The Morning Sun Was Just Right for a Drone Test Flight!

"The test lasted over half an hour and consumed 8 kWh of electricity.

Looking at the power-consumption curve, it used the least power at low speeds and was most stable at subsonic speeds.

Once it broke the sound barrier, power consumption began rising rapidly.

Calculating it comprehensively with 30 percent low speed, 30 percent subsonic, and the remaining 40 percent supersonic—

To achieve a combined range of 1,000 kilometers, the drone's total battery capacity would need to be 20 to 22 kWh.

Considering that I liked pushing aircraft hard, going supersonic as soon as I headed out and hitting Mach 4 or Mach 5 right after takeoff, it would be safer to have more than 30 kWh."

Before manufacturing an ultra-high-energy battery, Chen Yi printed out the drone's power-consumption test curve.

After some calculations, he arrived at the battery specifications a drone would need.

Ion propulsion.

At its core, it was a propulsion method that consumed electrical energy to generate an electric field and accelerate ions.

Naturally, an ion-propulsion drone would use rechargeable batteries as its energy source.

Think bigger.

This was a new-energy drone responding to national policy: converting oil to electricity.

"The latest ternary lithium batteries have already reached an energy density of 300 Wh/kg."

"But to achieve a 30 kWh capacity, that would require 100 kilograms of batteries. The weight would be severely over the limit."

The drone also needed a layer of Thermal Barrier Protective Coating to prevent the high temperatures of the thermal barrier from damaging the carbon fiber structure.

Although carbon fiber was heat-resistant and could withstand temperatures of 1,700 degrees Celsius without issue,

the resin used alongside the carbon fiber could only endure temperatures of a few hundred degrees Celsius.

It needed coating protection to prevent damage from the thermal barrier generated at supersonic speeds.

Chen Yi calculated that this portion would weigh roughly 2 kilograms.

In addition, considering the limits of high-altitude flight,

the drone needed to carry some Ion Propellant. He budgeted around 10 kilograms for that.

The fuselage would take up another 13.9 kilograms.

With a total design weight of 40 kilograms, only 14 kilograms remained for the batteries.

That meant the batteries needed an energy density of at least 2,150 Wh/kg.

"Let's get to it. This will also add some technological reserves for Yifei. Technology changes the world."

With a shout, Chen Yi kicked over the Yadi Ternary Lithium Electric Vehicle beside him and dismantled all its casing, frame, and components.

After using laser scanning to obtain the original structural images, Chen Yi put on his virtual helmet, opened the CAD software, and began making a tiny little bit of optimization to those structures.

Master one principle, and all principles became clear; everything fell perfectly into place.

Through information retrieval and virtual learning, Chen Yi was now proficient in the structural design and aerodynamic layout of supersonic aircraft and space vehicles.

Turning around to design and optimize the structure of an electric vehicle was absurdly easy for him.

In less than half an hour, he had optimized the electric vehicle's structural stability, center of gravity, and final aerodynamic body layout.

The two carbon fiber 3D printers nearby began spraying scorching powder, printing electric vehicle frames and outer shells piece by piece as though they were stacking up houses.

Eleven at night.

The electric vehicle components had finished printing.

Chen Yi carried them into the spray booth and painted them one by one.

Once the paint dried, he assembled them.

A carbon-fiber electric vehicle with a low, sleek profile, like something out of a science-fiction product, was freshly born.

[Item: An exquisite and attractive carbon-fiber electric vehicle]

[Attributes: Energy x6.2, Speed x3.8, Electronic Control x5.2, Stability x27.3, Strength x19.2, Appearance x22.8]

[Note: This is an exquisite electric vehicle made from costly carbon fiber. Though it possesses aerospace-grade aerodynamic layout, aerospace-grade stability design, and aerospace-grade center-of-gravity design, rest assured—it still only has a top speed of 25 km/h.]

"Damn it!"

"I forgot about the speed limit under the new national standard!"

"Dou Qi turned into a horse. As long as your horse could run at 30 kilometers per hour, no matter how awesome an electric vehicle was, it still couldn't catch you."

Chen Yi was rendered speechless when he saw the electric vehicle's evaluation note.

"I didn't account for the new national standard's speed limit beforehand. At this hour, it won't be convenient to find someone to remove the limit."

"The total attributes are now over 80. Under the rule that the highest attribute cannot exceed the sum of all the others, the Energy attribute can be adjusted and upgraded to above 40. That should be enough."

Chen Yi had originally planned to find someone to decode it and remove the electric vehicle's speed limit.

But when he checked the time,

it was nearly midnight, so he put his phone down again.

After calculating the electric vehicle's initial total attributes, he found that the Energy attribute could be adjusted to 40.

Chen Yi decided not to find someone to remove the restriction. He would do it himself now.

Seven-colored light bloomed.

When the light faded,

the electric vehicle, which had originally looked like something from science fiction, began returning to a modern style.

[Appearance: 22.8 → 12.8]

[Energy: 6.2 → 16.2]

[One attribute has exceeded its initial value. Would you like to retrieve information? Yes/No!]

"Retrieve!"

Chen Yi did not hesitate and chose to retrieve it.

A large amount of information surfaced in his mind. Before long, Chen Yi understood the technical data.

"All-solid-state lithium battery. The technology is so-so. Energy density: 860 Wh/kg. Keep going!"

Chen Yi continued lowering attributes such as Stability and Strength, reallocating them to upgrade the Energy attribute.

Several minutes passed. The light faded, and Chen Yi retrieved the information again.

"Energy attribute: 26.2. The anode material has been changed from graphite to semi-silicon-carbon material, bringing the energy density to 1,890 Wh/kg."

"It looks like silicon-carbon anode material should be the main direction for the next generation of lithium batteries."

He continued adjusting and retrieving information.

At an Energy attribute of 36.2, the anode material became fully silicon-carbon.

The energy density reached 3,689 Wh/kg, a leap forward.

At an Energy attribute of 41.2, the silicon-carbon anode material ratio had been optimized.

The battery structure had also been optimized, bringing the energy density to 5,216 Wh/kg.

"5,216 Wh/kg... This still doesn't feel like the limit of silicon-carbon anode materials. Further optimization should reach an energy density of 6,000 Wh/kg."

"But if it really got there, that would probably be close to the energy limit of lithium chemical batteries."

Chen Yi retrieved all the information and analyzed it in his mind.

This all-solid-state silicon-carbon lithium battery with an energy density of 5,216 Wh/kg still had room for optimization.

However, Chen Yi guessed that further optimization would bring it close to the density limit of lithium batteries.

There were rumors of lithium-air batteries reaching 12,000 Wh/kg.

But Chen Yi, who knew something about the field, understood that 12,000 Wh/kg was a literary lie calculated purely from molar molecules after stripping away every other battery component.

In reality, lithium-air batteries could hardly even break through 1,000 Wh/kg. The technical difficulty was also extremely high, and precious metals such as gold were required.

Based on the complete battery technology he had retrieved, Chen Yi adjusted the technology with an Energy attribute of 26.2 and an energy density of 1,890 Wh/kg.

He sacrificed part of the energy density to further improve its safety.

In the end, a semi-silicon-carbon lithium battery solution with an energy density of 1,400 Wh/kg and safety several levels greater than lithium iron phosphate batteries was freshly produced.

He sent the silicon-carbon battery technology and manufacturing process to He Yu.

Chen Yi turned on the battery-production equipment that had been installed when the studio previously manufactured ducted-fan model aircraft.

Dawn was just beginning to break.

Chen Yi used up all seven fire extinguishers stocked in the studio.

At last, he successfully manufactured a battery set wrapped in carbon fiber, weighing 14 kilograms, designed as individual modular units linked in series.

[Item: Ultra-High-Energy Silicon-Carbon Lithium Battery]

[Attributes: Energy x40.8, Safety x10 (-8.8), Strength x19.2]

Three plain, unadorned core attributes.

Of them, the theoretical Safety attribute of 10, reduced by 8.8 in practice, represented Chen Yi's rigorous manufacturing process.

"This battery was way too difficult. It's completely different from the batteries I made before."

Chen Yi stubbornly defended himself, then reduced Energy and Strength by 5 points each, raising Safety to 11.2.

Safety exceeded the design's theoretical value, ensuring there would be no drone battery fire incidents in midair.

"With an overall energy density of 3,480 Wh/kg, a full charge reaches 48 kWh.

The batteries are also individually modular. If I improve the series connection method, I can adjust the control program and add an auxiliary fuel-tank jettison—no, that's wrong—a depleted-battery jettison program.

Whenever a battery runs out, the drone can discard that battery, further reducing the fuselage's weight.

With all these measures combined, even if I liked pushing aircraft hard, achieving half the range of a modern fighter jet—1,500 kilometers—would be no problem at all."

Chen Yi installed the batteries onto the drone.

He improved the series connection method and control program, then sprayed another layer of Thermal Barrier Protective Coating onto the drone.

At nine o'clock, the morning sun was just right—perfect for a drone test flight!