Chapter 153: The Second Cooperative Research Project

“…Academician Qin Yu, we acknowledge your judgment, and that of the Human Civilization researchers, regarding the limitations of the Electric Propulsion System.”

“During our long migration, we have also become aware of this. The Electric Propulsion System is inevitably constrained by its inherent physical limits over time.”

“To get our Starships up to higher speeds, even near light speed, we likely still need to abandon the use of Reaction Mass.”

“Academician Qin Yu, based on your views and those of the Negentropy Research Institute teams, where do you see the technical ceiling for the Electric Propulsion Technology pathway?”

For Qin Yu’s safety,

in all exchanges between Human Civilization and Stuo Civilization, Qin Yu’s truly glorious history within Human Civilization was never fully revealed.

Stuo Civilization’s ‘epic tale’ was gone, but Human Civilization’s epic figure still lived.

Though both civilizations got along well now,

if Stuo Civilization learned the true extent of Qin Yu’s historical impact on Human Civilization, they might see Academician Qin Yu as a threat and try to eliminate him.

Even without knowing Qin Yu was also the father of Strong Artificial Intelligence, the creator of Carbon-based Chips, the architect of Human Civilization’s HCC era, the pioneer of the Electric Propulsion era in aerospace, and the lead developer of Helium-3 Fusion Technology…

through the years of ongoing contact,

Stuo Civilization knew the head of the Negentropy Research Institute, the institute deeply shaping Human Civilization’s path, was also an exceptionally brilliant Researcher.

Some theoretical knowledge gained from Stuo Civilization was published in Human journals with the Stuo Researchers credited.

Similarly, within Stuo Civilization, even without mentioning Qin Yu’s most dazzling achievements, significant theoretical work like the Turbulence Theory in fluid dynamics, plus various mathematical breakthroughs, bore his name.

‘Qin Yu’ became familiar to many Researchers in Stuo Civilization through papers exchanged during inter-civilizational contact.

This time,

in respect, the Stuo Civilization research team used the term ‘Academician’ – not part of their own traditions.

“From my personal perspective and assessment, the speed limit for Electric Propulsion Systems likely falls below ten percent of light speed. Considering research costs and benefits, the later stages see diminishing returns for ever-increasing investment. Practically, achievable speeds along this technology pathway might be even lower than that.”

Qin Yu sent his reply to Stuo Civilization.

The achievable speed limit for an Electric Propulsion System is influenced by its entire complex assembly, the whole Starship itself.

Electromagnetic Railguns launch projectiles far faster than current Starships travel, because Starship speed plateaus after reaching seven percent light speed.

Naturally, as Stuo Civilization noted, mass-reaction propulsion has fundamental limitations.

From energy generation within the system to Plasma expulsion, energy efficiency remains disappointingly low.

“Academician Qin Yu, it seems both our civilizations, seeking higher spacecraft speeds, must explore entirely new propulsion technologies.”

“An engine design that operates without Reaction Mass. Our Sacred Decider agrees and believes Stuo Civilization and Human Civilization should collaborate in this research field.”

“Academician Qin Yu, does Human Civilization agree to establish another cooperative research project between our civilizations, this time focused on Reactionless Propulsion Engine Technology?”

After reviewing input from the Negentropy Research Institute and its teams,

Qin Yu agreed to Stuo Civilization’s proposal.

Following the ‘Heavy Nuclear Fusion Technology Cooperative Research Project’,

a new joint project on advanced propulsion technology was initiated.

Stuo Civilization’s eagerness stemmed directly from positive past experience.

Apart from theoretical collaborations,

even the recent Heavy Nucleus Fusion project showed significant benefits.

Researchers from both civilizations working together sparked insights neither side developed alone.

The combined effort yielded results far greater than the sum of their parts.

Though Heavy Nuclear Fusion technology remained a distant dream, the Stuo researchers felt progress was much faster than working in isolation.

Qin Yu’s occasional input furthered this effect.

For Human Civilization, the involvement of Stuo researchers accelerated their own work. This was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Both Qin Yu and the HCC agreed to this cooperative propulsion research project.

However,

based on years of propulsion research, Qin Yu wasn’t overly optimistic about the collaborative future of Reactionless Propulsion Technology.

Though considered the hallmark technology of the next level (Stellar Civilization) in Stuo Civilization’s framework,

the leap from a Reaction Mass system like current Electric Propulsion Technology to true Reactionless Propulsion is astronomically vast.

Human Civilization faced this gap, and while Stuo Civilization held slightly advanced technology overall, the chasm remained equally daunting for them.

Reaction Mass propulsion and Reactionless Propulsion belong to entirely different realms.

Despite Stuo Civilization’s long interstellar migration using Electric Propulsion, they struggled with it.

Genuine Reactionless Propulsion would allow a civilization to navigate the galaxy freely, though voyage times might still be long.

Qin Yu pondered this direction for some time.

His Super Brain wasn’t entirely devoid of ideas.

Yet, pursuing them revealed countless unresolved problems.

Even his dedicated effort in seeking solutions would likely take an immeasurable length of time.

Another way to understand the difficulty:

Stuo Civilization migrated for untold ages, possibly achieving Stellar Civilization status long ago.

They collaborated with other encountered civilizations on this very technology.

Even when meeting Human Civilization, they still relied on Electric Propulsion.

This starkly illustrates the immense difficulty of achieving true Reactionless Propulsion.