Chapter 36 The Role of the Spirit Master_1

At this moment, Ding Yi was excited, feeling for the first time that someone truly understood him. His wandering and unruly demeanor was just a facade; he didn't want to be disturbed by anything external, as his life was solely dedicated to the fervent pursuit of physics.

The greatest blow the Trisolaran Crisis inflicted on him was the blockade on his pursuit of physics—if there was still a chance to witness true physics, he would spare no effort.

"Really? Will we truly have that day?"

"There will definitely be that day, that's my promise!"

"I believe you! The future is in our hands. Although I'm currently working on the pulsating mixed pile method, its future achievements may not be ideal. The material requirements are too high, and its planned size is difficult to miniaturize.

I feel the quantum tunneling model you proposed is the real future of controlled nuclear fusion. Only with this approach can we truly miniaturize controlled nuclear fusion and apply it to the propulsion engines of space battleships. Otherwise, achieving 5% the speed of light or even higher speeds is simply impossible."

"What are the difficulties with this research?"

"The challenge lies in studying the quantum tunneling effect and how to maintain a state of tunneling criticality. The main difficulty is computational power. It does not require super high-energy particle accelerator experiments but rather simple acceleration tests. However, with Logic as a Wallfacer, the PDC should be able to provide these computational resources.

But the calculations involved are too complicated, like the Lagrangian form of the standard model for elementary particles. Most people would be bewildered upon seeing this formula; even the simplified version spans several pages. Yet, in the quantum tunneling effects model, it's just a minor part.

Without national-level computing power, it's impossible to even attempt the calculations for this model, let alone derive its mathematical model. My expectation is that even if we multiply the current global computing resources by several times, it still wouldn't be possible.

The fortunate part is, this research won't be interfered with by Sophon. Sophons mainly replace target particles in high-energy particle accelerators, affecting our experimental results. However, research into the quantum tunneling model does not require this; direct observation of energy fluctuations is sufficient.

Building the equipment for such acceleration tests is not very difficult. A super cyclotron accelerator can be used. It doesn't concern the deeper discovery of elementary particles; we are mainly studying its mathematical model. Sophons should not interfere, and even if they did, it wouldn't make much sense.

If they do interfere, we can build thousands of super cyclotron accelerators and see how many Sophons the Trisolarans can send. The more experimental types they block, the more intelligence we can gather on them. In the future, it will not be called Sophon blockade but Sophon interference instead. Perhaps this is also a way to counteract the Trisolarans.

This too, I learned from you, haha..."

"Haha... We have found another way to deal with Sophons.

However, due to the current limitations of computing power, I think you can continue with the pulsating mixed pile method. Since you believe it is the right path, keep researching it.

This is our most suitable choice for the time being. I have more confidence in you achieving success in nuclear fusion than I do in myself."

"Hmm, I will steadfastly keep to this path. I also have full confidence in it."

Lin Sen had no profound research into controlled nuclear fusion; in his previous life, he specialized in human emotions. If anyone could provide encouragement, especially now when humanity was filled with despair and help people gain an optimistic spirit, he would be the best Spirit Master in the world.

But when it came to scientific knowledge, especially in controlled nuclear fusion, he could offer no help, which still came from his past life experience that had barely scratched the surface of physics.

Lin Sen's conversation with Ding Yi was merely to put forward his guess about the path to controlled nuclear fusion, then to engage Ding Yi in a discussion and draw out his ideas. In the original timeline, Ding Yi had achieved significant results in the path of controlled nuclear fusion; it was impossible that he didn't have a clue now.

During the talk with Ding Yi, Lin Sen kept trying to guide Ding Yi's emotions, to "cheer him up," reinforce his ideas, focus his goals, and then strive to realize them.

This was the best encouragement a non-researcher could offer to a researcher, after all, aside from "cheering up," Lin Sen was good for nothing else.

In this era, perhaps what was lacking was not Wallfacers, but Spirit Masters like Lin Sen.

Controlled nuclear fusion was breached five years later, which probably did not involve areas so advanced that Lin Sen was completely oblivious. The approach could likely be within his understanding, and with that, plus his original knowledge, he could confidently converse with Ding Yi.

The quantum tunneling model was also a direction his former self had strived for; his past self might have been somewhat cynical, but he had his pursuits and was rather obsessed with physics. Little did he know that this would also open a new door for Ding Yi.

This was Lin Sen's advantage; he could deduce causes from results, thus giving prompts to Ding Yi and emotionally motivating and encouraging him.

We often hear people say that the difficulty of controlled nuclear fusion lies in the lack of materials that can withstand high temperatures or the absence of room-temperature superconductor materials. This claim is inaccurate. A fusion reactor does demand high-quality materials for its internal walls, but the existing conditions are already sufficient.

It's pointless to focus solely on temperature. For instance, when Voyager left the Solar System and passed through the heliosphere, the temperature reached 40,000 degrees Celsius. Yet Voyager was unaffected because the particles there were too sparse.

Moreover, superconductor materials can be achieved even at temperatures as high as minus 70 degrees Celsius. Given the vast resources humanity is investing, it's also a feasible option. But controlled nuclear fusion has yet to break through, with the most central issue being the overly complex calculations for various fusion paths.

If there is no direction, taking the wrong path might lead nowhere for decades. At this critical juncture, a resolute direction is superior to everything else.

...

After his meeting with Ding Yi, Lin Sen then sought out Wang Miao, who was currently with Marcus.

In the original timeline, Wang Miao was the pioneering force behind the space elevator. However, according to Da Shi's recollections, Wang Miao's life was also spent in despair, often seen crying alone on Wangfujing Street. Fortunately, he lived to be over a hundred years old, but sadly, it was a lonely and desolate centenarian life. Looking at his expression now, it probably wouldn't be as desperate as in the original timeline.

"Mr. Wang Miao, you study nanomaterials, which falls within the scope of applied physics. Moreover, the world's resources are inclined towards this field; you must be the most confident among us, right?" said Lin Sen with a smile.

"I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not a resolute person. I often despair over the fate of humanity. Your plan has indeed given me confidence. As long as human civilization can survive, any sacrifice is worth it." replied Wang Miao, ever the gentleman.

"It seems you're still lacking confidence. Let's talk." Lin Sen said with a smile.