America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 380 A Little Shock

New Jersey's fog is notoriously unpredictable. One morning, the sky may be clear and sunny, but instead of the sun, a thick fog that can make even a shadowy figure appear blurry can arrive.

Ernst and Karl walked through the laboratory building, and what they saw immediately shocked him.

The monitor in the center of the hall gleamed with a cold light, and the patent counter on the screen, like a proud peacock spreading its tail feathers, was fixed on the bright and dazzling number 27002.

Many tech companies spend their entire lives and still might not even reach a fraction of this number, but here, it sits there quietly, like a can label on a supermarket shelf, giving one a sense of Versailles.

Before Ernst could recover from the shock of the number of patents, he saw a group of people carrying file organizers pass by. The Asian scholar in the middle had a refined and scholarly air, while the three white people next to him looked like stars surrounding the moon.

Karl smiled and nodded at them. After the group had walked away, Karl slowly spoke, introducing them in a calm tone, "They just won the Nobel Prize."

"Huh?" Ernst looked surprised.

Seeing that he didn't seem to know much about it, Carl kindly added, "Tsui Chi, the quantum Hall effect, was covered in a full-page article in the New York Times last week."

Ernst then belatedly remembered, and the vague memory finally began to take shape.

There seems to be such a report, which mentions Tsui Chi. Horst Stömer, and whose other name was it? Ernst couldn't remember.

The quantum Hall effect, that's the jewel of condensed matter physics, a height that countless physicists have spent their lives trying to reach. But at Bell Labs, the experts in this field are just like colleagues going home after get off work, you can bump into them by chance with your suitcase.

The two continued walking inside, and as they passed the first office, the employees inside were busily working, handling documents, equipment, and...

The experimental data was piled up like a small mountain, and everyone was holding packing straps, looking exactly like a moving company.

Ernst wanted to peek inside, but as soon as he got closer, he saw an old man with gray hair carrying a tin box and walking out. He quickly took a step back.

The old man shook his head vigorously, tightening his grip on the box as if it were a family heirloom. "This contains all my research data from my entire life. I don't trust anyone else with it. If they get mixed up, I'll probably become a data administrator myself."

After the old man disappeared, Karl casually added, "Claude, last year's Nobel Prize laureate in Physics."

This time, Ernst wasn't surprised; he felt he was there to be dealt a blow.

If he were a complete academic failure, it wouldn't matter, but it's precisely because he graduated from a prestigious university that he knows how valuable the Nobel Prize is.

That's an honor that requires decades of dedicated work in a particular field, as well as a great deal of luck and talent, just to get a foothold in it.

But at Bell Labs, it seems like Nobel laureates are everywhere and industry leaders are as common as dogs.

No wonder Karl remained completely calm when talking about the Nobel Prize; anyone would be just as composed if they had so many Nobel laureates under their command.

This is Bell Labs.

wrong.

Ernst shook his head inwardly.

This isn't Bell Labs, it's a Nobel Prize wholesale market!

The management of Telephone & Telegraph Corporation and Lucent must have lost their minds. Instead of appreciating so many cash cows, they're thinking of laying off employees and cutting budgets?

Although Wall Street shareholders are usually not very good, Ernst found them to be as lovely as angels for the first time in this matter.

But on second thought, Ernst realized he could understand the management team.

Looking back, almost every researcher greeted Karl, but when it came to his financial backer, they would at most give him a few polite nods. Most of them didn't even bother to lift their eyelids and ignored him completely.

That arrogant demeanor made it seem as if they were from a completely different world.

However, Ernst wasn't angry at all. It didn't matter if they ignored him, as long as they could develop more technology, register more patents, and win more Nobel Prizes, he would be happy even if they treated him like air every day.

Now he'd love to have more of these arrogant geniuses work for him; after all, a troublemaker who can make money is a hundred times better than a good-for-nothing who only knows how to flatter.

The two walked through a corridor covered with graffiti of physics formulas. Ernst noticed that many of the graffiti on the walls were already faded and peeling, and some formulas had crooked little figures drawn next to them, as if they were pranks left by someone when they were bored.

Just then, a loud argument erupted from the office next door, so loud it could penetrate the walls.

Ernst curiously peeked over and saw several researchers arguing heatedly around a whiteboard. Their faces were flushed, and they were spitting as they spoke, even more excited than the old ladies who were getting free eggs.

When they saw Ernst, this stranger, enter, they merely glanced up casually before returning to their battle, as if he were nothing more than a passing cloud.

Ernst stood awkwardly at the door, turning to look at Karl outside, his eyes saying, "Aren't you going to come in and do something about it?"

Carl understood his gaze, shook his head, and not only didn't come in, he even took a step back.

Ernst came out, puzzled, and asked, "They're arguing like this, shouldn't you go in and mediate?"

"Mediation? How do you mediate?" Karl's question left Ernst speechless.

"At Bell Labs, such arguments were commonplace, more so than the coffee you drink every day. They would argue heatedly over the details of a theory, each with their own reasons, and neither would concede. The debate would never be resolved until experimental data was available."

Carl pointed to himself and shook his head helplessly. "If I go in now, not only will I not be of any use, but I'll also be dragged in to be a referee. No matter who I support, the other side will treat me as an enemy and insist that I agree with their theory."

"Last time there was a debate about superconducting materials, they actually came to my house in the middle of the night, dragged me out of bed, and tried to persuade me."

Well, no wonder people say the line between genius and madness is very thin.

Ernst was somewhat relieved, relieved that these people ignored him.

Imagine this: you're having a great discussion with a female friend about the continuation of humanity one evening, when suddenly there's a loud commotion outside, and a group of people in white coats are blocking the doorway, insisting on getting him to judge the situation. The scene is more terrifying than a horror movie, and just thinking about it makes his scalp tingle.

Hurry up, or someone will come out and find the two of them. Karl won't be able to escape, and he'll probably be stuck here awkwardly waiting.

The two quickly left the troublesome place and soon went up to the second floor.

As soon as I came up, an old man wearing khaki pants and a faded shirt walked over. He had a faded employee badge pinned to his chest and looked like an ordinary retired teacher.

Carl stepped forward with a smile and introduced, "This is Mr. Schmidt. He is probably one of the few normal people in Bell Labs."

While speaking, Karl secretly gestured with his head, even he himself felt that most of the people here had something wrong with their heads.

Schmidt adjusted his reading glasses, extended his right hand, and said with a smile, "Ernst, I've heard so much about you, America's internet genius. I hope your acquisition of Bell Labs this time won't disappoint it again."

This was the first person to shake hands with Ernst after he came in. He quickly grasped the other person's hand and said sincerely, "Mr. Schmidt, rest assured, I didn't acquire Bell Labs to retire it."

"I don't really care. I'm almost retired anyway, so the state of the lab won't affect me much," Schmidt said with a smile.

Carl then interjected, "Old buddy, you should retire a little later. I'm still waiting for you to make a breakthrough in quantum cascade lasers, which is one of the key projects in our lab right now."

97

"Quantum cascade laser?" Ernst's eyes lit up instantly, like a wolf that hadn't eaten for days seeing meat.

Here comes the first technology that can be monetized!

Although he had only a superficial understanding of the technology, he clearly remembered that quantum cascade lasers had unique characteristics such as wavelength tunability and high power output, and had broad application prospects in fields such as infrared detection, spectral analysis, and communication.

Although the concept was proposed by Soviet scientists, it was Bell Labs that truly realized it.

Ernst may not understand technology, but he understands the market!

First, it can be used to build open-circuit gas detection systems, which are useful for assessing air quality and conducting greenhouse gas research.

In the medical field, it can detect the concentration of specific gases in human exhaled breath, such as the abnormally elevated NH3 concentration in the exhaled breath of patients with diabetes, liver and kidney diseases, which is of great use for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Most importantly, in industrial monitoring, it can detect NO gas generated in industrial combustion exhaust systems in real time, and can also be used for optical detection of explosive gases.

Almost every factory of a certain size needs such testing equipment. The market size is simply unimaginable. Thinking of this, Ernst interrupted Karl's suggestion to continue shopping, his eyes full of eagerness, as if he was afraid that the fat meat in front of him would fly away.

"Mr. Schmidt, I wonder where your research is at now? If I increase the budget, could we speed up the development process and get more results as soon as possible?"

Schmidt and Karl exchanged a glance, but quickly realized that their sugar daddy was offering money.

At Bell Labs, researchers may disrespect their sponsors, but they will never turn down money.

After all, money is the fuel for research and development; without money, even the best ideas can only remain on paper.

Schmidt immediately flashed a warm smile, much more friendly than before. "If you don't mind, why don't you come in for a coffee? I'll give you a detailed overview of the research progress."

Ernst nodded quickly. "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Schmidt. I'm also a bit thirsty, so I'll have a cup of coffee with you."

Carl rolled his eyes. "You paid for this coffee, why are you trying to freeload?"