Chapter 390: Micro reactor

In the eyes of many people, it may be easier to make a model than to make a complete thing.
After all, the model is so small, it doesn't take much material or much time.
But people who have really done a model, especially those who have done a 1:1 complete true reduction model, will tell you that sometimes it is more difficult to make a model than to make it.
Because it is easy to make a small thing big, but it is difficult to make a big thing small.
Although what Chen Xin is going to do is a miniature version of the nuclear fusion reactor, the technical requirements are not lower than that of a real large-scale reactor, and the requirements for parts processing accuracy are even higher than those of a large-scale reactor. .
Although large-scale nuclear fusion reactors have strict requirements, the tolerances allowed by large-scale equipment still have a certain margin, but when you reduce the equipment proportionally, the original tolerance margin will also be reduced.
For example, an error of ±5 on a large-scale equipment may not have an error of ±0.5 on a scaled down model. The smaller the model, the more so.
Especially when you have to completely restore the structure and function of large-scale equipment, the smaller the parts that require higher processing accuracy, often the cost is many times exaggerated than the parts required by large-scale equipment.
To give a simple example, in the existing nuclear fusion reactor technology, the structure of the magnetic confinement nuclear fusion device that blocks neutrons and plasma, prevents high-energy hydrogen ions from splashing, and serves as a heat exchange in the future is called the first wall. In the selection of nuclear fusion reactor materials, this first wall has extremely high requirements.
In reality, neutrons can be blocked by processing the first wall to a certain thickness, but when the model is reduced to a small scale, the thickness of the first wall will become thinner. At this time, you want to continue to maintain it. The blocking of neutrons places higher demands on itself.
Especially the first wall itself is a consumable. As the neutron bombards the first wall, its surface will bubble!
Large-scale equipment can prolong its service life depending on its thickness, and it is regularly replaced to prevent the entire first wall from being penetrated.
But for small models, this is very terrible. After all, it is impossible to say that the reactor will stop and change consumables after a few revolutions, right?
This is also the reason why nuclear fusion devices are getting bigger and bigger now. Because of technical reasons, the equipment can only be enlarged to ensure the expected performance and realize the ignition of nuclear fusion.
However, what Chen Xin wants to do is just a model for verifying technology. If it is not too exaggerated, he even wants to make a model that can be placed on the table.
But in the end, he compromised with reality. He didn't really build an LED lamp of the same type as an iron man, but a miniature reactor about one person tall.
Although it is a micro-reactor with the same model, the structure and functions of the nuclear fusion reactor that Chen Xin previously envisioned are reproduced in this micro-reactor, and it can actually ignite and react, and the reaction is controllable. Continuous and stable output of energy.
To achieve this, obviously there are very strict requirements on the materials and processes for manufacturing this micro-reactor.
Fortunately, Chen Xin's drawings are products after the system has been upgraded, and the tools he uses to make parts are also the robotic arms and workbenches produced by the system, so there is no problem in terms of machining accuracy and part quality. .
As for the materials used to manufacture this micro-reactor, Chen Xin chose to obtain some of the core parts through system upgrades, while other parts were requested by the national scientific research department. After obtaining the materials, they would be processed with a workbench and a robotic arm.
In order to process these parts, Chen Xin not only made a small-scale upgrade of his robotic arm, but also made an identical one in the office of the barracks according to the workbench in his refuge, with drawing and scanning. And upgrade function.
It is precisely because of this that Chen Xin was able to upgrade the heating hub, energy tower and the drawings of this nuclear fusion reactor.
After the drawings were upgraded, not only the technical design was optimized, but also some optimizations were made on the parts. The drawings that specifically adjusted the direction of the upgrade have simplified the requirements for parts and reduced the difficulty, and also allowed Chen Xin to manufacture a micro reactor for verification. Technical ideas can be realized.
Because it’s just a miniature reactor, it doesn’t require a lot of related materials, and some rare materials are even used in very small amounts. So when the helicopter came for the second trip and took away the heavy mecha upgraded by Chen Xin, he was taken by him. The required materials have been shipped.
It has to be said that after the aircraft regained its flight capability, at least the transportation has become much more convenient.
After Chen Xin got the materials delivered by the air express, he directly started the manufacturing of the micro-reactor, but because there were other things to deal with, he basically went to deal with other things in the morning, and then came to the military camp to manufacture the micro-reactor in the afternoon. The parts of the reactor, until I go to sleep at night~EbookFREE.me~ This kind of regular schedule is actually easy to be traced to a large extent, whether it is kidnapping, assassination or tracking, it is easy to find flaws and opportunities.
Fortunately, Chen Xin spent more than half of his time in a barracks stationed by an entire special force. He only walked to a camp less than a hundred meters away when he went out. There were also combat teams who escorted the entire process. There were still security problems. Enough protection.
Under such circumstances, Chen Xin's manufacturing of the micro-reactor was also carried out smoothly. Various precision parts were manufactured and then assembled.
Soon, the fission furnace part of this micro-reactor was completed.
Compared with fusion reactions, fission reactions are undoubtedly much easier to control. Coupled with years of research on nuclear fission technology, a miniature fission furnace is not difficult to make.
Of course, this is not difficult for Chen Xin, for others, it is still a difficult thing.
Because the smaller the reactor, the higher the degree of enrichment of nuclear fuel required, and the higher the control requirements for the reactor, the difficulty and cost of manufacturing are also rising linearly.
And don't talk about conflating radioisotope batteries with nuclear reactors. They are two completely different things in principle.
The radioisotope battery itself does not have a nuclear reaction, it just uses the radiation with heat energy released by the radioisotope to convert the heat energy into electrical energy.
However, nuclear reactors use the energy released by matter during nuclear reactions to generate heat and convert them into electrical energy. The two are very different in terms of size and efficiency.
Chen Xin is able to manufacture isotope thermoelectric batteries, but this is the first time to manufacture a small nuclear reactor.