Research starts with PhD students

Chapter 336: The key gravity barrier processing, can’t wait, take it for inspection immediately!
What Wen Shumao meant by "application" is to submit a report to the higher authorities, stating the materials and information to be disclosed, and of course also including the object of the request for information.

Filing a report and applying is a formal procedure.

Even very small research projects or material information cannot be made public at will, but must follow a certain approval process.

This process may be a bit cumbersome, but only by following the formal process can we ensure that there is no problem in disclosing information. Once it has been approved, any problems that arise will have nothing to do with the research team.

This regulation is very important.

Perhaps at the moment, a seemingly insignificant little study will not attract much attention, and may even be considered as research without practical significance.

However, over time, years, decades, or even longer, some research may reveal its enormous value.

Many of the major discoveries and breakthroughs in history came from small studies that were initially ignored.

This is particularly true in the field of materials science, where research is not limited to improving existing materials, but more about exploring and developing completely new materials.

Some of the materials that are manufactured may initially seem meaningless or even considered redundant.

As technology advances and needs change, some materials may suddenly become extremely valuable.

For example, some composite materials that were once considered useless now play a vital role in modern electronic devices and aerospace.

Carbon fiber, which was developed in the 50s, had high costs and complicated production processes in its early days. Later, with the advancement of technology, it played an important role in aerospace, sporting goods, automobiles, construction and other fields, and was used to manufacture aircraft wings, bicycle frames, fishing rods, etc.

Polyimide was also synthesized in the 50s and has excellent properties such as high temperature resistance, radiation resistance, and high strength. Later, it was widely used in electronics, aerospace, high-end machinery and other fields.

There are countless similar examples.

Therefore, in the field of materials research, confidentiality requirements are very high.

Of course, Wen Shumao’s application was just a formality, and his superiors would not even look at the content and would approve it directly because the person to whom the information was disclosed was Zhang Shuo.

Wen Shumao kept thinking about what Zhang Shuo said. He was very curious about Zhang Shuo's understanding of a '122' type superconducting material. He was confused and struggled for a long time. He couldn't help but asked reluctantly: "Academician Zhang... Can I ask why?"

“Is there anything special about this material?”

There are several types of superconducting materials, and '122' is one of them, belonging to a large category of superconducting materials.

The material selected by Zhang Shuo is the basis of the '122' category. The critical temperature and current carrying capacity are not very outstanding in a '122' material.

Isn't there a better performance?

Why choose this?
Zhang Shuo pointed to the molecular formula of the material and said with a smile, "Because it's simple."

"Simple?" Wen Shumao was very confused.

Zhang Shuo explained, "Simplicity and basicity mean that it is very malleable."

"Others have better and more outstanding performance, but they are too complicated, including the manufacturing process and molecular composition, and the plasticity is much worse."

“Basics mean more possibilities.”

Wen Shumao understood a little, but still asked, "Then what?"

Zhang Shuo said bluntly, "I plan to use this as a basis, hoping to develop a superconducting material that meets the requirements of the chaotic force field experiment."

"..."

Wen Shumao fell silent after hearing this.

He really couldn't understand Zhang Shuo's idea. Researching creative materials was not that easy.

No matter from which angle you look at it, Zhang Shuo is an outsider in superconducting materials. How can he use a certain material as a basis to research materials with better performance?
This is simply incomprehensible.

It is difficult to cross scientific fields, not to mention the leap from theoretical physics to the development of superconducting materials.

The two are not related at all.

In addition, the chaotic force field experimental group has very high requirements for superconducting materials, requiring high current carrying capacity and a critical temperature above 60K.

They couldn't find suitable materials, and there were no similar materials available for application internationally.

But research is not that simple!
……

After Zhang Shuo finished talking with Wen Shumao, they went to the booked hotel to rest. However, what he and Wen Shumao said was known to many people in the laboratory.

Many researchers discussed this privately, "Academician Zhang said he wanted to study superconducting materials!"

"It seems to be about researching a 122 material based on the An type..."

"Isn't that the original material? It should not be advanced anymore and has been eliminated."

“So it’s the basics.”

"Does Academician Zhang know about superconducting material research and development? And it's type 122, which is not simple."

"Maybe. I think Academician Zhang knows everything and can do everything."

“Don’t engage in personality cult!”

By the next morning, more people knew the news, and many people discussed it privately.

Wen Shumao continued to warmly welcome Zhang Shuo, and patted his chest and said, "The report has been approved. Academician Zhang, if you have any needs, we will fully support you!"

He submitted his application in the evening, but it was approved in just over an hour.

A senior teacher even called to inquire about the situation and asked their team and the entire superconducting laboratory to fully cooperate with Zhang Shuo's work.

Zhang Shuo was not surprised. He had already established a research task.

【Task 2】

[Research project name: Preparation of superconducting materials with a critical temperature exceeding 122K based on An-type 70 materials (difficulty assessment: B). ]

【Progress: 0.981%.】

(The task can be canceled. The current number of research coins required to cancel the task is 0.)
(The remaining progress requires 300 scientific research coins.)
The B-level task requires 300 scientific research coins, and the research and development difficulty is relatively high.

Zhang Shuo felt that it was acceptable. He was even prepared for the possibility of not being able to carry out research and development, or that the difficulty of research and development was too high. A B-level task was still within an acceptable range.

Wen Shumao took Zhang Shuo to the materials laboratory and then explained the basic An-type materials.

He talked about the material preparation process, the role of each step in material preparation, and even some underlying technologies and theoretical logic, including some analysis of material properties.

It took a whole morning to finish talking about it.

Others who followed him could hear Wen Shumao's professionalism in the field of superconducting materials research and development, as well as the depth of his research and his erudition in individual fields.

Zhang Shuo also nodded continuously, full of praise, "Professor Wen, you really have a deep understanding of this material, the preparation of superconducting materials, and the solid-phase reaction method."

"Thank you for the compliment, thank you for the compliment."

Wen Shumao was so happy when he heard the compliment that he couldn't stop smiling. What he actually thought was that it was a good thing that he had prepared for several hours and read a lot of original materials, otherwise he might not be able to speak so clearly.

Now that I have received a compliment from Zhang Shuo, I feel that everything is worth it.

That’s Zhang Shuo!

How many people can get Zhang Shuo's recognition? This can be said to be an honor.

Zhang Shuo listened very carefully and asked questions about what he didn't understand. He was like a sponge that absorbed knowledge as long as the content was explained. This was actually the case.

Some of the key points that Wen Shumao talked about can help improve the progress of the task.

After a morning, Wen Shumao felt dry in the mouth and the task progress had increased to 19%.

Zhang Shuo stared at the progress of the task and still felt a little dissatisfied. 19% seemed like a lot, but one had to know that the material preparation process, the corresponding function of each process, and some underlying theoretical logic and ideas had all been discussed.

In other words, even if all the basic research content is added together, the task progress is only one-fifth of the way there.

While dining together, Zhang Shuo and Wen Shumao sat face to face and couldn't help but sigh, "Based on this material, it's not easy to develop a material that meets the needs of the Chaos Field Research Group in a short period of time!"

"Uh~~"

Wen Shumao couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he heard this.

What's easy or not? It's impossible to do it!

At the very least, he and his team would definitely not be able to expand to the materials room.

……

It is difficult to do it in a short period of time, but it does not mean it is impossible.

Zhang Shuo could even spend all the money to complete the task in one go, but research cannot be accomplished overnight.

The research of materials is not like a mathematical problem. Solving a problem is not just about the problem itself. The research and development process is also very important. Perhaps a certain point discovered in the research and development process is more important than obtaining the material itself.

Zhang Shuo believes that the task progress does not meet expectations mainly because there are many points that need to be improved.

In addition, the theoretical mechanism is also imperfect.

The latter point is of course true. If there is a perfect theoretical mechanism, material research will become very easy.

The reality is that most materials research relies on experience accumulation and even luck.

In the afternoon, he continued to ask people to help explain. It was not just Wen Shumao alone, but other people in the team also helped to explain a lot of content.

Comparison between the solid phase reaction method and other methods of preparing materials; detailed explanation of each step in the preparation process; thinking and analysis during the research and development process, etc.

Everyone in the materials group discovered that Zhang Shuo did not want a simple understanding, but a deep understanding, and even to understand the ideas behind materials research and development.

"But what's the use of knowing this?"

"Meng was involved in the research and development of this material. It seems that one of the key steps was proposed by Meng, but is it just luck?"

"What other scientific support can there be? If materials research had perfect scientific support, we wouldn't be needed..."

"..."

Zhang Shuo is not trying to explore scientific theories. He mainly wants to find some key points that may promote the performance of materials.

He found a place where there was room for improvement and immediately said to Wen Shumao, "In your preparation method, the early preparation is to make the ingredients more evenly distributed, right?"

"That's understandable."

Wen Shumao nodded and said, "In the solid phase reaction method, the early material mixing and grinding process is very important. The more uniform and thorough the mixing, the better the performance of the manufactured material."

"For a while, we even wanted to weigh and mix single raw materials, but the cost was too high. Later, we chose high-purity metal oxides and carbonates and other raw materials according to a fixed ratio..."

"In an agate mortar, mix and grind thoroughly..."

"This method..."

He said a lot of things in a row, mainly to express the importance of the material mixing and grinding process.

Zhang Shuo thought about it carefully and said, "Can you prepare this material again?"

"Don't worry about the funding. Just submit an application and put my name on it."

"That's not a problem." Wen Shumao said immediately, "Our superiors asked us to fully cooperate, and the funding has already been taken into account."

He continued, "Is it prepared again?"

Zhang Shuo said, "We will stop at the mixing and grinding step, and then vacuum seal the materials. I will have someone take the materials away and send them to another institution for processing."

Wen Shumao didn't quite understand, but he immediately explained it.

Zhang Shuo thought of Zhu Gui’s team.

Zhu Gui's team is studying periodic gravitational barriers, and the "invisible door" can split materials by molecular formula.

If the prepared materials are allowed to pass through the 'invisible door', they can be mixed at the atomic level, which is better than the mixing and grinding of single materials.

With this step, the performance of the manufactured material will definitely be improved.

The specific improvement still needs to be tested through experiments.

This is another experiment.

Wen Shumao's team and the materials laboratory are very efficient. After the task of preparing materials was assigned, the preliminary preparations were completed in just two days.

The relevant departments cooperated to take away the packaged materials and transported them directly to the experimental base of Zhu Gui's team.

It only takes Zhu Gui's team about a day to process the materials, because their team is also in the capital, and a new experiment will be conducted the next day.

The processed materials can be shipped back around the next afternoon.

After the materials were delivered back, Wen Shumao's team immediately carried out the subsequent preparation process.

Zhang Shuo participated in the entire preparation process.

During the material preparation process, it will help to have a deeper understanding of material preparation, see each step clearly, and combine it with theoretical and verbal explanations on the spot, which can also improve the progress of the task.

Most importantly, he was able to combine the inspiration effect brought by the "氪币" and know which steps needed improvement.

The entire preparation process took about five days.

The laboratory of Wen Shumao's team is not always busy. It can even be said that it is idle most of the time, mainly because of the waiting time for some processes, as well as the time required for drying or other processing of materials.

On the morning of the last day, with the sintering of the material completed and the furnace cooled, the final material sample was obtained.

"Take it for inspection!"

Wen Shumao explained immediately that he was also impatient to know the result.

If it was a conventional preparation process, he would have no expectations for the material performance.

However, the process was handled by other agencies.

Although I don't know which organization it is, the materials brought back look "more refined".

Wen Shumao was very curious about this process, but he also knew that it involved some confidentiality issues, so he could only keep his doubts to himself.

Now examining the final material will also help understand the role of the 'new process'.

(End of this chapter)