With the shutdown of the second-generation controllable fusion experimental reactor, the bright aurora over the Yangtze River Delta City Group also melted into the night. As soon as the light disappeared from the field of vision, the whispers of discussion spread like waves in the stadium of the Heart of Asia.
Slowly lowering the camera held in his hand, Clooney stared at the deep dark night as he muttered to himself, âIs this the gift from Academician Lu?â
This is insane!
Compared to the shock of the reporters, the shock felt by the leaders of various countries sitting in the VIP seats of the exhibition hall was obviously much stronger.
After paying homage to the aurora that lit up the night sky, Minister Otowski of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Slavic Union showed a solemn expression on his face.
After taking a deep breath, he glanced at Chairman Wildev, who was sitting next to him, and said in a serious tone, âAurora... Incredible. It is almost impossible to form aurora in mid-latitudes under natural conditions. Unless...â
Wildev asked immediately, âUnless what?â
âThrough some special technology, the atmosphere was artificially ionized. Or to put it another way, they used lasers, microwaves, or similar things to âigniteâ the air.â
Igniting the air?
The look on Wildevâs face changed slightly, and he asked quickly, âCan this kind of thing be done? Isnât it dangerous?â
Otowski shook his head and said, âNot dangerous. The earthâs atmospheric environment is tougher than you think. As long as it is not a long-term effect, the impact is still small. But I have to admit, even if it is only for a short period of time, it is not an easy task to create an artificial aurora of such a scale.â
Taking a look in Li Guangyaâs direction, Otowski moved closer to Wildev. He then lowered his voice and continued, âAn aurora that can be seen in the entire Yangtze River Delta City Group... Roughly estimating, they need at least one high-powered laser-emitting device with a power of 100GW, or even 1,000GW!
âNot only that, but what is even more surprising is how they did it in space. If you want to power the equipment for this kind of laser transmitter, I am afraid that a nuclear fusion generator may not be enough. Also, heat dissipation is difficult in space.
âYou know, even the peak power generation in Guanghan City hasnât reached 1,000GW...â
Even if all the solar power stations on the moon were utilized, it wouldnât meet this level of energy demand.
If the laser transmitter could also be realized by integrating multiple dot-matrix lasers to form a transmitting array, then the energy source alone was almost unfeasible in terms of current technology and practical conditions.
Even though Academician Lu had money, this was not a problem that money could solve at all!
After hearing Otowskiâs explanation, the expression on Wildevâs face became more and more serious. He asked seriously, âWhat is your speculation...?â
âThere is only one possibility.â
Looking at the expression on Otowskiâs face, Wildev was slightly stunned. He quickly read something from his eyes, and the serious expression was gradually replaced by one of incredible shock.
âWait! Do you mean...â
âYes.â Otowski nodded. He continued in a complex tone, âAlthough this may sound a bit weird... But the second-generation controlled fusion research that has been stagnant for a century may have been solved by them. â
It wasnât just the Slavic Union.
The leaders of the North Sea Alliance, the North American Alliance, and the Iberian-French Alliance sitting not far away had also heard something from their staff or leaders in the R&D department.
In fact, it was not difficult to guess.
It was a well-known thing that East Asia Energy was researching second-generation controllable fusion technology. Even at the beginning of the year, residents of Guanghan City had been upset about this incident, and major media companies were following up on the progress of related events.
Prior to this, the fusion technology research centers of various countries had all made comprehensive evaluation reports on the projects of East Asia Energyâs second-generation experimental reactor program. Including technical feasibility demonstration, project success rate, predicted completion period, possible technical route... Basically, everything that could be analyzed had been analyzed.
Especially for the project success rate, almost no research center gave an optimistic rating. As for the expectation that the project would make significant progress in the short term, almost without exception, they were pessimistic evaluations.
These reports were even borrowed by the capital markets and became the theoretical basis for many international stock trends. Song Yangwei shorted East Asia Energy... Although their heads were blown up in the end.
However, no one thought that East Asia Energy actually solved this!
It wasnât just high-level officials from various regional alliances...
Even the chairman of Pan-Asian Cooperation didnât expect this!
There was a wave of applause in the stadium.
This ingenious gift surpassed everyoneâs expectations and imagination. All the exhibits at the Heart of Asia, including the Heart of Asia itself, were suppressed by this aurora.
After all, the former was nothing but a man-made thing.
While the latter, although mostly man-made, had a magnificent scale and momentum that were as breathtaking as the mysterious power that transcended nature.
Even though it only lasted two minutes.
Bathed in the wild and exciting sights, as well as the applause and cheers resounding throughout the audience, Lu Zhou smiled and waved. He then ended his opening speech before leaving the stage.
Almost as soon as he returned behind the scenes, discussion about the rare aurora that appeared over the Yangtze River Delta City Group popped up in major online communities.
People were talking about what Academician Lu did!
After Lu Zhou left the stage and returned to the VIP seat, Chairman Li Guangya asked impatiently, âWhat was that aurora just now?â
Hearing this question, Lu Zhou smiled and said, âIsnât it obvious enough?â
âSecond-generation fusion?â
Lu Zhou did not speak but simply nodded.
Now that he received an affirmative answer from Lu Zhou, Li Guangya could finally take a deep breath. After a while, he recovered from the shock.
âI didnât expect that you actually did it.â
âI said that I would never make jokes about what I wanted to do.â Lu Zhou then asked casually while watching the large-scale cultural performance that had already begun on stage, âHow long will this celebration be?â
âIf you are asking about the opening ceremony, it will end at nine oâclock.â Looking at the time on the holographic watch, Li Guangya said softly, âIf you are asking about the whole celebration, the closing ceremony will be in three days.â
Lu Zhou gasped, âThree days? Thatâs so long.â
âAfter all, there are a lot of exhibits. Scientific research institutions and high-tech companies from all over the world will come to join in the fun...â
When Li Guangya said this, his heart was full of complicated emotions.
Although the breakthrough of the second-generation controllable fusion technology was a celebratory event, he really did not expect Lu Zhou to present it here.
Although the expressions on the faces of the leaders of the various regional alliances made him very happy, the consequence was that now, not only were the exhibits in the Heart of Asia overshadowed, but his announcement at the closing ceremony wouldnât be able to surpass the limelight of the second-generation controllable fusion.
He finally realized why those researchers in the past had a love-hate relationship with Lu Zhou...