I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

Class B base.

On the night of the three-day long vacation, all the B+ and above personnel gathered in the basement, except for... there was only one "waiter".

A "female" dressed as a secretary slowly brewed coffee and tea according to everyone's preferences, put them away and stood quietly in the corner.

Lin Ju glanced at the improved No. 2 robot that had been put on a silicone skin. He coughed to focus the attention of several people present. Then he stretched out his hands in the eyes of impatient eyes. A book that was not too thick appeared out of thin air in his hands. .

The simple black cover said "Introduction to Radiation Propulsion Technology" and the corresponding author's name. It didn't even include the publisher. There was also a "Top Secret" stamp in the lower right corner.

Ye Changsi, who couldn't wait for a long time, stood up and came over, excitedly opened the catalog, and read with several other pairs of eyes this book from another world more than twenty years later.

"Part One: Several Ways of Fusion Technology

Part Two: Mainstream Propulsion Technology Concepts

Part Three: Prospects for Radiation Propulsion Technology

Part 4: Relevant papers and documents (internally published by 404 Institute)"

There are only 130 pages in total, with only four parts. It is obviously not a heavy technical catalog, but a supplementary book like "Introduction to Interstellar Navigation", most of which are the author Zhao Zongyao's conception of his radiation propulsion theory.

But what attracts engineers the most is the 17-page introduction to fusion technology. There are three sections in it, which must correspond to the three nuclear fusion methods that can be achieved in that world.

The most difficult thing in the world right now is not knowing which fusion technology is feasible, and the content of these 17 pages can completely point out the direction of future development.

Lin Ju, who knew his level, naturally gave up his position to Ye Changsi, who had the most profound knowledge in this field, and watched the latter excitedly turn the pages of the book.

A group of engineers stood close together and saw the first paragraph of the first part.

“Since the world of atomic energy opened the door, research on fusion technology has never stopped. This power from the sun is probably the most powerful method that humans can master and use in the long term.

There are many ways to fuse light nuclei such as hydrogen atoms, deuterium, tritium, and helium 3, but they can be roughly divided into two categories: inertial confinement fusion and magnetic confinement fusion. The two methods are not mutually exclusive. In the past 100 years, all More than 30 fusion devices have been built in the world, basically within the scope of these two methods.

Whether it is laser, plasma or magnetic capture, the principle is to create a high-temperature and high-pressure environment. At the same time, the more efficient the fusion method, the higher the temperature and pressure required, especially the clean helium triple fusion.

The radiation propulsion technology discussed in this book is based on the prospect of laser confinement inertial plasma fusion technology. Although this technology is not yet mature, it has been confirmed by scientists from various countries as a way to achieve stable and efficient helium-III fusion. It has the characteristics of small size, It has many advantages such as less waste heat, light weight, and high power generation efficiency.

The important breakthrough in laser confinement inertial plasma nuclear fusion is based on the "Yu Qian formula" proposed by the famous Chinese scientist Yu Qian to further explain the Yang Mills electromagnetic force-weak force unified equation, which uses the weak interaction between atoms to achieve the regulation of plasma. constraint……"

Lin Ju read the first high-end vocabulary "weak interaction force". The following is Zhao Zongyao's explanation of "Yu Qian's formula" and the introduction of laser confinement inertial plasma fusion. At a glance, there are unfamiliar symbols.

Obviously, there was an outstanding person named Yu Qian in that world line who made important contributions to controllable nuclear fusion, so much so that a theory named after him appeared. From the exclamations of Ye Changsi, Serev and others, it can be seen that this must be the most advanced technology in the world at present. A theory that does not yet exist or be proven.

But the part that Lin Ju could understand ended here. The author of "Introduction to Radiation Propulsion Technology" obviously knew that this book was for people in internal research institutes. There was not much text explanation, and most of it was occupied by formulas and diagrams. Only professionals can understand it.

He struggled to understand the shortest formula, then resignedly gave up.

In fact, the only people who know something about nuclear technology are Ye Changsi, Cheng Nankai, Zhao Xiaowen and others. The other engineers are almost not involved, but they can understand some of the content.

"Paper, I need calculations!"

Ye Changsi said without raising his head. Lin Ju patted Robot No. 2's hip-hugging skirt that was held up by silicone. The latter immediately went to get a pen and paper, and soon there was only a small but urgent discussion and the tip of the pen on the paper. rustling sound.

The simplest first part is all the essence of currently unconfirmed theories. These discoveries are definitely Nobel Prize-level. Ye Changsi can solve many past doubts at a glance. He only feels that the road to fusion is being illuminated by streetlights. , becoming more and more open.

Although Lin Ju couldn't understand it at all, he was still infected by the excitement and waited silently in the basement.

…

Texas.

First of all, Ami does not have a holiday on May Day.

So Musk can ask more than 7,000 SpecaX employees to work overtime to conduct flight tests of SN11. What, isn’t April just SN8?

Both SN9 and SN10 prototype test spacecraft exploded before reaching the test altitude of 15,000 meters, not even as good as SN8. However, SN11 was just pulled out of the factory the day before yesterday and was ready to be launched on May 2.

The reason why it can be built so quickly is that the interior of the starship spacecraft so far is extremely simple and has nothing. It is just a simple stainless steel shell (no insulation tiles), which is just a prototype arrow used for testing in the atmosphere.

Of course, what’s more important is that SpecaX is working hard to produce Raptor V1 engines. Now it has exceeded 80 units in stock. One flight only wastes the production capacity of three Raptor V1s (only three sea-level versions are installed, and no vacuum version engines are installed), which is completely exhausted. rise.

In fact, the spaceships in the Starship Factory have been assigned the number SN19 and are being lined up to be blown up.

The test results of SN11 were also as expected. Musk glanced at the attitude of the starship and found that it was too tilted. The center of gravity should be on the edge of the thrust center line, and it could not be saved.

Half a minute later, SN11 was finally turned on at full power to prepare for a struggle before landing, but it was still smashed into a ball of steel debris. Experienced firefighters swarmed up and quickly extinguished the flames with foam.

The flight data has been sent back before the crash, but this will not have much impact on subsequent tests. Before May 25, SN13 and SN14 will continue to launch. As for SN12, it has now been transported to the launch pad.

SN12 and SN11 are manufactured in the same batch, but three vacuum versions of the Raptor V1 are installed and half-sided heat insulation tiles are attached. It will be combined with the B6 booster for a non-recovery test launch, and will be successfully launched into orbit first. Recycle.

Although seven or eight starships have been blown up, Musk believes that the success rate of normal orbiting without recovery should still be good.

There are a lot of things going on this week, and there are only two guaranteed updates for the time being...