Chapter 91: Magnetic Confinement
While secondary pressurized propulsion technology is not as advanced as High-Speed Ion Propulsion Technology, it offers unparalleled advantages over traditional chemical fuel propulsion technology.
From a basic principle perspective, it is actually quite simple.
It first uses traditional chemical fuels as propellants, such as liquid hydrogen-liquid oxygen, or methane-liquid oxygen.
After these chemical fuels burn in the combustion chamber, their temperature and pressure increase sharply; this is what is called the first pressurization.
The traditional propulsion method is to directly spray out the high-temperature and high-pressure gas after it is generated, thereby obtaining thrust.
However, secondary pressurized propulsion technology, after the first combustion and pressurization, does not spray these gases out but introduces them into another chamber.
A nuclear fission reactor is located next to this chamber.
The nuclear fission process releases unimaginably high temperatures, and temperature is related to pressure; the higher the temperature, the higher the pressure.
Thus, the energy from the nuclear fission reactor further pressurizes the gas already in this chamber, which has undergone the first pressurization and already possesses extremely high pressure.
This is the secondary pressurization.
After secondary pressurization, the internal energy of the gas expands to a level far exceeding that of ordinary chemical combustion. The speed at which it is ejected from the nozzle will also far exceed the limit of ordinary chemical combustion.
The magnitude of the thrust is directly proportional to the ejection velocity of the working fluid.
In original, ordinary chemical combustion, the ejection velocity of the gaseous working fluid would not exceed five kilometers per second. After secondary pressurization, their ejection velocity can increase to over 30 kilometers per second, a full six times the original!
Therefore, the utilization rate of these working fluids also increased to six times the original.
A journey that originally required carrying 60 tons of fuel can now be completed by carrying only 10 tons!
How much more cargo and how many people can be carried with the 50 tons of mass saved? Even if no more cargo is carried and 60 tons of fuel are still loaded, how much can the spaceship’s speed increase and its maneuverability enhance after adopting secondary pressurized technology?
This is where the advantage of secondary pressurized propulsion technology lies.
It can be said that without this technology, relying solely on chemical fuel propulsion, Tom would simply not have been able to complete the long journey of over ten billion kilometers from Loshen Star to the Inner Solar System.
Currently, the task of miniaturizing the nuclear fission reactor has been initially completed.
Although it cannot yet be miniaturized enough to fit into warships or small spacecraft, at least large cargo ships are not a problem.
Given this, it is time to begin research on secondary pressurized propulsion technology.
Tom, facing a formidable challenge, went all out, once again mobilizing all available forces under his command to embark on this most crucial scientific research task at the current stage.
Although the basic principle of this technology is simple, its actual application in reality is even more difficult than the miniaturization of nuclear fission reactors.
The reason is simple: secondary pressurized propulsion technology has extremely high demands on material performance.
Original chemical fuel combustion already releases extremely high temperatures, requiring highly advanced heat-resistant materials to contain them.
After secondary pressurization, their temperature will rise sharply again, even reaching tens of thousands of degrees Celsius.
Under such temperatures, what material can withstand it?
Tom’s knowledge of physics and chemistry told him that no material could withstand it.
This means that Tom cannot use any traditional containment methods, such as building a sturdy container, to contain these gases after secondary pressurization.
A new containment method must be introduced.
Fortunately, Tom had another method he could use.
After undergoing the secondary pressurization process and being heated to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius by the nuclear fission reactor, the carbon dioxide and water produced by the combustion of methane and oxygen can no longer remain in a gaseous state at this temperature.
Their constituent molecules will be directly decomposed, and electrons will be stripped from the atoms, forming plasma.
Since it is plasma, it will be affected by magnetic fields, so Tom had an appropriate containment method.
Magnetic confinement.
Powered by the nuclear fission reactor, a powerful magnetic confinement system can be constructed using electrical energy, without using any physical container, to confine these high-temperature, high-pressure plasmas, preventing them from exploding within the thruster.
Then, guided by the magnetic field, these plasmas are ejected from the rear of the spaceship at extremely high speed, thus completing a secondary pressurization process and greatly improving the utilization efficiency of the working fluid.
However, even with the use of magnetic confinement devices, the containers housing these devices will also be subjected to intense radiation and extremely high temperatures, still requiring extremely high material performance to withstand them.
At the same time, various equipment also needs to operate under extremely harsh working conditions and maintain sufficient stability and reliability, placing even higher demands on material performance.
This is also a project with no shortcuts, one that can only be diligently researched.
As he pushed forward with his work, Tom silently sighed, "Indeed, the development of technology is interconnected, like a chain.
Precursor technologies are the foundation for subsequent, more advanced technologies. Without precursor technologies, subsequent technologies cannot emerge out of nowhere.
Just like the core technology of the secondary pressurized propulsion technology I am currently working on, magnetic confinement, it is very likely to be key to future controllable nuclear fusion technology. At the same time, electromagnetic conversion technology is also very likely to be key to future High-Speed Ion Propulsion Technology.
Once secondary pressurized propulsion technology is mastered, there will be a foundation for overcoming these two crucial technological challenges in the future."
Under Tom’s full effort, soon, in a basin on Loshen Star, within the newly built propulsion laboratory, the first propulsion experiment began.
The modular nuclear fission reactor and the traditional chemical combustion engine were placed on the left and right, respectively, connected by thick pipes, and a large nozzle was located behind the nuclear fission reactor.
Following an ignition command, large amounts of liquid oxygen and methane were transported to the chemical combustion chamber, where, in intense combustion, they turned into gaseous carbon dioxide and water, which were then transported into the nuclear fission reactor module.
The nuclear fission reactor module simultaneously initiated fission reactions. Through the fission of uranium 235, the immense energy hidden deep within matter was released; a portion heated the gaseous carbon dioxide and water, causing them to directly climb to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius, thus turning into plasma, while another portion of energy was converted into electricity to create a powerful magnetic field to confine these plasmas.
Then, the next moment, with a bang, it exploded.
Amidst the earth-shattering tremor, an area of several tens of meters was flattened.