Chapter 285 Nuclear Reactor
In America, you can live without a life, but you can't live without a job.
This is explosive enough to be a Floridian.
A Florida man smeared peanut butter on his fist and tried to beat up another person who was allergic to peanuts.
Then he found out that peanut butter did not contain peanuts, so he sued the production company in a rage and won the lawsuit and received compensation.
Zhang Ailun fell into deep thought and asked tentatively: "How did you make the radiation protection device and successfully transform it? Have you learned any physics knowledge in this area before?"
"I bought a scaled-down nuclear toy with the same structure and material a long time ago, and it cost me $26." Haval answered honestly, "Because I have disassembled and reassembled it many times, and I understand the structure and principle inside. It is very simple to transform it into a generator. You know what a nuclear power plant is, right? It's just like this and that."
"..."
What are you talking about? I don't understand at all.
Zhang Ailun calmed down for a moment, then said: "Ok, where is the nuclear power plant you mentioned? Are you sure there is no risk?"
"Man, you don't trust me? If there is a risk, do you think I can still stand in front of you? Look at me! Healthy! So normal! Except that I don't like taking a bath, but this is also my personal habit. I take a bath at most twice a year." Hafu said babble and jumped to prove himself.
To be honest, seeing his crazy look, the leader's heart was finally at peace.
Because this is totally not something a normal person can do.
This guy's forehead must have been hit by the door, and the nuclear radiation has affected his IQ. If you say he is stupid, he can modify the nuclear reactor. If you say he is smart, he inadvertently reveals a sense of stupidity when he speaks.
Hiss...it's difficult.
This might be genius.
Zhang Ailun couldn't help but sigh.
Jennifer and Irene also immediately took a step back and kept their distance.
You can smell it even from a long distance!
"Let's go in and take a look. Maybe there really isn't any risk." Zhang Ailun immediately decided to trust him once. After all, he had no way of judging the recycling value without seeing the actual object, and he also wanted to know how the other party rubbed the nuclear reactor with his hands.
Dominic and David were in a dilemma and tried to persuade the leader, "That's nuclear radiation! It's possible that he is not affected just because of his special body. It's better to make protective preparations in advance."
"You're right, Mr. Harver, why don't you go in first? We may need to make more preparations." Zhang Ailun nodded.
"You still don't trust me." Hafer said unhappily, "Okay, I'll prove it to you right now!"
He turned around, opened the door of the warehouse, walked in, and ran out a few minutes later as if nothing had happened. He even had time to chew two bites of soft candy sandwich bread and drink a sip of milk.
"Look! I told you, there is no danger! I know what you are worried about. To be honest, I was surprised that you were willing to come here to do the recycling work. After all, I took the initiative to contact several recycling stations before. When they heard that I wanted to sell a nuclear reactor, they thought I was a lunatic and had no intention of buying it at all." Haval was indignant.
"Then can you tell me what the use of this thing is if I buy it back?" Zhang Ailun asked.
"It has many uses! First of all, you should all know that a nuclear reactor is a device that can maintain a controllable self-sustaining chain nuclear fission reaction to achieve nuclear energy utilization. By properly arranging the nuclear fuel, a self-sustaining chain nuclear fission process occurs inside without the need to add a neutron source. The basic working principle of a nuclear reactor is based on a chain reaction, which uses neutrons to bombard the atomic nuclei of the nuclear fuel to cause nuclear fission, thereby releasing huge energy and producing new neutrons. These neutrons will cause new nuclear fission, forming the so-called chain reaction."
"The energy generated by a nuclear reactor during the fission process is converted into thermal energy through a heat exchanger, then converted into mechanical energy through a steam turbine, and finally converted into electrical energy. Specifically, the heat generated by a nuclear reactor is taken away by circulating water (or other substances) to prevent the reactor from overheating and burning. The heat can turn water into steam, which drives the steam turbine to generate electricity."
Haval said, "After my transformation, first of all, it can generate electricity, which can save a lot of electricity bills. Secondly, it can provide nuclear power energy. As long as there is enough fuel, it can at least allow miniature submarines and ships at sea to drive for a long time."
"Don't tell me you want to use nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers on other ships." Zhang Ailun looked at him doubtfully.
"I do have this idea, and I even downloaded some drawings from the Internet for reference. However, I feel that the workload is a bit too large, and I simply cannot handle it alone. I also cannot buy nuclear fuel. I don't have the money to buy it, so I can only shelve the plan temporarily." Haval decisively admitted.
"..."
Zhang Ailun took a deep breath and looked at Dominic and the others, thinking that this guy was a little too crazy.
Why are you so weird?
The design drawings of aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines are basically open, but the complete drawings of an aircraft carrier weigh several hundred tons. Even if you were allowed to see them, you would not be able to understand them, and you would not be able to build them.
But if it is just installed on other conventional warships or yachts, referring to the energy replacement and converting the engine into nuclear power generation, it is still possible to complete it.
"You wait."
Zhang Ailun turned around and took a towel from the car, wet it with water, wrapped it around his body, put on several layers of masks and goggles, and after he was fully prepared, he asked Dominic and Jennifer to wait outside before he approached the warehouse door with confidence.
"Ok! It's OK! Come in!"
Even if the energy field inside has weak radiation, it can be blocked by wet wipes. Although it is not of much use, it is just in case. But if there is such strong nuclear radiation, this kid Haval would have mutated long ago!
Seeing how cautious he was, Haval couldn't help but complain, "I've already used barium sulfate concrete, lead plates, and graphene materials to isolate radiation. What you're doing is just unnecessary."
"Stop talking nonsense and go in." Zhang Ailun urged and walked into the warehouse first.
As soon as they came in, they saw the crystal ball in the warehouse that was sizzling and emitting purple lightning, as well as the neon lights hanging on the wall. The head of the headquarters was shocked.
What is this? A magic crystal ball?
Oh, it turns out that glass conducts electricity.
Haval walked in and introduced: "These are all things I use to decorate the warehouse when I have nothing to do. Anyway, they don't consume much electricity. Without sufficient nuclear fuel, the electricity is not as abundant as imagined. Basically, it can only maintain daily work use. It can't achieve kinetic energy conversion."
Zhang Ailun also noticed some electric saws and electric welds, as well as steel plates and even forming tools. Is this guy also a master of sheet metal work?
Then he saw a familiar golden-red humanoid object in the corner, and he couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "What is this? Iron Man's armor?"
Haval said a little embarrassedly: "At first I was thinking about how to shrink the reactor and transfer it to the armor, but it turns out that I thought too much. I can only use the nuclear reactor, and I can't decompose and shrink it. I don't have that ability."
"If you could do this, you would have been captured by the FBI as an alien long ago," Zhang Ailun said unhappily.
Currently, the smallest nuclear reactor in the world is 40 cm in diameter and 60 cm in length. The thermal power of such a small nuclear fission reactor can reach 4 kilowatts and the electrical power is about 1 kilowatt. Its volume is still far from the size of the nuclear reactor in front of Iron Man's chest.
And that's the black technology of nuclear fusion, you still have to find a way to manually add nuclear fuel into it, how can it be the same? The nuclear reactors used on aircraft carriers are basically huge monsters with a height of six meters and a diameter of four meters.
Seeing that the other party was alive and well, Zhang Ailun took off his wet wipes. "Where's the reactor?" He looked around but didn't see the huge thing.
It’s also strange how the other party pulled it here. The truck driver must have been scared to death when he saw this thing. How could he be willing?
Zhang Ailun didn't quite understand and asked Harvard.
"I hired a garbage truck and a tower crane for $40, pulled it out of the test site by myself, and then transported it here for modification," Hafer said as he opened the warehouse floor.
"Then you are truly a genius." Zhang Ailun exclaimed.
Soon, the other party opened the floor, revealing the nuclear reactor underneath. It was not like the blue light in the movies. Although there was light, it was not much. It was just an oval furnace-like thing with several external pipes and sophisticated mechanical parts. It looked impressive, but I don't know if it has been stored for a long time without regular maintenance. It looked pitch black on the outside and looked more like a boiler.
"So the question is, how much do you want to sell it for?" Zhang Ailun asked.
"I'm tired of playing with it. Even if I have other ideas, I can't realize them. When the internal nuclear fuel burns out, the best it can do is light a light bulb. It might as well be sold as scrap. I plan to sell it for $5000." Haver thought.
Take less?
Five thousand dollars!?
This is so touching!! What a bargain price.
"I'll give you 10000 US dollars! Please be sure to sell this pile of scrap metal to me!" The chief immediately took out cash in US dollars, walked over and stuffed it into his hand.
This child is really simple-minded.
And he extended an invitation to him enthusiastically, "I would also like to invite you to come work here and help me manage and maintain this nuclear reactor. Do you have this intention?"
"What are you going to buy it for? Can you buy nuclear fuel?" Harvard looked at him in surprise.
The chief leader smiled and said, "It's just nuclear fuel, isn't it just natural uranium? I learned about it in school. Graphite and heavy water are also used as moderators. Even if the concentration of nuclear fuel rods reaches 90%, the current market price is only 50 to 60 US dollars per kilogram. If it is a low-concentration nuclear fuel rod, the price is even lower. The lowest price of diluted nuclear fuel rods is less than 10 US dollars per kilogram."
"Even the nuclear reactor on an aircraft carrier consumes only kilograms of intermediate uranium per day, which is pounds, equivalent to tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Adding 4 tons of nuclear fuel at a time can last for years. If this nuclear reactor is converted into a power generation device, how much fuel can it burn every day just for daily consumption? Using diluted conventional nuclear fuel rods is enough."
"I haven't added fuel. It basically relies on its own radiation to generate electricity, but there is already some fuel in the reactor. As far as I know, even if a nuclear power plant adds tons of natural uranium at a time, it is enough for a year. If it is used for daily power generation, it will not even use pounds of diluted uranium every day."
Harver thought for a moment and replied, "But you haven't told me what you're going to do with it."
"I decided to make your dream come true! I will retrofit it and install it on yachts and ships."
The chief leader waved his hand and transformed himself into the god of dream fulfillment.
"Although we don't have aircraft carriers and submarines, and we can't afford them, we can make a cheap nuclear-powered civilian warship. You don't have to worry about the staff. I have plenty of people who can operate them. They are all excellent talents."
Zhang Ailun said: "Once my people have finished working on the A10 Warthog, they can come over to help you research and design how to move it onto the ship."
Haval was stunned. He didn't expect the other party to agree with his idea. He was surprised and said, "You still have an A10 Warthog? Aren't you a junk collector?"
"Yeah, I recycle scrap, but I also bought that A10 from an airplane graveyard. It didn't cost me much. Isn't your nuclear reactor also scrap that no one wants?" Zhang Ailun smiled.
After thinking about it, Harvey said, "If it's just an ordinary ship or yacht, there's no need to install a nuclear power plant. At least it should be installed on a frigate or cruiser, right? You can buy an A10, so buying a cruiser or a destroyer shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Do you think destroyers are cheap?" Zhang Ailun said unhappily, "Even the cheapest destroyer costs over a billion dollars. Even the eliminated destroyers cost nearly 100 million dollars each. Even if they are junked, they cost several million dollars. The subsequent maintenance and upkeep costs will not be less. Rounding up, it will cost at least tens of millions of dollars!"
Warships are incomparable to armed helicopters. They are also very delicate and are typically something you can afford to buy but cannot afford to maintain.
The USS Forrestal cost $130 billion to build and $30 billion to maintain each year. However, it was declared worthless because it accidentally exploded a Zuni air-to-ground missile during the Vietnam War in the last century. It also caused 130 deaths, 134 injuries, 64 aircraft destroyed, and 21 aircraft seriously damaged.
After the Forrestal was decommissioned, it was sold to the public, but no one wanted it at the auction for even a penny. In the end, the aircraft carrier was sold to All-Star Metals for a low price of 1 cent and was recycled as scrap.
But there must be a lot of shady operations. After all, even if it is sold as scrap metal, it is impossible for it to be worth only 1 cent, and people are not stupid. How can you pick up bargains like this?
Even if the leader cheats, there is no way he can buy a retired and scrapped aircraft carrier for 1 cent.
After thinking about it, Hafer agreed. "Okay, I can consider working with you. How much salary are you going to offer me? I won't work for less than $3000 a month!"
"..." Zhang Ailun looked at Haval, who was acting righteously, with a strange look.
This silly kid must have endured too much nuclear radiation.
"I'll offer you $3500," said Zhang Ailun.
"Good good."
Haval nodded and agreed quickly, as if he was afraid that the leader would go back on his word, and he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. "This is much higher than the salary I get when I work at a tire shop, and I can do what I want. You are such a good person!"
"..."
No, do you really want this little money?
"You still have a job?" Zhang Ailun was surprised.
"What will I eat and drink if I don't have a job? I have a girlfriend!" said Hafer.
"Oh."
There is only one of you, why are you showing off?
The leader has several girlfriends.
Am I proud?
He immediately called Dominic and the others outside and said, "It's okay, come in, there is no radiation here. That idiot has sucked up all the radiation."
Harvard asked suspiciously, "Which idiot?"
"It's okay. Go have fun." Zhang Ailun waved his hand.
"Okay, boss." Haval turned around and ran to the side, squatted in the corner, and started counting the $10000 in his hand.
(End of this chapter)
