Material Empire

Walking with Tranquility in the corridors of the Superconductivity Research Center, Qin Hai had the feeling of walking into a wild animal park alone. Behind every door, there were one or several beams of hateful eyes stabbing at him. If glances could kill, Qin Hai would already be in dire straits by now. Through the crack of the door, he seemed to be able to faintly hear the suppressed dialogue:

Hiss... who is this person? How does Tranquility know him so well?

It's not just familiar, you didn't look at Jing Jing's hand and you're still holding him!

It's so painful, how can I fall asleep tonight!

It's just right that I can't sleep. My stove needs to be kept at a constant temperature for 16 hours. You just help me keep it...

...

Xiao Jing, didn't you do it on purpose? Qin Hai patted Tranquility's hand holding his arm with a bitter face, and asked her.

What's on purpose? Tranquility didn't react, she looked up at Qin Hai and asked.

Qin Hai whispered: Why do I feel that there is murderous intent everywhere?

Huh? Tranquility turned her head to look left and right in surprise, only to hear a series of bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang Tranquility suddenly understood what Qin Hai was referring to, and couldn't help giggling: You mean the brothers in our laboratory? That's right, I just made it for them to see, and I have given up their hearts a long time ago. They won't listen .”

Oh, inattentiveness has been your shield. Qin Hai said with a look of remorse.

Tranquility's pretty face was annoyed, and she asked in a low voice, Why, you still don't want to?

Qin Hai could only express his opinion quickly: Yes, yes.

Well, that's pretty much the same. Tranquility nodded in satisfaction, and stretched out the hand holding Qin Hai's arm, which really turned into a posture of holding Qin Hai's arm. If someone walked past them, they would find that the faces of these two people were a little flushed at this moment.

Fortunately, the corridor of the research center was not too long, and the two of them quickly reached the door of the laboratory where Chen Zongze was. Tranquility let go of Qin Hai's hand, walked forward, and knocked on the door.

Come in. A voice came from inside the room.

Tranquility pushed open the door and led Qin Hai into the room.

Hey, isn't this President Qin? Why did you come here without notifying me in advance? Chen Zong, who was wearing a white coat for experiments, saw Qin Hai coming in, stood up quickly, and greeted him with a smile .

Qin Hai was also full of smiles. He shook hands with Chen Zongze and said, I know Teacher Chen is busy, so I didn't notify you in advance. Didn't bother Teacher Chen because of the sudden visit?

How could it be? We have been looking forward to your coming. Chen Zong said enthusiastically. He explained a few words to the two assistants around him, let them continue to complete the experiment at hand, and then said: Boss Qin, the smell of the laboratory is too strong, let's talk in my office.

Qin Hai agreed with a smile, and followed Chen Zongze to his office with Tranquility. After the host and guest sat down on the sofa respectively, Chen Zong pointed to Tranquility and said, Mr. Qin, Xiao Ning came back from Anhe last time and brought some instructions from you. We studied it and found it very inspiring.

Qin Hai quickly waved his hands and said, Mr. Chen is serious. That's not an instruction, it's just my random thoughts. In addition, don't call me Mr. Qin one by one. Xiao Jing and I are of the same generation, so you can call me Xiao Qin is fine.

How inappropriate is that? Chen Zong said politely, then changed his words, and said, Okay, since Mr. Qin insists, I'll call you Xiao Qin, so it will make you look closer. Yes Alright, what were we talking about just now...

Mr. Chen, you said that Qin Hai's ideas are very inspiring to us. Tranquility reminded us.

Yes, yes, very inspiring. Chen Zongze said, You suggest that we consider replacing yttrium with light rare earth elements on the basis of yttrium-barium-copper-oxygen high-temperature superconducting materials. We have arranged for students to conduct experiments separately. Preliminary It is shown that after replacing yttrium with elements such as neodymium, samarium, europium, and gadolinium, the formed copper oxide compound has stronger magnetic flux pinning force than yttrium barium copper oxide, and is expected to become a group of new high-temperature ultra- guide material.

The yttrium-barium-copper-oxygen high-temperature superconducting material is the first superconducting material in the liquid nitrogen temperature region independently developed by Chinese-American scientist Zhu Jingwu and Chinese scientist Zhao Zhongxian in 1987, and its critical temperature has reached 90K. The birth of this material has greatly reduced the application cost of superconducting materials, and the commercial application of superconducting has dawned.

Before the appearance of yttrium barium copper oxide, all superconducting materials had to be superconducting at a temperature below 77K, so liquid helium with a boiling point of 4K was required for cooling. Helium is a rare gas whose concentration in the atmosphere is only 1/52,000. The preparation of liquid helium generally needs to be extracted from some type of natural gas, so the cost is very expensive, which also limits the application of superconducting materials.

The appearance of yttrium barium copper oxide allows people to obtain superconducting properties of materials at 77K, which is the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the atmosphere and is an easily available gas. The cost of liquid nitrogen is less than 1/50 of that of liquid helium. The use of liquid nitrogen can greatly reduce the cost of superconducting materials, making the application of superconducting materials cheaper and more convenient.

In this era, the research on yttrium-barium-copper-oxygen superconducting materials is the hottest direction in the entire superconducting field. The advice Qin Hai brought to Chen Zongze through Tranquility is exactly the new development in this field a few years later. . In fact, even if Qin Hai didn't say anything, Chen Zongze might try in this direction. What Qin Hai did was just give Chen Zongze a push.

According to the research and development of new materials introduced by Chen Zongze, Qin Hai added some opinions based on his own understanding, such as suggesting that Chen Zongze should pay attention to the relationship between the oxygen content in the material and the crystal structure and lattice parameters of the material, etc. . He himself is not an expert in superconducting materials, and the opinions he put forward are only general, but Chen Zong can hear some forward-looking thoughts from them, so he quickly recorded them one by one, and prepared to discuss them in depth with his assistants in the future. discuss.

After chatting about these academic issues, Qin Hai changed the subject and said, Mr. Chen, I am here at Peking University this time. Apart from visiting the research center, I have other things that I would like to discuss with you.

Tell me. Chen Zong sat upright and said seriously.

Qin Haidao: At the beginning of the establishment of the research center, we discussed the operation mode of the research center. The principle we set was to integrate production, education and research, to promote production through research, and to support research with production. I wonder if Mr. Chen still remembers it?

Of course I remember. Chen Zong said, Xiao Qin, if you don't mention it, I plan to find time to ask you about it. Our research center costs a lot. Those rare earth elements are more expensive than gold. We do experiments every day. It’s burning money, you don’t feel bad, we all feel bad. I’ve always wanted to ask, what exactly do you plan to do when you talk about using research to promote production? How can our research center become a mother who can only lay eggs? chicken.

Qin Hai smiled and said: This is what I want to talk about next. My idea is that, on the one hand, the research on new superconducting materials cannot be stopped, and we must always be at the forefront of the world. On the other hand, yttrium-barium-copper Oxygen is a mature material, we need to complete the process development as soon as possible to make it into the final product.

Technology development... Chen Zong scratched his head and said depressedly, We have actually been considering this issue, but we lack manpower. The research center now has more than 20 researchers, and more than 50 doctors, The number of postgraduate students is not small. But each person has a hole, no one can spare their hands to do crafts, and I am in a hurry.

In the final analysis, is it because we don't pay enough attention to technology development? Qin Hai said with a smile, To put it bluntly, no one can produce high-level papers with technology, so everyone is unwilling to do it. This is the most critical issue, right? ?”

This... Chen Zongze's face turned red, and he had to admit that Qin Hai's words hit the nail on the head and hit the point.

Like all material science research, the discovery of new materials and theoretical research are works that can produce high-level papers, while the research on materials technology, although it also has academic value, is often difficult to be elegant. For Chen Zongze, his assistants, and students, high-level papers are a stepping stone for them to evaluate titles and find jobs. This is something that must not be slack. Especially when the research on superconductivity theory is in a state of blowout, who is willing to give up the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the academic world, and instead engage in some technological research?

Qin Hai was a scientist in his previous life, and he is very clear about the phenomenon of emphasizing scientific research and neglecting applications in the academic circle. He also knows that the reason why China's material industry lags behind Western countries is not because of the lack of scientific research personnel, but because a large number of scientific research results cannot be transformed into actual products. In the previous life, faced with such a phenomenon, he could only sigh and be helpless. And in this life, he held the money bag of the research center in his hand, and he couldn't tolerate this phenomenon continuing to exist.

Mr. Chen, you also said just now that superconductivity experiments are burning money. Even if I, Qin Hai, am a local tyrant, I can't afford such consumption. If the research center cannot provide practical technology, then after the initial investment is exhausted , I am afraid there will be no follow-up funds. Qin Hai said to Chen Zongze in a threatening tone.

Yes, yes, Xiao Qin, you are right. Chen Zong didn't have the boldness of pointing out the country before, and replied dully. There is no way, Qin Hai is the sponsor of the research center, and Chen Zong dare not offend him casually. Besides, they have already invested so much money in the early stage, and they promised to transform the research results into practical technologies, but they failed to do so, so it is no wonder that the other party is aggressive.

Then, Xiao Qin, can you give us clear instructions on what you want us to do? Chen Zong asked Qin Hai.

I'm going crazy looking for information, maybe there are some wrong places, please forgive me. Superconductivity is too complicated.