CHAPTER 437: CHAPTER 436: SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

Energy, however, is a crucial indicator determining the level of advancement of a civilization; one could say that only by harnessing a large amount of energy can technological levels be developed.

Originally, Jiang Cheng had already obtained nuclear reactor technology from the United States, and it was even a miniaturized nuclear reactor.

Logically speaking, Jiang Cheng should no longer be short on energy, after all, nuclear energy is a highly efficient source of power.

But the nuclear reactor Jiang Cheng obtained was a fission reactor, which is already an outdated technology.

The current nuclear power plants use this type of reactor, and the United States merely miniaturized it, offering nothing particularly advanced.

Fission reactors have several drawbacks, each of them being potentially fatal.

The first flaw is that the reactor itself is quite unstable, and if an accident occurs, it could lead to a severe radiation leak.

We’ve seen how the Island Country experienced a leak accident at its power plant a few years ago, and even now, the leaked radiation hasn’t been fully cleaned up.

Bear Country also had a historical severe nuclear leak; the Chernobyl power plant witnessed a huge accident back in the day.

Even now, that place is uninhabitable, and after decades, it remains desolate.

If the development of such reactors is heavily pursued, accidents are practically inevitable.

Jiang Cheng does not want the Yan Family to end up like that; if radiation zones are everywhere, he would have no adequate means to resolve it.

The second flaw is that this type of reactor requires special radioactive materials, which are very scarce.

There’s not much of them on the entire planet, making robust development quite a challenge.

Even if Jiang Cheng wants to use them himself, it’s troublesome; he might get a small quantity from the country owing to his current position, but if he requires large amounts, it would be difficult to procure.

The third flaw is that the energy output upper limit of such reactors isn’t high enough to meet Jiang Cheng’s usage requirements.

The weaknesses of fission reactors are considerable, and various problems lead Jiang Cheng to avoid their use.

Even the reactor in the Iron Man Armor is used only as a last resort; if there were better options, Jiang Cheng would rather not use it.

After all, wearing a potential hazard anywhere, even during combat, is quite restrictive.

Apart from fission reactors, there are currently few usable energy sources.

Traditional thermal power generation is entirely unappealing to Jiang Cheng, and wind energy and tidal power are also not very good.

Solar energy is extremely safe and non-polluting, and it can be considered inexhaustible.

As long as the sun doesn’t extinguish one day, solar energy can continue to be used.

However, despite its advantages, solar energy isn’t sufficient for Jiang Cheng’s needs.

Current technology’s conversion rate of solar energy is too low, and output power isn’t even enough for Jiang Cheng to brush his teeth with.

Jiang Cheng pondered hard in the laboratory but couldn’t find a suitable new energy source.

After much deliberation, Jiang Cheng decided to focus on nuclear energy once more.

What Jiang Cheng wants isn’t some fission reactor but a fusion reactor, a completely new entity.

Nuclear energy encompasses both fission and fusion; despite all being nuclear energy, fusion is far more advanced than fission.

Fusion reactors have no pollution at all; their raw materials are the very common hydrogen element.

This energy source is not only safe but the raw materials are abundant, and its output power is substantial enough for Jiang Cheng’s subsequent usage.

Unfortunately, although fusion reactors appear promising, realizing this technology is an incredibly formidable challenge.

Various countries have long set their sights on fusion reactors, but none have yet succeeded in their research.

Jiang Cheng plans to develop the fusion reactor, thereby thoroughly resolving the energy issue.

After determining the research direction, Jiang Cheng is prepared to start researching the relevant technologies.

As for why he didn’t start the research right away, it’s because current technological means still do not meet the requirements for fusion reactors.

Without some essential technologies and materials, directly creating a fusion reactor would be wishful thinking.

Jiang Cheng needs to first develop some prerequisite technologies; otherwise, even he cannot achieve the creation of a fusion reactor.

Even though various countries invest hundreds of billions of US Dollars annually, they have yet to produce a fusion reactor simply because current conditions do not meet the requirements.

No matter how hard those scientists work, there is no hope for success.

Firstly, material is a problematic issue that cannot be bypassed; if materials don’t meet the standards, fusion reactors will remain a mere concept.

Fusion reactors require many materials, and many of which don’t yet exist on Earth, with one of the most crucial materials being superconductive materials.

Superconductive materials are essential for fusion reactors and have significant roles in other fields as well.

This material, as its name implies, is used for conducting electricity, and more generally, it’s actually a kind of conductor.

However, this conductor is not simple at all; since it has no resistance, it won’t heat up during electricity conduction.

While this material may appear to have little use beyond not heating, its actual significance is considerable.

It should be known that a large portion of electric energy is wasted on heating during use; using superconductive materials allows this wasted energy to be effectively utilized.

It’s not only a matter of wasted electric energy; heating is the biggest issue.

The phones and computers everyone uses will heat up after prolonged use, severely affecting their performance.

If these machines used superconductive materials, they would no longer overheat.

If machines don’t overheat anymore, cooling units can be eliminated.

Imagine a computer that doesn’t need cooling; you could eliminate things like fans, and never again have to hear the annoying sound of the fan spinning.

If a phone uses superconductive materials, it could last for several more hours on a full charge; a significant portion of the phone’s electrical energy is actually wasted on heating, and these issues can all be resolved through superconductive materials.

The benefits of superconductive materials go far beyond these; their importance is evident.

Jiang Cheng wants to research superconductive materials, not only for fusion reactors but also because they can be used in many other areas in the future.

If they’re researched first, it will be convenient for future applications.

Superconductive materials aren’t something new; numerous types of superconductive materials have already appeared.

However, these superconductive materials have considerable usage limitations; all require very low temperatures to achieve zero resistance.

If these materials are placed at room temperature, they will lose their superconductive properties.

The best superconductive materials now need to be used at temperatures tens of degrees below zero.