Used on tanks...
Hearing this strange question and meeting those solemn, eager eyes, Lu Zhou finally understood what Director Lü had come here for.
Research into electrically driven tanks was not exactly anything new.
As early as the 1930s, "Dr. Porsche" had studied the subject.
The VK4501P tank, equipped with a Porsche Type 1011 air-cooled engine for power generation, stored the electricity generated by the engine in batteries before using it to drive two 275 kW electric motors. It undoubtedly already possessed the basic characteristics of an electrically driven tank.
However, limited by the era, this type of electrically driven tank technology had failed to demonstrate much advantage on the battlefield. Only the "differential steering system" design had been retained.
Over the following century, as science and technology continued to advance, the concept of electric-drive tanks had repeatedly been brought up for discussion.
Lu Zhou could guess that Director Lü was not asking merely whether this thing could be used on tanks.
What he really wanted to know was probably whether the developmental benefits brought by Controlled Nuclear Fusion could spill over from the economic sector into the military-industrial sector...
"You'll have to ask experts in the military-industrial field about that," Lu Zhou replied seriously after thinking for a moment. "But in my opinion, whether Lithium-Sulfur Batteries or Lithium-Air Batteries, their prospects in the military-industrial field are limited."
Director Lü immediately became somewhat anxious and hurriedly asked.
"Why?"
"Safety." Lu Zhou sighed. "As long as it's a chemical battery, it basically relies on oxidation-reduction reactions to convert electrical energy and chemical energy. And since it's an oxidation-reduction reaction, there's considerable instability. Lithium in particular can spontaneously combust even when exposed to air. If it gets hit by a shell or something, it won't be as simple as an oil leak.