The Scholar in Military Industry

[The theories in this story are mostly fictional. Do not take them as fact!]

As the top science student in his province, Qi Jiaqiang turned down Qing University and Yan University, choosing instead to study ammunition engineering and explosive technology at Yanjing University of Technology.

His undergraduate thesis was a new type of polymer-bonded explosive that he had spent three years developing.

In theory, it was stable, environmentally friendly, and easy to control. Its power was twice that of the strongest conventional explosive, CL-20, and four times that of TNT.

The first explosion test failed to meet expectations.

Its power was less than half that of TNT.

On a whim, he added something to the new explosive that he had always wanted to include, but had never dared to.

A powder alloy made by mixing four elemental metals, lithium, magnesium, iron, and gold, in specific proportions.

According to his calculations, during detonation, the lithium and magnesium in the explosive would undergo “pseudo-nuclear fusion” and release energy, making it five times as powerful as CL-20 and ten times as powerful as TNT.

The lithium-magnesium polymer would then absorb energy in an extremely short time and undergo “pseudo-nuclear fission,” causing secondary damage to the surrounding area.

The second explosion test was not only a success, but also destroyed the laboratory building. Qi Jiaqiang nearly died.

After spending a month in the hospital, he woke up to find that his mind worked better than before.

From then on, he moved from one project to the next.

From explosives to solid rocket fuel, super batteries, aerospace engines...

Modified water molecules, space carriers, lunar bases...