Derived Technologies
With abundant resources and a relatively stable environment, humanity has entered a rare period of rapid development since the disaster.
Day after day, year after year, the accumulation of science and technology finally progressed from quantitative change to qualitative change.
Four years after communication with the Moke Star People was cut off, Controlled Nuclear Fusion was finally declared a success, and from then on, humanity entered Fusion Engine experiment phase that lasted for several years.
Nuclear Fusion experimental reactors were also included in the planning under such circumstances.
As the Moke Star People said, utilizing Nuclear Fusion energy is a hallmark of Tier 1 Civilization. After thousands of years of vicissitudes following the catastrophe, humanity has finally reached the minimum standard for space travel.
Tier 1 Civilization is a subdivision; broadly speaking, Level 1 to Level 3 all belong to Aerospace Civilization.
In order to master Controlled Nuclear Fusion, humanity has accumulated sufficient technology in materials, Particle Physics, engineering mechanics and other applications. At this point, Controlled Nuclear Fusion connects these accumulated technologies, and the interconnectedness of technologies profoundly tells humanity that no technology is independent.
It has been discovered that Particle Physics, which was previously studied in order to achieve Controlled Nuclear Fusion, can now be used to create more powerful Laser Weapon once Nuclear Fusion becomes an energy source.
The materials developed to meet the needs of Controlled Nuclear Fusion have in turn enabled humanity to manufacture higher-strength alloys.
At this point, the engineers, through their analysis of various materials, discovered that thanks to advancements in a series of applied technologies, humans were now able to design even larger warships.
In terms of weaponry, military technology experts have also proposed the possibility of using a Magnetic Confinement array as a confinement component for a new type of particle weapon, based on the structure of Controlled Nuclear Fusion Magnetic Confinement.
The design outline of this new weapon immediately attracted Yue Yuan's close attention.
In the vision of military technology experts, this is an energy-converting weapon. Because the warhead is a positron, they named this weapon, which is still in the design stage, a 'Positron Cannon'.
The principle is to use Magnetic Confinement array as a pressurized storage chamber, use the powerful energy of the fusion reactor to excite a large number of short-pulse lasers, and then use countless gold-platinum sheets as catalysts to generate a large number of positive and negative electrons.
Then, a suitable Magnetic Confinement array is used to generate the core of this positive and negative electron, so that the produced positive and negative electrons are separated before they annihilate themselves.
After separation, the positrons are guided by the magnetic field into the pressurized storage chamber of the Magnetic Confinement array for circulation and energy storage. After accumulating enough positrons, they are then launched into the cannon muzzle through the Magnetic Confinement array.
It sounds simple, but the design of this new weapon is extremely complex.
Because positrons are the antiparticles of electrons, humans at this stage simply do not have the ability to store positrons for long periods of time. Whenever they encounter ordinary matter, they immediately annihilate the electrons in that matter.
Therefore, scientists need to precisely calculate the number and duration of electrons that current human magnetic field technology can bind, as well as a series of parameters such as the charging critical point.
As you can imagine, this is a weapon with no turning back once it's started charging; once it begins charging, it must be launched. After all, positrons in a charging state cannot flow back, and if it doesn't launch, the Magnetic Confinement array will have to remain in a working state indefinitely.
In this state, even the slightest error in the weapon's core could cause magnetic field disturbances, leading to a large number of positrons going out of control and potentially resulting in a super-explosive explosion.
Of course, because it is an antiparticle weapon, it is also very lethal. It can annihilate any matter with its electrons and destroy the target structure.
However, the Positron Cannon also requires a lot of space. Previously, human warships, only 712 meters long, 400 meters wide, and 305 meters high, simply couldn't accommodate one. It wasn't that the muzzle was large, but rather that its various components took up a lot of space.
Engineers recognized this during the design phase, meaning that to equip the Positron Cannon, they would have to build larger warships.
This kind of weapon, which emerged from technological connections, makes it clear to people that the Positron Cannon should be the most powerful penetrating primary weapon that Tier 1 Civilization could possess. Oh, no, it should be the most powerful penetrating energy weapon.
As for the most penetrating kinetic weapon, it is still the Electromagnetic Cannon. However, due to the upgrade of the energy system, the Electromagnetic Cannon is much more powerful than before.
Besides this iconic weapon, many derivative technologies based on Controlled Nuclear Fusion have also been used by the Military Industry Department in weapon design, such as the Infrasonic Hydrogen Bomb.
It must be said that humanity seems to have an innate talent for weaponry. Whenever a new technology emerges, it can always be used to create new and innovative weapons.
Yue Yuan expressed his satisfaction with this.
In his view, other things could be inferior, but weaponry and equipment must be prioritized and vigorously developed. This had nothing to do with recognizing the dangers of the universe; it was purely because of the saying, "Forgetting war is dangerous."
"Positron Cannon and Infrasonic Hydrogen Bomb —we, as newly advanced Tier 1 Civilization, can glean these technologies from technological connections. I believe other Tier 1 Civilization must also possess these weapons. Therefore, you must take these factors into account in future warship designs," Yue Yuan said to the military research department at a military technology conference.
Since ancient times, contradictions have always been intertwined. Where there is a spear, there will be a corresponding shield. Yue Yuan hopes that future warship designs must also take into account the shields that defend against these weapons.
"Commander Yue, we naturally know that. Infrasonic Hydrogen Bomb are easy to deal with; we just need to pump out the air from the warship, and the crew can Spacesuit on board. However, so far, we haven't seen any shield in the relevant technology that can defend against Positron Cannon." A weapons design expert shook his head, his face showing helplessness. It seemed that he had already discussed it with the relevant scientists.
"Since positrons can be bound and stored using Magnetic Confinement, they should also be able to be defended against using magnetic fields, right? What, is it difficult?" Yue Yuan thought this should be easy to figure out.
"That makes sense, but with our current technology, we simply cannot generate a magnetic field strong enough to cover the entire warship. The key is that this magnetic field must be strong enough to distort the trajectory of positrons."
Although the New Warship is still in the planning stage, these military technology personnel already have a good grasp of some basic structural data.
The military expert said with some helplessness, "Even if it were possible, we would have to consider the impact of the external magnetic field on the internal magnetic Positron Cannon. If we were to add another layer of antimagnetic material to the components of the Positron Cannon, the warship would have to be built even larger. In general, we currently do not have the capability to develop a magnetic shield."
"So, the defense relies entirely on the warship's armor?" Man Yuemei asked this question on behalf of the others in the Armed Forces Department.
"Yes, that will be the case for a long time to come. Perhaps we will be able to achieve this when we have fully mastered Nuclear Fusion," another military expert replied. "Therefore, we believe that for a considerable period of time to come, the focus of the military industry should be on alloy materials."