Time flew by, and it was already late November.
Although the assault team had not completely occupied the broken ship, the clearing operations had never stopped. The safe zone was constantly expanding, and the research personnel could finally conduct their research in peace.
However, technology was not something that could be mastered immediately just by obtaining alien artifacts. It required a lot of time for slow refinement, and results would not be forthcoming in a short period.
But the teams not involved in technological fields had already achieved some results. For example, the mapping team had drawn the general structure of the warship more or less completely.
The materials team had also collected all the necessary samples and was analyzing the elemental composition ratio of various metals day and night. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
There had also been considerable progress in the research of the ship's various systems.
Coincidentally, Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao personally witnessed the work method of the equipment team. They first sealed off a cabin, then released some carbon-14 labeled carbon dioxide. Using detection equipment, they tracked the diffusion direction and circulation pathways of the gas, marking all the pipelines and equipment involved in this process. Ultimately, they pieced together the general outline of the air circulation system, and gradually expanded it to the entire life support system.
The low cost and high reward made it a model of scientific research at Luojianshan.
Ling Xiao watched and grinned, unable to help but exclaim, "Damn, what kind of ingenuity is this? How did they come up with it! Fatty Ou, look, these days, it's not enough to understand science to do research; your brain needs to be flexible!"
Ou Zhanpeng looked at him with doubt. "What, are you planning to repent and reform? To get your brain working?"
"Hmph, I'm just sighing, why so much nonsense!"
Ou Zhanpeng was speechless. So you just don't want to use your brain, right?
After understanding the situation of the life support system, the equipment team continued to work. With the power cabin as the core, they detected the energy flow, thereby marking the energy transfer pipelines, and quickly figured out the general situation of the power system.
This efficiency was truly unparalleled.
Not only that, but the equipment team also happened to find the fuel cabin, which immediately attracted the high attention of the research base. They immediately organized elite forces to conduct research.
Understanding the fuel composition was of great significance for reverse-engineering the power furnace!
However, reality always proved to be unexpected. The fuel used by the power furnace was just the most ordinary hydrogen.
Upon hearing this news, Ling Xiao was extremely disappointed. "I thought it was some super technology, but it's just nuclear fusion. What a waste of anticipation."
Ou Zhanpeng could barely believe his ears. He said in a very kind tone, "Ling Xiao, you've gotten a bit arrogant lately. Do you look down on nuclear fusion or something?"
"Don't mess with me, do I have the guts for that?" Ling Xiao sighed. "I'm just disappointed. Even if it's not antimatter annihilation, it should at least be heavy element decay, right? Even if it's something that can make anything thrown into it emit light and heat, it would at least make sense. What's so special about a fusion furnace!"
More than ten years ago, humanity's controlled nuclear fusion technology had already been industrialized, and two power stations had been built.
Although there were many shortcomings such as large volume and complex equipment, it was still something they had mastered, so how could Ling Xiao not be disappointed? How could he not be disappointed?
Ou Zhanpeng persuaded him, "I think hydrogen is quite good. The things you mentioned are all flashy and useless!"
Ling Xiao immediately objected, "Hey, hey, I don't like to hear that. So hydrogen fusion is useful, and everything else is useless? That doesn't make sense, does it?"
"Then let me analyze it for you!" Ou Zhanpeng said unyieldingly. "Let's talk about antimatter annihilation. The energy released is definitely much higher than fusion, but where do you find antimatter? This thing is not only difficult to produce, but also difficult to store, and it's particularly dangerous. Apart from its higher energy density, everything else is inferior to hydrogen fusion. Do you think I'm making sense?"
Before Ling Xiao could speak, someone nearby chimed in, "Well said, young man. What's your name?"
Turning around, he saw Professor Wu, who had been captured by the alien species. He had sustained minor injuries, and before they had even fully healed, he had eagerly returned to the broken ship.
Ou Zhanpeng quickly explained, "Professor, I was just speaking casually."
"No, no, you said it very well," Professor Wu said. "And you hit the nail on the head. Advanced technology is indeed good, but we cannot just consider whether it is advanced or not. We also need to consider its practicality. Antimatter annihilation is a typical example. Since fusion can meet the requirements, why insist on causing trouble for ourselves and using antimatter annihilation? Xiao Ou, do you have any other ideas? Tell me."
Ou Zhanpeng smiled shyly. "I was just thinking randomly."
"It's okay, you just say it, I'll just listen. It doesn't matter."
"Then I'll be showing off my limited knowledge. You just listen, okay?" Ou Zhanpeng preempted. "I think another important point is the abundance of hydrogen in the universe. Using hydrogen for combustion is easy to collect and easy to separate. If you run out of fuel, you can just find a gas giant, and it won't take long to fill the combustion chamber. But it's different for other fuels. Let's take helium, for example. Mining, separation, and purification are much more complex than for hydrogen."
"That's right!" Professor Wu nodded with satisfaction. "Let me add a few more points. We have already made some progress in studying this power furnace. Its function is very powerful, and it only needs ordinary hydrogen, that is, protium, to operate. The technology contained within is very remarkable! You know, the sun, with its high temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius and an atmospheric pressure of 250 billion atmospheres, can cause protium to fuse. Although we don't know the operating principle of the power furnace, the fact that it can make protium and protium fuse means that this power furnace is definitely not simple!"
Professor Wu had a few more things he didn't say, which was that the power team already knew that this thing could normally burn the most common hydrogen isotope, protium, but it required a deuterium ignition for startup. Once the ignition was successful, it could continue to burn protium as fuel.
Now, he could stop the power furnace at any time, but he was not confident about restarting it. Therefore, he could only maintain the current status quo for the time being.
No matter how many words Ling Xiao had in his heart, he could only shut his mouth and listen now. Moreover, although he was stubbornly denying it, he knew in his heart which technology was practical.
However, knowing it was one thing, but admitting he was wrong was another matter!
"There's another situation, I don't know if you've noticed," Professor Wu said again. "The pipelines in the warship are not handled very well. The connections between equipment are very rough. I personally believe that although these devices are combined together, they do not look like an integrated design. They are more like assembled vehicles pieced together from randomly found parts. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and it may not be accurate. Perhaps this is just how the alien species operate."
While saying this, Ou Zhanpeng began to ponder: Could this broken ship really be so mediocre?