A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 208: Nature or Science?

We have made history!

E Weinan burst into laughter.

For others in the lab, this might just be a successful experiment, a victory for the project.

But as an academician with a broader perspective, he knew that this was an epoch-making achievement. He even felt that the results achieved in the past half month were more significant than all the achievements he had made in the first half of his life!

He knew Chen Hui would succeed, but he never expected that such a significant breakthrough would be achieved so quickly.

In retrospect, he underestimated the importance of Chen Hui's model.

Although his major was applied mathematics, he had a wide range of interests, including condensed matter physics, chemistry, and biology.

He certainly understood what the emergence of new semiconductors meant.

Gallium oxide devices support high-voltage platforms of 800V and above. With the adoption of gallium oxide inverters, the power density of charging piles will increase by 3-4 times, which means that the charging time for new energy vehicles will be shortened from 30 minutes to 7 minutes.

Furthermore, because the conduction loss is only 1/3000 of that of silicon-based devices, the efficiency of the motor controller is increased to 98%, the energy consumption of the whole vehicle is reduced by 10%, and the range can be increased by 15%, truly achieving a range of 500 kilometers with just five minutes of charging.

It is foreseeable that gasoline-powered cars will officially retire from the historical stage.

Unfortunately, the West, with its centuries of experience in internal combustion engines, has long held a dominant position in the domestic automobile market. In the past few decades, China has tried hard to catch up, but with little success, despite having many automobile factories and the world's largest automobile consumer market.

But for every car sold, 80% of the profit goes to Westerners.

Everyone envies the high welfare benefits of Westerners, but little do they know that they are able to enjoy such high welfare benefits because they rest on the laurels of their ancestors and have achieved this by exploiting the world through technological advantages.

Until the emergence of new energy vehicles, which bypassed the internal combustion engine and competed on battery technology, the West did not have an overwhelming advantage. Thus, relying on its overwhelming industrialization capabilities, China's new energy vehicles began to dominate the global market.

However, the biggest pain point of new energy vehicles has always been that charging is too slow and the range is too short, which is simply unbearable for some people with range anxiety.

Therefore, even though new energy vehicles have been popular for several years, many people still choose gasoline cars.

Because refueling only takes a few minutes at most, you can easily drive 700 or 800 kilometers.

But now, the discovery of gallium oxide will completely reverse this situation, and nothing will be able to stop new energy vehicles from sweeping across the entire blue planet.

This is undoubtedly a huge boon for China, which is far ahead in the new energy vehicle market.

E Weinan's mind was already filled with images of a prosperous era arriving.

The role of gallium oxide goes far beyond this. In ultra-high voltage direct current transmission, the loss of converter valves using gallium oxide will be reduced to 0.5%, which can reduce global power grid losses by more than 1000 billion kilowatt-hours per year.

Gallium oxide power amplifiers achieve a power density of 8.2W/mm in the 28GHz band, which is 30% higher than gallium nitride. This can expand the coverage of 5G base stations by 40%, reduce the overall power consumption of base stations by 25%, and save more than 1 yuan in electricity costs per station per year. This is fully capable of supporting China's goal of building 300 million 5G base stations.

Furthermore, terahertz devices made of gallium oxide are expected to achieve wireless transmission rates of 100Gbps, laying the foundation for 6G ultra-high-speed communication!

Gallium oxide solar panels reduce satellite weight by 80%...

Gallium oxide devices improve terminal guidance accuracy by 70% and enhance anti-jamming capabilities, increasing the hit probability of anti-ship missiles from 65% to 92%...

Power electronics, aerospace, communications, medical...

A series of data points flashed through E Weinan's mind. He couldn't imagine the changes that gallium oxide would bring to the world once it was industrialized.

"Deng Ting, you are in charge of writing the patents. You need to apply for patents not only in China, but also in major international countries."

Xiao Meng regained some composure and methodically instructed, "Yang Chi, conduct a few more sets of experiments to verify the stability of the material."

"Professor E, shall we write the paper?"

After she finished speaking, she looked at E Weinan.

E Weinan smiled and shook his head, looking at Chen Hui.

"The model has already been published in a paper, can it be published again?"

Chen Hui was puzzled; his paper was still published in the Annals of Mathematics.

E Weinan and Xiao Meng exchanged a glance. They knew that Chen Hui probably didn't yet understand how significant this achievement was, nor did he understand the workings of physics and chemistry papers.

"The discovery of gallium oxide alone is enough to publish a top-tier journal article."

E Weinan said with a smile, "I'll write the paper. You'll definitely be the first author, Schultz will probably have to be the second author, and Professor Xiao's team and I will be the third authors."

E Weinan doesn't care much about honors. He is already an academician and has won the National Natural Science Award. In China, his honors are already at the top level. Whether or not he has this paper won't bring him much benefit, but his team needs this honor. He has to fight for it for his team, not just for himself.

The international academic community differs somewhat from that in China. In China, the first author is valued more, but in the international academic community, the second and third authors are equally valuable, differing only in the degree of contribution.

"What you should be considering now is whether to publish this paper in *Nature* or *Science*!"

……

Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany

Schulz and Eremets stood in the laboratory, watching the tests being conducted ahead.
My mood has sunk to rock bottom.

The new samples generated by the model couldn't even produce superconducting properties.
"I think we can probably end this pointless farce."

Eremets shook his head and said to Schulz.

In the past two weeks, they have conducted five or six sets of experiments, but none of them have yielded very good results.

The experimental method of modifying the model based on experimental data and then synthesizing materials exactly according to the results generated by the model was very difficult for Eremets to adapt to. In addition, repeated failures made him want to give up.

As it turns out, this was not a leap forward in materials science; it was a complete farce.

"Eremetz, give me some more time."

"The model is theoretically sound; the only problem is that training and refining the model takes time."

Schultz was also somewhat exhausted, and he was under even more pressure. Although Mura hadn't put any pressure on him, he knew that if things continued to go this way, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the sponsors.

Eremets shook his head. "No, Schultz, experimental science is different from mathematics. What is theoretically true may not necessarily yield good results in experiments, and what is theoretically false may still be experimentally possible."

"Alright, everyone has worked hard these past few days, go and get some rest."

"The testing is nearing its final stage," Eremets clapped his hands and announced loudly.

He has decided to give up.

"Hey, listen to me, you should get some rest too."

Eremets patted Schulz on the shoulder and led the way out of the lab.

Schultz reluctantly followed them out of the lab. He didn't give up; he believed the model was sound and that mathematics wouldn't lie. But he had to find a new partner, which meant a significant waste of time.

Back at the hotel, Schultz threw himself onto the soft bed, spread his arms wide, and lay completely relaxed.

However, he didn't rest for long before he sat up abruptly, went to his desk, turned on his computer, and rushed to contact his next business partner.

Ding Dong!

When Schultz turned on his computer, an email notification sound caught his attention.

It was sent by his business partner, Chen Hui.

He clicked on it without hesitation.

Gallium oxide?

"Next-generation semiconductors?"

"They succeeded!"

Soon, Schultz sat up straight, his eyes flashing with a piercing light.

Without any hesitation, he grabbed his laptop and ran out of the room, heading straight for Eremets's place, which was only a ten-minute walk away.

dong dong dong dong!

There was a rapid knock on the door.

"Schultz?"

The door opened, and a sleepy-eyed Eremets saw Schulz standing in the doorway. He looked helpless; he had just returned home and gone to bed.

"Success!"

"This model is perfect!" Schultz excitedly handed the computer to Eremets.

"semiconductor?"

Gallium oxide?

Eremets took the computer and walked to the living room, checking the emails as he went, and sat down on the sofa.

"It actually worked!"

A dozen minutes later, Eremets looked away, muttered to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"But why didn't you just forward the email to me?"

Eremets looked at Schulz, raised the laptop in his hand, and asked, "Isn't it tiring to run while carrying this thing?"

“I don’t have time to joke with you, Eremets, we should continue the experiment!”

Schultz exclaimed excitedly.

Eremets frowned and thought for a long time. “Semiconductors are not exactly the same as superconductors. They are not as demanding in terms of working environment, so we only need to synthesize materials based on the generated structure.”

"But superconductivity requires a suitable working environment, such as low temperature or high pressure. So even if the material structure given by the model is correct, we still need to slowly explore the critical conditions for superconducting conversion required by the material. We can't even confirm whether it can produce a superconducting effect."

"We're like headless flies right now; this won't work!"

"I see!"

Schultz figured it out while on the run: "We also need to add parameters for critical transformation conditions to the model, so that the model can provide the corresponding critical transformation conditions while generating the material structure!"

Eremetz was not excited by Schulz's sudden realization; instead, he stared at Schulz with wide eyes and asked, "Are you crazy?"

"Why not just have the model generate a room temperature superconductor for you?"

Schultz's vision was indeed enticing, but too unrealistic. He didn't believe that with current scientific capabilities, such a model could be developed.

"I don't understand experimental science, and you don't understand mathematics!"

Schultz said confidently, "While it is indeed difficult, it is not impossible."

"What's more, we have god-like teammates!"

"That amazing Chinese kid?"

Eremets whispered, “They are indeed very lucky.”

In his email to Schultz, Chen Hui listed the data on gallium oxide. Although Eremets' main research area was superconductivity, he also paid attention to things in the materials science field and knew how amazing this achievement was.

Even he was quite envious.

I hope you succeed!

"If you succeed, you can come to me anytime."

Eremets closed Schulz's laptop. "But now, I need to get some sleep."

……

In a courtyard house in Beijing,

"Boss, a major breakthrough!"

A middle-aged man excitedly rushed into the courtyard and headed straight for the study, only to be stopped by an armed guard outside the study.

"what happened?"

"So rushed and bustling?"

The study door opened, and a hale and hearty old man with a square face walked out, asking in a steady voice.

"A major scientific breakthrough has been achieved!"

"Look."

The middle-aged man took out a HarmonyOS tablet and handed it to the old man.

"New semiconductors?"

The old man took the tablet and walked into the study. The middle-aged man glanced at the guard, and seeing that he was not stopped, he followed.

"That's truly a major breakthrough!"

When the middle-aged man entered the study, the old man was already sitting behind the mahogany desk, staring at the data on the tablet, his face glowing. He knew that the data that reached him must have been verified.

Therefore, this data must be true!

"May God bless China!"

Middle-aged people show their joy on their faces.

"I feel like I've seen the name Chen Hui somewhere before."

The old man stared at a name on the tablet, frowned slightly, and tried hard to search his memory for the name.

"Have you forgotten, old man? It was this same Chen Hui who invented thermoelectric materials last time!"

The middle-aged man spared no praise, exclaiming, "This is truly a prodigy of our Chinese nation!"

"It's him!"

The old man suddenly realized, "Truly, talent is what makes a nation prosper!"

"Such talent must be properly rewarded!"

"Don't worry, the organization is already considering awarding him for his work on the thermal power materials last time, but the application is still going through the process and hasn't reached you yet."

The middle-aged man smiled smugly.

The old man's expression turned serious. "Why bother with procedures? Just bring it over. The ministry will hold a meeting, and everyone can discuss it and make a decision."

The middle-aged man smiled and shook his head, "Then you'll have to wait a while longer. Now that we have this semiconductor material, the original reward will probably have to be changed again."

"It needs to change, it must change!"

The old man nodded approvingly, "What was the originally planned award?"

"National Science and Technology Progress Award, First Class".

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and said, "Now, it has to be at least top-class!"

The old man waved his hand, "Special grade?"

"Then let's have the Special Prize of the National Natural Science Award!"

The middle-aged man was stunned. "This?"

"Isn't this impolite?"

"What, you don't understand the value of gallium oxide?"

"Of course I understand!"

No, you don't understand!

"This is the fate of the nation! Do you understand?"