459: Chapter 459 Auxiliary Power System

The equipment and weapon designs are complete, but there's still one problem: the energy supply.

As a primary biological energy source, the crystals has a huge advantage: it doesn't require complex converters like electrical energy.

This is also the main reason Oriental Chen has always favored the crystals.

Coupled with the current realization of zero-intervention free-range mouse farming, the crystals has completely become an inexhaustible and renewable energy source.

However, there are many issues when using crystals energy in light armor and mechs.

Firstly, the energy sticks that armor and mechs can carry are limited and cannot be independently replaced during missions. In this situation, a short standby time is very awkward; if the energy runs out, it can only be stranded halfway.

Secondly, the explosive power is insufficient. crystals energy is a relatively gentle energy. Mechs rely on explosive power in combat. A mech weighing several tons needs to move quickly and strike rapidly in less than a second, which requires a large amount of energy to be consumed instantly. The energy sticks produced by the crystals do not have such a large peak, requiring at least a few seconds of energy storage.

However, this energy storage process is extremely dangerous, as it would almost certainly lead to the failure of the entire battle.

Moreover, this process of using energy explosively results in very high wear and tear, which will further shorten the operating time of the energy stick.

Of course, higher-grade crystalss might be able to solve this.

But artificially manufacturing high-grade crystalss is simply too difficult and incredibly expensive.

1000 first-grade crystalss can synthesize 1 second-grade crystals.

1000 second-grade crystalss can synthesize 1 third-grade crystals.

And so on.

Furthermore, the main crystals used for synthesis has extremely high requirements; if its volume is too small or its quality is too poor, it is prone to cracking.

Additionally, to provide excellent explosive power for a mech, the quality of the crystals must be at least fourth-grade, and preferably fifth-grade.

How many first-grade crystalss are needed to synthesize one fifth-grade crystals?

The answer is: at least 1 trillion first-grade crystalss.

Setting aside whether this fifth-grade crystals can even be made, let's first ask if anyone can afford a mech that costs over 1 trillion? The answer is obviously no.

What's the use of making something no one can afford?

So, other methods must be found.

Currently, the best known alternative is the nuclear fusion battery.

Nuclear energy is a higher level than biological energy, and its energy density is infinitely greater.

Using nuclear fusion batteries will certainly solve the endurance problem.

But nuclear fusion batteries also have their own problems.

That is, they can be converted into electrical energy and kinetic energy, but cannot be directly converted into biological energy.

In other words, they cannot directly charge energy sticks.

Otherwise, Oriental Chen would have just built a power station; why would he bother recycling crystalss everywhere?

However, designing a mech to be purely electrically driven would be a disaster.

Every mech component would need a very large, very high-density electronic device, as well as wires connecting these devices. This thing is inefficient, consumes a lot of power, has severe heat dissipation issues, and a high failure rate.

And the more components there are, and the worse the operating environment, the failure rate will increase exponentially.

Such a thing, if carefully maintained in a dust-free workshop, might barely be usable. If used in combat, the results are truly unimaginable.

Imagine this: an enemy mech throws a punch, and the chip controlling movement in our mech crashes due to poor heat dissipation... the subsequent scene is too beautiful for me to look at.

Therefore, from beginning to end, except for internal base power supply, Oriental Chen never used electrical energy in his equipment.

From large aircraft to small Digital Eye implants and second-generation bone conduction microphones, everything uniformly used biological energy.

In short, nuclear fusion batteries are a good thing, but using them as the main power source for mechs is not feasible.

After much deliberation, Oriental Chen came up with a compromise.

That is, to build an auxiliary power system for the mech, relying on nuclear fusion batteries, to assist the mech's main control in performing complex actions.

The principle is very simple: the nuclear fusion battery is only responsible for the accelerated movement of a few key positions, such as the mech's hands and feet.

For example, if the mech is to punch, the main control issues a command, the arm assumes a punching posture, but at the moment of the punch, the nuclear fusion battery gives the arm an instantaneous reverse impulse, thereby achieving the effect of a quick punch.

Other movements such as running, jumping, kicking, dodging... and other motion postures can all be achieved by adjusting the output of the nuclear fusion battery.

This way, the energy stored in the energy stick can support the mech in combat for a longer period.

Furthermore, when the mech transforms into an armored vehicle or an aircraft, the nuclear fusion battery can also provide power output. This way, even if the mech's energy stick runs out, it won't be stranded on the road.

Thus, the energy problem was successfully solved.