A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 299 The advantage is mine
In a small conference room at the Max Planck Society in Germany,
Schultz, Eremets, Robert Huber, head of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, and other relevant leaders in controlled nuclear fusion research gathered together.

The news that Schultz brought back was indeed of great importance to them, as it could be the most important opportunity to achieve controlled nuclear fusion.

As a long-established technological power, they have not led the forefront of science and technology for a long time, which is undoubtedly a good opportunity for them to rise again.

Once the fusion reactor is successfully operational, the unlimited energy will completely transform the world.

"I think we should agree to their request!"

"But we need to make sure their model works properly first."

Huber was the first to express his opinion. Although he was the head of the Institute of Chemistry, he was, after all, a scholar and did not have that much scheming.

Otherwise, he should reserve his opinion and wait for others to express their views before making a decision.

Otherwise, if the leader has spoken, how can the subordinates go against the leader?
Upon hearing this, those in charge of controlled nuclear fusion research in Germany were thrilled, as if they could already see themselves making an unparalleled contribution.

But clearly not everyone thinks that way.

"I think so."

Eremets suddenly spoke up, "We're the ones who should suffer in this collaboration."

"How to say?"

Huber looked over.

"The proof of the Navier-Stokes equations has already been published. With this proof, our mathematicians will eventually be able to construct a plasma operation model, just a little slower than that kid."

Eremets proudly stated, "But our research in high-temperature superconductivity is the result of decades of accumulation. They can't catch up in a short time. This is entirely our advantage."

"Therefore, I think we should decline this cooperation invitation!"

One sentence silenced the entire conference room.

Everyone fell into deep thought. Eremets might have exaggerated in some ways, but what he said wasn't entirely untrue.

Mathematicians around the world are now working towards controlled nuclear fusion and have made some progress. No one can say for sure whether a breakthrough will be achieved in the next moment.

If that's the case, then they will control all the core technologies of controlled nuclear fusion. The difference between monopoly and sharing is enormous.

"Professor Schultz, what do you think?"

Huber glanced at Schultz, whose face had turned pale. Although Schultz was the head of the Chemistry Research Institute, his main research area was biochemistry, and he was not particularly knowledgeable about high-temperature superconductivity and mathematics.

He believed Eremets' understanding of high-temperature superconductivity was authoritative, but for mathematical matters, he still had to consult Schultz.

"If you really think that way, then there won't be any mathematical problems that have remained unsolved for hundreds of years."

Schultz sometimes really doesn't understand what these people are thinking. Nowadays, whether it's international affairs or scientific research, the main theme is cooperation and win-win. How can these guys still think about monopolizing?

Do they really think everyone is a genius mathematician like Chen Hui?

Some problems, if not solved by a genius mathematician, may not be solvable even after hundreds of years.

"Professor Schultz, to put it bluntly, because you are a mathematics professor, you will naturally overestimate the difficulty of your results. The reason why those mathematical problems have not been solved for hundreds of years is simply because the basic conditions have not been met."

Eremets confidently stated, "If Galois representations, the Taylor-Will system, and the Kolyvagin-Flach method had existed hundreds of years ago, Fermat's Last Theorem would have been proven long ago. In other words, even without Wiles, Waltz would have eventually completed the proof..."

"I am not very talented, but I do have some knowledge in mathematics, so I naturally know what's going on."

The people in charge of controlled nuclear fusion looked at each other with complicated expressions, glancing between Eremets and Schulz, both authorities in their respective fields.

On the one hand, they want to monopolize the core technology of controlled nuclear fusion, as Eremets suggested. On the other hand, they also worry that, as Schultz said, they might not be able to solve the problem for hundreds of years.

The meeting reached a stalemate.

"If that's the case, why not give everyone more time?"

Seeing that everyone was undecided, Eremets said, "The other party didn't say they wanted to cooperate immediately. We can delay it for a while. Give those mathematicians another two years. If they can't solve this problem, then we can cooperate with them later."

"Your behavior is extremely dishonest!"

Schultz was just a pure scholar; with his pride, he wouldn't do something like that.

Eremets shook his head. "That's how cooperation is supposed to be. If we can handle things ourselves, what do we need him for?"

"We can't just think about our own reputation; we have to consider the greater good."

“That’s right, Professor Schultz, Eremets is right!”

At this moment, Huber seemed to have finally made up his mind, but he still looked at Eremets and said, "Two years won't do. I'll give you a year at most."

Eremets then looked at the person in charge of controlled nuclear fusion research.

After a few whispers among the officials, the spokesperson finally nodded and said, "Rest assured, we will definitely do our utmost to overcome this problem within the next year."

"A year is too long."

Schultz shook his head. "If you've studied Chen Hui's life, you should know how quickly he can solve a problem. A year from now, he might have already synthesized a new superconductor himself."

"I suggest you make a decision within six months."

After saying that, he stopped looking at these people, got up and left the meeting room. He was ultimately overcome by the greater good and decided to accept the outcome, but he was still full of disappointment with these people.

It left him somewhat exhausted.

"Scholars are like that, too idealistic."

Eremets watched Schulz's departing figure and muttered a complaint under his breath.

"Eremetz, how would you rate it after six months?"

Huber did not comment, but regardless, Schultz's personality is still quite likable.

Eremets chuckled lightly, "How can you evaluate it? If he can really complete the synthesis and industrialization of high-temperature superconductivity in six months, I will retire from the scientific community."

"Do you really think we've wasted decades of research?"

Huber nodded. He understood that even with decades of experience, Eremets and his team had taken more than a year to complete the laboratory synthesis and another year to barely achieve industrialization.

Schultz's estimate of six months is indeed too idealistic.

"Nine months!"

Finally, Huber looked at the people in charge of controlled nuclear fusion and said, “I’m giving you nine months. If you can’t complete this task, I will send someone to China to discuss cooperation with them.”

After a long silence and hesitation, the spokesperson finally gritted his teeth and agreed, "We will try our best."

……

Double good news! After finalizing the cooperation with Schultz, Chen Hui had just returned to the Plasma Institute when he learned that the Southwest Institute of Physics of the Nuclear Industry had completed the divertor improvement.

Chen Hui was overjoyed. The only remaining issue was improving the first wall material. It was said that Elder E had made some progress, and the situation was very promising.

They could even start building a real nuclear fusion reactor now. Commercialization may be too far off, but igniting a demonstration reactor should be no problem.

So when Liu Yong asked to see the effect of their model, Chen Hui agreed without hesitation.

He did not participate in that meeting; Liu Yong was a complete stranger to him.

Song Yuntao sighed with regret. If he hadn't chosen to cooperate with Chen Hui, he would probably have been left behind by Liu Yong by now.

But as it turns out, he made the right choice.

After a series of tests, EAST started running again. When Liu Yong saw that the simulated curve closely matched the real data after the disturbance was added, he could no longer hide his shock.

He suddenly felt a pang of regret. If he had agreed to Qian's suggestion back then, all these achievements would now belong to their Southwest Research Institute of Nuclear Industry.

"Perhaps we can consider starting to build a heap."

Liu Yong and Chen Hui had the same idea: "Our members are on their way."

He could feel that the dark clouds hanging over them were gradually dissipating. He had never imagined that the spark of civilization of controlled nuclear fusion could be lit in their generation.

Chen Hui nodded and looked at Song Yuntao, "Okay, submit the application to the higher-ups."

The situation is great!
Just then, Chen Hui received a reply from Schultz.

"The technology is not mature enough yet, and we are not ready to cooperate. We hope you can give us more time so we can discuss cooperation later."

After summarizing Schultz's reply, Chen Hui frowned.

Clearly, something must have gone wrong in the collaboration.

Chen Hui, of course, didn't believe the nonsense about not having the conditions for cooperation.

He didn't know what had happened, why the other party would refuse such a mutually beneficial cooperation.

But now a problem has been presented to him, and he needs to solve the problem of high-temperature superconductivity on his own.

"Then come on!"

Chen Hui had nothing to fear. The reason he initially wanted to cooperate with Schultz was simply to save some time.

He gave a brief reply to Schultz's email, believing that Schultz was also caught in a bind and that he couldn't make the decision himself. On the other hand, looking at his own treatment in China, he could indeed feel the respect that China had for its talent.

While the West does have an advantage in high-temperature superconductivity research, China has not been without its own achievements in this field.

In 08, a key breakthrough was made in iron-based superconductivity, and recently, nickel-based superconductivity has been developed. The superconducting transition temperature under normal pressure is 45K, and the upper critical magnetic field is as high as 30T, which is more than enough to be used as a superconducting material for the magnet system of a tokamak device.

Of course, it would be best to raise the transition temperature to above 77K, because the temperature range of liquid nitrogen is 77K. To lower the temperature further, liquid helium would be needed. The cost difference between liquid helium and liquid nitrogen is two to three hundred times, and helium is easier to maintain. If you want to build a reactor that can last for several years, the maintenance of liquid helium alone will be a major problem.

Professor E Weinan is currently working on breakthroughs in first-wall materials and has already made some progress, so the problem of high-temperature superconductivity still needs to be solved by Chen Hui himself.

"The first step is to contact experts in the field of high-temperature superconductivity in China."

Chen Hui found a paper by Professor Xue Qikun online, sent him an email explaining his predicament and expressing his intention to collaborate.

Chen Hui was also a little uneasy. As a fellow scholar, he felt that if an outsider sent him such an email requesting cooperation, he would most likely not agree.

Perhaps we could contact Professor Qian and hope that the higher authorities could provide some relevant support.

Even if the other party is unwilling to cooperate with us, it would still be good to obtain their data.

At worst, we can assemble a verification team, which is much easier than poaching a mature research team.

After thinking for a while, Chen Hui organized his words, wrote an email to Professor Qian explaining the ins and outs of the matter and writing a formal application before preparing to call Professor Qian.

However, before Chen Hui could contact Professor Qian, he saw Professor Xue's reply email.

[Contact by phone: 139...]

"Hello, are you Professor Xue?"

Before Chen Hui could finish speaking, the person on the other end asked excitedly, "Are you really Professor Chen?"

"If you're referring to Chen Hui, then it is indeed me."

"You want to collaborate with us on high-temperature superconductivity research?"

“That’s great!”

When are you coming?

The excited words coming from the other end almost made Chen Hui think he was being scammed. So excited and enthusiastic, was this person trying to trick him into going over there to eat kidneys?
Of course, Chen Hui knew that such a thing would not happen in the country.

"No problem, I'll go there tomorrow. We can discuss the specific details of the cooperation when we meet tomorrow." After all, it was he who proposed the cooperation, so it was more appropriate for him to go there himself.

"Then I will be waiting for Professor Chen at Southern University of Science and Technology."

The voice on the other end of the phone became even more enthusiastic, leaving Chen Hui completely confused.

Little did he know that although the breakthrough at the Plasma Research Institute had not yet been officially announced, many people had already received the news. Combined with the series of miraculous things Chen Hui had accomplished over the years, no one doubted his abilities anymore.

Even within academic circles, Chen Hui is considered a lucky charm; no matter which field he decides to research, he can achieve breakthroughs in that field in a short period of time.

Therefore, when Xue Qikun heard that Chen Hui wanted to collaborate with him on the research of high-temperature superconductivity, he was naturally overjoyed.

To Chen Hui's surprise, another call came in as soon as he hung up.

"Hello Professor Chen, I am Cheng Jinguang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I heard you want to conduct research on high-temperature superconductivity?"

"If you need relevant data, please feel free to contact me. We have some experience in the research of bulk nickel-based superconducting materials."

"Okay, thank you, Professor Cheng."

Chen Hui was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Old Qian had such great influence and had resolved the matter for him so quickly. Now, at least he had a backup plan.

However, just after hanging up the phone, Professor Zhao Jun from Shuangdan University also called. They were researching superconducting materials of high-pressure nickel oxide and were also willing to provide Chen Hui with data, even though it wasn't a collaboration.

Not only that, Chen Hui then received more than a dozen phone calls, all from the heads of top domestic superconducting materials research teams.

This feeling made Chen Hui feel somewhat flattered.

With such a helper, what great things cannot be accomplished?

(End of this chapter)