Research starts with PhD students

Chapter 326 Large-scale application? Impossible! The treasure on the queen's crown
Experiment report.

When Mr. Liao, the superior, saw the experimental information, he did not take it seriously at first.

Diamond manufacturing technology already exists and has become scalable, so adding a new physical manufacturing technology doesn’t seem to be a big deal.

When I carefully looked at the manufacturing method and the pictures of the diamonds, I felt suddenly different.

"A diamond this big?"

“Colored diamonds?”

"Hundreds or thousands of carats? And they are produced in large quantities..."

“I have to go and see!”

Teacher Liao was also very interested in the big diamond. He immediately took a few experts over there, only to find out that the big diamond had been taken away by Zhang Shuo.

Someone immediately questioned, "How can we allow people to take away samples of this kind of research that were produced for the first time?"

"It was reserved by Academician Zhang."

Zhu Gui had been prepared for the questioning, and he acted calmly, "We had already agreed on this before the experiment began. We don't agree. Maybe Academician Zhang is not in the mood to do research."

"..."

Now the others have nothing to say.

One reason is that it was Zhang Shuo who took the diamond. They can question Zhu Gui, but can they ask Zhang Shuo to return it?
The second is that the research was done by Zhang Shuo, and it seems that the condition was to take away the diamond?
Come to think of it, it seems reasonable.

Zhu Gui said nonchalantly, "It's easy to remake it. We can do it anytime. We are ready."

"Oh?"

Teacher Liao immediately became interested and said, "Let's try it again."

Soon the experiment began.

Zhu Gui's team had already made preparations for the experiment and were even a little impatient. They also prepared several identical alloy boxes specifically for making diamonds.

The steps this time are the same as last time, which is to compress the graphite and seal it in the box, and then pass through the 'invisible door'.

It took more than an hour to open all the boxes, and everyone saw a bright sparkle.

After knocking open the outer layer, a large number of diamonds appeared inside. Unlike conventional diamond manufacturing technology, most of the diamonds that appeared were formed diamonds, with diamonds over five carats everywhere. Broken diamonds were a minority, and there were also two large diamonds with a diameter of more than 5 cm.

The onlookers were amazed.

Zhu Gui excitedly introduced, "This is the manufacturing process. It can be formed within a few minutes."

"But getting a large diamond still depends on luck. The specific conditions inside may be different every time."

An expert immediately asked, "What is the cost?"

"A few thousand dollars, mainly the cost of alloy and electricity, of course not including the equipment."

"But we can still reduce costs. The material cost of this special steel box is relatively high, but we think it can be replaced with ordinary steel."

"In addition, if we are well prepared, we can produce several or even dozens of times more at one time."

“That means the cost can be further reduced.”

Zhu Gui held a big diamond in his hand and explained with pride.

Teacher Liao observed the manufacturing process and gained a detailed understanding of the technology. Simply put, the manufacturing efficiency is high, the cost is very low, and large-scale production is possible.

He nodded affirmatively, "With this technology, the original technology can be eliminated."

On the way here, scholars introduced him to the conventional technology of diamond manufacturing.

This is for comparison.

The conventional diamond manufacturing technology is the high temperature and high pressure method, the basic principle of which is to simulate the environment in which natural diamonds are formed, namely high temperature and high pressure conditions, in the laboratory.

The manufacturing process is relatively complicated. First, a tiny natural diamond or artificial diamond must be selected as a seed crystal.

This seed crystal will become the basis for the growth of artificial diamond.

The next step is to place the seed crystal in a sealed growth chamber filled with a carbon source and a metal solvent. Extremely high temperature and pressure are then applied to the growth chamber, usually at around 1500 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 5 atmospheres.

Under high temperature and high pressure environment, the carbon atoms in the carbon source gradually dissolve in the metal solvent, and then deposit on the surface of the seed crystal, gradually growing new diamond crystals.

This process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

When the diamond grows to the required size, the temperature and pressure in the growth chamber are gradually lowered to produce an artificial diamond rough, which is then polished.

The entire manufacturing process is relatively costly and time-consuming, and most of the diamonds produced are small pieces.

With current technology, mass production can be completed in just a few minutes, and the diamonds produced are all in blocks. The quality of diamonds has been improved by more than one level, and the cost is very low.

From any perspective, conventional diamond manufacturing technology can be replaced.

Zhu Gui continued to talk about the advantages of the new technology, "You can notice that most of the diamonds we produce are yellow, that is, golden diamonds."

"This is because when the graphite is compressed, a lot of air still penetrates deeply."

“Without further compression, that is, increasing the intensity, the color of the diamond will become lighter and lighter until it becomes a pure bright diamond.”

"Or you can add some other elements, such as sulfur, to make diamonds of other colors..."

"In other words, with the new technology, any kind of diamond can be produced."

……

The advantages of the new diamond manufacturing technology are so great that it allows diamonds to be produced at low cost, in large quantities and with high quality, and it also allows us to control what kind of diamonds are produced.

After the reference observation, Mr. Liao immediately organized a special meeting and invited a large number of experts and scholars.

Many of them are experts in industrial applications.

The core of the conference discussion was "Industrial Applications of Artificial Diamonds".

This topic may not sound like anything special, because diamonds have long been available for industrial production. However, when the meeting actually started, many people found it unusual because the meeting mentioned high quality and large-scale use.

Large quantities are easy to understand.

Good quality?
Can high-quality diamonds also have industrial applications?

Many attendees were confused because high-quality diamonds are used to make jewelry.

The price of diamonds has been getting lower and lower in recent years, but diamonds over one carat can still be sold for more than 20,000 yuan, and higher quality ones can even exceed 50,000 yuan.

1 carat is only 0.2 grams.

If the diamond were a little bigger and of better quality, it would cost hundreds of thousands or even millions, and could not be used in industry at all.

In industry today, diamonds are mainly used for their high hardness as drill bits or mounted on the tips of other cutting instruments, and their application in other fields is very small.

The reason is not that diamonds cannot be used in industry, but because...

too expensive!
A one-carat diamond costs tens of thousands of dollars.

When a certain machine requires a larger diamond to operate, the price of the diamond itself will be more expensive than the machine.

How could this possibly be applied?
It’s simply not affordable in general fields!

So far, diamonds are only used in high-tech fields in industry.

Diamond has the property of high thermal conductivity and is used as a heat dissipation material for high-power electronic devices.

For example, high-performance computer chips and laser diodes.

Diamond has excellent optical properties and is used as a material in high-end optical devices.

For example, the optical cavity, optical window and beam generator of the laser.

The high transparency and hardness of diamond make it an ideal material for high-quality optical devices.

"If cost is not a consideration, high-quality diamonds can be used in all areas of industry, including electronic equipment."

"The heat dissipation performance alone can make it widely used." "But the cost is the key..."

"For example, it is impossible for ordinary chips to use diamond as a heat dissipation material."

"In the field of optics..."

"In the field of medical devices, the light transmittance of diamonds..."

"exist……"

The experts and scholars attending the conference talked about a lot of applications.

They think it is all just fantasy and impossible to realize because diamonds are too expensive and cannot be used in conventional ways.

Even the cheapest broken diamonds cost more than 5000 yuan per carat, and the more expensive ones even cost more than yuan.

One carat is only 0.2 grams.

A simple calculation will show you how outrageous the price is.

……

Soochow University, on campus.

Zhang Shuo strolled along the path, turned the corner and entered a teaching building, then waited at the door of the second-floor classroom.

A voice came from the classroom. A female teacher was giving a lecture. "The Huygens-Fresnel principle can calculate the propagation of waves..."

"Kirchhoff's diffraction formula provides a rigorous mathematical basis for diffraction, based on the wave equation and Green's second identity..."

"From Kirchhoff's diffraction formula to the Huygens-Fresnel principle..."

"Students who are interested in deeper physics can understand and deduce the process, which is extracurricular content."

"The main thing you need to remember is..."

"Ula Ula~~"

Zhang Shuo waited patiently at the door. It was his first time listening to Li Liu Shuangyue’s lecture and he found it very interesting.

A teacher walked by the door and greeted Zhang Shuo immediately when he saw him. Then he asked with a smile, "Are you waiting for Teacher Li?"

Zhang Shuo smiled and nodded.

The course is over.

The students came out of the classroom in a hurry.

Zhang Shuo simply hid nearby with his back turned so that he was not discovered. He waited until Li Liu Shuangyue walked out of the classroom before turning around to greet them.

"Zhang Shuo!"

"It's really Zhang Shuo! Academician Zhang!"

"It really is……"

A few students who were walking slower exclaimed, then came over to take photos and ask for autographs.

Zhang Shuo still met the students' request, and then he and Li Liu Shuangyue walked out of the teaching building and went towards the restaurant together.

When they were on the way, no one came to disturb them. It wasn't because the students were not enthusiastic, but mainly because the armed guards behind them were very intimidating.

The two entered the restaurant and found a quiet place to sit down.

Li Liu Shuangyue smiled and asked, "Why did you come here directly? You are a famous person. It will be troublesome for you to come to school."

Zhang Shuo smiled and said, "I came here especially to give you a gift."

"Ah? There's a surprise!"

Li Liu Shuangyue laughed immediately, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Close your eyes."

"it is good!"

Li Liu Shuangyue closed her eyes and then covered her eyes with her hands.

Zhang Shuo took out a large red box from his bag. The box looked very delicate and it was obvious that there were valuable things inside.

He opened the box and placed the contents in front of Li Liu Shuangyue, "You can open your eyes now. This is for you. This is the big diamond on top of the queen's crown."

"what?"

Li Liu Shuangyue was stunned when she saw the diamond. She took it and looked at it from left to right, and asked, "It's not made of glass, right?"

He said with a smile.

"It's not glass. Glass isn't that light." Li Liushuangyue said as she looked at it carefully again. After a long while, she asked as if to be sure, "It can't really be a diamond? Which country's king is it?"

"China."

“Puff~~~”

It sounds fake at first glance.

Li Liu Shuangyue still watched it seriously, with excitement and joy showing on their faces.

Who wouldn’t like such a big diamond?

She admired it for a long time, and then, as if she was afraid of being seen, she quickly put the diamond into her bag and asked in a low voice, "It's really from the queen's crown. Where did you buy it from?"

This kind of diamond only appears at the top auctions and is not something you can buy with money.

Li Liu Shuangyue continued to ask, "A diamond this big should have a name, right? I know the largest diamond is the Cullinan, and this one... is over a thousand carats?"

"It doesn't have a name yet, waiting for you to name it!"

"No name?"

Li Liu Shuangyue felt something was wrong when she heard it. She stared at Zhang Shuo for a long time, and suddenly understood what was going on and asked in a low voice, "Is it new technology? Did you make it?"

"Great!"

Zhang Shuo immediately gave a thumbs up, then smiled and said, "Thinking about it, it seems that I have never given a gift before, so I think diamonds are very good. High-quality diamonds are very expensive and hard to buy, so I studied how to make them artificially..."

"..."

Li Liushuangyue glared at him and said with a smile, "You'll get beaten if you say that to others."

Then he added, "But it's okay to tell me. I like to hear it."

"You are such a genius!"

As she spoke, she walked over to Zhang Shuo, kissed him on the face, and then said, "It can be a family heirloom."

"That shouldn't be the case, right?"

Li Liu Shuangyue came closer and whispered, "Has the technology improved? Diamonds like this can be taken away just by saying so... Is it easy to manufacture?"

Zhang Shuo nodded slightly.

Li Liushuangyue frowned and hesitated, "Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel that I should get rid of it. It will become less and less valuable in the future..."

"A diamond this big can be sold for tens of millions, right?"

"Not that much."

Zhang Shuo shook his head and said, "I'm not saying it's not worth the price, and... I got it from there, and it might not be a good idea to resell it."

"I'm just saying, I'm not selling it!"

Li Liu Shuangyue immediately smiled and said, "This is the first time you have taken the initiative to give me a gift. It is very meaningful. I will treasure it."

"Treasure it for a lifetime!"

(End of this chapter)