A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 306 Eagles soar in the sky, fish swim in the shallows, all creatures compete freely under the frosty sky.

Stockholm, Sweden, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The atmosphere in the meeting room was unusually heavy; everyone appeared very serious.
Outside the window, the old town of Stockholm was quiet and classical in winter, but the air inside the meeting room seemed to be compressed by an invisible force.

Several members of the Physics Prize Committee, along with key figures from the Academy of Sciences, sat around an old oak table, on which were scattered news reports, scientific briefings, and excerpts from the Pangu Project's technical white paper.

The core issue is whether Chen Hui and his breakthrough in successfully generating electricity through controlled nuclear fusion deserve the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Professor Carl Henrik Anderson, a theoretical physicist and senior member of the award committee, broke the silence first by tapping lightly on the cover of Nature magazine with his knuckles, which featured a portrait of Chen Hui.

Chen Hui did not submit any articles to Nature, but Nature took the initiative to select him as Person of the Year and put him on the cover.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we must face reality."

This is not an ordinary step forward, this is a revolution!
It solved one of the most significant scientific challenges of our time, and in every sense, it perfectly aligns with Alfred Nobel's will to "bequeath to mankind the greatest benefit."

If we ignore it, the Nobel Prize will lose its authority.

Anderson's voice was deep, but no one could ignore it.

“Karl, I completely agree that Chen Hui’s achievements are historic.”

However, the Nobel Prize is traditionally awarded to verified discoveries that have been established over time. How long has the Pangu pile been operating? A few months? Its long-term stability and economic viability have not yet been fully verified. Is this too hasty?
Should we wait for more comprehensive peer review and independent verification? Perhaps we should wait another year; there's no need to rush.

Professor Eva Lindgren expressed her concerns, pausing before adding a more sensitive point: "Moreover, this achievement is clearly the work of a large team. Although Chen Hui is the key figure, how do we define the proportion of an individual's contribution? This goes against our tradition of rewarding individuals."

Professor Tobias Weber from Germany spoke with a hint of undisguised emotion: “Eva’s concerns are traditional, but I want to emphasize that Chen Hui’s contribution is precisely the divisible wisdom of an individual.”

The news has revealed that he not only provided that revolutionary plasma motion model, which is a pure theoretical and simulation breakthrough, but more importantly, he independently led the research and development of indispensable high-temperature superconducting materials and first wall materials when key materials were blocked!
This is not merely theoretical; it is a pioneering work integrating theory, materials, and engineering, with its core ideas originating from him alone. This is almost the ultimate interpretation of the classic definition of 'individual contribution'!

He had many acquaintances at the Max Planck Society, including Huber, the head of the Chemistry Department, who was a close friend of his. He had heard about the Max Planck Society's affairs and thought that they could have shared in the honor, but he never expected it to turn out like this.

Not only did they not share in the honor, but their relationship with China so so that they were even embarrassed to send scholars over for exchanges and learning.

"Excuse my bluntness, but are we still using the old yardstick to measure the giants of the new era? Are we waiting for 'settling'? Waiting for all the verification to be completed?"

That might be five or ten years from now! When the award is presented then, it won't be us bestowing the honor upon him, but him bestowing the Nobel Prize honor upon him! We should have the courage to be a part of history, rather than waiting for history to unfold before recognizing it.

Young Indian professor Amit Patel excitedly joined the discussion.

"But you have to consider that even if we award him the Nobel Prize, there is a high probability that he will not come to accept the award. In that case, we will be the ones who are embarrassed."

Professor Eva Lindgren reiterated her concerns on another front.

Everyone fell silent.

After the America incident, Professor Lindgren's concerns were very reasonable. They knew that Chen Hui's actions were not aimed at them for the Nobel Prize, and that probably no award or event could keep Chen Hui from leaving China.

Finally, the committee chairman, the venerable Professor Ingmar Swensen, spoke slowly, and his words silenced everyone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we all love and respect tradition, but we must remember that Alfred Nobel's original intention was to reward those achievements that bring the greatest benefit to mankind."

A hundred years ago, we might have been able to wait.

But what does Chen Hui's work mean today? It means near-limitless clean energy, the possibility of fundamentally solving climate change, and a new era for human civilization.

He looked around, his gaze sharp.

"This is not a simple incremental progress; it is a beacon illuminating the path for humanity's future."

If we cling to old traditions and fail to mark this lighthouse with the proper inscriptions in the first place, how will future historians judge us?

They would say that while history was knocking on the door, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was discussing procedural details.

"Chen Hui's contributions, whether in theoretical models or key materials, are undeniably original, important, and have a decisive impact on science. I believe that the issue of individual contributions can be resolved by clearly focusing the award citation on his 'pioneering theoretical models and key material designs that enable controlled nuclear fusion power generation'."

Professor Swensen paused for a moment before stating his conclusion, “I propose that we initiate a special nomination and evaluation process.”

This is not a hasty decision, but a response to the call of history. We need to confirm all of this with the fastest speed and the most rigorous attitude.

Then,” he took a deep breath, “I believe we will have the opportunity to award one of the most uncontroversial and most important prizes in the history of the Nobel Prize.”

There was silence in the conference room.

Subsequently, several committee members who had initially held reservations slowly nodded. If this was true, then Chen Hui's award was undisputed.

However, as is customary, it is rare for someone to receive the Nobel Prize in the same year they achieve their goal. Usually, the honor is awarded to the person only after the test of time.

However, controlled nuclear fusion is indeed a groundbreaking achievement. As Patel said, awarding the Nobel Prize to Chen Hui was not an honor for Chen Hui, but rather Chen Hui gave them the honor of the Nobel Prize.

……

America, Washington

Wilson looked at the message coming from China and fell silent.

Sitting next to him was Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., whose predecessor, Nick Fury, was brought to trial and sentenced to death because of the Princeton incident.

Fury, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment, was reinstated. When Chen Hui returned to China, everyone realized how farsighted Fury was.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Chen Hui was already like a dragon returning to the sea, and they were helpless.

Fury was equally surprised. He had already overestimated Chen Hui, but he never expected that he could solve the core problem of controlled nuclear fusion in such a short time. Such terrifying ability far exceeded his expectations.

After a brief moment of surprise, he simply stared blankly at all the intelligence reports. He had done his best, and everything that was happening now was the result of these guys' own actions; there was nothing he could do about it.

Seventh-generation fighter jets, nuclear fusion power plants...

Wilson didn't know how many more surprises that guy would bring him, but he knew that America was now far behind China. In fact, if China wanted to, they could unify the entire planet at any time.

Wilson even looked forward to that day, because then he could transform himself and live off the vast framework of China. They were all too familiar with this kind of thing, and it was the only way he could think of to catch up with China.

Unfortunately, China didn't even give them that opportunity.

Wilson felt only profound despair.

……

"Congratulations!"

Schulz called from the University of Bonn. He hadn't been to the Max Planck Society since that meeting; he couldn't work with those short-sighted guys.

Of course, although he had mentioned six months before, he did not expect that Chen Hui would actually be able to complete this feat in just six months.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome to come to China for exchanges when you have time."

Chen Hui extended an invitation to Schultz. He did not blame Schultz for the previous collaboration, knowing that Schultz could not make such a decision.

Schultz shook his head slightly. "My research has reached a critical stage, and I'm afraid I won't be able to go anytime soon."

"But I have some good news to tell you. News came from Stockholm a few days ago."

He didn't say it explicitly, but Chen Hui already understood that the good news coming from Stockholm was most likely the Nobel Prize.

However, for Chen Hui now, these empty titles are completely irrelevant. The only thing that makes him hesitate is whether the Nobel Prize can only reward attribute points. If it can, then he will definitely try his best.

It's worth it for a free attribute point.

Of course, safety preparations must be made first.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hui sat in his office, already contemplating his next move.

The Pangu Reactor has been running stably for more than half a month now, and Song Yuntao and his team have already taken care of everything from promotion to operation and maintenance support.

As for research on miniaturizing fusion reactors and placing them on spaceships, Chen Hui has no intention of getting involved; these studies can be left to the younger generation.

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully entered the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. You have gained +1 free attribute point.]

As Chen Hui was pondering, a barrage of comments suddenly popped up in front of him.

"Becoming an academician can actually grant you free attribute points?"

Chen Hui was overjoyed; this was the true value of being a Chinese academician!

without hesitation,

"Give me some creativity!"

Now that all the key issues of controlled nuclear fusion have been overcome, he is ready to look at the next goal.

With the breakthrough in nuclear fusion power generation, China can now be said to have unlimited energy resources, and there are so many things that can be done. For example, using this almost free energy, seawater can be desalinated into fresh water and transported to arid and desert regions around the world through a vast pipeline network, achieving a complete revolution in global agriculture and ending famine.

Alternatively, they could build giant factories to directly capture excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, actively and precisely regulating the global climate and reversing global warming...

Moreover, with the significant reduction in energy costs, the cost of material synthesis will also decrease dramatically, making it easier for scientists and engineers to explore new materials. The synthesis of new materials will undoubtedly drive nuclear fusion to evolve once again.

The materials used in nuclear fusion are deuterium and tritium. These raw materials are abundant in seawater and can also be artificially prepared, but refining them requires considerable costs.

However, the moon has abundant reserves of helium-3, which is a better nuclear fusion fuel than deuterium and tritium. The fusion reaction of helium-3 and deuterium only produces charged protons, which is easy to magnetically confine and produces no radioactive waste. Furthermore, there are no neutrons bombarding the reactor walls, which can significantly reduce material consumption and nuclear waste disposal costs.

Meanwhile, the energy released per unit mass of helium-3 is 1.5 times that of the deuterium-tritium reaction, and the reaction conditions are easier to control.

The lunar soil contains 100 to 500 million tons of helium-3, which is 200 million times the amount on Earth!
Previously, everyone could only look up at the sky, but with the breakthrough in nuclear fusion, space travel is no longer a dream. At least, with current technology, short-distance travel to the moon is no longer difficult. As a result, the mining of helium-3 on the moon has been put on the agenda.

Some scientists have also proposed using fusion energy to drive giant orbital mirrors to focus sunlight and melt the polar ice caps of Mars, releasing carbon dioxide and creating a greenhouse effect. At the same time, they could extract water from underground and create a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, thus transforming Mars into a habitable planet for humans.

With over 70 billion people living on Earth today, it is indeed too crowded. If Mars could be developed as a second home for humanity, it would undoubtedly be something everyone would welcome.

Not only Mars, but also Venus, Saturn, Jupiter... all the planets in the solar system can be transformed into human-made planets, and their rich mineral resources are also a huge fortune.

Some have even proposed the Dyson Cloud project, a simplified version of the Dyson Sphere, or perhaps the first step towards it. This involves building numerous fusion-powered space energy collection stations—the Dyson Cloud—around the sun to capture the vast majority of its energy and power subsequent Dyson Sphere projects.

Some have also proposed interstellar travel plans, making interstellar probes and even manned spacecraft based on fusion propulsion possible. Although the speed will not reach the speed of light, traveling to nearby star systems, such as Proxima Centauri, will transform from science fiction into an extremely long but feasible engineering project.

Some have even proposed a digital life project, suggesting that near-infinite energy and computing resources could force humanity to rethink its own form of existence.

Consciousness uploading, virtual reality, or human-machine integration may become new evolutionary directions, completely freeing us from the constraints of the physical body to adapt to long interstellar journeys or different alien environments...

With the breakthrough in nuclear fusion power generation, the entire solar system is like a huge treasure trove, opening its doors to humanity on Earth.

And the key is controlled nuclear fusion!
Nuclear fusion power plants are not just a simple technological breakthrough; they are like an engine that has been installed in this era, rapidly driving the development of various fields.

The scientific community's euphoria over nuclear fusion power generation is just the beginning. Humanity, which has gazed at the stars for hundreds of years, is finally about to take its first step towards the stars, and they are full of enthusiasm, proposing countless projects and plans.

However, Chen Hui does not intend to participate in these projects, as they are more engineering challenges that other scientists and engineers are capable of solving.

But he has to do something even more challenging!
(End of this chapter)