Chapter 117

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Chapter 117: The Proposals

The next evening, Fu Jiangshui arrived at the multifunction hall as scheduled. He immediately noticed the guards stationed at the entrance along with an additional identity verification checkpoint, clearly indicating that this meeting’s agenda was different from the ususal ones.

Upon entering the hall, he found about thirty people already seated. They were unmistakably top experts from various fields—many of whom Fu Jiangshui had seen in news reports or scientific magazines.

However, what surprised him even more was the presence of a video projection screen. Through the projected image, he could see a camera aimed directly at the leadership office on the far side.

Videoconferencing wasn’t unusual in itself, but within the Sentinel Control Center it was rather unexpected. This area was riddled with internet-restricted zones, with only a few spots allowing access to the external network.

Since there were no assigned seats, Fu Jiangshui glanced around briefly and seeing that Gao Wei was also present, he decided to sit next to him. After all, Gao Wei was at least a familiar face in this crowd.

“Ah, you’re here! No one else is taking these seats,” Gao Wei greeted him warmly.

“Thanks, I was just about to look for someone to keep me company when I saw you,” Fu Jiangshui replied as he sat down, then pointed curiously at the screen. “Can we access the internet here?”

“Not for now,” Gao Wei explained, “but this meeting is using special communication equipment that isn’t based on our existing networks. I don’t quite understand the technical details, but it appears to involve some quantum encryption communications. Right now, our communication link is being provided by two quantum satellites.”

Professor Fu couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement. “It’s just a video conference, was all of this really necessary?”

In his experience, such technology was originally developed for the military. It was mainly develuwith a focus on resisting interference and preventing eavesdropping from the enemies. It only had a use in case of complex electromagnetic environment of a battlefield..

Now that both sides of the meeting are located on out own land, it would suffice to set up a dedicated communication line to meet even the highest confidentiality requirements. Using satellites seems like a overkill.

He really couldn’t quite figure out what exactly those higher-ups were so worried about.

“This is only the beginning. In the future, the Sentinel centre will also distribute specialized, portable encrypted communication devices to replace our cell phones. It is to ensure that everyone can conveniently stay in contact even within the facilities.” Speaking of this, Gao Wei suddenly lowered his voice, “The meeting is starting.”

After several high-ranking officials delivered their opening remarks, the moderator finally steered the discussion toward the main topic.

“At present, the three project teams led by Professors Fu Jiangshui, Professor Han Weining, and Professor Li Bai have conducted a comprehensive research on the new matreial. In addition to the reports on its general mechanical properties and chemical attributes, the most exciting discovery has come from Professor Fu’s laboratory. I’m sure you’ve all been informed in advance, and that is that this material has natural superconductivity properties .”

“To commend Professor Fu Jiangshui’s breakthrough, the higher-ups have decided to adopt his proposal and officially name the new ore as ‘Yao Stone’.”

A wave of applause immediately erupt through the hall.

“Congratulations,” Gao Wei murmured, while clapping enthusiastically.

Fu Jiangshui smiled modestly, maintaining a calm exterior while his heart brimmed with joy. For a researcher, having a discovery named after oneself is the greatest honor—especially when it concerns something so pivotal!
He thought to himself that joining this project had undoubtedly been the smartest decision he’d ever made.

“The next phase of Yao Stone research will now enter a new stage—namely, the engineering application phase,” the moderator continued once the applause subsided. “Since this ore cannot be mass-produced for the time being, we can’t allocate the same level of resources to every project. In order to maximize the utilization of Yao Stone, we must select one project to serve as our primary focus. That is precisely the purpose of today’s internal meeting.”

“Next, I will invite three experts to present their research proposals one by one. After all the presentations, everyone is requested to vote to select the plan that is both the most technically feasible and the most capable of generating the best returns. That particular project will be our primary focus for the coming year.”

He extended his hand to signal for the first speaker to take the stage.

“Please, Professor Wang, present your first proposal. If anyone has any questions, feel free to raise your hand and ask.”

At that moment, Fu Jiangshui realized that this meeting would decide which engineering project would receive the first batch of Yao stone. This decision was somewhat similar to a laboratory’s quest for funding and samples, but the resources and decision making were on a much larger scale. In a laboratory, a failed experiment might waste only a few grams of material. But here, a wrong choice could squander all the stones and any strategic advantage, underscoring the critical importance of the decision.

“Greetings, fellow experts. My research focuses on magnetic levitation rings, with potential applications in space elevators.”

Professor Wang’s explanation was quite simple and clear. Since superconductors(1) exhibit perfect diamagnetism(2), by following the Meissner effect(3)—they can spontaneously levitate on magnets. Moreover, If they used electromagnets(4), one can adjust the current to control the height of levitation, which is also the principle behind magnetic levitation trains.

Where as if high-temperature superconductors were used to make the magnetic leviathan rings, their “Levitating” property would incur no energy loss, allowing them to remain suspended indefinitely. By installing such rings at regular intervals, let’s say every few kilometers, they could form an levitation track. Each ring’s inner circumference would be fitted with an accelerating magnetic field, capable of launching elevators in a manner akin to a coilgun; the return journey would work similarly, requiring only a reversal of the inner ring’s magnetic polarity.(5)

“The space elevator has long been humanity’s most viable concept for achieving low-loss access to near-Earth space. Compared with space elevators fixed by carbon-fiber cables, a superconducting magnetic levitation elevator lacks any rigid connections, rendering it extremely resilient to damage. Even if an intermediate ring fails, it will not lead to the collapse of the entire elevator. Moreover, the challenges of high-altitude assembly and fixation with carbon-fiber cables remain unresolved, whereas superconducting rings are far simpler to construct. Once this technology becomes practical, our nation will have an unrivaled advantage in space delivery. My team estimates that the transportation cost per ton will be less than 100 yuan, making any ground-launched carrier rocket meaningless.”

At that moment, someone raised their hand.

“Please go ahead,” Professor Wang nodded.

“Creating these magnetic rings requires a substantial amount of Yao stone, doesn’t it? Can the mining output keep up with the demand?”

“Only upper and lower two loops on the ring require room-temperature superconductor material. Of course, given the size of the ring, the material requirement is significant—about five to six tons of Yao stone per ring. If our plan is approved, my team intends to first construct a prototype ring to verify the space elevator’s carrying capacity. The remaining rings can be added once there’s sufficient Yao stone.”

Following this several more experts then asked questions in succession.

Once no one else raised their hand, the moderator invited the next researcher to the podium.

“The second proposal is from Professor Lu, who suggests using the Yao stone for supercomputers.”

Compared to the space elevator plan, the supercomputer approach would consume far less material. Thanks to the superconductor’s unique properties of zero resistance and no heat generation—the efficiency of computer chips could increase dramatically without being limited by power consumption. This indirectly reduces the manufacturing precision required while greatly enhancing overall performance.

The reason for choosing the supercomputer proposal was also very simple. At present, there’s no concept of trade secrets when it comes to room-temperature superconducting materials, so chips made from them could never flow into the civilian market. Moreover, superconducting chips aren’t simply about replacing ordinary metals with yao stone; their architecture must be fundamentally altered. Only a National Level supercomputing center can bear the costs of such a reconstruction and its operation. Fortunately, research on superconducting computers isn’t starting from scratch, as a team has already been working on combining superconductivity with quantum computing for the past decade.

“I suspect those in power won’t vote for proposal number Two,” Fu Jiangshui murmured.

“Oh? And why is that?” Gao Wei asked.

“The prospects are unclear, and the potential benefits aren’t substantial. The only advantage is its low demand for Yao stone, which they can easily overcome bu allocating a piece to them and let tnem handle on their own.” He shook his head. “Superconducting chips and ordinary high-end chips aren’t in the same league. Even if the former were successfully developed, they’d struggle to reclaim the civilian market, meaning their overall market share would be quite limited. Besides, our domestic supercomputing projects are already world-class, not only sufficient but also good to use. ow turning around to engage in a new superconducting architecture is really not very attractive.”

If even he could see this issue, those in power surely wouldn’t miss it either.

Normally, when electricity flows through wires, some energy gets lost (like heat). Superconductors are special materials where electricity can flow perfectly, with absolutely NO energy lost! It’s like a super-efficient highway for electricity.
Most things aren’t very affected by magnets. Some materials, called “diamagnetic,” actually push magnets away a tiny bit. “Perfect diamagnetism” in superconductors means they push magnets away PERFECTLY and STRONGLY
Because superconductors are perfectly diamagnetic, they do something really cool called the “Meissner Effect.” It’s like they create an invisible shield around themselves that completely blocks magnetic fields from going inside.
(4) Electromagnets: These are magnets you can turn on and off and make stronger or weaker with electricity. So one use electromagnets instead of regular magnets with superconductors one can they can change the electric flow to control how strongly the superconductors pushes. This in turn can help control how high the train elevates and its movement.
(5)Magnets have polarity: They have a “North” and a “South” pole. Like magnets attract opposite poles and repel similar poles. “Polarity” is like direction: Imagine magnetic force has a direction (pushing or pulling). Reverse the Polarity = Flip the Direction: By changing the way electricity flows in the coilgun, you can “reverse the polarity” of the magnetic field. This means you can make the magnetic field switch from pushing to pulling, or vice-versa