Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1315 Children's Tricks (5k)

However, Professor Qi still had some concerns: "There is a problem. When it comes to producing Streptococcus pneumoniae-63, our understanding of chemistry may not be that deep. But to figure out why there are these differences between two drugs with different effects, we need to be very knowledgeable. We must invest more energy and time in this area."

The former can know what happens but not why, while the latter cannot; it may even require delving into the interior of the compound to understand why.

Junior Sister Luo was quite excited: "It's okay, let's learn! We won't lose what we've learned, and we can use it in other places."

This is the common mindset of people who are seriously engaged in scientific research. Whether they can actually learn it is another matter, but at least they should try. How will they know if they don't try?

Of course, the results may not always be so good. Behind every scientific achievement, there may be countless people who have wasted half their lives, achieving nothing and falling on the road to truth. But this unfavorable outcome cannot stop people from embarking on the path of seeking truth.

Lou Xiao'e said, "Well, if one day isn't enough, try a month; if a month isn't enough, try a year. There's always a way." For her, the process and results of this study and research were equally interesting. This is a very good mindset, especially for someone who is engaged in research.

Professor Qi laughed: "Good, since you all dare to take the plunge, I, as your teacher, can't let you down. Let's learn and research together!"

When she said "I am a teacher," she looked around somewhat guiltily, as if Dr. Fan's scalpel might flash coldly from the doorway at any moment.

It's not a problem to gain some verbal advantage, is it?
When Lou Xiao'e got home, she looked at the sun wood carving hanging on the wall, cheered, and ran over to touch it carefully a few times.

She genuinely liked this thing. The main reason was that it was the first time she had received affirmation from abroad. What made her even happier was that Gao Zhendong didn't have anything of similar origin, so at least she had something that was slightly more impressive than his.

Defense Industry Committee: Guess why he didn't have it?
"It seems a little different, doesn't it?" Lou Xiao'e was very perceptive and turned to Gao Zhendong with a smile.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Yes, it's different. The last one had some problems; it was switched by the enemy. This one is the real deal, from the same place, from the same person."

This information might seem somewhat useless, but he knew it was important to her.

As for the "enemy," even if Lou Xiao'e is naive, she could probably imagine it, so it's better to just tell her directly.

Sure enough, Lou Xiao'e smiled happily after hearing his words.

"Oh, by the way, about that Wan-23 thing you mentioned last time, Professor Qi and I have discussed it and are preparing to approve it. Junior Sister Luo is writing the project proposal." Lou Xiao'e said to Gao Zhendong casually while preparing dinner and stuffing a piece of cured meat from Guizhou into Gao Changhe's mouth.

"So fast?"

“We have to be quick. Once the last one is done, the next one has to take over.” Lou Xiao’e said this with an expression on her face that made it all seem like a matter of course.

"Doctor Fan has no objections?" Gao Zhendong asked with a smile.

"No, she did. When I was in surgery with her this afternoon, she even praised me, saying that as long as I don't neglect my profession and pay attention to time management, I'll be fine." Clearly, for Dr. Fan, since Lou Xiao'e has also shown talent in medicine, as a serious doctor dedicated to healing the sick, Dr. Fan doesn't want to bury her abilities in this area.

"That's good. Is there any difficulty?"

Speaking of this, Lou Xiao'e recalled the conversation she had with Professor Qi and her two students that morning, about chemistry!
“Our chemistry background is a bit weak, especially mine and my junior sister Luo’s.”

Gao Zhendong was delighted. "Hey, you've come to the right person for this!"

"That's easy. I know some people in the Applied Chemistry Department. I'll contact them later. Whether you want to learn from them or consult them, it shouldn't be a problem." The Applied Chemistry Department is a familiar place; they're all acquaintances, so their words carry weight.

"That's great!" Lou Xiao'e leaned over and pressed her face against Gao Zhendong's.

Gao Zhendong, whose emotional appeal was at its peak, couldn't help but say, "By the way, if you have any requirements regarding equipment, materials, etc., you can also try to find a solution through the comrades in the Applied Chemistry Department."

"Mmm, thank you so much~~~~~~"

Gao Zhendong grinned like a fool after receiving the reward.
-
Gao Zhendong has managed to handle the Golden Lip Wood Carving incident fairly well, but its repercussions are clearly not limited to China.

Lubyanka, the chief minister in charge of southern affairs, held a small, round drum with a handle, twirling it in his hand. Two small balls on either side of the drum struck the drumhead with each turn, producing a pleasant "thump-thump" sound.

As the director of the Southern Affairs Bureau, he never expected that the Southerners would send him such a thing.

Interestingly, the way polar bears refer to us is different from that of other countries. In fact, their formal way of addressing us is not so comfortable to some extent, which is a very subtle thing.

The same applies to their nicknames; while other countries use "Easterners" as a nickname, they are the only ones who use "Southerners."

"It's very interesting, but why would someone from the South send me this?" This came from foreign affairs channels, and the other party very solemnly asked someone from the foreign affairs department to hand it over to him.

If there were any of our fellow countrymen here, they would recognize what this is at a glance.

The rattle drum was a common prop used by peddlers in ancient times, and it was very popular with children.

But here, it has a different meaning.

“This looks like a children’s toy from the South, and it is indeed very interesting. But…” the director’s deputy explained from the side.

"but what?"

"But don't you think this toy looks a bit like the one we recently tried to give to people in the South?" The deputy director suppressed his laughter and said in a serious tone.

We are all professionals and will absolutely not laugh unless we can't help it.

It seems he held back this time.

"A toy for people from the South?" He held the object in his hand and examined it carefully.

Look at this drum, doesn't it look like the vibrating chamber of a Golden Lip eavesdropping device?

Look at this, doesn't it look like the vibrating needle of a Gold Lip bug?

It can even make sounds!

This is basically a child's version of the Golden Lip Eavesdropping Device!! A child's version!!
It was just a matter of resemblance, but for the director of the Southern Affairs Bureau, it was an utter disgrace.

"Sukabul!!"

His eyebrows shot up, and he was frantically banging a rattle on the table, looking extremely angry.

The short handle of the rattle drum made his movements look quite comical.

The deputy director's next words only fueled his anger.

"Comrade Director, our parasite who carried out the 'steel plant mission' has gone missing."

The steel mill mission is named after the work location of the entity performing the mission.

Parasites, a very apt term, need no explanation at all.

If someone goes missing, it's generally equivalent to being arrested, or even dead, especially when combined with the children's toy that was specially sent by people from the south; there's almost no other possibility.

The content of these words was so rich that the director of the Southern Affairs Bureau found it difficult to digest them for a while.

"Sukabul! This is the most humiliating thing I've ever done since I entered Lubyanka!" This was similar to what Gao Zhendong's homeroom teacher from his past life said: "You are the worst class I've ever taught!!!"

"Comrade Director, every task has the possibility of failure, doesn't it?"

"But you failed incredibly stupidly!! By using outdated, publicly available technology, you caused us to lose an opportunity and a very valuable parasite!"

When he said this, he completely ignored the fact that he himself had signed the proposal.

However, he was right about one thing: every parasite in the South was extremely valuable to them. They would have a hard time recruiting even an ordinary person, let alone someone capable of using eavesdropping devices.

They could neither bring the other party to Lubyanka for training nor open spy training courses in the south.

"We have made improvements."

"But the improvements didn't work; in fact, they seemed ridiculous! Your improvements only depend on the other party being blind!"

Actually, it wasn't that bad; it was quite effective. It was just that we were unlucky and chose the wrong target.

"There are always sacrifices in work, and this at least proves one thing: the other party is very important, otherwise they wouldn't have reacted so quickly." It's clear that this deputy director and the director don't get along, and the deputy director also has his own backers.

“Comrade, I know Vodka is wonderful, but that has absolutely nothing to do with me owning a bottle of Vodka! They even insulted me with a children’s toy, mocking our actions as if they were children’s play!” The director glared at his deputy as if he were a Southerner.

He was overthinking it. Our comrade didn't have that idea. He simply thought the rattle drum and the gold-lipped eavesdropping device looked very similar, and used this subtle way to tell him that we had all the information. That was all.

However, sometimes an insult brought about by coincidence is still an insult, as is the case for the current head of Lubyanka's Southern Affairs Bureau. Although the deputy head and his team were carrying out the work, this blatant humiliation reminded the head of his "leadership responsibility" and "management responsibility."

He deserves all the credit, but he also deserves all the slaps.

“Comrade Director, I think we shouldn’t focus on these trivial matters…” The deputy director originally wanted to say “childish tricks,” but then felt that this might further provoke his director, so he changed his words: “The key now is that we need to plan our next steps.”

The failure of the operation was nothing new to Lubyanka. Hans' Abwell was so badly incompetent that he felt no remorse, so Lubyanka had no reason to feel ashamed.

"No! At least not for now! Our operational authorization isn't high, my comrades. And provoking the Southerners now isn't a smart move, in my opinion." Although the director was furious and smashed the rattle to pieces, he hadn't lost his mind; he wasn't stupid.

He was very concerned about his reputation, but compared to his position, he had no choice but to swallow his pride.

Moreover, he had his own ideas: "We must wait until the Southerners, because of our actions, rashly change their target environment. We all know that everyone is prone to making mistakes in a new environment. Do you know what this strategy is called? My comrades."

"Isn't this just stirring up trouble?" Any one of our comrades here would say the same thing. For us, there's nothing new under the sun. Turn the pages of our history and ancient books, and you'll always find records that match all sorts of unbelievable realities.

"To stir up trouble and alert the enemy is one of the thirty-six stratagems of the Southerners." As expected of the deputy director of the Southern Affairs Bureau, his understanding of the South is indeed quite profound.

"Yes, so all we need to do for this goal is wait! Also, we must not act impulsively and do anything that can't be salvaged."

There are many more important things to do regarding affairs in the South. This matter is not the highest priority, and waiting for now is the most appropriate course of action.

"Alright, I'll have my comrades in the south keep an eye on this and see if we've really succeeded in alerting the enemy."
-
Two weeks have not yet passed, and the latest issue of "Laser" has not yet been printed, but the next article is already on its way.

Just as Gao Zhendong had finished organizing the complete EPROM process included in the Children's Day gift package and was handing it over to the small semiconductor production line in the third factory for verification, another achievement of the same level as that optical fiber paper had already yielded results.

"Chief Engineer Gao, it's confirmed, it's definitely a single-layer two-dimensional material!"

The comrades from the technical department of the Third Factory came to Gao Zhendong excitedly with the latest test results.

The group of people tearing the tape didn't take long to tear the tape, but it took them quite a while to verify what they had torn out.

Since Gao Zhendong's last guidance, they have spent most of their time learning how to use scanning electron microscopes and transmission electron microscopes (TEM).

Fortunately, this matter was not urgent, and Gao Zhendong did not rush them, allowing them ample time to thoroughly learn how to use the two devices.

Sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy is a delicate task. The difference between mastering it and failing to master it is like Schrödinger's cat. In the early stages of their learning, they had to wait until the dust settled before they knew whether they had mastered it or failed, which tormented them for quite some time.

Fortunately, the comrades were not to be underestimated. They selected a female comrade who was serious, meticulous, quick to learn, and had other tasks to complete the task, which finally lived up to Chief Engineer Gao's expectations.

"What's the situation? Tell me more."

"Following the experimental plan you provided, we successfully measured the thickness of 200 layers of highly oriented graphite using Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It is indeed no more than 100 nm, which proves that the thickness of a single crystal layer of highly oriented graphite is indeed around 0.5 nm."

The colleagues in the technical department were very excited and reported to Gao Zhendong one by one.

This step determined the thickness of a single layer of highly oriented graphite crystals, providing a data basis for the next step of verification. However, this step cannot completely prove that what they tore off the tape was a single layer of graphite crystals, which is the revolutionary two-dimensional material proposed by Gao Zhendong.

The difference between "a single layer of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite is a two-dimensional material" and "what is torn out is a single-layer two-dimensional material" is about the same as the difference between having steamed buns in a steamer and holding a steamed bun in your hand.

Next, it's time to prove that the comrades really got the steamed bun.

"Following your design, we used TEM to test the material we tore out. The test showed that the thickness of some of the material was indeed around 0.4 nm, which matches very well with the previously proven thickness of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite monolayer crystals and the theoretical diameter of carbon atoms! This proves that what you led us to tear out is indeed a monolayer graphite crystal! It is the world's first discovery of a two-dimensional material! It has shattered the erroneous assertion that two-dimensional materials do not exist!"

The comrades from the technical department of the third factory became more and more excited as they spoke, and they said everything they had to say.

Gao Zhendong understood their feelings very well. Unlike him, who had known all along, these young comrades had personally and step by step prepared this two-dimensional material that did not exist in the current theory under his guidance, and they did so using an unbelievable and simple method that seemed like a joke.

Although verification is a bit troublesome, the tear is real, and it was torn by hand!
The impact of this on these comrades was so strong that it was difficult to describe in words.

这就好像学了一辈子的1+1=2，结果自己在老师的指导下，亲手一步步算出原来1+1=3。

Anyone would be confused if they personally dismantled an authoritative theory.

Therefore, Gao Zhendong is not surprised by any of their current actions.

"Completely proven? What about the paper?"

Looking at Gao Zhendong, who remained calm and composed, the colleagues in the technical department were filled with admiration. Only someone as prolific and accomplished as Chief Engineer Gao could remain so composed in this situation. Most others would probably have jumped up in anger by now.

The reason why Gao Zhendong wasn't too excited is actually quite simple. Besides the fact that he had expected this, graphene is something that is high-end but useless for our current environment and needs. It can be used to seize high ground and expand influence, but it's not that complicated.

But to say how excited he was, it probably wasn't as great as when the people of Qianshan successfully planted their high-yield potato seeds and told him the good news.

At least these potatoes can fill our stomachs, and not just the people of Guizhou.

Even so, Gao Zhendong was not excited, but he was still very happy. From now on, graphene will be on our "since ancient times" list!

When the colleagues in the technical department heard Gao Zhendong's words, they slapped their foreheads and realized, "Oh no! We forgot all about it!" They were so excited that as soon as the experimental results came out, they rushed to Chief Engineer Gao's office. "What paper? No one."

Forget about the thesis, I haven't even finished the experimental report yet; all I have is the experimental data.

"Let's go write it right away!"

(End of this chapter)