153: Chapter 153 Controlled Nuclear Fusion, Is It Difficult?

Lin Yuan's movements were very casual.

But that index finger tapping his temple made it impossible for any of the dozens of people in the entire testing hall to look away.

Everyone's pupils constricted suddenly; in their vast field of vision, only that nonchalant gesture remained.

The silence lasted for seven or eight seconds.

Lin Yuan slowly withdrew his finger, looked at the stiff-bodied, dazed seniors below the stage, and smiled.

"Everyone, rest assured."

Lin Yuan leaned back calmly against the chair, his hands resting casually on the edge of the table, his posture relaxed.

"The relevant material preparation data, process parameters, and blueprints are already being fully organized by me."

"If it's fast, everyone should be able to see them by tomorrow or the day after."

As soon as these words landed, Zhou Changming, sitting in the front row on the left, had his Adam's apple slide violently, letting out an extremely clear swallowing sound.

He seemed to want to say something; his dry lips twitched violently, but in the end, he couldn't produce a single syllable.

The several material experts next to him were the same; each of their backs was pulled straight, hands tightly clutching the hems of their clothes, desperately trying to restrain the storm in their hearts.

Lin Yuan took in these subtle reactions one by one, his expression remaining as calm as water.

He did not dwell on the topic of materials, quickly shifting his gaze from Zhou Changming and the others to slowly sweep over everyone in the testing hall.

"But."

As soon as these two words came out, the air that had just loosened slightly was tightened once again.

"Materials are only the first hurdle of Controlled Nuclear Fusion."

"After solving the magnetic field strength and the endurance of the First Wall, there are still three great mountains standing in the way of the final ignition and implementation."

As he spoke, Lin Yuan raised his right hand and held up three slender fingers.

"Confinement time is too short."

"Plasma density is firmly stuck by the greenwald limit."

"And, plasma control lag."

Hearing this, the excitement that had faintly risen below the stage because the material problem was solved was dragged back to the ground by these three terms.

In the testing hall, one could hear a pin drop again.

No one responded.

Because everyone present knew all too well just how heavy these three mountains were.

The atmosphere below the stage visibly sank.

On the faces of the dozens of old experts, the flush of excitement was fading bit by bit, replaced by an extremely restrained solemnity.

Lin Yuan watched the change in atmosphere below the stage, not at all surprised in his heart.

He slowly withdrew those three raised fingers, interlaced them, and rested them steadily on the tabletop.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he gave a small laugh.

"I very much understand everyone's concerns."

"It's just that..."

Lin Yuan leaned forward half an inch; this extremely subtle change in movement accurately captured everyone's attention.

"Have you all carefully considered whether these three seemingly independent problems are, in essence, actually the same problem?"

He paused and softly uttered one word.

"Control."

This word was like a clap of thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.

"The so-called short confinement time, plasma instability..."

"To put it bluntly, it's because we've lost control over that hundred-million-degree, short-tempered 'Little Sun'!"

Hearing this, He Mingde, who was sitting beside Lin Yuan, subconsciously nodded heavily.

Indeed, fusion research had been going on for decades—wasn't it all about trying every possible way to 'control' that violent mass of energy?

"Then why do we lose control?" Lin Yuan asked and answered himself.

"I have analyzed the failure cases of all mainstream Tokamak Devices worldwide over the last twenty years. Peeling away those complex appearances, the reasons are nothing more than two points."

"First, the reaction is too slow."

Lin Yuan's voice echoed in the hall.

"The internal changes in plasma are on the millisecond or even microsecond level."

"Any tiny disturbance can trigger a chain reaction in an instant, leading to a collapse of confinement."

"And our existing control systems, from sensors detecting an anomaly, to data transmission, to supercomputer calculation, and finally to issuing commands to drive the actuators..."

"By the time the entire feedback loop finishes once, it's already far too late!"

These words were like a precise scalpel, cruelly yet soberly cutting open the deepest pain in everyone's hearts.

Countless experimental failures, countless reviews—in the end, it was always because the control system couldn't keep up with the plasma's 'temper,' and they could only watch helplessly as it headed toward collapse.

"Second point,"

Lin Yuan continued.

"The communication bandwidth isn't enough, and the computing power isn't enough either!"

"In a Tokamak Device, thousands of high-precision sensors are densely distributed on the torus."

"Every discharge generates a tsunami of massive data."

"This data needs to be collected in real-time, transmitted without loss, and processed and analyzed instantly to make the most accurate judgment on the state of the plasma."

"But previous communication technology simply couldn't support such a massive flood of data for real-time, lossless transmission."

"Our supercomputers also couldn't accurately predict the next move of the plasma from the sea of data within milliseconds."

Lin Yuan spread his hands.

"One reacts slowly, and the other sees and calculates slowly."

"Using an old map with a delay of dozens of milliseconds to command a rapidly changing war—tell me, everyone, how is this battle supposed to be fought?"

He Mingde's eyelids jumped wildly as he listened. He suddenly remembered something, and an astonishing light abruptly erupted in his bloodshot eyes!

Fifth-Generation Communication Technology!

Artificial Intelligence!

The two major technological breakthroughs that recently shook the entire Xia Kingdom and even the whole world—isn't their core...

Ultra-low latency and ultra-high computing power?!

He Mingde figured it out.

The dozens of top experts below the stage also figured it out at almost the same time!

For a moment, everyone stared blankly at the young man in the main seat.

A possibility that had never been imagined before, but now seemed incredibly reasonable, grew wildly in their hearts.

Could it be... that his previous choice to develop Fifth-generation Communication and Artificial Intelligence was all for today?

Lin Yuan took in everyone's reactions, his face still wearing that calm smile, and finally threw out his final conclusion.

"It couldn't be done before, not because the direction was wrong, but because the tools weren't good enough."

"But now..."

His slender fingers tapped lightly twice on the tabletop.

"Fifth-Generation Communication Technology can compress the latency between sensors and the control center to below the millisecond level."

"And the brand-new Brain-like Artificial Intelligence can process all the massive data sent back by the sensors in an instant."

"It can even predict in advance all the changes that will occur in the plasma within the next few seconds and provide the optimal control scheme."

"One can see clearly, one can calculate fast, and one can transmit steadily."

"This is also why I dared to say in the Great Hall that I have the confidence to implement Controlled Nuclear Fusion within half a year."

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair, fingers interlaced, resting steadily on the table.

He looked at the giants of the industry below the stage, who had been completely shocked into losing their ability to speak, his posture elegant to the extreme.

"Because in my view, this matter of Controlled Nuclear Fusion..."

"Is not difficult."