APTnovel Chapter 210: Advancing Technology
Chapter 210: Advancing Technology
"Hmm, this boride nanoshell coating material can absorb and convert sunlight with an efficiency of up to 95%?" Qin Meinu seemed skeptical of the material's capabilities as proposed by Huo Jing No. 1.
"Yes, based on your technology, you should be able to achieve a light energy conversion rate of 95%, while our technology can achieve a light energy conversion rate of nearly 100%." Qin Meinu looked at Huo Meinu with some disbelief.
"Qin, this material that absorbs sunlight without losing it has a 'multi-scale' surface composed of particles ranging from 10nm to 10um in size. This multi-scale structure can capture and absorb sunlight. If we manufacture many mirrors and coat them with this nanoshell coating material, we can efficiently absorb solar energy. This material is heat-resistant, highly reliable, and has a long lifespan. You should know what this 95% light energy conversion rate means."
"Jing, I know." Qin knew that if they could obtain a large amount of solar energy, then all the problems would be easy to solve.
"Jin, the energy source for the miniature Death Star weapon will also be provided by sunlight, and the absorption material is also this boride nanoshell coating material."
"What about the sailing speed? Is there any hope of increasing it?"
"The propulsion you're currently using is an ion engine, but because your ion engine's ionization efficiency is low, your speed is limited. As long as you modify the ion engine, changing the single ion source to a combination of a dual ion source and a permanent magnet ion source, you can reach near-light speed." Qin looked at Zhou Yuan No. 1 in surprise. Zhou Yuan No. 1 smiled, spread his hands, and winked at Qin.
Three days passed quickly with such exchanges and discussions, and Zhouyuan-1 drafted a plan to improve technology.
When the draft plan was presented to the scientific committee members and relevant scientists, everyone read it carefully. Some scientists nodded as they read, seemingly in approval.
“Mr. Zhou, Speaker Xingkuite and the Imperial high command wish to meet with you.”
"President Liao, when?"
"This afternoon."
"no problem."
"Do any committee members or experts have any further questions?"
"Mr. Zhou, I have a question. You said that the four of you came here in a time machine. Could you tell me where your time machine is?"
"Professor Gao, I'm sorry, I can't answer this question. After we eliminate the replicators, we must return to the future. Then you'll know where our time machine is."
"Yes, I understand," Liao Huizi replied, taking over the conversation.
"Besides, you have seen the science and technology promotion and upgrading plan we provided, so you should know that I am not fooling you."
"Mr. Zhou, that's not what I meant." Professor Gao blushed slightly.
"Alright, that concludes the morning meeting. This afternoon, I will propose to the Speaker that we expedite the initiation of the Technology Enhancement Act; time is of the essence. Everyone, go back and prepare your respective tasks."
"Yes, Chairman." Everyone answered in unison.
Liao Huizi then hosted lunch for the four members of Zhou Yuan No. 1, accompanied by Academician Du and Academician Qin.
At 2 PM, on the 36th floor of the Parliament Building, the Empire's Supreme Leader, Speaker of the Parliament, Xingkuite, and a group of high-ranking government officials sat around a large round conference table. They first reviewed the draft proposal for technological advancement put forward by Zhou Yuan and his three associates.
“Speaker, given the urgency of the situation, I hope you will immediately enact the Global Technology Advancement Act,” Liao Huizi proposed.
"President Liao, after three days of internal discussions, we have basically reached a consensus, and relevant personnel have revised the content of the Science and Technology Upgrading Act. I will sign and issue it after this meeting, and the Science and Technology Upgrading Act will take effect tomorrow at noon."
"Speaker, will the Replicator Fleet crisis be made public?" Zhou Yuan No. 1 asked Xing Quite.
“Mr. Zhou, as you know, if the Replicator Fleet incident were made public, it would definitely cause global unrest. At that time, none of us would be able to control the situation. Therefore, after collective discussion, we decided not to disclose it to the public for the time being. Our idea is to inform the public that we have discovered a super-Earth suitable for human habitation, located 39 light-years away from Earth. The reason for enacting the bill to promote technological advancement is that we need to develop the planet and migrate to it.”
"Speaker, this is also a good idea. The four of us only hope to fully mobilize personnel and make full use of resources."
“We understand that. However, because of your special status, we need to make proper arrangements for you four, and we hope that you will abide by the relevant confidentiality clauses and imperial laws. We don’t want anything to happen to you four.”
"No problem, please rest assured."
The group then discussed details regarding the organization and arrangements of technology, society, public security, resources, energy, and personnel.
On the second day of the conference, at noon, Speaker Stellarquet delivered a globally broadcast address, announcing the discovery of a habitable super-Earth 39 light-years away. This super-Earth, 1.4 times the diameter and 6.6 times the mass of Earth, enjoys mild solar radiation and is located within its host star's habitable zone—a region where water could exist in liquid form on the planet's surface. To develop this super-Earth and prepare for future colonization, a Technology Enhancement Act was enacted to improve humanity's technological level and military strength.
In this parallel world's human era, on October 1, 2246 AD, the Technology Advancement Act came into effect.
To this end, the Science and Technology Enhancement Department was established, under the leadership of the Science Committee. The Science and Technology Enhancement Department issues global information announcements to recruit outstanding talents and serve the purpose of science and technology enhancement.
The four individuals, including Zhou Yuan No. 1, had already had their arrangements made by relevant departments, including accommodation, identity, interpersonal relationships, education, and work experience. Zhou Yuan No. 1 and Huo Jing No. 1 passed the written and oral examinations of the Science and Technology Enhancement Department and entered important positions within the department. Pan Na No. 1 and Chu Xiaolu No. 1 became administrative staff members of the Science and Technology Enhancement Department.
Things began to develop in an orderly manner. Zhou Yuan No. 1 and his three companions gradually integrated into human society, becoming like other office workers. The difference was that the four of them lived together and refused special treatment and security from the government.
Hidden near the sun, the Clones One Time Fleet, with its approximately one thousand Clones, is busy making various preparations for future time travel.
During the weekdays, the four of them went to work, and after get off work, they sometimes went to bars and dances together in the evenings. On their days off, they would travel or go shopping. Life was quite pleasant. After working for a month, Zhou Yuan No. 1 and the other three clones became fascinated with the human life in this world.
In terms of technological advancement, with the assistance of Zhouyuan-1 and Huojing-1, boride nanoshell coating materials were first developed and put into mass production.
In space, the shipyard's energy supply began using boron compound nanoshell coating materials. Even to the naked eye, if viewed from Earth, the shipyard appeared as if a giant golden umbrella had been unfurled in space, its surface absorbing sunlight, which was then gathered through the ribs and distributed throughout the shipyard. The warships' propulsion systems underwent modifications, with ion engines being upgraded from single ion sources to dual ion sources and permanent magnet ion sources.
Miniature death stars are also under secret development. This space-based energy weapon design, which converts solar energy into lasers, involves deploying numerous metal spheres near the sun. These spheres are approximately 150 meters in diameter, and each sphere's surface is coated with a boride nanoshell material. After absorbing sunlight, the light energy is controlled and directly converted into laser output through a laser optics system. These miniature death stars, by absorbing solar energy, essentially act as solar energy collectors. Deploying these numerous miniaturized death stars around Earth would create a space-based laser weapon. These miniature death stars, equipped with propulsion systems, can intelligently and rapidly move, locate, capture, and strike enemies.
Inspired by the concept of miniature death stars, some scientists began researching a "Dyson sphere" weapon based on the Sun. However, this experimental project was halted by the scientific committee, ostensibly because it would consume enormous resources. Building a Dyson sphere in the solar system, roughly at Earth's orbital position, would require more than just obtaining materials from the Sun itself; even dragging all the other planets to construct it might not be enough. Building a Dyson sphere involves not only huge initial investments but also orbital maintenance, surface cleaning, troubleshooting, and component replacement. Nevertheless, the scientific committee still funded the theoretical and simulation research for the solar-based "Dyson sphere" weapon project.
A scientist has proposed the idea of building a Dyson cloud. A Dyson cloud would consist of numerous independent structures—solar collectors—drilled and orbiting the sun. The advantage of this method is that the Dyson cloud structure can be built gradually, and energy can be transferred between components and between components and the Earth using various wireless transmission methods.
Building a Dyson sphere essentially involves six steps: constructing a giant solar-powered umbrella in the atmosphere above the planet, mining resources on the planet, sending the mined materials into orbit, manufacturing the solar collectors, and finally assembling the various components. The idea is not to build the entire Dyson sphere all at once, but rather to use a cyclical approach, building only a small portion of the Dyson sphere to provide the energy needed for the rest of the project. Therefore, construction efficiency will increase as the project progresses, and it can begin now, with only issues of materials and automation remaining. Furthermore, a significant advantage of this method is that these six steps can be carried out simultaneously on various solid planets throughout the solar system.
Because the plan to build the Dyson Cloud was similar to the creation of a miniature Death Star weapon, and did not require much additional resources or manpower, the council immediately approved the plan to build the Dyson Cloud.