Chapter 883
Too daring, destined for historical fame.
Li Zhenhua asked with difficulty, "So we won't make it public?"
"public."
"but not now."
Wang Donglai turned around, looked at Li Zhenhua, and continued, "Academician Li, your research can continue. Push the critical temperature upward and the critical pressure downward."
"Push it down to minus twenty degrees, push it down to minus ten degrees, push it down to zero degrees, push it down to room temperature."
"We'll discuss making it completely public once it reaches room temperature."
Li Zhenhua remained silent for a long time.
Then he asked a question: "Mr. Wang, where was the Breath of Earth used during this period?"
Wang Donglai smiled and said seriously, "Use it on ourselves."
He pointed to the top of his head.
"Galaxy Aerospace's rockets will be coated with Xirang first. Galaxy Energy's power grid will be replaced with Xirang cables first. Galaxy Bio's medical equipment will be equipped with Xirang superconducting magnets first. Galaxy Semiconductor's lithography machines will have their heat dissipation problem solved first with Xirang."
He withdrew his hand and looked at Li Zhenhua.
"We'll use it thoroughly ourselves first, and then build the next generation of technology on the foundation of Xirang—and then we'll consider how to sell it to others."
Li Zhenhua stared at him blankly, then suddenly asked, "Mr. Wang, don't you want to win the Nobel Prize?"
Wang Donglai was stunned for a moment.
Li Zhenhua then realized that Wang Donglai had already won the Nobel Prize.
Not only did he win the Nobel Prize, but he also became the first Chinese person in history to refuse the Nobel Prize.
This incident caused quite a stir at the time.
After all, such a top international award is an international honor even if you are nominated, let alone win it.
"I misspoke."
Li Zhenhua shook his head; at that moment, he understood Wang Donglai's thoughts.
As a scholar, developing a super material like room-temperature superconductivity would naturally be a cause for celebration, bringing both fame and fortune.
However, the situation is different when it comes to Wang Donglai.
This material was developed by Wang Donglai with great effort.
It could even be said that without Wang Donglai, neither the Xirang-1 nor the Xirang-2 materials could have been developed.
The more you delve into the research, the more you realize the importance of the research and development approach guided by Wang Donglai.
If we were to divide contributions, Wang Donglai's proposal would account for half of that contribution.
The remaining factors include equipment and funding.
After thinking it through, Li Zhenhua changed his mind.
Since Wang Donglai said he was not going to make it public, then let's not make it public!
Moreover, Li Zhenhua wasn't stupid.
Such an important technology must be under close scrutiny from above; even if I were to write my own paper, it would be impossible for it to be published.
But if it really comes to that, then you'll offend people.
Rather than doing that, it would be better to just listen to Wang Dong right now.
National interests must always outweigh individual interests.
Those who go against this principle will not have a good ending.
Li Zhenhua naturally had no intention of confronting this point.
“Academician Li, the achievements we have made will be seen by people and will be remembered by history.”
"Not being made public yet does not mean it will never be made public."
"It is such an important technology that we must ensure our advantage and keep it under our control in order to better enrich the world and promote the progress of human civilization."
Wang Donglai didn't explain much to Li Zhenhua, but he believed Li Zhenhua should be able to understand.
So, I only mentioned it briefly.
"Mr. Wang, I understand what you mean. I will keep it confidential."
Li Zhenhua nodded in agreement and said this.
……
The news eventually leaked out.
Despite the immediate implementation of enhanced secrecy measures upon achieving the breakthrough in the Xirang-1 material, and despite Li Zhenhua's team signing the strictest confidentiality agreement in Galaxy Technology's history, despite the network security system intercepting twenty-three external intrusions, and despite Wang Donglai personally ordering that "anyone who leaks information about Xirang, whether intentionally or unintentionally, will be dismissed and held legally responsible,"
However, the world's top materials laboratories all have their own intelligence channels.
Bald Eagle Commonwealth, California, Stanford University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
At three in the morning, a professor with gray hair was awakened by an urgent phone call.
He answered the phone, listened for a minute, then hung up and sat in the dark for a long time.
The following morning at 8:00 AM, the U.S. Department of Energy held an emergency closed-door meeting.
There is only one topic: Galaxy Technologies has seemingly made a major breakthrough in the field of room temperature superconductivity.
Is the intelligence reliable?
"Reliable! We have three informants in different departments at Galaxy Technology. Although they don't have access to core secrets, we can deduce their identities from anomalies in personnel transfers, equipment procurement, and budget allocation."
"Galaxy Technology's R&D center is indeed conducting multiple cutting-edge scientific research activities simultaneously, including but not limited to room temperature superconductivity, brain-computer interfaces, and biogenetics."
"As for the room temperature superconducting materials research and development group, after Academician Li Zhenhua was invited to join, we detected through some means that Galaxy Technology had increased its R&D investment and increased its secrecy during this period. Some core personnel have disappeared from our sight for a long time."
"Based on multiple intelligence sources, we have come to the conclusion that Galaxy Technology's room temperature superconducting material research and development has either achieved a breakthrough or is facing a breakthrough."
Upon hearing this analysis report, the conference room fell silent.
"Have the Chinese gotten ahead of us in room-temperature superconductivity?"
"It's uncertain, but judging from the degree of anomaly, this analysis result is highly probable."
What do we need to do?
"First, strengthen monitoring of Galaxy Technology."
"Second, we will launch our own emergency research project on room temperature superconductivity."
"third……"
The speaker paused before continuing, "We are considering the possibility of contacting Galaxy Technology."
"Contact? Are they willing to share?"
"If you won't share, buy; if you won't sell, find a way."
The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became heavy.
No one asked what "finding a way" meant.
Because everyone knows it.
Nagata-cho, Tokyo, the land of cherry blossoms.
The night at the Prime Minister's official residence was equally turbulent.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs sat around an oval table.
There was a copy of the same intelligence summary on the table.
"The Chinese are ahead of us again."
The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said with a wry smile, "Semiconductors, quantum computing, aerospace, and now room temperature superconductivity."
"They haven't confirmed it yet."
The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry frowned and said with skepticism, "The source of the information is a third party, so it may not be reliable."
"You don't understand materials science."
The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology shook his head and explained, "Anomalies of this magnitude, with sudden budget increases, unusual equipment procurement, and personnel lockdowns occurring simultaneously, can only be explained in one way: they have either already broken through or are about to break through."
The Prime Minister remained silent.
After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Send a delegation to Tangdu, under the guise of academic exchange, to try to make contact with the people in that materials research group."
"In addition, notify Mitsubishi, Hitachi, and Toshiba to prepare."
"If the Chinese really succeed, we must obtain authorization as soon as possible, whether by purchasing or exchanging it." Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Karlsruhe, Germany.
A young researcher was working overtime when he suddenly received an encrypted email. He opened it and his expression changed drastically.
Then he dialed his advisor's number.
"Professor, are you asleep? I'm sorry to bother you so late. There's something you need to know—the Chinese may have achieved room-temperature superconductivity."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
"you sure?"
"Uncertain! But the source of the intelligence is very reliable; it came from Stanford."
Another silence followed.
"professor?"
"I see."
The old man's voice was tired and complicated as he said, "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, convene a meeting with all project leaders. We need to re-evaluate our cooperative projects with China."
"Are you worried about..."
"My concern is that if this is true, then the research on superconductivity over the past thirty years will have to be rewritten."
The old man paused for a moment, then overturned his previous decision: "Forget it, there's no need to hold a meeting."
"What's the point of holding a meeting now? We've been researching room temperature superconductivity for forty years, investing billions of euros, and our best result was minus 110 degrees Celsius. The Chinese have now achieved minus 23 degrees Celsius."
"The gap cannot be closed by holding meetings."
"Get ready, you'll come to China with me!"
I want to see it with my own eyes!
"Let's see what's so different about that place called Galaxy Technology."
……
For Wang Donglai, the breakthrough of the Xirang-2 model did not surprise him much.
The breakthrough was achieved according to my own plan, so there was no surprise to speak of.
So, after handling the confidentiality matters of the project team, Wang Donglai went to the Galaxy Aerospace R&D Center.
Ninth test stand.
A Lux-9 engine with a silver-gray coating has just completed its 100th test run.
On the data screen, a line of numbers stands out: Vacuum thrust: 1187 tons
It is 18.7 percent better than the standard Hercules-9.
This was solely due to the fact that the inner wall of the nozzle was coated with a layer of soil less than one millimeter thick.
Yang Anchao stood in front of the main control screen, staring at the line of numbers, motionless.
"Engineer Yang?" the operator called softly.
Yang Anchao did not respond.
"Engineer Yang?"
He slowly turned his head and looked at Wang Donglai.
"Mr. Wang."
His voice was a little hoarse as he said, "One hundred and eighteen years ago, when Tsiolkovsky wrote down that formula, did he ever imagine that one day, human rockets could be built like this?"
Wang Donglai remained silent.
"That formula, Δv = Isp·g0·ln(m0/m1), I've been struggling with it my whole life."
"If you want to carry an extra ton of payload, you have to build an extra ten tons of rockets; if you want to fly an extra kilometer, you have to burn an extra ton of fuel. There are no shortcuts, no tricks."
"Now you tell me that the thermal barrier can be bypassed, the heat loss can be reduced to zero, and the combustion chamber pressure can be doubled."
"Mr. Wang, you're not helping me build a rocket, you're rewriting the laws of physics!"
Wang Donglai finally spoke.
"I did not change the laws of physics."
"I just found a way to get around it."
Yang Anchao paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Bypass?"
He repeated the word and said, "Mr. Wang, your detour has ushered in a new era for human spaceflight."
He turned around and looked at the data screen again.
1187 tons.
He suddenly recalled that thirty years ago, in a classroom at Harbin Institute of Technology, his mentor wrote the Tsiolkovsky formula on the blackboard and said, "Xiao Yang, aerospace is a slow process. It's normal to spend ten years working on a single model, and it's lucky to be able to complete two models in a lifetime."
He thought to himself, "Ten years is fine, I can endure it."
He then persevered for thirty years, from Harbin Institute of Technology to Jiuquan, and from Jiuquan to Galaxy Aerospace, from tens of tons of thrust to a thousand tons.
If it weren't for Wang Donglai's sudden emergence, it's unknown how long it would have taken to increase the thrust to this level.
However, even so.
Wang Donglai can still achieve even greater success.
A thin layer of coating, less than a millimeter thick, has once again pushed the limits.
"Mr. Wang."
Yang Anchao suddenly asked, "Since the Breath Soil is so effective, I have a bold idea. Can we be a little more aggressive?"
"Directly connect multiple engines in parallel to send a super-large rocket directly to the moon and establish a large permanent lunar base."
"This is the first step. If the first step is successful, we can continue to launch more rockets and send more and more advanced equipment into the air."
"Mining, smelting, production, and manufacturing on the moon..."
It must be said that Yang Anchao's idea was very bold and radical.
After Yang Anchao finished speaking, he looked at Wang Donglai with expectant eyes, anticipating Wang Donglai's reply.
"Engineer Yang, have you considered the cost issue?"
Wang Donglai's words instantly shattered half of Yang Anchao's expectations.
Even though Yang Anchao didn't understand business very well, he still understood costs.
Even if the rocket engines are made in-house, they are still not cheap at cost price.
Launching at this scale would cost close to 5 billion.
The actual cost will only be higher, not lower.
Thinking of this, Yang Anchao sighed inwardly.
"Mr. Wang, I understand!"
however.
Wang Donglai shook his head and said, "Engineer Yang, I understand your thoughts."
“When he was in the national team, Yang would definitely not have been so aggressive. He would have taken it one step at a time, striving to master every aspect, and only proceeding to the next step when he was fully confident.”
"But Galaxy Aerospace doesn't have the backing of a national team, so we can only keep succeeding."
“In particular, GalaxySpace’s commercialization has not been very successful. Unlike SpaceX overseas, it has not been able to make money from Starlink.”
"We will definitely go to the moon in one go and establish a permanent base there."
"However, we cannot set this goal specifically for the sake of achieving it."
"The lava tube base and the successful launch of the rocket to the moon are both unprecedented feats in human history, so we must take every step carefully."
A hint of excitement appeared on Yang Anchao's face.
The Chinese people have no choice but to accept the opportunity to be remembered in history.
Yang Anchao was no exception!
Suddenly, I felt full of energy and motivation. (End of Chapter)