Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 658 Secret Treasure Material Science Test, Aviation School Upgrade

The small black ball sits on the coffee table.

Fang Wen leaned closer to observe carefully.

The black ball now looks like a traditional Chinese medicine pill; it doesn't seem particularly special.

But Fang Wen knew that the outer layer of material had a magical ability to restructure and could freely transform between solid and liquid.

But that's not the real value of the beads; the real treasure is the white bead inside.

After observing for a while, Fang Wen began conducting the test.

He wanted to see if there were other ways to activate it, even with the intervention of non-faith energy.

On the third floor of the Taishan Airlines headquarters building, there is a general laboratory.

It is a basic laboratory used to test common chemicals and to guard against aviation threats; it is a precautionary measure for airlines.

Inside were the basic chemical reagents and testing instruments that Fang Wen needed, so Fang Wen simply picked up the hand-cranked landline in the room and dialed the internal number.

The voice of an internal company operator came through the receiver: "It's the general manager's call. Oh, hello General Manager, I didn't know you were back. Where would you like to connect?"

"Connect me to the Minister of Administration's office," Fang Wen said.

"You've already been transferred."

After a brief busy signal, the call connected, and Fang Wen asked directly, "Uncle Fang, is the general-purpose laboratory on the third floor available?"

"It's usable. The lab has staff on duty and will check it regularly."

"Assign me an assistant; I need to conduct some small experiments."

"You just got back, why don't you rest for a bit and do it tomorrow?"

"can not wait anymore."

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away."

After finishing the call, Fang Wen went to the bedroom to wash up and change his clothes.

Half an hour later, the phone rang.

Fang Wen answered the phone.

"The person has been arranged and is waiting for you at the elevator."

"Ah."

Fang Wen hung up the phone, picked up the little black ball, and went out.

After going down the stairs, I saw a man in a white coat standing outside the elevator.

He was quite young, around 20 years old, and seemed a little nervous.

He took the initiative to introduce himself: "General Manager, my name is Liu Dawen, and I am a chemistry lab assistant recruited from Southwest Associated University."

Those recruited from within the country are all excellent talents. Fang Wen nodded and pressed the button to open the elevator door.

"Let's go down, we'll talk on the way."

Liu Dawen followed Fang Wen into the elevator. As the elevator descended, Fang Wen asked, "What chemical reagents and testing equipment are in the laboratory?"

The elevator cable trembled slightly as it descended. Liu Dawen gripped the hem of his white coat tightly, speaking quickly but clearly: "General Manager, the laboratory is equipped according to aviation safety testing standards. It mainly consists of two categories: chemical reagents and physical testing equipment, all of which are top-of-the-line configurations available domestically right now—many of the glasswares were even shipped from Belgium."

He glanced up and quickly scanned the text below, then hurriedly looked down and added: "As for chemical reagents, all inorganic acids and bases are prepared: two large bottles each of analytical grade dilute hydrochloric acid (10%) and concentrated sulfuric acid (98%), sodium hydroxide in granular form, with 5% and 10% solutions prepared, and potassium hydroxide solution, mainly used to detect acidic impurities in aviation fuel."

"The reagents for qualitative analysis are all available," Liu Dawen said, gradually relaxing as he counted on his fingers. "Silver nitrate solution is used to measure halogens, barium chloride to measure sulfates, and ammonium oxalate to measure calcium ions—we used these to detect hard water impurities in a batch of aviation coolant that had a problem. As for organic solvents, we have ethanol, ether, and acetone, as well as small amounts of benzene and chloroform, but they are all locked in an explosion-proof cabinet and need to be registered before use. Oh, and we also have phenolphthalein and litmus indicators, as well as copper sulfate solution for metal corrosion testing."

The elevator dinged and stopped on the third floor. Liu Dawen quickly opened the door and led Fang Wen to the laboratory, continuing his report without stopping: "As for equipment, we have two core pieces for physical testing—one is a German-made mechanical analytical balance with an accuracy of 0.1 milligrams, making it absolutely accurate for measuring sample weight; the other is a hand-cranked DC generator that can output an adjustable voltage from 12V to 36V, equipped with an analog multimeter, which we previously used to test the insulation of aircraft circuits, and it's very convenient for measuring conductivity."

He pushed open the glass door of the laboratory, where iron stands and beakers were neatly arranged on the workbench, and a muffle furnace with a chimney stood in the corner.

"The heating equipment includes alcohol lamps, alcohol burners, and a muffle furnace that can reach up to 800°C, which can be used for high-temperature burning tests. The glassware ranges from 5 ml pipettes to 2 liter beakers, and there are two acid burettes and two alkali burettes, all with ground joints to prevent leakage."

Liu Dawen walked to the iron cabinet against the wall, opened the cabinet door to reveal the instruments inside: "There are also hydrometers and refractometers, used to measure the density and purity of liquids; a simple electrochemical device, which can be used to test galvanic cell reactions; and also a hardness tester and vernier calipers, which were used to test materials for aircraft parts before."

He paused here: "That's the basic situation."

"Okay. You stay next to me and prepare the chemical reagents according to my requirements."

Fang Wen walked to the workbench, placed the black ball in the center of the surface covered with an asbestos mat, and glanced at the neatly arranged reagent bottles and instruments.

"First, prepare the acidic reagents. Make one copy of each of the acidic reagents that can be prepared in the laboratory."

"Yes, General Manager! The laboratory currently has acidic reagents—10% dilute hydrochloric acid, 98% concentrated sulfuric acid, and 5% dilute nitric acid. I will prepare standard test samples for each separately, in 50 ml quantities."

After saying that, he began to skillfully mix the ingredients.

It was done very quickly.

Fang Wen put on gloves, picked up the least corrosive hydrochloric acid, opened the reagent bottle stopper, used a laboratory pipette to draw out a small amount, and dripped it onto the black bead.

There was no reaction.

Next, apply a small amount of dilute nitric acid to the black beads.

Still no response.

Based on this, the black substance does not appear to be composed of iron oxide powder like that found in magnetic fluids, and therefore cannot react chemically with acids.

Although this was a general rule of thumb, Fang Wen still used the last reagent, concentrated sulfuric acid.

Sure enough, there was still no response.

Liu Dawen, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but ask, "General Manager, are you trying to test whether it can react with strong acid?"

Fang Wen poured water onto the black bead to dilute the strong acid that had been dripped onto it, and replied, "I want to see what kind of material it is. It seems that the strong acid has no effect on it. Try preparing an alkaline reagent."

"Okay." Liu Dawen continued preparing the reagents.

Three beakers containing different alkaline reagents are neatly arranged next to the black ball: ammonia (weak base), sodium hydroxide (strong base), and potassium hydroxide (strong base).

Fang Wen took a small amount of reagent and dripped it onto the surface of the black ball.

Just like the results of the acid test, the alkaline solution condensed into water droplets and rolled off, leaving no trace on the surface of the black ball.

The fact that it is unaffected by strong acids and alkalis is sufficient proof of the material's superiority.

Fang Wen couldn't help but be tempted. If the other data of this substance were also good, it would have a very promising application prospect.

Next, he prepared to test the conductivity.

Liu Dawen took out a hand-cranked generator and a multimeter with probes, and placed the two copper probes against the two ends of the black ball.

When the handle is turned, the multimeter pointer jumps to "2.3Ω" for a moment, and then the value begins to change.

After recording the resistance data, Liu Dawen measured the diameter of the black sphere and calculated the resistivity.

After calculating the result, he exclaimed in surprise, "This is impossible!"

"What's impossible?" Fang Wen asked.

"Logically, this substance should not react with strong acids and bases, meaning it should be an insulating material and not undergo electron replacement. However, the measured resistivity is 1.4, which is lower than that of silver, the best known naturally occurring material with the highest resistivity. This indicates that it has better conductivity than silver."

Fang Wen understood this.

To make the rocket guidance system more sensitive, silver wire was used as the conductor because silver has better conductivity than copper.

Unexpectedly, this newly discovered treasure possesses an even better material. Conductive materials are something that future technology has been constantly pursuing!
Therefore, he needs to continue testing to see what other properties this substance has.

This time, the power supply was changed to the 240-volt AC power supply of the headquarters building (British Burma power standard).

Furthermore, Liu Dawen was asked to leave the laboratory, leaving Fang Wen to handle the task alone.

With the circuit connected, Fang Wen pulled down the power switch.

The output voltage was increased directly from 12V by hand to 240V, and fine silver-gray patterns suddenly appeared on the surface of the black ball, like the traces of current flowing on the surface.

What's even more peculiar is that the originally frosted surface has become as smooth as a mirror. When you touch it lightly with tweezers, you can feel the outer layer of material slightly softening, but it always remains spherical without any liquid seeping out.

This state is like mercury.

He shut off the circuit, and the patterns instantly disappeared. The black sphere returned to the appearance of an ordinary pill. When the multimeter pointer returned to zero, there wasn't even a trace of heat on the surface.

"It conducts electricity but does not store heat; the thermal conductivity of the outer layer is almost zero."

Fang Wen was taking notes rapidly in his notebook, a strange phenomenon that defied common sense in physics.

He then began the next test: high temperature.

The alcohol lamp was lit, and the blue flame steadily heated the bottom of the black ball.

The outer flame of the alcohol lamp has a temperature exceeding 500-800℃. In less than half a minute, the waterproof cloth was heated until it became slightly wrinkled, but the black ball remained unchanged.

Fang Wen removed the alcohol lamp and used a thermometer to measure the temperature; the black bead indicated that there was no temperature rise.

The experimental testing has essentially reached the upper limit of this laboratory's testing capabilities.

However, it did not reach the upper limit of the black sphere's material.

Fang Wen put away the black ball, and with great interest, prepared to go to the base in northern Myanmar for another round of testing.

After a night, Fang Wen got out of bed.

After finishing his personal hygiene, he left his top-floor apartment and headed to the headquarters building's cafeteria.

Breakfast has already started being served in the cafeteria, and the company's employees are chatting and laughing as they line up to get their meals.

Upon seeing Fang Wen enter, the employees greeted him warmly, "Good morning, General Manager."

Fang Wen smiled and responded, then voluntarily joined the queue at the back.

In response, an employee immediately said, "General Manager, you don't need to wait in line."

"It's alright, I'm also a member of the company, and I have to follow the rules," Fang Wen said with a smile.

Seeing this, no one said anything more.

But the food was served much faster than usual today.

When it was Fang Wen's turn, the head chef asked with a smile, "General Manager, what would you like to eat?"

"Two steamed buns, one steamed bread, a bowl of millet porridge, what is this?" Fang Wen pointed to a basket of yellow, jelly-like food.

The head chef explained, "We don't use animal skin as a material in our meat processing plant, and it's not suitable for making leather either. I thought it was a waste, so I used it to make aspic. People quite like it."

"Give me one." Fang Wen handed over the lunchbox.

He prepared his breakfast, looked around, and searched for a place to eat.

Just then, Fang Shouxin, Manager Liu, and others sat at a table and greeted him.

Fang Wen walked over and said, "You're having breakfast together? Perfect timing. I need to talk to you about something. We need to have a work meeting today to discuss the new work assignments."

"Is it about Africa?" Manager Liu asked.

Fang Wen took a big bite of half a steamed bun, drank some millet porridge, and replied, "Yes, there are three sales lines in Africa. If we don't arrange them properly, things might go wrong."

At this moment, Gong Xiuneng and Zhao Junping arrived, followed by three teenagers.

They are three orphans rescued by Fang Wen during his Guangzhou operation: Shengli, Kangbu, and Kaixuan.

They have long since shed the helplessness and desolation they felt in Guangzhou, and are now full of vibrant childlike innocence.

They ran over happily, surrounding Fang Shouxin: "Grandpa, Uncle Gong, Brother Zhao said he'd bring us to have breakfast, is that okay?"

Fang Shouxin laughed and said, "That's not something I can say for sure; you'll have to ask him. Do you know what to call him?"

The three children looked at Fang Wen.

The youngest girl, Fang Kaixuan, was the first to speak up: "Daddy Fang, can we have breakfast here?"

The other two children also called out, "Daddy Fang, is it okay?"

This was the first time Fang Wen had heard someone address him like that. To be honest, it felt a little inappropriate, yet also warm.

He thought of his child.

She smiled and ruffled the heads of the three children: "Of course, but you have to wait in line."

"Okay." "Let's go eat breakfast."

The three children pulled Gong Xiuneng and Zhao Junping to join the queue.

After breakfast, Fang Wen went to the top-floor conference room.

The administration staff had already set up the meeting room, and soon people from other departments arrived.

Fang Wen first listened to their report on the situation over the past month.

Basically, everything is relatively stable.

The working meeting then immediately shifted to matters concerning Africa.

After some discussion, the tasks were assigned.

The meeting has now concluded, and the heads of each department have left the meeting room.

Only Fang Shouxin and Manager Liu remained.

The two individuals, who respectively controlled the administration department and the finance department, formed Fang Wen's most trusted "inner circle."

This also means that there are some things that are inconvenient for others to know, and these should be said now.

The conference room door closed, and Fang Shouxin said, "General Manager, there's something else I need to report to you. Chongqing in China wants to purchase a batch of gunboat aircraft."

To this, Manager Liu scoffed, "In the past two years, we've finally managed to develop from Wuhan to northern Myanmar, and now they're trying to pull the same trick again. General Manager, they tried to take over Taishan's business last time, and if they do it once, they'll do it again. We can't afford to suffer another loss."

Fang Wen nodded in agreement. "The project to convert civilian amphibious aircraft into gunboats is already scheduled until the year after next, and most of them will be supplied to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. The remaining small number of gunboats, apart from being reserved for aviation schools for training purposes, will also be sold to the French and Spanish governments in exile. In reality, there is no extra production capacity to supply the Nationalist government."

Fang Shouxin frowned: "But we sold three gunboats to the Guangxi Clique, which is common knowledge. If we don't sell them to the Nationalist government, the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan shipping route will likely be obstructed in the future, and the logistics company's operations will also be restricted."

This is indeed a problem. How can it be solved?

Fang Wen chose a compromise.

"Then let's do it this way. We'll upgrade the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army's gunboats to improved models, and then bring back some of the older models for repair before selling them back to them. But there's one condition: they must study at my aviation school."

After a pause, Fang Wen added, "I plan to add a few more instructors to the aviation school, and hire them from the Yan'an Aviation Team."

Fang Shouxin and Manager Liu's eyes lit up, realizing Fang Wen's intention: he was preparing to make some arrangements for the Nationalist government's gunboats and aircraft, and perhaps they could establish deeper connections with these pilots in the future.

The two expressed their full support, and Fang Wen then sent a telegram to Yan'an.

(End of this chapter)