Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 57：ITER Magnets

While discussions about Jiang Fan were heating up on the Dragon University campus forum, the man himself was busy at the residence assigned to him by the school, meticulously organizing the data for controlled nuclear fusion.

Currently, with significant national backing, the northern base had invested 15 billion yuan, and the team had grown to 200 researchers. Under the full cooperation of Commander-in-Chief Zhou Huaide and Chief Engineer Jiang Fan, their mission was to develop controlled nuclear fusion within the next year.

Though Jiang Fan had previously achieved a remarkable breakthrough by stabilizing nuclear fusion for 118 seconds, the ongoing project aimed at continuous, sustainable nuclear fusion was a different beast altogether—vastly more complex, and on a different level entirely.

The earlier version of controlled fusion had only required stability for a limited time, with Jiang Fan making improvements to the existing Tokamak device. However, this new challenge of continuous fusion required the redesign of every single component, essentially starting from scratch.

The complexity of the task was staggering—far beyond the ordinary person's comprehension. The fusion device Jiang Fan was working on involved a total of 1,898,726 parts, 5,289 subsystems, which were then divided into 276 branch systems, and further subdivided into 8 major systems. These all culminated in the Tokamak device that would form the core of the controlled fusion apparatus.

Jiang Fan worked tirelessly until around 10 PM, having only completed the organization of several subsystems. His first priority was the core part of the Tokamak—the magnetic ring confinement material system. Once this core component was successfully developed, 30% of the Tokamak would be complete, and though the other subcomponents were still complex, the remaining work would just be a matter of time.

At that moment, Zhou Huaide called on a video call.

On the screen, Jiang Fan saw Zhou's laboratory bustling with activity, filled with the figures of researchers at work.

Zhou Huaide: "Xiao Fan, we've run into a problem."

Jiang Fan: "Uncle Zhou, what's the issue?"

Zhou Huaide: "The ITER magnet, the material for the magnetic ring device, cannot be made with our current technology."

The ITER magnet was a crucial component of the magnetic ring system, and without it, the entire controlled fusion project would be impossible to complete.

Seeing Jiang Fan pause, Zhou Huaide continued, "Is it possible to substitute it with the toroidal field coil magnet material?"

Jiang Fan shook his head. "No, the toroidal field coil magnet material becomes unstable at high temperatures, which affects the ion reaction. We used it previously, and it led to the magnetic ring reaching temperatures above 2,000°C."

Zhou Huaide sighed in frustration. "Currently, only the Beautiful Nation has the ITER magnet. But such high-end materials are not something they would sell to us."

Jiang Fan could think of no better solution. The ITER magnet was, in fact, the best magnetic ring material available on Blue Star, as it could maintain stable performance without temperature fluctuations. Replacing it with other materials would inevitably introduce instability into the fusion process.

"Xiao Fan, I'll report this to the higher-ups and see if they can secure an ITER magnet from the Beautiful Nation," Zhou Huaide said.

"Alright," Jiang Fan replied. "That's the only option for now."

The system had awarded him the blueprint, formulas, and data for controlled nuclear fusion, and the only viable material for the magnetic ring device was the ITER magnet. Therefore, using any alternative material was unrealistic, leaving them dependent on the higher authorities in Dragon Nation to see if they could either procure the material or acquire the technology to produce it.

After discussing the ITER magnet with Zhou Huaide, Jiang Fan reviewed the progress made over the past few days via video. Once he was satisfied with the progress, he sent the data he had organized that day to Zhou Huaide.

Meanwhile, at the World Mathematical Organization, based in the romantic city of Paris, France—seven or eight elderly professors, their eyes hidden behind glasses, were quietly studying a document in their hands, saying nothing. The time passed slowly, and it wasn't until half an hour had passed that the professor sitting at the center of the room slowly spoke.

"This is an email we received from Dragon University in Dragon Nation. What are your thoughts on this proof for the Riemann Hypothesis?"

"Actually, we've been researching the Riemann Hypothesis for many years, but we've been unable to prove its correctness or existence. From the proof sent over from Dragon Nation, there doesn't appear to be any erroneous steps, but..."

"I agree with Professor Alex's opinion," another professor interjected. "Although we haven't been able to prove its validity in the past century, it has not affected our use of the Riemann Hypothesis formula..."

"To this day, over 1,000 mathematical propositions have been based on the Riemann Hypothesis."

The world-renowned mathematicians discussed the document for over an hour before coming to a conclusion. While they couldn't definitively verify the correctness of the proof, they didn't see any mistakes in the steps or logic. Therefore, they decided to tentatively consider it correct.

The Riemann Hypothesis, according to current mathematical knowledge on Blue Star, couldn't be definitively proven. Even if it were proven, humanity's current understanding wouldn't be sufficient to verify its absolute truth.

So, the experts at the World Mathematical Organization decided to accept the proof temporarily, pending further investigation.

"Professor Anthony, wasn't Dragon Nation's application for a position on the World Mathematical Organization board rejected last year?"

"Yes," Professor Anthony confirmed.

"Then have the staff send them an official invitation to join the World Mathematical Organization as one of the six board countries, along with an invitation to the October Math Summit..."

The next day, Professor Xiao and his mentor arrived at the Department of Mathematics at Dragon University.

"Professor, I believe we should go directly to Jiang Fan. Once we convince him, with your status, the Principal will surely give us his approval."

Professor Wu thought for a moment and agreed with Xiao's reasoning.

"Let's go find Jiang Fan right away."

"Alright, Professor," Xiao responded. Just as he was about to close his computer, he noticed an email in his inbox. Curious, he opened it, and upon seeing its contents, he froze in place.

Noticing his student's frozen state, Professor Wu urged him, "Xiao, what are you waiting for? Let's go. We can't afford to let other professors beat us to him."

Xiao stammered in disbelief, "P... Professor, the World Mathematical Organization just replied to our email!"

"Really?" Professor Wu asked, astonished.

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