Chapter 80, More Expensive than Gold
Li Fu looked at the various data and nodded slightly. The new materials Li Fu came up with this time can only meet the needs of the plasma engine. Better materials are naturally reserved for his own use, and they can withstand high temperatures. 5000-degree materials are definitely at the most advanced level on the current earth.
Li Fu asked Xiaoying to search the development of materials in various advanced countries on the earth. The most advanced in the field of high temperature resistance is a tantalum-hafnium carbide alloy developed by a laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, which can reach a high temperature of 4300 degrees. If we continue our research, we are very hopeful that we will be able to develop materials that can withstand temperatures of 5,000 degrees.
Now, because of Li Fu's guidance, the project team has quickly developed new materials that can withstand temperatures of 5,000 degrees. In this field alone, it is already leading the world. Of course, this is a special case. In the field of basic materials, massive amounts of continuous energy are needed. Only by investing and continuous accumulation can you accumulate wealth.
"Haha, new materials that can withstand high temperatures have finally been manufactured. On the other side, good news has come from the atomic battery project team. They have also developed the atomic battery. It seems that good things come in pairs. Our new generation Fighters equipped with plasma engines will be interviewed soon.”
Liu Shiying, who follows the materials project research team almost every day, laughed happily. When he looked at Li Fu, he was like looking at a rare treasure. Since Li Fu joined, it seems that all the problems are no longer problems. , can be easily solved, and the entire project is progressing rapidly.
"Well, after solving the two major problems of materials and energy, plasma power can indeed come into being."
Li Fu also nodded. The reason why he is working so hard now is that he naturally hopes that his country can hold sharp weapons and become stronger. Only when the country is strong, people in this country will feel more secure; the other is On the one hand, Li Fu naturally wanted to show his value and let the country see Li Fu's role in scientific research, which would also be of great help to Li Fu's future development.
"Well, I have been engaged in scientific research all my life, and it has never been as smooth as this period of time. Xiao Li, now I believe that as long as you participate in any scientific research project, there is no scientific research project that cannot be completed."
Liu Shiying let out a long sigh.
"Old Liu, you are exaggerating. This is the result of the concerted efforts of all of us, and it is also the result of the strong support of the country. We should first re-build the plasma engine with new materials and test it."
Li Fu smiled and responded modestly, then changed the topic to the new plasma engine.
"Yes, yes, it's not too early to be happy. Everything still depends on the test results. Xiao Zhang, please notify us and let all units work overtime as soon as possible to complete their respective parts."
Liu Shiying smiled, and then gave instructions to the assistant Zhang Renjie next to him.
"It seems we don't have enough funds?"
Assistant Zhang Renjie reminded weakly.
"What? How is this possible? Didn't the higher-ups just allocate 5 billion to our project team not long ago? How could it not be enough?"
When Liu Shiying heard this, he immediately frowned and asked.
"We have been experimenting with new materials during this period, and these materials require the use of a large amount of precious and rare metals. Our consumption in this area alone during this period has exceeded 2 billion Chinese dollars, and there are also atomic batteries, the same It also consumes a lot of money, using a lot of rare metal materials and consuming more than 1 billion. "
"Coupled with the new materials currently being researched, the cost per gram exceeds that of gold. So even a simple estimate shows that we will need at least 8 billion Chinese dollars to manufacture a plasma engine made of new materials."
Zhang Renjie shook his head helplessly. The performance of the new materials is indeed very perfect, but the cost of the new materials is too high. A large amount of rare metals are used. You must know that many rare metals are very expensive, and some are even more expensive than It is normal for gold to be dozens or hundreds of times more expensive. Even 1 gram of synthetic rare metals like californium is worth more than $1 billion.
Of course, among the various rare metals used to make plasma engines, there cannot be precious metals like californium, but there are many other rare metals. The quantities of various rare metals are still very large, and the cost can be imagined. Got it.
"8 billion?"
Liu Shiying's eyes widened. He is a scientist, and he is also a scientist serving the country. Basically, the country will call him directly if he needs anything, so he is not very sensitive to this aspect. No matter how much trouble he made in the past, it would not take a year. How many.
However, during this period of time, nearly 10 billion has been invested in it. The plasma engine that was scrapped not long ago is worth more than one billion. It is also made of various new materials. Each new material is also worth more than 1 billion. Also expensive.
"This is just a conservative estimate, and there are also atomic batteries, new aircraft design, manufacturing, etc. I estimate that we will not be able to build a new generation of fighters without tens of billions by then."
Zhang Renjie smiled and added that he is still confident that Liu Shiying can apply for such a huge scientific research fund. After all, this is a major event related to the future generation of fighter jets. National defense is no small matter, and the higher authorities will definitely allocate funds.
"I will apply to the higher authorities for funds. You need to inform everyone to get started first and use all our existing funds."
"I've heard that the cost of the Eagle's F22 fighter is as high as 350 million US dollars, which is more than 2 billion Chinese dollars. The cost of the B2 Spirit stealth bomber is as high as 2.4 billion US dollars, which is nearly 15 billion Chinese dollars. Haha, now it seems that the cost of our new generation of fighters is definitely more than 20 billion Chinese dollars."
"I always felt that Uncle Sam had a lot of water when calculating the price of fighters. Now it seems that you really get what you pay for. In this high-tech aviation field, this cost really can't be calculated by common sense."
Liu Shiying made a simple calculation in his mind, and the whole person couldn't help but sigh.
"That's right. Even with the wealth of the Eagle family, there are only more than 100 F22 fighters. Each one is very valuable. They have never been deployed to overseas military bases. As for the B2 Ghost stealth bomber, it is even more so. A total of 21 have been manufactured. It is really too expensive!"
Li Fu nodded. High-end technological weapons in the high-tech field are really not available to ordinary countries. The manufacturing price, maintenance, and upkeep are really too expensive.
"We have to build them even if they are expensive. We cannot lag behind others in the field of cutting-edge technology. Otherwise, what can we use to defend our country's territorial security? Don't worry, the higher-ups will definitely approve us soon."
Liu Shiying said decisively, appearing very confident. Over the years, the country has invested a lot in national defense and scientific research, with an attitude of not considering costs. Aircraft carriers, new missiles, satellites in space, new fighters, large aircraft, etc., almost all high-tech fields have been fully rolled out, which can be seen from here alone.
Things turned out just as Liu Shiying expected. Soon, there was a reply from above. A huge amount of 30 billion Chinese yuan was allocated. The new generation of plasma-powered fighters, which were enough to surpass all the new technologies of fighters in the world, were undoubtedly highly valued, especially now that almost all the difficulties had been overcome. What remained was to build the fighters. The country was also very generous in this regard. Money was given, people were given, and materials were given. In short, it was an attitude that the new generation of plasma-powered fighters would be built regardless of the cost.
With the strong support of the country, all the difficulties had basically been overcome. The remaining problems were nothing compared to the previous core problems. All the people in the entire project team were very excited, as if they had taken hormones.
The new generation of fighters equipped with plasma engines were named "Shenjian" fighters, which meant that they were as fast as a magic arrow and could give a fatal blow to the enemy from thousands of miles away, just like a magic arrow.
"Boom!"
In the wind tunnel laboratory, a brand-new plasma engine sprayed a dazzling white tail flame, and the powerful power made the whole laboratory tremble slightly. This time, it ran perfectly without any problems. Although the core temperature was as high as 5000 degrees, the powerful new material still ran perfectly.
On the other hand, Li Fu participated in the design of the "Shenjian" fighter. Li Fu was confident about the engine. If the key material problem was solved, there would be no problem with the plasma engine. Now there are still many problems with the fighter.
Because the power of the plasma engine is so strong, it can easily break through ten times the speed of sound, so the design of the fighter also needs to be changed around this powerful power system.
Let's not talk about anything else, the outer shell of the fighter alone also needs to be made of new materials, otherwise when the fighter flies at ten times the speed of sound, the huge heat generated by the friction between the outer shell of the fighter and the air will be enough to completely burn the fighter.
In addition, the fighter planes with ten times the speed of sound also face great challenges for the pilots. Ordinary people can only withstand 2-3g of pressure, while pilots and astronauts who have undergone rigorous training can withstand 5-6g of pressure. The human body's limit does not exceed 10g, and it can only withstand it for a short time.
However, once the "Shenjian" fighter plane is at full speed, the pressure exerted on the pilot will be very terrible, and it will definitely exceed 10g at any time. Under such a huge pressure, the human body will explode directly.
Therefore, special pressure-resistant suits must be developed to reduce the pressure on the fighter pilots. Similarly, the overall structure of the aircraft must also fully consider the huge pressure that the aircraft will face, otherwise the aircraft may collapse under the huge pressure. The plasma power is really too powerful!
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