Chapter 9 Advanced Technology

To be honest, there are a lot of good things on Mars.

For example, in the habitat cabin, Wu Siyuan uses an oxygenator, or oxygen generator.

The oxygenator, also called a carbon dioxide absorber, can continuously convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide as long as it has enough energy. It is an indispensable machine for manned aviation, space exploration, and interstellar colonization.

There are also such products in the real world where Wu Siyuan lives.

Among them, the most advanced one can be said to be the moxie that is being tested, that is, the Mars Oxygen Resource Utilization Experimental Device!

The Mars oxygen generator moxie is only about the size of a toaster. It can collect carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere. After processing it internally, it releases carbon monoxide and oxygen. The entire conversion process takes place in an environment of approximately 800 degrees Celsius.

The whole body of moxie is made of heat-resistant materials and coated with a layer of heat-insulating paint to effectively insulate heat.

But the efficiency is impressive.

In the Martian environment, Moxie preheated for 2 hours, during which time it released oxygen for 1 hour. The amount of oxygen produced was about 5.4g, which is enough for astronauts to breathe for 10 minutes.

The oxygenation machine in the habitat cabin is not even a little bit more efficient than moxie.

Its size is almost the same as the Mars oxygen generator moxie, but with sufficient power, it can continuously and simultaneously convert the carbon dioxide produced by human respiration into oxygen and carbon monoxide, and the carbon monoxide can be recycled and reused. Its synchronous conversion efficiency Up to more than 80%.

Not to mention that the heat-resistant materials used in this oxygen concentrator can operate in an environment exceeding 2100c.

If this kind of material is brought to the real world, many industries will change.

For example, the engine industry.

Where does the domestic engine industry lag behind?

It’s not just the material!

Of course, Wu Siyuan could not deduce its metallurgical formula from a piece of material.

Therefore, if Wu Siyuan wants to obtain the formula of this heat-resistant material, he still has to obtain it from the earth in this world.

In addition, the good things on Mars include rtg!

rtg, radioisotope nuclear battery.

"Radioactive isotope battery" is referred to as isotope battery, which uses the heat of radioactive decay to generate electricity through temperature difference.

The heat source of a radioisotope battery is a radioactive isotope.

During the process of transformation, they will continuously emit energy in the form of rays with thermal energy, which is much greater than that of ordinary matter. This great energy has two endearing characteristics.

First, the amount and speed of energy released during transformation are not affected by temperature, chemical reactions, pressure, and electromagnetic fields in the external environment. Therefore, nuclear batteries are famous for their strong anti-interference and accurate and reliable operation.

Another feature is that the decay time is very long, which determines that radioisotope batteries can be used for a long time.

Since the temperature difference between day and night on the surface of Mars is extremely large, ordinary chemical batteries cannot work, and solar cells cannot be used in deep space. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators can be said to be an ideal energy source for deep space exploration.

This thing was previously used in the MDV that was launched to Mars in advance to solve the energy problem during the fuel generation process. But once they arrived on Mars, Mark and the others buried it and specially planted a small flag on it. Remind them to stay away.

Because the content in this isotope battery is usually plutonium-238.

Plutonium itself is highly toxic. If it breaks down, everyone around it will suffer.

The most widely used "radioisotope battery" is the thermonuclear battery.

So does this one on Mars.

Thermonuclear battery is also called "radioactive isotope thermoelectric generator". It is a device that directly converts energy-carrying particles emitted by isotopes into electrical energy. It is made of some excellent semiconductor materials and is composed of these materials connected in series. With a suitable heat source and transducer, a temperature difference is formed between the heat source and transducer to generate electricity.

The principle of thermoelectric power generation is the thermoelectric conversion effect.

This effect was discovered by the German scientist Seebeck in 1821, so it is also called the Seebeck effect - a loop composed of two materials. When the junction temperatures are different, an electric current will be generated in the circuit.

However, the efficiency of thermoelectric power generation in the real world is relatively low. Different semiconductor materials are different, and the efficiency is between 3% and 10%.

The thermoelectric power generation efficiency of this "radioisotope thermoelectric generator" on Mars has reached 28%!

Four or five times that of the real world!

This conversion efficiency has reached commercial standards and has many application scenarios.

Wu Siyuan's first thought was to use the exhaust heat of automobiles to generate thermoelectric power and convert it into electrical energy, which would effectively reduce the power consumption of new energy vehicles.

And [Chaoqun Group] can also enter the field of car manufacturing with the help of this [thermoelectric power generation] technology and the heat-resistant materials mentioned above.

The automobile industry has a greater impact on the economy than the mobile phone industry.

It is the crown on the top of the industrial pyramid, and the automobile manufacturing industry is a strategic pillar industry of our country's national economy.

In consumption, an important domestic economic cycle, automobile consumption accounts for more than one-tenth of the total retail sales of consumer goods and accounts for more than 4% of GDP.

Of course, this only includes automobile consumption, not counting the aforementioned production and manufacturing. uu read

As well as the steel, aluminum, rubber, petrochemical, smart chips, new energy industries driven by the automobile industry... If upstream and downstream industries are covered, it is no exaggeration to say that the automobile industry's contribution and promotion to our country's economy will be greater. Large, this proportion may be roughly estimated to be around 15%.

In 2020, China's automobile production and sales reached 25.225 million vehicles and 25.311 million vehicles respectively!

Just thinking about it makes Wu Siyuan excited.

However, the core of thermoelectric power generation lies in thermoelectric materials.

The thermoelectric figure of merit of thermoelectric materials determines the thermoelectric conversion efficiency.

Going round and round, it still has something to do with the material.

And the recipe of the material is on the earth.

have to!

There are many advanced technologies in this world.

But Wu Siyuan has to go to the earth to find it.

Wu Siyuan thought, and the voice of [Four-Armed King Kong] came from the external speakers of the habitat cabin, "Master, according to your wishes, the monitoring satellite signals on Mars have been blocked, and it will not be able to observe your presence on Mars. Behavior."

"That's good! We should leave too! Wait for our American hero to come back!" Wu Siyuan nodded and said.

"I believe they will be surprised!" [Four-Armed King Kong] replied.

"Haha..." Wu Siyuan smiled and said nothing. He took away the advanced equipment in the habitat cabin, including the oxygenation machine and the isotope battery, put on the Mars astronaut suit, walked out of the habitat cabin, and walked out of the [Shennong Cape Space] The base vehicle, the main body of [Four-Armed King Kong], was summoned.

Wu Siyuan got into the base car.

The base vehicle drives automatically and heads to a place 3,200 kilometers away.

There, there is a MAV that NASA has launched in advance for the Mars landing in four years!

(Thanks to Zhuzhang Liyu for the tip.)