Chapter 268 Big Plan!

Beijing, north side of Chang'an Street.

In a solemnly decorated conference room, an old man in Chinese tunic suit looked slightly moved after reading the report in his hand.

"Did Professor Xu really discover dark matter?"

Putting down the report in his hand, the old man looked up at Qin Anguo who was standing in front of his desk and asked.

Qin Anguo shook his head and said, "It seems that you can't say that."

After a pause, he looked at the other old man with half a hair next to him, and continued: "I don't know much about this aspect, but Academician Liu is a professional. Please explain it to Academician Liu."

Next to him, the gray-haired old man nodded, pondered for a moment and then said: "Strictly speaking, this discovery cannot be regarded as dark matter."

"Although sterile neutrinos are theoretically a type of dark matter, it is not yet completely certain that this unknown particle must be dark matter."

"For example, just like when we are mining, we can judge whether there are mineral deposits in this place and what type of mineral deposits they are based on various information, such as vegetation, alteration of surrounding rocks near the mine, ore heads, etc."

"The same is true for this discovery. At present, Professor Xu has only discovered this information and can make a high-probability judgment."

"A more precise determination requires more collision experiments and collision data."

In the conference room, the old man thought for a moment and asked, "What is the probability of this?"

Academician Liu shook his head and said: "The probability of 3 sigma is not too great for discoveries in the field of high-energy physics. There are many discoveries at CERN that can reach this level of confidence every year, and many of them are proven to be background clutter or useless. information."

"Of course, this probability is not very low. With this level of confidence, we can indeed continue to explore and study it in depth."

"What's more exciting is not the confidence level of this 3sigma, but some of Professor Xu's theories and opinions."

"Before coming here, I watched his press conference and report meeting at NTU two days ago. In the report meeting, Professor Xu made a very detailed analysis and exploration of this discovery, and the logic was self-consistent and consistent with the theory. "

"If you look at it from this aspect, this discovery is indeed very likely to be the legendary sterile neutrino."

"But no one can guarantee this. After all, the results are so shocking, and they are still related to dark matter."

"With the current level of technology and detectors, we simply cannot directly observe the existence of dark matter."

Hearing this, the old man fell into deep thought.

For China, if we want to talk about what we are most lacking right now, it is undoubtedly energy.

Not to mention other things, in 2018, a total of 3.546 billion tons of coal was mined domestically, ranking first among countries in the world, and the output was once again close to half of the total global coal output.

And even so, it's still not enough.

According to reports, China imported approximately 281.5 million tons of coal in 2018 (a year-on-year increase of 10.5 million tons, an increase of 3.9%), while the export of coal (coal and lignite) in the same period of 2018 was only 4.934 million tons.

Calculated in this way, in 2018, the actual "consumption" of coal in mainland China was as high as 3.8225 billion tons.

Most of this large amount of coal is consumed in the three major areas of thermal power generation, heating, and steelmaking.

Calculated based on the average price of 500 yuan per ton of coal, the amount of money spent on coal alone reaches a terrifying 2 trillion yuan every year.

Such a massive consumption, even if it can be reduced by one or two percentage points, would be quite exaggerated.

Therefore, China has been seeking new energy sources in recent years. Whether it is large-scale photovoltaic power plants that do not belong to the desert of Western Xinjiang, large-scale wind power plants deployed in Inner Mongolia, or nuclear energy that has moved towards fourth-generation nuclear power, they are all energy solutions. Crisis attempt.

If dark matter, which accounts for more than 90% of the total mass of the universe, can be utilized, there will no longer be any worries in terms of energy.

Of course, the old man also knows that it is very difficult to realize this wish, and there is still a long way to go.

But as long as there is hope, China will never be afraid of difficulties!

In addition, if this discovery can really prove that it is dark matter, then this will be a new field that will change the world.

Perhaps, the policy that has always been conservative needs to change.

At least, in a brand new field, China must make further progress.

To fall behind is to be beaten. One painful lesson from the last century is enough.

But before that, maybe you should ask that person for his opinion just to be on the safe side.

After all, professional matters must be left to professionals.

Jinling, Nanjing University, Xu Chuan, who had just finished his lecture, said goodbye to his alma mater and returned to his villa.

A phone number starting with 01 rang on the phone.

With his fingers swiping across the screen, Xu Chuan answered the phone, and a voice that surprised him came through.

"Hey, Professor Xu, are you busy?"

On the phone, an old man's voice with a kind smile rang in his ears.

Hearing this voice, Xu Chuan instantly realized who was calling him, and said quickly: "No, no, I just finished a report meeting at my alma mater, and I'm already home."

"Do you have time recently? I would like to invite you to come to the capital and ask me something.

The old man said with a smile on the phone: "Of course, if it's inconvenient, I can go there." "

Xu Chuan shook his head and said quickly: "Yes, I can go there anytime."

Let the old man on the phone run a trip, what a joke.

The old man smiled and said: "Then I'll trouble Professor Xu to run a trip, don't worry, it won't delay you for a long time."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Chuan called Zheng Hai and asked him to help book a high-speed rail ticket to Beijing.

Let Zheng Hai help to book the ticket, and he quickly packed his luggage. The elder personally called him to invite him to discuss things, which must be done as soon as possible.

Coming to Beijing again, Xu Chuan dragged his luggage and checked into the Beihai Hotel. It was still the same room as before. It seemed that the hotel had reserved it for him. Anyway, this room was always there every time he came.

In the room, Xu Chuan opened the curtains and looked at the Beihai and the Forbidden City outside the window and fell into deep thought.

There were only a few things related to him.

Nuclear waste research projects, nuclear fusion, or the recently appeared inert neutrinos and dark matter.

Each of these things is very important, even he has to think carefully about tomorrow's answer.

Now, standing in his position, it can be said that every word he says will have a great impact. Sometimes even a suggestion can bring hundreds of millions of funds.

So it is necessary to think carefully in advance and practice the ability to be cautious in words and deeds.

The next day, at three o'clock in the afternoon, led by the security personnel, Xu Chuan crossed the small river on the north side of Chang'an Avenue and came to this quaint two-story building again. He also met the old man who was often seen on TV and news media before.

"Professor Xu, please sit down."

Seeing Xu Chuan's arrival, the old man stood up with a kind smile, shook hands with him, and said with a smile: "I hope I didn't disturb your research by calling you here temporarily this time."

Xu Chuan hurriedly shook his head and said: "No, no, serving the country is the obligation of any citizen."

In the main hall, after exchanging a few pleasantries, the two did not waste too much time and went straight to the point.

The old man pondered for a moment and then said, "Professor Xu, I'm bothering you to come here this time, mainly for two things."

Xu Chuan: "Please go ahead."

"The first thing is about the controlled nuclear fusion project." As he said that, the old man took a report from the guard beside him and handed it over.

Xu Chuan took the report from the old man with a little doubt and looked through it.

"2020 Controlled Nuclear Fusion Project Survey Report Document"

The red title caught his eye, and Xu Chuan's pupils suddenly shrank.

The report handed to him by the old man really surprised him.

When the 'Nuclear Energy β Radiation Energy Concentration Conversion Electric Energy Mechanism Technology Project' has not yet been completed, the top leaders have started the controlled nuclear fusion project. This courage is really surprising.

You know, when it comes to controlled nuclear fusion, it is completely incomparable to the nuclear waste reuse project. Whether it is the problems that need to be solved, or the difficulty of scientific research, or the funds and manpower and material resources invested, they are not at the same level.

Let alone ITER, it cost more than 30 billion dollars to build, and billions of dollars are being poured into it every year, but no decent results have been achieved so far.

There are similar projects in China, such as the Eastern Super Ring (EAST).

It is a fully superconducting non-circular cross-section tokamak device that can produce more complex and flexible magnetic field configurations than ITER, thereby exploring more optimized plasma parameters.

In 2018, that is, last year, the Eastern Super Ring EAST had already set a new world record of 100 seconds of continuous confinement of plasma.

Of course, this is just an experimental reactor, and its goal is to achieve long-pulse steady-state operation and provide technical support for the future construction of the China Nuclear Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETD).

And from the report in his hand, Xu Chuan saw another independent controlled nuclear fusion project.

The report is quite straightforward. This new project is scheduled to start in 2020, independent of the China Nuclear Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETD), and on par with it.

As for the person in charge and which technical route to use, the report does not specify.

But there is no doubt that this is a big plan!

Another new and completely independent controlled nuclear fusion project, the investment can be said to be calculated in tens of billions or even hundreds of billions.

After reading the report in his hand, Xu Chuan looked up at the old man.

The old man smiled and said, "You know, our country has been working hard on controlled nuclear fusion."

"But this is not something that can be achieved just by hard work. It also requires solving various problems and an excellent talent to lead the way."

"There are many studies on controlled nuclear fusion in China, but they are relatively fragmented. The only relatively complete one is the CFETD project."

"And the United States and Germany, which are leading countries in the research of controlled nuclear fusion, have two or three different research routes in their respective countries in addition to the international cooperation ITER. The United States even has more than four complete directions."

"So after discussion, we are ready to start another controlled nuclear fusion project."

"For this project, the general manager is to be determined, and the technical route is to be determined. The top management is waiting for the nuclear waste project led by you to run before discussing and deciding."

The old man's words were almost as short of saying that this project was left to you.

Xu Chuan naturally heard the meaning. He nodded seriously and said: "The 'Nuclear Energy Beta Radiation Energy Concentration and Conversion Electric Energy Mechanism Technology Project' has now entered the construction stage of the nuclear power plant. Semiconductor radiation gap materials and crystalline Erbium zirconate material has entered the expedited production phase.”

"According to the plan, the entire project will be completed in mid-to-late May this year, and then a complete nuclear waste reuse power generation test can be launched."

"If all goes well, the overall acceptance is expected to be completed around September."

The old man nodded and said, "I can rest assured that I will leave these things to you."

After a pause, he continued: "The second thing is about your research results a few days ago, the sterile neutrino and dark matter."

With that said, the old man sat up straight and asked: "I would like to ask about related matters, such as what is the probability that it is dark matter? If it is confirmed, when can we use dark matter and dark energy?"

"In addition, if we want to conduct in-depth research, do we need to build a large strong particle collider or something like that?"

"I want to hear your opinion on these."

Xu Chuan thought for a while, and then said cautiously: "You must already know about this discovery. I won't go into details about the detailed professional analysis."

"First of all, I am certain that the LHC's 13Tev energy level collision data does contain a new type of particle that has not yet been discovered by the scientific community. This particle is beyond the standard model."

"I can confirm this. Compared with what has been published before, I still have some evidence that has not yet been published and sent to CERN."

"If you need verification, I can send it to you."

"Secondly, I can't determine the probability that it is dark matter. I can only say that from data analysis, there is a high probability that it is part of the decay of dark matter."

"As for the use of dark matter and dark energy, I'm afraid it's even further away. At least I don't see any hope in the short term."

"After all, with current technology, we can't even observe dark matter or understand its formation, properties, primary particles, etc."

“Perhaps there will be such hope in decades or hundreds of years.”

"As for building a large strong particle collider, I personally think it is still necessary, but not now."

Hearing this answer, the old man was slightly surprised in his eyes and asked curiously: "How do you say it?"

He and many others believe that as long as the country proposes to build a large strong particle collider, the scholar in front of him will definitely support it.

After all, he is a double major in mathematics and physics, and his achievements in physics are not weak. Especially the results of the analysis of CERN collision data this time shocked the world.

Unexpectedly, when he asked this question, he got a slightly different answer.

This made him a little curious as to why the young man in front of him said this.