Voyage of the Stars

Chapter 17 Energy and Materials

"There are a total of 830 people in the Callisto base. Except for a few former foreigners, they are basically of Chinese ethnicity. The male to female ratio is about 1:0.6."

The Callisto base is originally a Chinese space base. It is not surprising that most of them are Chinese, but the ratio of men to women is indeed seriously imbalanced.

There is nothing we can do about this. This is basically the case in several major bases.

Yue Yuan continued: "Because of the timely response, the starch production equipment in the base is well maintained. If starch is produced as usual, the daily production of starch will be about 30 tons."

"In normal times, because there is some vegetable and meat supply from the outside world, it can basically maintain the base's living needs. But now that part is gone, the vegetables can only be supplied by the base's plantations, and the meat is completely there is none left
Relying on the meat in stock at the base, according to data from the logistics department, the normal supply can last for about two months, but this is not the biggest problem. After all, it is not impossible to live without meat immediately. The biggest problem is our lack of energy. "

Because it is the farthest base, the Callisto base does have more complete equipment than other bases, but it does not raise pigs and cattle on it, so the meat is basically shipped from the earth.

There are many experimental animals such as mice in the laboratory, but even if the mice can be processed into meat products and eaten, they may not be able to meet the needs of so many people.

Besides, you can't eat all this stuff, otherwise the survivors will really be ruined.It is used in various medical experiments, unless you want to conduct direct human experiments right from the start, which is unrealistic.

Embryo cultivation is one way to go, and the Callisto base also has this kind of equipment and technology, but energy is a big problem.

Because when it was still on the ground, it could still use the nuclear power plant on the ground and various solar sails to generate energy, but now all this is gone.

"In addition, the storage of carbon dioxide and water is also a big problem." Yue Yuan paused and looked at scholars and doctors in various fields, as well as the engineering department and logistics department, "So now, I need a reasonable plan, a reasonable plan Distribution plans, reasonable energy utilization plans, and possible solutions to energy shortages."

Yes, Yue Yuan always talks about energy.

Because of the energy, the Callisto base basically does not have to worry about food problems.

For synthetic starch technology, mature industrialized synthetic starch technology has solved the space food problem very well. As long as there is energy, carbon dioxide and corresponding biological enzymes, starch can be continuously produced.

This was originally the case for all major bases, and the plantations within the base were used to grow fruits, vegetables and a little wheat and rice, which basically ensured the fiber and other trace elements needed by the human body.

Meat is the only thing that cannot be grown, so it is all supplied by Mother Earth.

The original carbon dioxide and water in the Callisto base are directly mined from the ice on Callisto, in addition to being recycled and exhaled by the human body.

Now that this source is gone, it is obvious that the carbon dioxide produced by the base population’s cyclic respiration cannot meet the needs of industrial starch production.

"Two months is enough. In another month, the aftermath of the solar explosion will pass. Our engineering equipment will not suffer much loss. One month will be enough for us to dig back to the ground." A doctor said.

"What about when we get back to the ground?" another asked.

"Of course we will continue to mine from the ice on Callisto. Are there any problems?" the doctor replied.

The man sighed: "It's hard to say whether there is still ice on the surface of Callisto!"

These words reminded everyone of the influx of magma.Yes, the violent energy impact is likely to vaporize the ice and blow it away. A planet with the mass of Callisto cannot retain an atmosphere.

But as long as we return to the ground and there is a planet as big as Callisto, there is still great hope.The most important thing at present is energy, whether it lives underground now or returns to the ground in the future.

"In the final analysis, it is still an energy issue." Yue Yuan said, "Although the energy storage station has stock, it can only last for a month at most. Optimistically speaking, we can dig it back to the ground after a month, but we can't dig it back to the ground as soon as we return to the ground. A power station can be built in an instant.”

"Don't we have nuclear fission batteries?" someone asked.

"Yes, we have it, but its power is too low. The nuclear batteries in stock in the base can only meet the needs of weak current equipment or small electrical equipment, such as large cranes, excavators, forklifts, hammer machines, and piling machines. Machines and other heavy industrial equipment cannot be used," Yue Yuan explained.

Nuclear battery, also known as atomic energy battery.The basic principle is to convert the heat generated when radioactive isotopes decay into electrical energy.

This phenomenon is called the Seebeck effect, also called the first electrothermal effect.

Nuclear fission batteries do not produce a large amount of nuclear waste like nuclear power plants. They are considered harmless and clean energy and are non-renewable resources.

Nuclear battery technology has matured since the end of the last century. It has been widely used in various remote detectors because of its long life and no need for charging. A nuclear battery can basically be used for dozens or even hundreds of years.

But it also has a fatal flaw, that is, the power is too low.If you want it to generate more electricity, you have to increase its mass. Too much mass will undoubtedly be a huge burden for various devices.

After all, you can’t install a battery of several tons or even more than ten tons on a transport vehicle.

Therefore, even though humans have now reached the orbit of Jupiter to establish a base, nuclear fission batteries have not been used in large vehicles.

Of course, because mature technology has solved safety issues, nuclear fission batteries have now been widely used in some small devices, such as mobile phones and tablets that no longer require charging. Even many small appliances that use the principle of light-emitting diodes for lighting do not This type of battery was used.

Therefore, the current lighting and small electrical appliances at the Callisto base basically don’t have to worry about running out of power.

Correspondingly, the energy problem Yue Yuan mentioned is not this type of problem. He is talking about the power consumption problem of large-scale heavy industry and large-scale daily necessities production equipment.

In the past, these things were powered by nuclear power plants or solar panels on the surface of Callisto. Now due to the catastrophe, everything is gone, which has caused an energy shortage problem.

At this time, an expert stood up and expressed his opinion: "As for energy issues, I think we can consider the multi-digit parallel connection of small-scale radiation power generation. The nuclear fuel we have in stock is enough to support us until the power station is completed."

As soon as these words came out, it caused everyone to think deeply.

The basic principle is still similar to that of a nuclear battery, but this seems to be the most feasible method for the Callisto base at present.

The nuclear power plant originally built on the surface of Callisto has been destroyed. However, due to heat dissipation, safety, and land occupation issues, nuclear power plants cannot be built in the base. This method is the best way to use existing resources to solve the problem.

(End of this chapter)