The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Beibu Gulf Nuclear Power Plant is the fifth nuclear power plant in China!

At the same time, it is also the first fourth-generation nuclear power plant.

The Beibu Gulf Nuclear Power Plant is not the end, but the beginning.

Unlike the experimental nuclear power plants formed by the construction of the Type 094 strategic nuclear submarine nuclear reactor test reactor, the Type 002B nuclear-powered aircraft carrier nuclear reactor test reactor, and the Type 003 nuclear-powered aircraft carrier nuclear reactor test reactor, the Beibu Gulf Nuclear Power Plant is a real fourth-generation nuclear power plant!
Although the experimental nuclear power plant is also a nuclear power plant and provides a large amount of electricity to Guangdong Province, it has not been officially included in the Huaxia Nuclear Power Plant project.

However, the Beibu Gulf Nuclear Power Plant was included in the 10th Five-Year Plan and the 11th Five-Year Plan!
It is expected to be completed during the 11th Five-Year Plan period.

So far, all nuclear power plants in China are built on the coast. Apart from a portion of the electricity generated by Southwest Hydropower and the Three Gorges Hydropower Station being used in the southwest, the rest is transmitted to the east to establish a 'West-to-East Power Transmission' system.

However, with the development of the central and western regions, and with the economic development and social progress in the central and western regions, the contradiction between energy supply capacity and growing demand has continued to intensify, and China is facing tremendous pressure to save energy, reduce emissions and protect the environment. It is imperative to build more nuclear power plants.

The Beibu Gulf Nuclear Power Station is only the first fourth-generation nuclear power station. Now the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Station, Jinqimen Nuclear Power Station, Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station, Ningde Nuclear Power Station, Fuqing Nuclear Power Station, and Fangjiashan Nuclear Power Station are all in the approval status or waiting in line for approval.

By 2015, China will have 11 nuclear power plants in operation.

Although China's nuclear power plants developed late, they started from a high point and so far they are all new nuclear power, which is actually China's advantage.

Liu Tao smiled and said, "We are only at the leading level now, but Europe and the United States are also developing fourth-generation nuclear power technology. We cannot be proud. Our goal is to eventually develop controlled nuclear fusion!"

So far, all nuclear power plant technologies use nuclear fission technology, not nuclear fusion technology.

The atomic bomb is a technology that uses nuclear fission!
The hydrogen bomb, on the other hand, is a form of nuclear fusion technology.

Nuclear fusion refers to the synthesis of a heavier nucleus from two light nuclei. Nuclear fission refers to the splitting of a heavy nucleus into two or more smaller atoms. Nuclear fusion occurs at a high temperature of nearly 100 million degrees, which can be reached when an atomic bomb explodes on Earth. Although nuclear fission can produce huge energy, it is far inferior to nuclear fusion. The nuclear fuel reserves of fission reactors are extremely limited, not only producing strong radiation that harms the human body, but also nuclear waste is difficult to handle. In contrast, the radiation of nuclear fusion is much less, and the fuel for nuclear fusion can be said to be inexhaustible!
And in terms of safety, there is no doubt that nuclear power plants that use controlled nuclear fusion are much more secure than those that use nuclear fission.

Upon hearing this, the others couldn't help but shake their heads and smile bitterly.

The easiest fusion reaction to achieve in nature is the fusion of hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium, a reaction that has been going on in the sun for 50 billion years.

Therefore, controlled nuclear fusion is also commonly known as "artificial sun"!
People's understanding of thermonuclear fusion began with the explosion of the hydrogen bomb. After learning about nuclear fusion, scientists hoped to invent a device that could effectively control the process of the "hydrogen bomb explosion" and allow for a continuous and stable output of energy, thereby providing humans with clean, safe and inexhaustible energy.

This is also recognized as mankind's hope for ultimately solving the energy problem.

Compared to the limited reserves of oil and natural gas, with oil being constantly shaped into only enough for the Earth to use for about 50 years, deuterium, the material needed for controlled nuclear fusion, is abundant in the Earth's oceans, with reserves of up to 40 trillion tons. If all of it were used for fusion reactions, the released energy would be enough for humans to use for tens of billions of years, and the reaction product is helium without radioactive contamination.

As for helium-3, which can participate in nuclear fusion reactor reactions with deuterium, although its reserves on Earth are not large, there is abundant helium-3 on the moon. According to estimates of lunar soil samples, the moon's helium-3 content is as high as 100 million tons, and its reserves are 200 million times that of the Earth. This is enough for the world to use for controlled nuclear fusion power generation for a long, long time!
But it will take another 50 years to achieve successful controlled nuclear fusion!
Whether it is the "tokamak device" developed by the Soviets or the "stellarator" device developed by Europe and the United States, they are still very far from success.

Since the outbreak of the Iraq War, oil prices have skyrocketed, the energy crisis has intensified, and all countries have begun to pay attention to controlled nuclear fusion technology.

For example, Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea have built an ITER, striving to build an experimental reactor in 2015, with a power output of 1500 megawatts and a construction cost of $120 billion. China is also researching controlled nuclear fusion, but so far, it is still a long way from seeing the success of controlled nuclear fusion technology.

Even with the most optimistic estimates, it will take until the middle of this century for controlled nuclear fusion technology to reach a level of commercial value.

The so-called commercial use of controlled nuclear fusion means that the profits generated are greater than the investment costs.

Even pessimistic scientists believe that there is no hope of achieving controlled nuclear fusion technology in this century.

Liu Tao smiled and didn't say much.

Controlled nuclear fusion technology must naturally be achieved, because it is the only way for mankind to escape the energy crisis and move towards the universe.

It's just that the time is not ripe yet.

"Leader, do you think we humans can implement controlled nuclear fusion technology within the next 50 years?" someone suddenly asked.

Although they are all nuclear power experts, when it comes to the nuclear field, Liu Tao is the real authority and is recognized as the number one in China.

It can be said that Liu Tao played a crucial role in China's rapid progress in the nuclear industry.

Liu Tao nodded and gave a positive answer: "As long as you can live another 20 years, you will definitely see the day when controlled nuclear fusion is realized!"

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Liu Tao's answer made everyone shudder and a gleam of light flashed in their eyes.

No one doubted Liu Tao's words, because Liu Tao had already established his authoritative position by repeatedly turning the impossible into possible miracles.

Facts speak louder than words.

Since Liu Tao said that controlled nuclear fusion technology can be achieved in 20 years, then it will definitely be achieved.

In fact, for Liu Tao, controlled nuclear fusion has never been a big technical challenge. The real difficulty is that China's talent training and social progress are not enough.

It may not be a good thing for China to hastily realize controlled nuclear fusion technology.

He is waiting, waiting for China's further development and improvement.

At the current rate of development, China will be qualified to have controlled nuclear fusion in about 20 years.

Now, what we need to do is to lay the foundation for the future. (End of this chapter)