Spark

The aerial platform project has been underway for long enough.

In fact, even counting from the inception of the project, the project has already gone through three years of preparation. If the time is extended to the moment when the idea was "generated", the Nantianmen project has already gone through at least 10 years of preparation. .

Of course, in this process, the project encountered considerable resistance.

First, the most serious issue is the discussion about the necessity of air platforms.

A common view is that the aerial platform is a project that is of no value but of no use because its functionality can easily be replaced by other equipment.

Global arrival?

We can use larger strategic bombers, larger strategic transport aircraft, and more air force bases.

Strategic deterrence?

The Dongfeng series missiles are already good enough, and with the addition of nuclear submarines and bombers, the nuclear bundle has actually been strengthened to the point where it is as strong as steel.

Super firepower and super security?

In the context of the popularity of electronic warfare, the definition of "firepower" has broken away from the judgment standards of the battleship era. Especially after the army began to enter the process of evacuation operations, the fire support that an aerial fortress can provide is actually quite useless.

All in all, it is neither necessary nor useful.

Of course, in addition to this problem, cost is also another key.

The aerial platform is too expensive. Even according to the first version of the budget, the total cost it requires is in the trillions.

See clearly, it is trillions, not ten thousand or billions.

In other words, the cost of an air platform will be equivalent to more than 10 Ford-class aircraft carriers.

This is an absolutely large-scale project and absolutely strategic equipment.

Can China spend so much money? After spending so much money, can the economy still maintain stable operation?

For a long time, no one could answer.

Therefore, in the face of these two major issues, technical issues have actually been reduced to a relatively minor level.

This is why the progress of the aerial platform project has never been fast and has always been of a "verification" nature.

However, during the life of the project, two major events occurred that completely changed the nature of the project.

The first is the explosion of basic science and technology marked by nuclear fusion and superconducting materials.

The second thing is the explosion of space demand.

The first of these things directly changed the structure of the entire world, and will also change the world's military weight in the foreseeable and very short future.

In other words, the way of fighting will definitely change in the future. Although no one knows in which direction it will change, one thing is absolutely certain.

That is, within a hundred years, it is impossible for a nuclear war to happen again.

Not because everyone has become kind, not because humanity has become united, but because

The dividends brought by fusion and superconducting technology will not be fully consumed even if the entire human race is completely stuffed until its stomach explodes in a hundred years!

Why?

To put it crudely, it’s because I can’t give birth that fast.

Human reproduction capacity limits the speed at which humans can digest technological dividends.

Don't judge the expansion rate of the human population based on theoretical data such as "a person can have up to a dozen children in a lifetime." In fact, according to the theoretical prediction model of demographers, in the era of fusion superconductivity, the average fertility rate of human beings It should stabilize between 4 and 5.

Because the constraints of culture and ideological trends on population growth must be considered.

Is it fast?

It looks fast.

But at this rate, the population that humans will reach in a hundred years will be around 50 billion, an increase of less than 10 times.

The comprehensive productivity improvement and comprehensive resource growth brought about by the two technologies should exceed 20 times.

This is a conservative result estimated based on the statistical data after the second and third industrial revolutions. The fact is that after the door is opened, no one knows how vast the fertile soil behind the door is.

So, in this case, absolutely, absolutely no one would try to start a devastating war.

Technology is a key and a prison.

A cage that limits the scale of war to what humans can bear.

The US's military concessions illustrate this point - in fact, what they are doing is not a concession in the final analysis.

Instead, it is trying to transform the original war model and gradually replace the nuclear weapons foundation of the entire military-industrial complex with the foundation of "ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-tech conventional warfare."

So, in this case, how should future wars be fought?

Most likely, it is another form of cannon giant ship.

In other words, the aerial platform has regained its unique significance.

As for the issue of resources? It was already like a dark shadow, driven away by the first rays of the artificial sun.

Of course, for this reason alone, the aerial platform project cannot be "essential", but with the explosive growth of aerospace demand, the need to build ultra-large aerospace vehicles has been put on the table.

There is no better choice than an aerial platform, no project that can validate all technologies and try all paths in a very short time.

Want to build a starship?

Can! But first you have to build something that is that big and can fly.

Want to build a space elevator?

Can! But breakthroughs in materials always need to be led by a flagship project.

Want to develop engines beyond traditional ones?

Can! Electromagnetic propulsion or anti-gravity are both directions that can be studied, and they do not conflict with aerial platforms at all.

As a result, the tone of this project quietly changed in this environment.

It is no longer a pure "military equipment" project.

——

Of course, it was not a pure arms project from the beginning, but now, its comprehensive attributes have become more intense, and its responsibilities have become heavier.

All departments are involved, and although the resource allocation is not too much, it is powerful enough.

This also caused the project's progress to accelerate suddenly. Even if Chen Nian didn't pay special attention to it, he would receive news related to it from time to time.

But this time, things are a little different.

Because the person who sent the message to Chen Nian was Lin Yongming, the current project director of the aerial platform project.

That's right, it's Lin Yongming, the former chairman of AVIC Group One.

He and Chen Nian have not lost contact, but for a long time, the two main projects they were responsible for happened to be stuck in time differences, so there was much less direct communication on the project.

But in fact, Lin Yongming’s shadow is indispensable behind almost all aviation-related technological breakthroughs and technological applications.

This time, he personally sent this message to Chen Nian, showing unprecedented "confidence".

new progress?

What kind of development is new to Chen Nian?

An ordinary structural optimization, an ordinary engine design, and an ordinary material are not new developments.

Chen Nian was interested, but he did not reply immediately. Instead, he turned to Chen Guo and asked:

"Is there any new action on the Nantianmen project?"

Chen Guo paused and thought for a moment before replying:

"If you want to say no, there are still a lot of them. But if you have to say yes, there really isn't anything worthy of your attention - it's not up to the standard of 'new action' here."

"What's wrong? Lin Yongming sent you a message?"

Chen Guo didn't even need to look. After Chen Nian asked this question, he immediately deduced the source of Chen Nian's question. This was probably the basic sensitivity that a person who truly coordinates the overall situation should have.

"That's right, he sent me a message saying that there was new progress in the Nantianmen project and asked me if I wanted to go take a look."

"I'm quite curious. What progress would be worthy of him telling me so cheerfully?"

"I don't know either - to be precise, I don't know yet."

Chen Guo spread her hands and answered calmly.

Of course, it is impossible for him to be unaware from the beginning to the end, but there will be a time lag in the transmission of intelligence and information anyway, and it is obvious that Lin Yongming chose to tell Chen Nian the first thing after he learned about it. .

In fact, this is enough to explain the problem.

The new developments in Nantianmen must be important, and can even be said to be "very interesting," but they definitely do not involve any high-level secrets.

Chen Nian also figured this out instantly, so he said:

"How about I call and ask directly?"

"Ask, I'm curious now - forget it, I'll fight."

Go ahead, Chen Guo took out her phone and dialed the number without any hesitation.

After the phone rang twice, Chen Guo asked enthusiastically:

"Mr. Lin, to make a long story short, what's the progress?"

"Ah, he is listening to me. Just say it."

"What? Like this"

"Are you sure? Has it been verified?"

"I understand, then I'll help him arrange it - if not, can you guys come over?"

"Okay, then I'll go there together."

"Okay, let's talk."

The phone hung up and Chen Nian was confused.

He just vaguely heard a few words about "levitation" and "electromagnetism" on the phone.

What are you doing?

It’s impossible to realize anti-gravity technology in advance, right?

Chen Nian looked at Chen Guo curiously, but Chen Guo didn't show off.

He opened his mouth and said:

"There is indeed an interesting development, but of course, it is not a disruptive development."

"Or should be said, it is a brand new idea - no wonder he wants to tell you, let me make it clear. If their idea can be realized, the application prospects are very broad, but the problem is that they don't know whether it can be realized. .”

"So, he wants you to go take a look and see if you are interested in doing it."

"If you're not even interested, then there's no big need."

"As for the technology itself, it's actually not difficult to understand."

"Do you know the Tower of Babel?"

Chen Nian quickly flew to the Nantianmen Project Comprehensive Base with Chen Guo. Now, this base is no longer just a barren wilderness like it was at the beginning.

Various heavy equipment has already arrived, and the main construction of the supporting fusion power station has been completed. In two months, it will be officially connected to the grid to generate electricity.

Huge cranes, reinforced concrete buildings tens of meters high, and large load-carrying trucks that keep running around

All this gives the base a layer of mystery - of course, it itself is also mysterious.

"Industrial beauty."

Chen Nian said with emotion.

"This base doesn't look like it's building any man-made thing at all. It looks like it's building some kind of religious wonder."

"Well, you can't say that. It should be said that it's like building a planetary engine."

"Planetary engine? What is it?"

Lin Yongming asked curiously.

"It's something that can push the earth out of its original orbit and then embark on an interstellar wandering path."

"It's an interesting idea! Can we do it?"

Lin Yongming's eyes flashed with light.

"Of course not - what's the need for this thing? We won't really face a crisis of the sun dying."

"It has nothing to do with the crisis. What I mean is that if we can build an engine of that size, we don't have to think about building a large platform. We can even capture an asteroid and use it directly as our spacecraft. "

"That's for the future."

Chen Nian smiled and shook his head, then continued:

"It's better not to go too far and talk about your progress."

"How did you come up with the idea of ​​building a super large electromagnetic force generating tower?"

After hearing what Chen Nian said, Lin Yongming put away all the stories and jokes he had prepared to "enliven the atmosphere" and answered bluntly:

"Actually, this is not a complete plan."

"In fact, its origin is quite accidental. It was just an inspiration that one of our engineers found when he was using superconducting materials to make toys for his children."

“To put it simply, all our previous ideas about ‘flight’ were based on ‘reaction force’.”

"As long as it is a working fluid engine, it cannot escape the shackles of reaction force."

"No matter how far we evolve, even if we use nuclear energy, the essence is still to eject heated air as a working fluid."

"This model is very mature and the technology is certainly very advanced, but sometimes we can't help but wonder if there is any other way."

"You know, there are only so many things in macroscopic mechanics. If we don't use working fluids, electromagnetic force is a good choice - so this idea was born."

"Aerial platform that relies on electromagnetic force to levitate, a giant aerial platform."

After listening to Lin Yongming's words, Chen Nian nodded slightly.

"A reasonable idea - but it doesn't sound very reliable."

In fact, he couldn't tell where it was unreliable, but he always felt that Lin Yongming's idea was too hasty.

Build an electromagnetic force generating tower to achieve levitation of an aerial platform?

How many towers are needed to ensure that the platform can move freely around the world? How high can the floating height of the platform be?

"Of course it's not reliable now. If it were really reliable, I wouldn't come to you."

"To be honest, this is a very wild future imagination. We have no way to guarantee that it can be realized, but if it can really be achieved, it may have a huge impact on human existence on the earth."

"So, I just wanted to have a chat with you."

"This is not an invitation for a formal inspection, it's just a communication between our friends - it's time for you to take a vacation anyway."

"Understood."

Chen Nian understood what Lin Yongming meant.

Communicate and share feelings with yourself, help your superior achieve one of your vacation targets, and by the way, use a new thing he sees that may be of great use to share with yourself for discussion.

Kill three birds with one stone.

"No matter what, let's go take a look first - what if it really works?"