look at it.

The basic technical nodes have been established. Even if we can't master controlled nuclear fusion technology in the nuclear energy field, we can use existing nuclear energy technologies as alternatives. All aspects of the technology are already feasible.

……

(End of this chapter)