Chapter 180 Device Activation
0 seconds.
The moment Lin Mo's finger pressed the button, the entire base seemed to tremble slightly.
It wasn't a real tremor; it was the string in everyone's hearts, stretched taut for seven years, finally relaxing.
On the screen, the previously static system interface began to flow.
Lines of commands executed automatically, valves opened one by one, and programs started up in sequence.
tokamak-3 had come to life.
1 second.
Deuterium-tritium gas mixture was injected into the Vacuum Chamber.
That was the fuel, precisely mixed beforehand; only a few grams, but enough to ignite an Artificial Sun.
Chen Xueming stared at the fuel injection curve on the screen, his breathing stopping.
That was the system he had debugged over a hundred times; he had personally checked every valve, every flow meter, and every pressure sensor.
The curve matched the design values perfectly.
3 seconds.
The Magnet System started at full power.
A 5.3-tesla magnetic field formed instantly, like an invisible giant hand waiting to grasp the fireball about to be born.
On Li Xiao's screen, the magnetic field strength curve rose steadily, with no fluctuations, no delays, and none of that damned 0.1 milliseconds.
Her hands were trembling, but a smile had already appeared on her face.
5 seconds.
The Heating System started.
Neutral beam injection and electromagnetic wave heating—both methods worked simultaneously, crazily ramping up the fuel's temperature.
One million degrees.
Five million degrees.
Ten million degrees.
On the screen, the temperature curve ran wildly upward like a wild horse unbridled.
Zhao Gang stood at the doorway, unable to understand the data, but he could feel it—something was being born inside that huge device.
His fists were clenched tightly, nails digging into his flesh, but he felt nothing.
8 seconds.
Temperature surpassed twenty million degrees.
This was the temperature of the sun's core.
But that plasma was still heating up, still crazily absorbing energy, like a giant beast that could never be fed enough.
Chen Xueming's lips were trembling.
Not out of fear, but excitement.
Twenty million degrees; he had waited his whole life for this.
12 seconds.
Temperature surpassed fifty million degrees.
In the control room, some began to cover their mouths, some began to shed tears, and some could no longer stand steady.
Lin Mo stared at the screen without moving, not even blinking.
Fifty million degrees, still half away from the goal.
But in his heart, the stone that had been hanging for seven years had already begun to loosen.
Because all the curves were exactly the same as the perfect curves he had simulated countless times.
15 seconds.
Temperature surpassed eighty million degrees.
On the screen, the various parameters of the plasma began to enter a stable range.
Magnetic confinement, plasma position, density distribution—every item perfectly matched the design values.
Li Xiao suddenly exclaimed:
"The Divertor heat load has reached the design value! The Cooling System is responding normally!"
That was the part she was most worried about.
That damned backdoor, that chip that almost ruined everything.
But it did not trigger.
Everything was running normally.
18 seconds.
Temperature surpassed one hundred million degrees.
In the control room, everyone stood up.
On the screen, the temperature curve finally began to slow down, eventually stabilizing at—120 million degrees.
20 million degrees higher than the design value.
Chen Xueming stared at that number, his whole body as if frozen in place.
Then he suddenly turned around and grabbed Lin Mo's shoulder:
"Old Lin! 120 million! Even higher than the design!"
Lin Mo looked at him and smiled.
The smile was faint, but his eyes were already red.
30 seconds.
The plasma was burning stably.
On the screen, all parameters were fluctuating within the normal range.
Magnetic field 5.3 tesla, temperature 120 million degrees, Divertor heat load 12 megawatts, Tritium Cycle flow rate 3.5 liters per second—every item was precise to two decimal places, and every item was so perfect it made one want to cry.
Li Xiao slumped over the table, her shoulders heaving, crying like a child.
Chen Xueming stood there, tears streaming down his face, but he was smiling.
Zhao Gang didn't know when he had walked over, standing behind Lin Mo and patting his shoulder hard.
He said nothing, but that pat was heavier than a thousand words.
Fang Lin was in the corner, speaking softly into a tablet.
It was a report to her superiors, with only one sentence:
"Ignition successful. Device running normally."
Meanwhile, in the observation area five hundred meters away.
Twenty-three international experts all stood up, staring at the huge screen, no one speaking.
Smith stood at the very front, arms crossed over his chest, motionless.
On the screen, he recognized all the data jumping.
Every item was something he had studied for forty years.
120 million degrees.
5.3 tesla.
12 megawatts.
Every item was more beautiful than any data he had ever seen.
The French expert leaned over and whispered in French: "Professor, this is real..."
Smith did not answer.
He just watched the screen, watching that stably burning Artificial Sun.
After a long time, he said softly:
"It is real."
The voice was light, but everyone around heard it.
Beijing, in a residential building.
Wang Zhenguo stared at the television screen, tears streaming down his face.
On the screen, the temperature curve had already stabilized above one hundred million degrees.
A line of text appeared on the side:
"tokamak-3 ignition successful, Artificial Sun burning stably."
He looked at that line of text for a long time.
Then he picked up that yellowing photo and, facing those blurred faces, said softly:
"Old friends, we… we did it."
Gobi Desert, in the control room.
Lin Mo finally stood up from in front of the main console.
He turned around and looked at the group of people behind him—Chen Xueming, Li Xiao, Zhao Gang, Fang Lin, and those technicians, engineers, and logistics personnel whose names he couldn't name.
Everyone was crying, but everyone was smiling.
Lin Mo took a deep breath, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.
Finally, he just said:
"Thank you."
Just two words, but everyone understood.
Outside the window, the tokamak-3 was running stably.
That Artificial Sun was illuminating the whole world from the Gobi Desert.