382: Chapter 832 Materials! More materials!

By reverse-engineering the required plasma parameters from the cold fusion schematics and plugging them back into the tokamak model from the Dragon Kingdom's data for cross-verification, Zhao Yang filled several pages of scratch paper with dense calculations.

For controllable nuclear fusion to achieve commercial power generation, there is one hurdle that cannot be bypassed no matter what: the material for the first wall.

This material must simultaneously meet several conditions: it must withstand the direct erosion of plasma at temperatures of over a hundred million degrees, endure long-term bombardment by high-energy neutrons, generate as little radioactive waste as possible under neutron irradiation, and possess excellent thermal conductivity to efficiently transfer the massive amount of heat generated by fusion for power generation.

After listing all these constraints, only one path remained before Zhao Yang: materials, and still more materials.

Zhao Yang sighed slightly, feeling a bit of a headache. As expected, materials were the core of everything. Without sufficiently good materials, trying to achieve controllable nuclear fusion—or rather, trying to create technology beyond this era—was nothing more than a pipe dream!

He suddenly recalled that Shin-chan had previously calculated the data for the first wall material required for controllable nuclear fusion based on the system schematics. Most of the values seemed to match the results he had just calculated, but there was a significant discrepancy in one of the metrics regarding neutron activation products.

He pulled up Shin-chan's analysis report to review it again, then combined the parameters from both sides to re-refine the expected parameter range for the material. Developing this new material would likely take a very, very long time.

But with this data, Zhao Yang at least knew in which direction to focus his efforts.

After roughly processing the data, Zhao Yang returned to the military's clinical trial base.

Just as he returned to the base, Zhao Yang encountered Director Luo in the hallway. He was a middle-aged military doctor with thinning hair and black-rimmed glasses, holding a stack of freshly printed experimental reports. Seeing Zhao Yang, he took the initiative to walk up, beaming at him.

"Professor Zhao, you're back! This batch of data for SOD-2 is absolutely beautiful. In all my years in the field, I've never seen such good clinical data. The subjects' physical fitness has improved steadily and significantly, and there are almost no adverse reactions."

Director Luo was very excited.

Zhao Yang finished looking through the experimental report that Director Luo had handed him.

"For the next stage of long-term animal toxicity testing, we need to move up to a multi-dose platform and run another round. At the same time, the new protocol for the indicators related to neurotransmitter metabolism in the human trials needs to be implemented immediately. Keep an eye on it tonight and get me a report as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps echoed from the other end of the hallway. Zhao Yang and Director Luo looked up.

It was General Li.

He walked quickly to Zhao Yang, his face full of excitement.

"Professor Zhao, I've reviewed the physical assessments and pathological indicators from this period, and the safety of this drug is now confirmed to be without issues. As for the physical enhancement, even a layman like me finds it incredible. Tell me, can this agent be supplied to the troops on a large scale as soon as possible?"

His voice was slightly raised, and several officers nearby crowded around, their eyes clearly filled with anticipation.

"We are still exploring large-scale industrial production. The small-scale pilot process has been worked out, but scaling up from laboratory levels to ton-grade reaction vessels involves many process parameters that still need validation. The main issue is that the cost of the catalysts for the two intermediate steps is too high, and I am trying to find more economical alternatives. Additionally, the control precision of the reaction endpoint will show significant deviation in large-capacity vessels. These problems must be solved before industrialization."

General Li nodded slightly, looking at Zhao Yang and speaking earnestly.

"Don't worry about funding and personnel; just go ahead and do it. If you need anything, come to me anytime. Don't push yourself too hard; rest when you need to. The military can afford to wait; your health is more important."

"Understood."

Zhao Yang nodded.

Returning to the base laboratory, Zhao Yang conducted spot checks on several soldiers as usual. While the numbers on the data tables were intuitive, some things could not be reflected by data alone. He selected a few individuals, among whom was Wang Xin.

When Wang Xin was called to the temporarily partitioned inquiry room, he felt a little excited—he had finally been selected for a spot check!

Zhao Yang gestured for him to sit down. After Wang Xin was seated, Zhao Yang asked him.

"How has your body been feeling lately? Have you experienced any situations you haven't encountered before? For example, insomnia, heart palpitations, or changes in appetite."

Wang Xin sat down, thought carefully, and then shook his head.

"Reporting to Professor Zhao, none of that. My sleep has been very good; I get sleepy when it's time and fall asleep as soon as I lie down. My appetite is bigger than before; I can eat half a steamed bun more per meal, but my weight hasn't really increased."

He looked down at his abdomen.

"But I have less fat on my stomach, and my arms and legs have gotten thicker."

"Do you feel particularly tired when training? Are you thirstier than usual?"

"I am a bit thirstier; I can drink more water than before right after training. But the fatigue feels a bit different."

Wang Xin described his feelings.

"Before, after training, my whole body would be exhausted, and it usually took a good while to recover. But now the recovery speed is very fast; I think we could actually increase the exercise load. And when I wake up the next morning, I don't feel anything at all; I even feel quite comfortable."

Zhao Yang wrote in his logbook while listening. After Wang Xin finished speaking, he asked again: "Is there anything that feels uncomfortable? Even if it's just a feeling that something isn't right, you can tell me."

Wang Xin thought carefully again.

"One morning when I got up, the left side of my chest was beating a bit fast, but it was fine after breakfast. It never happened again after that. Other than that, there's nothing."

Zhao Yang continued to jot down a few notes in his notebook, then closed it. Just as Wang Xin stood up to leave, he suddenly remembered something, took out a pen and a folded piece of white paper from his training uniform pocket, and placed it carefully on the table.

"Professor Zhao, could you give me an autograph? Several of my comrades in the dormitory watch your news every day. They know I came to participate in this experiment and are incredibly envious."

Zhao Yang looked up at him and took the paper and pen.

"What should I write?"

"Just write, 'Comrade Wang Xin, keep up the good work.'"

Zhao Yang finished writing and pushed the paper and pen back.

"Thank you, Professor Zhao!"

After speaking, Wang Xin took them, saluted Zhao Yang happily, turned, and walked out.

Next, Zhao Yang met with several more subjects. The questions asked were much the same, and the feedback received was basically consistent.

After questioning everyone, he had a stack of handwritten notes. Upon returning to the laboratory, he cross-referenced this feedback with the blood sample data collected by Shin-chan, and then began to adjust several key parameters of SOD-2.