From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 109: 100,000-fold burst efficiency, 100% electro-optical conversion! Solving equations, happy to help...

After checking in and putting their luggage in the room, Zhang Minghao and the others went straight to the restaurant while it was still early.

The restaurant had just opened, so they were quite early and found a seat by the window.

Thinking about what had just happened, Xue Kun couldn't help but say, "What you said during the check-in process was infuriating. I saw Academician Fang Yongsheng trembling with anger. Aren't you afraid of angering him to death?"

Chen Shuai patted his chest as he listened, "Luckily we left quickly. They had a large group of them; we might have gotten beaten up on the spot!"

"What's there to be afraid of in a fight?"

Zhu Bingkun patted his chest and said confidently, "With my physique, am I afraid of them?"

Zhang Minghao immediately gave Zhu Bingkun a thumbs up, "Teacher Zhu, you're really something. With your physique, even five or six ordinary people could take you on."

"That's not the case!"

Zhu Bingkun immediately grinned from ear to ear.

Xue Kun's lips twitched as he asked, "Academician Fang Yongsheng, is he the one who said your stealth sphere had no future at the High-Tech Department project meeting?"

"It was him, Professor Sun Wen said so."

Zhang Minghao added, "How can someone who isn't a professional researcher of optical materials ask such a technical question?"

"This kind of person is indeed quite annoying, but objectively speaking, maybe that's really what he thinks."

"The reason doesn't matter, the funding has been cut off anyway."

"Right."

"Our last project was also rejected, by these same experts who said the direction was wrong..."

Zhu Bingkun, Xue Kun, and Chen Shuai discussed the matter and understood Zhang Minghao's feelings. It was really frustrating that the research, which was originally without any problems, encountered issues because of the opinions of his peers.

Xue Kun said to Zhang Minghao, "Sometimes you need to control your temper."

"Especially with older academicians, let's not even talk about showing them any respect, we shouldn't do that. If they get really upset and have to go to the hospital, that would be a real problem."

Zhang Minghao laughed and said, "Professor Xue, if Academician Fang heard this, he might just collapse on the spot."

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai laughed after hearing this.

The group chatted and laughed, not taking what had just happened to heart.

After dinner, I chatted with other scholars in the lobby for a while, then took a stroll on the street outside before returning to the hotel to rest.

The opening ceremony was the next morning.

The opening ceremony was held in the largest conference hall in the center of the hotel.

There were so many scholars that even the largest conference hall couldn't accommodate everyone. The scholars who were able to attend the opening ceremony were all invited by the conference organizers.

Zhang Minghao, Zhu Bingkun, and others all received invitations and found their seats upon entering the main conference hall.

Zhang Minghao's seat was very close to the front, in the first row on the right, which made it easy for him to go up to the stage to receive the award.

Zhu Bingkun and his two companions sat in a row in the middle of the fourth row.

After a period of waiting, representatives from the conference's academic committee and the organizer, Qiguang Technology Co., Ltd., took the stage to speak.

The representatives' speeches generally covered the prospects of metamaterials research and development, summarized the development of the field of metamaterials over the past few years, and reviewed the success of previous conferences, etc.

A long series of recaps made me drowsy, but finally we arrived at the part I was most interested in.

Professor Zhou Shiyu, Director of the Academic Committee of the Metamaterials Conference and former President of Tongzhi University, read out the top ten advances in metamaterials over the past year selected by the conference organizing committee.

Zhang Minghao immediately sat up straight.

The others in the meeting room also seemed much more energetic.

The "Top Ten Advances" in metamaterials actually consist of twenty advances, divided into two categories: "Technological Innovation" and "Basic Research," with ten advances selected in each category.

"First, let's look at the category of technological innovation," Zhou Shiyu read aloud from the stage.

"The first item, the large-scale manufacturing technology of metamaterials, was completed by Qiu Tongqing's team at Qiguang Company, which involved cross-scale design and processing of large-scale irregular curved surface micron-level structures..."

After a brief introduction to the first advancement, we immediately moved on to the second, "Stable Growth Technology of Multilayer Tinene Thin Films..."

"Hula-"

The second development was barely mentioned when the reaction at the meeting was noticeably different.

The technology involved in the aforementioned progress was completed by the R&D department of Qiguang Technology.

The reason it's ranked first is probably because Qiguang Technology is the organizer, and the technological breakthrough in the large-scale production of metamaterials has broad significance for the practical application of metamaterials.

However, even with further technological breakthroughs, it will only be a single-direction metamaterial manufacturing process, with limited reduction in manufacturing costs and very limited applications.

The second one is different.

Stable growth of multilayer tinene films, which is the room-temperature superconducting material that caused a stir last year.

The technology was sold for 100 million yuan, which is enough to show how significant the research was and how it already has application value.

Many people couldn't help but discuss, "Multilayer tinene thin films are the STN series, among which STN-01 has ultra-high conductivity at room temperature."

"The only downside is that the materials are too high-end, and the cost is too high..."

"A considerable amount has already been produced. Our laboratory has obtained a small piece, which is indeed close to superconductivity at room temperature and can already be considered superconducting."

"What Zhang Minghao's team produced is truly remarkable."

"If we could further reduce costs and stabilize manufacturing, the market would be even larger, but I've heard it's very difficult, and for now it can only be used in fields such as aerospace..."

In the middle of the fourth row of the venue, Zhu Bingkun, Xue Kun, and Chen Shuai sat side by side, each with their heads held high and their mouths practically agape.

They were all eager for others to know that the multilayer tinene thin film material was something they had researched.

The discussion in the audience did not affect Professor Zhou Shiyu's reading on stage.

He introduced each item one by one.

After reading about advancements in technological innovation, I moved on to reading about basic research.

Each advancement is presented in the format of research content plus a brief introduction, and reading through all twenty advancements in one go is quite a feat.

After the entire reading was completed, the hall erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Representatives from each research project went on stage to receive their awards.

Amidst the many gazes, Zhang Minghao stood up and went up on stage with the others, standing in their designated positions as announced.

Next to Zhang Minghao is Qiu Tongqing from the R&D department of Qiguang Technology.

As soon as Qiu Tongqing stepped onto the stage, he asked in a low voice, "Your invisibility sphere, is it developed using optical materials?"

He is very interested in stealth technology.

Qiguang Technology started with "invisibility cloaks". More than ten years ago, they exhibited an invisibility cloak at a technology exhibition, which quickly caused a global media frenzy.

That 'invisibility cloak' was achieved by combining electromagnetic metamaterials and optical materials.

After the 'invisibility cloak' became a hot topic, they did not continue their research because the invisibility cloak itself does not have a market price.

Therefore, future research will continue to focus on radar stealth.

Nevertheless, many researchers remain very interested in visual engines.

Qiu Tongqing was one of them.

Zhang Minghao nodded and said, "It is achieved through the combination of particulate optical materials."

"Only granular materials are used?"

"Correct."

"Impressive!" Qiu Tongqing said. "Many people say so, and the reports on the invisible sphere and the light transmittance also confirm this."

"But the technology is beyond our imagination; how do we control scattering and reflection using optical materials?"

This is something that many people are curious about.

Zhang Minghao explained simply, "We have done a lot of basic experiments, including research on the optical properties of micron-sized particles of different shapes."

"For example, scattering is not direct absorption, but rather controlling the direction of scattering. If the scattering direction can be controlled to be consistent with the refraction direction, the transmittance will be increased."

Even with just a few simple words of explanation, Qiu Tongqing was somewhat bewildered.

He murmured, "How long will this kind of control take? And it will be very, very, very complicated, won't it?"

Zhang Minghao thought for a moment and nodded. "You could say that."

Qiu Tongqing swallowed hard. As a professional in the field, he understood the research direction after hearing just a few simple explanations.

This research direction sounds simple, but it undoubtedly requires very complex calculations to complete.

Because the computational load is too large and complex, and computer assistance is almost impossible, building such a system would be extremely difficult.

As the two were talking, the award presenter walked over.

Everyone received a certificate-like item, which was framed so it could be hung directly on the wall.

Zhang Minghao looked at the certificate and found it quite interesting. He stood upright, facing the audience with the front of the certificate facing the audience.

The other award recipients did the same. A whole row of twenty people, each holding a certificate and displaying it to the audience.

The lights were flashing.

The camera captured the moment, and thunderous applause erupted in the hall.

……

The award ceremony is over.

The conference moved into the plenary session, after which participants were allowed to leave for their respective lecture halls.

The conference included more than one hundred presentations, each with a different duration.

Some conferences can last for two days, while others on a smaller topic can only last for two hours. The main difference lies in the number of sessions for the research reports.

Zhu Bingkun and Xue Kun went to the electromagnetic metamaterials lecture hall, where electromagnetic metamaterials were discussed as a major research area.

The lecture hall is large, but there are not many lectures scheduled.

Chen Shuai attended the 'Numerical Modeling Analysis and Optimization of Electromagnetic Metamaterials' conference.

This falls under the category of computational physics.

Zhang Minghao looked left and right, and decided to go over with Chen Shuai as well.

Rather than focusing on the general direction of electromagnetic metamaterials, he was more interested in hearing about research on mathematical modeling, analysis, and optimization of metamaterials.

There wasn't much time left in the morning; after listening to two reports, it was over.

The four regrouped in the lobby.

Xue Kun mentioned the report he had heard and said to Zhang Minghao, "You should come with us. Cui Ji's report is this morning."

"Professor Cui Ji, I really didn't notice?" Zhang Minghao suddenly became curious.

Xue Kun explained, "Cui Ji's team has developed a metamaterial surface variability compilation technology."

"It's not a theoretical design, but a technology that enables electrically and magnetically controlled reconstruction of metamaterial surfaces, achieved through the tunable material vanadium dioxide..."

He explained a lot.

Some of the technical terms were difficult to understand, but Zhang Minghao roughly grasped them.

Cui Ji's research, based on existing theories, has achieved a certain degree of reconfiguration control over the surface of metamaterials.

Although the technology is still very rudimentary and has little practical application, even a small step forward is a remarkable technological breakthrough.

As they talked, they sat down on the sofa and heard the people next to them discussing 'solid-state laser generator' technology.

Among them were scholars he had met and knew yesterday. They were talking about Fang Yongsheng's team's research on packages. He pricked up his ears and listened for a few minutes.

"The report describes a 'singular color point equation,' which establishes a special dielectric system based on the independent solution set interval of the 'singular color point equation.'"

"This system can break through the theoretical framework of the optical diffraction limit, allowing tiny singularities to form electro-optic conversion fields at the nanoscale..."

"If we can perform nanoscale compilation, we can manufacture solid-state lasers with 100% conversion efficiency."

"Theoretically speaking, the energy burst efficiency of this solid-state laser is more than 100,000 times higher than that of conventional lasers..."

In another context, such remarks would certainly be considered crazy, or as bragging without consequence.

However, at the metamaterials conference, there were many design studies with exaggerated performance.

Metamaterials research is mainly divided into two categories: design and manufacturing. The saying that "there are not many talents in metamaterials" mainly refers to the manufacturing aspect.

There are many talented people in the design field.

More than 90% of the scholars attending the conference were engaged in metamaterial design research, mainly because the manufacturing process is too difficult and requires a very demanding research environment.

Metamaterial design has lower requirements for the research and development environment.

Fang Yongsheng's team also made an exaggerated design, claiming that they could manufacture a solid-state laser with an electro-optical conversion efficiency of 100%.

This concept is even more exaggerated than superconductivity.

Solid-state lasers are relatively expensive, but they have superior performance, characterized by small size, ease of use, and high output power. They are also widely used in various fields. Commonly used solid-state lasers have photoelectric conversion efficiencies between 10% and 30%.

A 100% electro-optical conversion efficiency is already somewhat fantastical. Add to that an energy burst efficiency of over 100,000 times, and it could even be used in the military.

Metamaterials are materials research that defies conventional physics, so it's normal for their designs to have a futuristic, science fiction feel.

The vast majority of designs could not be put into research and manufacturing.

Fang Yongsheng's research exemplifies this.

Compiling nanoscale materials is certainly not something that can be done in a short time; the technology is far from reaching that standard.

……

We'll have lunch at the restaurant and then go back to our hotel room for a short rest.

Zhang Minghao turned on his computer, logged into the conference website, found the report list, and could download completed reports.

The website is very interestingly designed. After opening a report, it's like opening a post where you can also leave a message.

Several comments have already been left below Fang Yongsheng's report.

"This research is so novel!"

"The singular color point equation is very innovative. The independent solution set interval can calculate and control the singular point and form an independent electro-optic conversion field."

"This is definitely the best research at this year's conference..."

The comments were all positive.

Out of curiosity, Zhang Minghao downloaded the report to his computer to view it.

Xue Kun shared a standard room with him. After glancing at the report, he said, half-laughing and half-crying, "You're not trying to find out about Academician Fang Yongsheng's research, are you?"

"I was just curious to take a look." Zhang Minghao immediately shook his head in denial; he really just wanted to take a look.

"It's pointless for you to find problems. There will always be some minor issues in these design studies, but they won't affect the overall design."

Xue Kun said, "It's just a design; it can be considered a vision of future metamaterial research based on existing physics. Once the technology reaches the standard, even if there are certain flaws in the design, they can be solved technically."

Zhang Minghao understood this principle, but he really just wanted to take a look.

Fang Yongsheng is a top expert in optical materials. His team has developed metamaterial designs, which are worth looking at and may be helpful for the research on invisibility spheres.

Zhang Minghao started reading the report. The report was somewhat complicated and it wouldn't be easy to understand it all in a short time, but he managed to get the general idea.

As the scholars in the hall commented, the 'singular color point equation' is an innovation, and the corresponding independent solution set interval can establish a tiny singular point construction for a special dielectric system.

The singular color point equation, though called an equation, is actually a system of equations.

Each unknown has a specific physical meaning, and the system of equations corresponds to an independent solution set interval, thus forming a 'physical field at a point'.

This is a metamaterial structure.

When every compilation point of a metamaterial can generate the same physical field, the material itself will naturally possess extraordinary properties.

100% electro-optical conversion rate and energy burst intensity of more than 100,000 times can be achieved.

"The singular color point equation, interesting..."

Zhang Minghao became interested and began to think carefully. "If we modify this equation so that it corresponds to a region instead of a point, then we won't need nanometer-level compilation technology?"

He then looked at the independent solution set interval, tried to substitute it to verify the calculation, and found that there was no problem. Even the calculation of the edges was very accurate.

The only problem is, "Does this system of equations have more than one independent solution set interval?"

The question has been raised, and the answer is already there.

Zhang Minghao immediately began the calculations. With the help of "Correct Perception" and "Associative Perception", solving equations and systems of equations was not difficult for him.

Even the most complex system of equations can be solved by guessing the range of values.

It took him about twenty minutes to find another independent solution set interval.

"That's the second one. There should be a third and a fourth one."

"Studying this is pointless; we should be thinking about how to modify the equations to transform points into regions..."

Zhang Minghao shook his head, deciding not to waste any more time.

He was about to shut down his computer, but then felt that the work he had done shouldn't be wasted, so he simply posted the independent solution set intervals he found in the comments section of the website's report download page.

Incidentally, I also left a few words of message: "Hello Academician Fang Yongsheng, I am Zhang Minghao."

The 'singular color point equation' you created in your design is very innovative. I studied it carefully for a long time and found that there is another set of independent solution intervals.

Thinking about it carefully, there might be a third group, a fourth group...

This set is provided in the hope that it will help you refine the design of a fixed laser with 100% electro-optical conversion efficiency.

After posting a comment, he shut down his computer, feeling much better. He read a report, had a new idea, and even helped to find a new set of solutions.

It's also very fulfilling to be able to help others through research.

(End of this chapter)