Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

He then broke down the path of solar energy conversion, explaining it clearly and logically, but the students still only half understood. For these students, building a micro-photovoltaic system that could provide stable power was still like looking through frosted glass—they could see the outline, but couldn't grasp the intricacies.

However—didn't Xiao Yao just tinker with a remote-controlled airplane last time that could hover, turn, and even somersault on command? When that thing flew, even Dean Li took a second look. Since he can manipulate the air, making sunlight move doesn't seem so far-fetched after all.

Moreover, compared to aircraft that take off, this little train that moves by light is more firmly rooted in the soil of physics textbooks: photoelectric effect, energy storage circuits, track traction... every step is based on classical theory, so its chances of winning are naturally more secure.

More importantly, there are currently no readily available reference materials in China, and no one on campus has ever led such a project—everything is starting from scratch, and there's not even anyone to ask for directions.

Fortunately, Dean Li readily agreed to allocate half of the lab for their exclusive use. All they had to do was report it in advance, and they could move in immediately. With this space, they no longer needed to scour the city for parts: oscilloscopes, voltage regulator modules, conductive copper foil, high-transmittance acrylic sheets… everything was readily available, many of which were even superior and more suitable than those on the market. A special green channel was also approved – whatever materials were missing, as long as the quantity was reasonable, they could apply and receive them on the same day.

……

After a week of hard work, a dozen or so people worked together to complete the track laying and train assembly. They carried the newly completed toy train on their shoulders and in their hands, moving it outside the laboratory building.

Xiao Yao cleared his throat and deliberately put on a serious face: "Alright, let's start with a 'sunshine physical examination'."

The weather was perfect, with the sun shining brightly. To take advantage of this moment of sunlight, they had already pushed the toy train onto the rooftop, its body gleaming with a warm, matte sheen in the sunlight.

After an hour of sunshine, the warmth, mixed with weariness, crept in, and some people began to yawn. Xiao Yao bent down and pressed the start button, and everyone held their breath and watched intently—the little train first trembled slightly, then glided smoothly along the tracks, running smoother and faster, the wheels making a soft, crisp clicking sound as they rolled over the joints of the tracks.

"Ha—it's done! It really is done!" Ji Fengnan jumped up, pumped his fist, and shouted, his voice cracking.

She grabbed Lin Siyue tightly, her arm gripping so tightly it made Lin blink; the others rushed forward, tossing Xiao Yao high into the air and catching him safely, their laughter echoing against the concrete fence: "Xiao Yao's amazing! Is his brain coated in light?!"

Lin Siyue's lips curled up, her heart filled with sweetness, but when she turned her head, she bared her teeth at Ji Fengnan, her eyes fierce like a little leopard guarding its food.

Each time she turned a blueprint into a physical object, her sense of accomplishment grew stronger. Although this wasn't her original idea, being able to solder the circuits, adjust the parameters, and monitor the data still gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

That's the magic of applied physics—bringing formulas into reality and making abstract concepts take root. But... if one day you really had a flash of inspiration and created something new that no one had ever seen before, how exhilarating would that feel? She secretly pondered, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the control panel.

As soon as the model was completed, the team immediately set off to find Professor Chen.

I want him to consider: which is more worthy of scrutiny, this solar-powered toy train or that dancing remote-controlled airplane from last time?

Professor Chen has been so busy lately that he hasn't even had time to check on Xiao Yao's academic progress. Upon hearing about the new item, his eyes lit up: "Oh? You really made it?"

"I've just built a rough outline, and there are still a few rough spots. I'm planning to polish it before asking for your approval," Xiao Yao replied sincerely, his back ramrod straight.

Professor Chen was slightly taken aback, not expecting that these children had already consciously climbed the ladder of "striving for excellence." He felt a surge of warmth in his heart—that's how scientific research should be done; there's no room for imperfection.

"What's all this trouble about?" he asked with a smile.

"A solar-powered miniature train," Xiao Yao said casually, without a trace of emotion on his face.

Indeed, he had participated in the debugging of photovoltaic modules for a smart robot project, so borrowing some ideas and experience was a natural progression.

Professor Chen paused for a moment, as if he hadn't heard clearly: "...Say it again?"

"A solar-powered train—it runs on sunlight to generate electricity," Xiao Yao repeated patiently.

"You mean... you not only thoroughly understood the underlying logic of photovoltaic power generation, but you also managed to incorporate it into a functional machine?"

"I've actually tested it: one hour in the sun, five minutes of running."

At this point, Xiao Yao lowered his eyebrows slightly, a hint of regret in his voice. If they had used the same high-efficiency photovoltaic cells and solid-state energy storage chips as the robotics project, the battery life would have easily doubled. Unfortunately, the alternative materials currently available simply fall short in performance—some formulas are still undeveloped, and some processes remain on paper.

Professor Chen was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said in a deep voice, "You really succeeded? You really succeeded?"

"We really did run it over there, right on the rooftop. We're just waiting for you to point out any flaws."

Before he finished speaking, Professor Chen had already turned and walked out.

On the rooftop, the students immediately surrounded him as soon as they saw him appear.

"Professor, look! It doesn't need batteries; it feeds itself on the sun!" A boy stood on tiptoe, his voice trembling.

Professor Chen's gaze was fixed intently on the small train—apart from a shiny black photovoltaic panel on top, its structure was otherwise unremarkable. Yet, it was precisely this panel that became the fulcrum that leveraged the entire system.

He crouched down and lifted the bottom cover to take a closer look: there was no battery compartment, only a dark gray energy storage module lying quietly next to the circuit board, with fresh solder marks still on its surface.

Sure enough, the energy really did come from the sky above.

"Relying on this? It's been tested in practice? Now—let's run it one more time!"

Xiao Yao silently followed and stood to his side and behind him.

"Teacher, I'm exhausted after running for five minutes..." Lin Siyue added softly, her ears slightly red.

"Then keep sunbathing." Professor Chen's voice was tense, and his palms were already sweaty.

He stayed with the children on the rooftop for another hour. The sun was scorching, and sweat streamed down his temples, but no one wiped it away.

An hour later, the little train set off again.

As soon as the wheel started turning, Professor Chen froze on the spot, his breath catching in his throat.

"Where are the experimental records? Where is the schematic diagram? Are all the test data complete?" He turned around abruptly, speaking rapidly like a machine gun.

Lin Siyue was startled by the light in his eyes: "All done! Everything's organized and locked in the lab drawer!"

"Let's go, right now!" He grabbed her wrist, his steps quick and steady. "We must understand and master this power generation principle immediately—this technology can't wait any longer."

His heart was burning with passion.

Overseas photovoltaic power plants have long been connected to the grid for power generation. China has been working on this for many years, but it has always been stuck on conversion rate and stability. It's like looking at flowers through a fog, unable to grasp the key points.

But at that moment, a tiny train, no bigger than the palm of his hand, was steadily passing through his sight—it came to life not because of cables or batteries, but because of a beam of light.

This gave them a glimmer of hope, as if they had seen the dawn – with this detailed information and solid experimental data, the country could very well launch a large-scale solar power plant construction project in the near future.

Pushing open the door to Professor Chen's laboratory, Lin Siyue immediately placed all the core materials and raw data she had been working on late into the night onto the lab table.

Yet it was these yellowed pages, densely covered with handwritten annotations, that made Professor Chen's eyes light up, his fingers trembling slightly as he turned the pages, as if he were holding a rare book that had been lost and found again.

"You...did you all manage to get all of this done yourselves?"

"The underlying concept was proposed by Xiao Yao, and he also built the data framework; we did the experimental design and data collection together." Wang Yutong looked directly at the professor, her tone firm.

"The overall direction, the technical bottlenecks, and the model derivation were all basically figured out by Xiao Yao, who guided us step by step," Lin Siyue added, her voice filled with undisguised admiration.

—Brother and sister, you guys sold this too quickly! This technical route is still being verified by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and you guys have already pushed me right to the door of the classified archives.

Professor Chen turned to Xiao Yao, his smile steady: "Good! Good! Xiao Yao is indeed outstanding, but what surprises me even more is your team—in just a few months, you not only thoroughly grasped the underlying logic, but also created a working prototype. You're truly remarkable."

"Professor, can we... sign up for the competition?"

"Well..." Professor Chen paused, his expression turning serious, "I'm afraid it can't be made public. What you've done is too crucial. From today onwards, no one can mention it, and not a single word can be leaked."

"ah?!"

The air seemed to freeze. Some people stared down at their shoes, others clenched their clothes, and even their breathing became shallow—after working hard for dozens of sleepless nights, they couldn't even get into the stadium?

Qian Wentao just said that solar power plants in Europe and America are already connected to the grid for power generation, right? In China… it seems there's still no sign of that happening. Everyone felt a pang of anxiety, a sense of unease and unease.

……

But as soon as the lab door closed, Professor Chen grabbed the phone and dialed. Less than half an hour later, three elderly professors with white hair rushed over, their collars still covered in chalk dust.

"This is no longer a semi-finished product; it's a mature, application-level solution," an expert wearing reading glasses nodded as he looked at it.

"Was this made by a few kids?"

Professor Chen laughed: "That's why I said, this time we really hit the right door."

"Are they the same kids who made those remote-controlled airplanes last time?"

"Hmm." Professor Chen nodded, his eyes shining.

"Genius... is never created through planning." The old professor sighed softly, his voice full of gentle admiration.

……

Listening to the praise from his seniors, Professor Chen couldn't suppress the smile on his face, and the wrinkles around his eyes smoothed out.

He felt from the bottom of his heart that choosing this group of students was the most successful "bet" he had ever made in his thirty years of teaching.

After repeated analysis, several experts unanimously concluded that the data set has the foundation for engineering application, and all core indicators such as solar energy charging and storage conversion efficiency, system stability, and environmental adaptability have met the standards.