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

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

More than a hundred leading scientists gathered here to watch the launch of the Xinyuan-3 rocket. The 50-meter long fairing made the rocket look very tall, in sharp contrast to the vast Gobi Desert.

The staff of the launch center who followed Penrose and others introduced:

"This is the ninth module of the Qianjin space station, code-named 'Shenhou'. It is a module used to provide power and carry scientific facilities. It cannot provide long-term survival conditions for astronauts."

The naming of the 12 cabin sections was also decided by the Aviation Development Committee on the eve of the completion of the Forward. They directly correspond to the twelve zodiac signs. The first six zodiac signs are the living cabins and the last six are service cabins.

It took a group of foreigners a long time to understand but they were still confused, but they still expressed their praise.

After all, you are the only one in the world who can mass-produce such giant cabins, even if they are named after pets.

The liquid oxygen kerosene engine used by the Xinyuan-3 rocket was much louder than the Saturn V, which made the scientists present very happy.

When the rocket was only a small dot in the sky, a deafening sound sounded in the sky again.

Hawking: "Roger, are there any more rockets?"

Penrose looked up for a long time, and then spotted a white object approaching at high speed against the background of the blue sky.

"No, it's a plane, and I think it's a supersonic plane."

Ten minutes later, Penrose and others who were receiving reception at the launch center saw several people striding towards them.

The leader was a little thin. He walked straight to Penrose and extended his hand to introduce himself:

"Ye Changsi, vice president of Xinyuan, also studies physics."

The person next to him followed closely behind:

"Cheng Nankai, gentlemen, we have a common purpose."

…

Beijing, Capital Electron Positron Collider Center.

The Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) was built in 1990. Although it is older, it is already one of the eight high-energy accelerator centers in the world.

Particle accelerators are also divided into types, including linear accelerators and circular cyclotrons, and they can be subdivided according to the research field during design.

But generally speaking, particle accelerators can be modified differently to adapt to different experimental goals, so the life of a high-energy accelerator can still be used for a long time.

BEPC is a linear accelerator. It has undergone many upgrades since its completion. The most recent major upgrade was started in 2006 and completed in 2009, which increased the energy level of a certain specialized field by 10 times.

Wu Yunfeng is the director of the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Academy of Sciences and the deputy director of BEPC. After returning to China, he spent his young and middle-aged years with BEPC and produced many advanced results through it.

But BEPC has lagged behind the times after all, and when it was designed, its linear electron accelerator potential was limited, with a length of just over 200 meters.

The LHC not only has a length of 27 kilometers, but it is also a proton accelerator with higher construction costs and wider versatility. The total cost of BEPC was only 280 million yuan, which is less than a fraction of the LHC.

The Institute of High Energy has long realized that domestic accelerators are far from meeting demand, so it proposed the CEPC (Circular Electron Positron Collider) plan, which is expected to invest about 27 billion yuan to build a 100-kilometer-long circular electron accelerator.

The reason why it is not a proton collider is due to cost and prospect issues, but it is more about the latter.

Although Europe has spent a lot of effort to build the LHC, it has also made great achievements in recent years. In 2012, it discovered the Higgs boson, known as the "God particle", but it can only stop there and it is difficult to go further. Research.

If we want to build a new proton collider that is larger than the LHC and can meet scientists' expectations, the cost will inevitably soar again. The final unanimous opinion of the Institute of High Energy is: if the ultra-high energy level cannot be achieved in one step, then there is no point in building a new proton accelerator.

That's why they finally chose to plan CEPC, the world's largest and most advanced electron accelerator. However, this project has been discussed for five years and there is still no intention to initiate it.

The main issue is funding and research prospects. The cost of further micro-research is too high. It is not that the country cannot afford the money, but it is difficult to convince the upper and lower groups under the current circumstances.

It is still 2017, and it has only been 7 years since GDP overtook the island nation. Last year, it was 59% of Aramco. People’s livelihood is still a key development area. Throwing tens of billions into unrewarded high-energy physics research does require you to face a lot of problems. pressure.

The current hope of the Institute of High Energy is to persuade the higher authorities in 2020 and then build a new accelerator around 2030.

Wu Yunfeng is planning a scientific exchange meeting between the Academy of Sciences and his colleagues. There are many high-energy physicists coming this time, and even important leadership members of the LHC. It would be very beneficial if we can take the opportunity to obtain some of the latest results of the LHC.

"Old Wu, Old Wu!"

Wu Yunfeng looked at the flustered Li Shi in surprise. The latter was calling his name before he even entered the door. After entering, he couldn't wait to say without holding back his breath:

"Hurry up and go to United Mining. There's something big going on."

"What's the big deal?"

"Accelerator, this time the experts from the Republic of China proposed that we build a high-energy proton accelerator. Someone from the Academy of Sciences also made a report. Even Xinyuan Company plans to support and fund it!"

Although he was still confused, Wu Yunfeng followed Li Shi and hurried to the United Mining Headquarters, where the scientists who had returned from Jiuquan chose to hold a gathering.

On the way in the car, Wu Yunfeng learned the whole story from Li Shi:

It turns out that the proposal put forward by the Penrose trio three days ago was jointly submitted by Academicians Lin Ju and She, and then several academicians who were close to the Aviation Development Commission plus experts and experts from the Xinyuan Company’s nuclear base. The Yingguo guys gathered together.

Such a big battle finally attracted the attention of the higher-ups. Yesterday, while foreign scientists were still organizing domestic researchers who needed particle accelerators for research, they were asked to communicate for a few days.

The superior just flew to Vienna yesterday to hold a meeting on the Outer Space Treaty, hoping to get a more precise answer before he comes back.

The Academy of Sciences immediately discussed the matter overnight, and in the end those in favor overwhelmingly reached a collective opinion: to push for the launch of the super particle accelerator as much as possible.

The team of leading experts has a limited stay, and domestic experts from Hui and Hubei provinces were rushing back last night.

But the most surprising thing is that Xinyuan Company also stepped in. Li Shi heard the rumor from somewhere. Their two vice presidents persuaded Lin Ju that they could spend 10 billion in three years to support the construction of the accelerator. , this is amazing.

With a capital of 10 billion, he has the confidence to build another LHC in one province or another in China. When will a private company be willing to be taken advantage of?