The preliminary testing of the first batch of 'crystalline erbium zirconate' materials took nearly a week, and the test results are quite exciting.
Whether it is from the shielding rate of various radiations, or from the grain boundary damage rate and grain boundary reconstruction speed, the performance of this new material is quite excellent.
Compared with the nuclear waste storage ceramics used in China before, the overall performance of the 'crystalline erbium zirconate' protective material has been improved by nearly 50%.
The improvement in service life is even more exaggerated.
Today's nuclear waste storage ceramics or other materials, even if there is no external environmental interference, most of the service life is hundreds or thousands of years when faced with nuclear waste containing strong nuclear radiation.
Beyond this time, due to the impact of nuclear radiation, the storage container may be damaged, cracked, etc.
However, the service life of the new 'crystalline erbium zirconate' material is conservatively estimated to be more than 10,000 years based on data obtained after preliminary testing.
This result even alarmed the 'advisor' of the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, Academician Peng Hongxi. After hearing the news, the old man took the high-speed train from the capital and came here in person.
Seeing Peng Hongxi, Xu Chuan realized that the new nuclear protection material he had created seemed to be far more important than he had previously expected.
Previously, his focus had been on the subsequent core technology, and he did not attach much importance to the 'crystalline erbium zirconate' material.
After all, the protective materials of the solid ceramic series are not very widely used. It can isolate radiation, but it requires a certain thickness, which limits some uses.
Except for limited uses such as nuclear engineering construction and storage of nuclear waste, it is basically difficult to apply it in other fields.
Among protective materials, there are not many materials that can achieve the same shielding effect as 'crystalline erbium zirconate' materials, but they only have a shorter service life.
For humans, there is actually not much difference between a thousand years of service life and a ten thousand year service life.
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In addition, in later generations, nuclear waste has been successfully turned into treasure and does not need to be stored for a long time. Therefore, the importance of materials stored for nuclear waste is far less high in his eyes.
But he forgot that it is only 2018. In this era, nuclear waste is a pollutant that causes headaches for all countries.
Whether it's preservation or processing, it's both difficult and difficult.
.......
In the ‘Institute of Atomic and Nuclear Sciences’ of the Academy of Sciences, Peng Hongxi personally conducted radiation detection on a piece of ‘crystalline erbium zirconate’ material.
After getting the test results, the old man looked at the young man in front of him and sighed: "Awesome, this is the atomic cycle theory you mentioned before."
If he remembered correctly, it had been less than three months since the R&D team was assembled.
In more than two months, a new material with better performance than traditional countermeasures materials was developed. This is simply a fantasy.
What surprised him even more was that Xu Chuan had never done any related material experiments before.
This 'atomic cycle' theory was conceived through meditation in his mind.
This is the scariest place.
Materials experiments have always been one of the most variable experiments.
There are endless combinations, and the results can be completely different if they are slightly different.
Sometimes, even if the ratio differs by only 0.01, the new material produced may be waste.
The research and development of a new material is not that easy.
Which of today's large-scale material R&D factories does not have decades of accumulation? Which one does not have a huge amount of material data accumulated in the database?
By simply making assumptions in your mind, you can come up with a new type of radiation-resistant material.
This simply broke all his previous understanding of materials research.
Peng Hongxi couldn't help but want to cut open Xu Chuan's brain and see if there was a super quantum computer inside.
He actually did this kind of thing that cannot be done by human beings.
Maybe there is some luck involved, but materials research and development is inherently a matter of luck.
With luck, you can get them all in one mixing session.
Unlucky, I tried thousands of times but couldn't find the correct synthesis route.
...
On the opposite side, hearing Peng Hongxi's praise, Xu Chuan smiled and said: "This is just a basic application of atomic cycle theory, and its flaws are still huge.
"For example, it will harden after final shaping, and solid materials cannot meet many nuclear protection needs. Also, the shielding rate against neutron radiation and gamma radiation is not high."
Peng Hongxi shook his head and said: "Your requirements are too high. The penetrating power of neutron radiation and gamma radiation is the strongest among all types of radiation. This is also the biggest problem in radiation protection in the world."
"This new material is already excellent. If it is used for ordinary nuclear waste storage, judging from the current test results, it is completely sufficient. Atomic circulation-grain boundary reconstruction can allow it to store nuclear waste for tens of thousands of years.
Years of time.”
Xu Chuan smiled and said: "Let's go, I will take you to see my latest research - lead-free nanocomposite reconstruction protective material. In my opinion, it is more advanced than the 'crystalline erbium zirconate' material."
Excellent, it is used to make protective clothing.”
Hearing this, Peng Hongxi showed a hint of surprise on his face and asked in surprise: "Protective clothing? Lead-free?"
Xu Chuan nodded and said: "Yes, lead-free. The atomic circulation theory does not rely on the high density of lead metal for shielding."
Peng Hongxi asked with interest: "Is there a finished product?"
Nuclear radiation protective clothing is an indispensable nuclear, biological and chemical rescue equipment. It is used by on-site treatment and rescue personnel in risky environments such as nuclear radiation risks, nuclear aerosol pollution, and biochemical environmental pollution.
Usually in people's impression, nuclear radiation protection materials are often inseparable from heavy lead.
For example, the protective doors used in hospital X-ray examination rooms are made of lead.
Or as far as the current nuclear protection materials are concerned, if they are used for protective clothing worn by scientific researchers or staff, it can be said that they basically contain lead.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Lead can isolate most of the radiation, and it goes without saying that the shielding performance is excellent.
But in fact, the shortcomings are also obvious. First of all, it is heavy. The density of lead is very high. Protective clothing doped with lead materials must be quite heavy.
After all, it is used to face nuclear radiation, and too little lead will not provide any protective effect.
But if it is mixed with too much lead, it will definitely become heavier.
A piece of protective clothing, such as a military-grade radiation protection suit, weighs more than fifteen or six kilograms.
Secondly, lead is toxic and its biological toxicity is not friendly to the environment.
Especially in a high-concentration nuclear radiation environment, a lead protective clothing does not work for a long time, and after being contaminated, it cannot be reused and can only be discarded, etc.
Therefore, the application scope of lead protective clothing has been greatly restricted.
But at present, apart from lead protective clothing, there are no other good protective clothing.
The protection of nuclear radiation has always been a major problem.
Lead-free nuclear radiation protective clothing aroused his great interest.
...
Taking Peng Hongxi with him, Xu Chuan walked towards his laboratory, responding as he walked.
"There is no complete protective clothing yet. The latest finished product was just made yesterday. At present, there is only a small piece of fabric. It has not been tested yet. The specific results will take some time."
"What material is used? What is the size, thickness and weight?" Peng Hongxi asked quickly.
Xu Chuan: "The size is about fifty*fifty centimeters, the thickness is 1.3 centimeters, and the weight is 1,073 grams."
Peng Hongxi did the math and said: "0.2 square meters, a little more than two kilograms. If a protective suit is sewn with five feet of cloth, and helmets, gloves and other items are taken into account, the total weight will be about eight to ten."
About a kilogram.”
"Compared to the previous lead protective clothing, which weighed more than thirty kilograms, yours is several times lighter. If the radiation shielding effect can reach the standard of lead protective clothing, that would be terrible."
Xu Chuan smiled and said, "We'll know after we finish the test."
Regarding this new type of lead-free nanocomposite reconstructed nuclear protection material, he knew very well that the specific protective performance was definitely better than that of lead-doped protective clothing. Otherwise, how would he have used this technology to solve the problem of nuclear waste in his previous life.
Nuclear energy beta radiation energy concentration and conversion technology is a technology that has won the Nobel Prize.
A Nobel Prize-level achievement is also the most important physics award among natural science awards. Its value and weight are naturally astonishing.
...
Taking Peng Hongxi with them, they came to the laboratory together.
Xu Chuan opened a material storage box, took out a folded piece of cloth-like material, and handed it to the old man following him.
Peng Hongxi took the material and started to use it. He was surprised by the soft feel of this material.
"It's incredible. It's so soft. If you didn't tell me, I would have thought it was a fabric used to make clothes. It's so soft."
Peng Hongxi touched the protective material in his hand and couldn't help but marveled.
You must know that nuclear protection materials are generally mixed with lead, silver, boron and other materials. After all, only these materials can absorb or shield rays.
But correspondingly, the properties of these materials will also cause nuclear protective suits to become bulky, rough, etc.
There is no way around this.
But the piece of protective material in front of him completely subverted his previous understanding.
If you put aside the thickness, it is like a piece of fabric, and it can even be folded like clothes, which is incredible.
Xu Chuan smiled and said: "What you always said is too exaggerated. Compared with traditional nuclear protective suit materials, it is indeed much softer, but if it is the same as cloth, it is still incomparable."
Peng Hongxi sighed and shook his head, saying: "How did you achieve this disruptive achievement? What are its raw materials?"
"The raw materials are mainly gadolinium oxide, boron carbide, high-density polyethylene, and fluorozirconium-based salts. The basic principle is to utilize the high heat absorption and high neutron absorption cross section of gadolinium oxide, combined with the various radiation shielding capabilities of boron and zirconium."
"The surface modification of gadolinium oxide using a coupling agent improves its interfacial compatibility and dispersion within the matrix, allowing the radiation particles to more fully interact with the functional components inside the material and rapidly attenuate...
..."
"Theoretically, it has the ability to shield most rays, and has good neutron radiation shielding and gamma ray shielding properties."
Xu Chuan has nothing to hide about the principles and manufacturing process of this new type of protective material.
The old man in front of me is completely trustworthy.
After listening to Xu Chuan's explanation, Peng Hongxi's slightly cloudy eyes moved. After thinking for a while, he said: "What a wonderful idea."
"The gadolinium·hydrogen·boron system is used to slow down and absorb neutrons, and the interaction characteristics between light and heavy nuclei and neutrons as well as the high thermal neutron absorption cross-section characteristics of gadolinium and boron are used to make high-energy incident neutrons and gadolinium produce non-linear
Elastic collision occurs with hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen until it becomes a thermal neutron, and is finally absorbed by gadolinium and boron."
"Atomic recycling technology can use radiation energy to repair the damaged particles produced after collision to a certain extent and recycle them, which greatly improves its lifespan and protective performance."
"This idea is simply perfect."
Xu Chuan smiled and nodded. This idea is not only the core of nuclear protection materials.
It is also the core of nuclear energy beta radiation energy concentration and conversion into electrical energy technology.
The special semiconductor materials produced using this technology can collect scattered radiation in nuclear waste and then convert it into electrical energy, realizing true waste-to-treasure.
"By the way, I heard that you are still researching lithium batteries recently?"
After groping for the new protective material in his hand, Peng Hongxi solemnly handed it back to Xu Chuan and asked curiously.
Xu Chuan nodded and said with a smile: "It's just a small fight."
His acquisition of the Chuanhai Materials Research Institute is not a secret, and it is normal for Peng Hongxi to know the news.
"What kind of things are you studying?" Peng Hongxi asked.
After a pause, he added: "Don't get me wrong, I don't want to pry into your secrets. It's okay if it's inconvenient to say."
Xu Chuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "What are the secrets? It's mainly about electrolyte and artificial sei membrane."
"Electrolyte and artificial SEI film, you are here to focus on the problem of lithium dendrites. Are you busy with these two tasks?"
Peng Hongxi muttered something and looked at Xu Chuan. This young man's ambition is really quite big.
The lithium dendrite problem has troubled the industry for decades.
There are countless research institutes, laboratories and universities around the world studying this problem, but so far there has not been much progress.
Does mathematics really have such magic power?
First, a nuclear radiation protection material was calculated, and then there was the problem of lithium dendrites.
Although he was not sure whether the lithium dendrite problem could be solved, after seeing some results in this nuclear energy laboratory today, he had an inexplicable confidence in the young man in front of him.
It seems that in the fields he intervenes in, problems will no longer be a problem.
Xu Chuan smiled and said: "Actually, it's fine over there. I asked my mentor for someone, and my senior brother is in charge of managing the research institute."
"I just provided some theoretical methods."
"It's good to be young! You're full of energy."
Peng Hongxi didn't ask any more questions and sighed.
Xu Chuan smiled and said: "Academician Peng, you are still young."
Peng Hongxi shook his head with a smile and said with concern: "If you encounter any problems, you can come to me, don't support it alone."
"I heard that you stayed in the laboratory for several days in a row some time ago and even missed the Nobel Prize call."
"You are still young. You should pay attention to your health. You don't need to work so hard. There is still a long way to go..."
