Chapter 118: The Artificial Sun

"What did they say?"

Tian Wenyuan replied, "There is an artificial sun on Pollux!"

"What?"

Zhang Mingyang could not believe his ears, thinking he had misheard. "Senior brother, are you saying the mysterious object on Pollux is an artificial sun?"

Tian Wenyuan nodded. "Everyone we captured keeps repeating this. The base is now preparing to re-examine the triangular object."

As a researcher specializing in nuclear fusion, Zhang Mingyang certainly knew what an artificial sun was. In fact, nuclear fusion technology is often called a "mini-sun," but compared to a real sun, it is vastly inferior; the two are not even in the same order of magnitude.

Zhang Mingyang asked, "Senior brother, if it really is an artificial sun, then the core mass and density of that triangular object should be immense. Does the base have any data on the center of the triangular object?"

Tian Wenyuan shook his head. "No. We have only explored the outer periphery of the triangular object so far; we don't have the technology to probe the core region."

Zhang Mingyang asked again, "Do you have any data on the surface temperature and core temperature of the triangular object?"

"Hold on a second!"

Tian Wenyuan quickly pulled up his computer to search for the data. "Got it! Its surface temperature is 5,000K, and the temperature near the center is 8,000,000K."

"Exactly!"

Zhang Mingyang looked at the data for the triangular object. It was remarkably similar to the data for our sun.

"Senior brother, do you have any data on the mass of the triangular object?"

Tian Wenyuan searched again. "No, we don't have any mass data yet."

Seeing Zhang Mingyang's excitement, Tian Wenyuan was puzzled. He asked, "Junior brother, I'm not in energy research. Is there a difference between this artificial sun and the sun in the sky?"

Zhang Mingyang explained, "There is a difference, yet there isn't. There's no difference in that their operating principles are the same; both the artificial sun and the real sun function through nuclear fusion. However, the energy produced is incomparable. Current nuclear fusion technology is orders of magnitude weaker than the sun. The sun releases energy equivalent to the total conversion of four million tons of matter every second, whereas current nuclear fusion technology cannot yet meet human needs."

"Let me explain nuclear fusion to you. It's also known as nuclear fusion, a fusion reaction, or a thermonuclear reaction."

"The 'nuclear' refers to small atoms, mainly deuterium. Under specific conditions—such as extreme heat and pressure—the electrons can be stripped from the atomic nucleus. Only at such extreme temperatures and pressures can two nuclei overcome the repulsion of their electrons, attract each other, collide, and fuse to create a heavier nucleus, such as helium."

"Although neutrons have significant mass, they carry no charge, allowing them to escape the confines of the nucleus during the collision. The release of a massive amount of electrons and neutrons manifests as a tremendous release of energy. This is a form of nuclear reaction."

"Atomic nuclei store vast amounts of energy, and the transformation from one nucleus to another is often accompanied by energy release. Nuclear fusion is the opposite of nuclear fission. Fusion fuel can be derived from seawater and other light nuclei, so the fuel source is virtually inexhaustible."

"The reason the sun undergoes fusion is that it possesses immense mass. The resulting inward gravitational collapse creates the high pressure necessary for fusion, which in turn offsets the collapse caused by gravity. An artificial sun, however, relies on artificial magnetic fields to contain fusion within a limited space under extreme heat and pressure."

"The sun's diameter is approximately 1,392,000 kilometers—or 1.392 x 10^6 km—which is 109 times the diameter of Earth. Its volume is about 1.3 million times that of Earth, and its mass is about 2 x 10^30 kilograms, which is 330,000 times that of Earth."

"In terms of chemical composition, about three-quarters of the sun's current mass is hydrogen, with almost all the rest being helium. Oxygen, carbon, neon, iron, and other heavy elements make up less than 2%. It releases light and heat into space via nuclear fusion."

"The largest artificial sun we have today is tens of millions of times smaller than the real sun!"

Listening to Zhang Mingyang's explanation, Tian Wenyuan began to feel dizzy. "You're being so technical that I can't quite follow. Just tell me: can that triangular object become a real sun?"

Zhang Mingyang shook his head. "Without data, I can't say. There are too many variables involved—mass, gravity, magnetic fields, and chemical composition are all critical factors."

"Given its current volume, it doesn't qualify as a real sun, but it's hard to say what it might become in the future."

As Zhang Mingyang said this, Tian Wenyuan suddenly had a question. "Junior brother, I have another doubt. Pollux does not have a large abundance of hydrogen, yet the sun's mass is mostly hydrogen. How can the Black Hole organization claim it's an artificial sun?"

Zhang Mingyang replied, "It doesn't necessarily have to be absorbing hydrogen from Pollux. Since 90% of the universe is hydrogen, it might just be gathering mass from its surroundings."

Tian Wenyuan asked, "Then, if most of the universe is hydrogen, why is there only one sun that emits light and heat?"

Zhang Mingyang laughed. "Senior brother, you've misunderstood. In fact, all stars in the universe emit light and heat. It's just that the sun is a massive energy output source. If you're talking about light and heat, there are plenty of stars far more powerful than the sun. The reason people think of the sun when they hear 'nuclear fusion' is simply because we live in the solar system, and the nearest source of light and heat is the sun. Most of the light and heat energy Earth receives comes from the sun."

"I see! I've learned something today."

Tian Wenyuan asked again, "But junior brother, if that triangular object isn't using nuclear fusion technology, why would the Black Hole organization call it an artificial sun?"

Zhang Mingyang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know."

"Oh, almost forgot!"

Tian Wenyuan operated his computer and pulled up a photo. "Junior brother, the color of the triangular object has changed again. This time it's turned yellow!"

"Huh?"

Zhang Mingyang looked at the photo. Indeed, the color at the center of the triangular object had shifted from red to yellow. What was going on?

Zhang Mingyang stared at the photo, lost in thought. This is...?

"Holy crap!"

He suddenly realized something.

Seeing his startled reaction, Tian Wenyuan hurriedly asked, "Junior brother, did you think of something?"

Zhang Mingyang pointed at the photo and replied, "Senior brother, I forgot that besides hydrogen, there is another substance that exists in vast quantities in the universe."

"What is it?"

Zhang Mingyang replied, "Dark matter!"