Chapter 211: Nuclear Engine_1

Bil introduced to Jiang Yu that all the cars in Guanghan City now were highly intelligent and were uniformly dispatched and commanded by a huge central computer.

Therefore, there was no need for traffic lights at all, as the central computer had all the vehicle trajectories "well in mind".

Jiang Yu, who was born in the golden age and had experienced the traffic congestion in Beijing, watched the cars at the intersection speeding quickly, with vehicles from all four directions crisscrossing to safely reach the opposite side.

Although he understood the principle behind it, he still found it somewhat incredible.

Especially that seemingly chaotic, seemingly dangerous but actually safe distance-maintaining spectacle, it was easy to evoke a sense of reverence for technology.

If Beijing had had this system back then, people wouldn't have to spend hours commuting every day.

After driving for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at an enormous square, which was newly built and many times larger than the one Jiang Yu had seen last time, with a creatively designed top.

The top of the square was much higher than other areas and featured an arch-shaped protruding structure.

The protruded section was like the sky, except there were no white clouds or blue sky, only the starry sky and the Earth.

Bil explained that this was actually a real-time image from outside Guanghan City.

Initially, a large transparent structure was planned, but transparent materials have relatively poor impact resistance and radiation protection, which is why this projection structure was designed instead.

It was not only possible to see the starry sky and Earth but at certain times, even the Sun could be seen.

The administrative hall was, as usual, on one side of the square, and Burton asked Jiang Yu, "Would you like to rest first, or would you prefer to hear our report straight away?"

Although physically weak, Jiang Yu was in good spirits, "Get me a comfortable chair, I'd like to first understand the changes you've brought to the Solar System over these seventy years."

Burton smiled and said, "Good. Let's start with the President of the Science Academy reporting to you our scientific and technological achievements."

Then, Burton led Jiang Yu into a small conference room, where every chair was very comfortable.

Of course, this was mainly because of the Moon's lower gravity, which put less stress on the body, making the muscles feel more relaxed overall.

Jiang Yu had thought that Bil was still the president of the Science Academy, but to his surprise, the person who came to report was a strange middle-aged man.

He had distinct Western ancestry, with a high nose bridge and blond hair.

The middle-aged man introduced himself, "Good day, Wallfacer, my name is Donald, and I am the current President of the Science Academy."

Jiang Yu first inquired about the current personnel situation at the Science Academy and learned that Bil had stepped back from the front line sixteen years ago and was still working at the Academy, but no longer involved in cutting-edge projects.

Actually, Bil had reached retirement age, but he still hoped to contribute his last bit of passion by leading two research groups that wouldn't achieve significant results in the near future, to lay a foundation for the future technological power of Guanghan City.

As for Gu Zhize, he had different opinions from Bo Xiangdong, and joined the "Reinforce the Future" program during Crisis 32 years.

Gu Zhize was only awakened after Bo Xiangdong retired from the Science Academy.

He now took over Bo Xiangdong's research group and continued to work on genetic studies.

Strangely enough, although Gu Zhize had been very critical of Bo Xiangdong's risky methods, Gu's working style had become more and more like Bo's.

Number Three, sitting beside Jiang Yu, heard Donald's comments about Gu Zhize and chimed in to explain, "About this, Gu Zhize has talked to me.

"He said that it's only in the last few years that he realized with Sophon's blockade, one cannot achieve anything without being a little crazy."

Following that, he added, "After Crisis 30 years, to curb the rapid development of Guanghan City, PDC passed the Anti-Immigration Act, setting many restrictions on the immigration of high-level talents to space or other planets.

"For this reason, we referred to Space Army Zhang Beihai's 'Reinforce the Future' plan and reserved a batch of high-quality management and technical personnel.

"Subsequently, PDC legalized the Trisolarans' Genetic Modification Technology, reducing even further the number of high-end talents able to come to Guanghan City.

"On one hand, we were actively cultivating talent through Lunar University, and on the other, we accelerated the implementation of the 'Replenish the Future' plan.

"In recent decades, with PDC weakened and Lunar University having trained enough talent, the plan was finally canceled.

"And to avoid having the reserved talents hibernate for too long and become detached from Guanghan City, we gradually woke up the reserve of high-ranking talents.

"Gu Zhize was one of them."

Jiang Yu nodded and invited Donald to sit, "Tell me about your achievements."

"Yes!" Donald first pressed down on the conference table for a few seconds, and a touch-screen-like keyboard appeared on the surface, and at the same time, a slit opened up on the table, from which a thin computer screen emerged.

The lights in the conference room dimmed, and Jiang Yu saw where the projector was, as images appeared on the wall opposite him.

Donald began by reporting on the accomplishments Guanghan City had made in the field of space technology; just three years ago, Guanghan City developed the first nuclear fusion-driven engine.

This achievement goes without saying, it's a notable breakthrough in the entire history of humanity.

If one views it within the entire stage of the industrial civilization, the invention and improvement of steam engines and internal combustion engines marked a new industrial revolution, then the nuclear fusion engine, briefly termed nuclear dynamo, signifies humanity's entry into the third stage of industrial civilization.

The successful assembly of this engine marked a new phase in humanity's application of nuclear energy.

One can imagine that this begins a new era with infinite possibilities.

For example, previous nuclear power plants converted nuclear energy into thermal energy by boiling water, then converted thermal energy into kinetic energy, and finally converted kinetic energy into electrical energy.

Now, bypassing many intermediate processes, Donald briefly explained the theory of the nuclear dynamo, which can directly convert nuclear energy into kinetic energy.

It differs from the explosion of internal combustion engines, which used classical mechanical structures to generate power.

The nuclear dynamo controls the force of nuclear fusion, transforming energy from the micro level into forward thrust, representing a brand new concept of engine.

It completely steps outside the realm of classical mechanics, relying more on the theories of quantum mechanics.

Currently, the nuclear dynamo is slower to accelerate initially, but it accumulates speed faster than liquid fuel engines, making this type of engine more suitable for long-distance travel.

After creating this engine, all the theoretical reserves left to humanity by Sophon were used up.

Especially in the field of quantum mechanics, it is now impossible for any new theory to be summarized or discovered.