Photonic Stealth Drone!

As the closest star to Blue Star,

its light and heat were the source of all life on Blue Star.

Through nuclear fusion in its core, 4 million tons of mass were completely converted into energy every second,

then scattered across the vast expanse of space as solar radiation.

Even though Blue Star could receive only one two-billionth of it, of that one two-billionth,

30 percent was reflected back into space by the atmosphere, while 23 percent was absorbed by it.

Only the remaining 47 percent could reach the surface.

Yet even so, its irradiance reached 80 trillion kilowatts.

The energy shining down every second was equivalent to that released by burning 5 million tons of standard coal.

Averaged across every square meter of the surface, the power reached 630 to 700 watts, with a daily average exceeding 5 kilowatt-hours.

"With an average of 5 kilowatt-hours of solar energy per day and this solar cell film's 84.6 percent conversion rate..."

"One square meter could generate 4.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day."

"If the drone moved away from the surface, passed beyond the clouds, and entered an altitude of 5,000 meters..."

"With no clouds blocking it, the electricity converted from one square meter of fuselage area should exceed 6 kilowatt-hours."

"The higher the altitude, the stronger the solar radiation and the more electricity the drone could obtain."

"If it left the troposphere and entered the stratosphere at an altitude of 10,000 meters, one square meter should probably be able to convert 8 kilowatt-hours of electricity."

Recalling some of the relevant parameters concerning sunlight shining on a planet, Chen Yi took out paper and a pen and wrote down the key design points for the Sun Never Sets Drone.

First, the aerodynamic layout had to be good. That was the foundation.

The fuselage weight had to be kept as low as possible. That was the core.

Finally, the fuselage surface area had to be as large as possible. That was the key.

Based on these three elements,

Chen Yi thought for a while, then sketched the rough configuration of the Sun Never Sets Drone on the blueprint.

It was a drone 2.8 meters long, 2.5 meters across at its widest wingspan, and 0.54 meters tall including the landing gear.

With broad wings, extended vertical and horizontal tail fins, and a streamlined fuselage that conformed to aerodynamic principles, its overall shape was flat and broad, resembling a manta ray.

After determining the drone's exterior,

Chen Yi used fluid dynamics equations and data from the previous test flight

to begin refining the detailed parameters of the fuselage's aerodynamic layout.

These included the wing angle, fuselage curvature, tail fin vertical angle, horizontal angle, balance angle, width, height, and so on.

Several hours later, the fuselage aerodynamic layout was complete.

Chen Yi made some rough calculations and obtained the lift and drag coefficients for this fuselage structure.

"The theoretical lift coefficient has reached 2.38, while the zero-lift drag coefficient during supersonic cruise is as low as 0.028."

"Next are the fuselage materials.

"This time, with the addition of solar cell film, the fuselage will use a three-layer composite material.

"The innermost layer will use carbon fiber as the base structural framework, with a layer of solar cell film in the middle.

"The surface will be a layer of transparent beryllium oxide ceramic, serving as thermal-barrier and physical protection.

"The engine also needs further improvement.

"Besides enlarging it, electric-field propulsion replacing combustion work is ultimately different from an ordinary combustion engine, so some details also need to be modified.

"Because ion propulsion lacks explosive output, the ram structure of the intake channel needs to be enlarged by 2 percent to reduce intake resistance.

"The combustion chamber is replaced by electric-field acceleration. Without combustion expansion, the rear jet channel needs to be reduced by 2.5 percent.

"The electric-field acceleration chamber in the middle also needs to be extended to a certain degree."

After the trip to Rongfei,

Chen Yi had gained considerable insight into the structure of large drones and the design of large engines.

Although this Sun Never Sets Drone was only 2.8 meters long and 2.5 meters wide, far from deserving the term "large,"

compared with the drones he had previously designed and built, none of which had ever exceeded two meters, this was already no small improvement.

It could be said

that besides building a Sun Never Sets Drone this time,

what mattered more was verifying the progress and gains he had made over the past twenty-odd days.

"Finally, the most crucial part is the solar cell film."

At eight in the evening, all the modules had been designed.

Chen Yi turned his gaze toward the solar cell film on the other side.

"Read the information!"

Boom! Dense information exploded in his mind.

Chen Yi struggled to digest it.

He discovered that apart from external parameters such as the material's melting point, viscosity, and toughness,

when it came to the actual conversion principles and manufacturing processes, he could grasp the truth at a glance, then become completely lost on the second.

"These processes and principles should be some kind of quantum technology. Through specialized quantum treatment, they push the photovoltaic effect to its limit, reduce internal resistance, and create microscopic light-concentrating structures."

"With this level of knowledge, I'd be building Dyson spheres and playing with Sophons."

Chen Yi rubbed his swelling head, feeling rather speechless.

"Looks like I can only use solar panels made from Group II-V gallium nitride compounds as the foundation, then adjust and upgrade them."

Chen Yi imported the drone blueprints into the printer, but he was not particularly surprised.

As early as when he had tested the solar cell film's conversion rate at 84.6 percent,

Chen Yi had known that this most likely involved a field of knowledge he completely did not understand, a technology beyond the limits of the current scientific foundation.

After confirming that the printer was operating normally, Chen Yi went down to the first floor.

He arrived at the newly expanded laboratory behind the warehouse that had been built during this period.

He activated the laboratory's professional chemical production equipment and began manufacturing the compound material of Group II-V gallium nitride.

Originally, Chen Yi did not know these chemical production techniques.

But after several rounds of virtual learning, along with professional training from virtual teachers, hands-on instruction, and in-depth educational guidance, he had become proficient in them.

After the materials were preheated and mixed in the proper proportions, the intense chemical reaction caused liquid to seep out.

Chen Yi wiped away the seeped liquid, then added the initial seed crystals and injected the reducing agent. After that, he only needed to wait for the compound to grow naturally.

"Done."

Through the equipment's observation window, Chen Yi confirmed that the reaction and growth inside were stable.

He then took the time to make another unstable and unsafe battery.

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

[Attributes: Energy x41.1, Safety x10 (-7.8), Strength x19.2]

It still had the same three plain and unremarkable core attributes.

Among them, the safety attribute improving from negative 8.8 to negative 8.4 and then negative 7.8 represented the progress in Chen Yi's manufacturing craftsmanship.

"Not bad. My skills have improved. I really am a genius."

Chen Yi admired his improved skills, carefully moved the battery onto a hand pallet truck, picked up a fire extinguisher, and cautiously headed to the second-floor work area.

When he returned to the work area, the various drone components had already finished printing.

Chen Yi inspected them once, reset several flawed components for printing, then returned to the first floor.

He dried the liquid moisture from the solar panels he had produced.

Following the fuselage's dimensions and specifications, Chen Yi began the processes of slicing, shaping, serial connection, assembly, lamination, and encapsulation to manufacture the final product.

After scrapping more than a dozen cell films,

two sets, one for the top and one for the bottom, of solar cell modules that fit the fuselage almost perfectly like protective armor for the drone were finally completed.

With the solar cell armor, carbon-fiber components, engine components, communications, radar, Hydraulic Wheel Set components upgraded through the expenditure of some consciousness waves, and the unsafe battery in hand,

after a round of assembly,

a pitch-black drone shaped like a manta ray soon appeared before Chen Yi.

[Item: Photonic Stealth Drone]

[Attributes: Energy x41.1 (!), Speed x10.3 (-3.8), Quality x21 (-5), Stability x35 (-19), Strength x13, Communications x31.7, Radar Imaging x36.6, Avionics x34.5, Appearance x11.8, Endurance Replenishment x44.6]

[Note: This is an ion-propelled stealth aircraft designed around photonic kinetic energy, born from an imaginative leap.

Unfortunately, unstable energy has increased the risk of it exploding upon takeoff by ten thousand times.

The added photonic kinetic energy kit is too cumbersome, affecting its speed, stability, and quality.]