From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 113 Award Announcement! A lame joke from the superconductivity circle...

After leaving the theoretical research office, Zhang Minghao went directly to the large office on the first floor.

The office was very lively.

Xue Kun, Zhu Bingkun, Chen Shuai, and others including Fang Huimin and He Hui were all there, excitedly discussing the news they had just received.

As soon as Chen Shuai saw Zhang Minghao walk in, he immediately called out, "You're here!"

"Two pieces of good news!"

Before Chen Shuai could finish speaking, Fang Huimin walked straight up to Zhang Minghao and excitedly gave him a hug, saying, "Zhang Minghao, thank you!"

Zhang Minghao looked a little confused, while the others just smiled when they saw him.

"I've upgraded!"

"I passed the professional title evaluation!" Fang Huimin said with some excitement.

Chen Shuai added, "From now on, Professor Fang will truly be the fourth researcher in our lab."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

As Zhang Minghao spoke, he made a bow, bowing deeply several times with his hands facing downwards.

Fang Huimin smiled and said, "It's also because of you that we had a lot of research results last year, which made it much easier to get promoted. Otherwise, we would have had to wait several more years."

"And congratulations to you as well."

"Congratulations for what?"

"First Prize in Natural Sciences!" Zhu Bingkun almost shouted. "The China Association for Science and Technology has released the list of winners for the Natural Sciences Awards, and our project is on it."

"here!"

He Hui pointed at the screen and shouted.

Zhang Minghao went over and took a look; it was the list of natural science award projects released by the China Association for Science and Technology.

The item numbered '17' is the 'Discovery of the Zhang Phenomenon', which was mainly completed by three people: Zhang Minghao, Zhu Bingkun, and Xue Kun. It was nominated by Dongchuan Province and the recommended level was 'First Prize'.

"Whoo~~~"

Zhang Minghao couldn't help but laugh as he watched.

Sixty projects were evaluated, but only two won first prize. The first prize in natural sciences is extremely prestigious.

As Tan Yanming said, those who win the second prize in the Natural Science Award are eligible to be nominated for academician.

The first prize is something even academicians can't achieve.

Zhang Minghao joined in the conversation, discussing how the lab should celebrate.

After the festivities ended, he brought up the research topic: "Through theoretical research, we discovered a correlation in electron motion."

"It is a metallic network formed by the β-type charge carriers and nickel network established by high-temperature superconductivity..."

He then explained in detail.

Everyone in the office was listening attentively. Some of them could understand it, but they just couldn't figure out the underlying mechanisms.

Zhu Bingkun pondered for a moment and then asked, "You mean that the electron motion laws of the two phenomena are consistent, so we need to verify them, is that right?"

"Not verification."

Zhang Minghao said, "It's very difficult, almost impossible, to conduct verification experiments. We assume that the theory is correct and then conduct experimental research accordingly."

What should be the next step in the research?

"There are two directions: one is our laboratory, and the other is Zou Jianyong's side. I hope to understand the role of aluminum atoms and aluminum-oxygen covalent bonds in the ZXZ phenomenon."

Zhu Bingkun nodded thoughtfully.

Xue Kun didn't understand most of what Zhang Minghao was saying; it was beyond his knowledge. He asked directly, "Just tell me what kind of experiment you're going to do!"

"You say, we'll do!"

Zhu Bingkun nodded in agreement, "Yes, please explain in more detail."

Everyone else shared the same attitude.

Some of them, like Zhu Bingkun, could understand some of the content, while others couldn't understand it at all. But regardless, they all had to conduct experimental research in the end.

Zhang Minghao immediately began to speak.

The experiment requires measuring the subtle changes in the electromagnetic properties of the nickel/alumina thin film material as the nickel content increases. It is not about the entire material, but about each location, which is a microscopic study.

This is no longer research on bulk experiments, but rather on fine, high-precision experiments.

"This kind of experiment requires knowing how electrons impact a thin material and measuring its electrical changes..."

"Should we continue to create pressure?"

"To confirm the space group transition of the sample structure, we need to combine structural changes under pressure with calculations of thermodynamic enthalpy..."

"And antimagnetism..."

A group of people immediately started discussing it.

Zhang Minghao only mentioned the specific data requirements; how to conduct the experiment was the job of others.

He doesn't know much about this.

After explaining the data requirements in the office, he returned to the theoretical research office and briefed Du Wei on Zou Jianyong's data requirements.

The remaining work fell to Du Wei, who was responsible for communicating with Zou Jianyong's team.

Zhang Minghao just needs to wait for the results.

After assigning his work, he found himself with some free time and prepared to return to the doctoral student's workroom to relax and review the materials.

He had barely sat down when Chen Lanjun said with a smile, "We have reached a consensus after discussion."

"what?"

"Buy a house!"

Zhang Minghao was speechless.

He, the person involved, has been gone for a long time. How idle must he be to keep talking?
"It's still Fuxing Mansion!"

"I checked, a three-story villa is usually 280 to 340 square meters. Then, if you find a diligent girlfriend, the problem of cleaning the house will be perfectly solved!"

"Is this the solution you were talking about?" Zhang Minghao's lips twitched as he listened.

Chen Lanjun said with a smile, "Think about it, a 300-square-meter house is too tiring to clean. It would be best to hire a live-in housekeeper."

"You work all day and occasionally travel for work, so your home becomes like a maid's house. Finding a diligent girlfriend who loves cleaning would be perfect!"

After she finished speaking, she shyly leaned closer and whispered in a low voice, "Brother Minghao, look at me..."

"You're diligent? You like cleaning?"

"...That's fine too." Chen Lanjun glanced back at the messy desk, her voice softening. "That's great!"

Zhang Minghao grabbed her arm and said enthusiastically, "Once I buy a house and move in, you can come to my house to clean once a week."

"You enjoy the fun of cleaning, and I enjoy a clean and comfortable environment!"

"Win-win!"

Liao Shuyan and Xu Chao both burst out laughing.

After exchanging a few jokes with Chen Lanjun, Zhang Minghao thought about the problem carefully and realized that cleaning was indeed a problem.

He is alone.

Needless to say, even cleaning a villa of several hundred square meters is a hassle, let alone an ordinary house of a hundred square meters.

It's a hassle to always call a part-time cleaner.

Finding a girlfriend would be a great solution, but my social circle doesn't allow it; all the girls in my social circle seem older than me.

Or, find a temporary girlfriend?

Chen Lanjun?
A thought struck him, and he turned his head to glance at him. He was good-looking, but he looked a little too familiar!
Yu Minxia?
She has a good figure and is reasonably good-looking, but she's a bit too thin...

It still feels weird when I think about it!

Zhang Minghao quickly took a sip of water to calm himself down. How could he have even considered finding a 'temporary girlfriend'? That was terrifying.

"It must be that his thinking is being interfered with by hormone secretion!"

"The strongest person is one who can use reason to resist the influence of hormone secretion on their thinking!"

……

The Capital Condensed Matter Physics Research Center

In the office, Zou Jianyong was carefully reviewing the documents sent by Du Wei.

"A new experiment?"

"We need to study the superconducting properties of several nickel and aluminum compounds, and also test their surface properties..."

"Lanium-nickel-oxygen 327? A high-temperature superconducting material?"

Zou Jianyong began to think about it seriously.

After establishing a research collaboration with the Applied Electromagnetism Laboratory, they sent several experimental requests, all of which revolved around the determination of various materials containing nickel and aluminum.

One of these studies involved the research on the microscopic properties of the material surface, but it only happened once; after the data was sent, there was no follow-up.

While conducting his experiments, Zou Jianyong also wanted to know how the other party conducted their mechanism research.

After conducting several experiments, he found that he could not find any pattern at all. They were all basic measurements, and the measurements of microscopic properties had nothing to do with superconductivity.

The experimental requirements sent this time are different.

Although it is still related to the superconducting properties of nickel and aluminum, it involves surface microscopic properties and the more difficult determination of lanthanum-nickel-oxygen 327.

"What is the purpose of conducting these experiments?" Zou Jianyong couldn't understand.

As a researcher, he naturally hopes to understand the experiments he conducts and the research significance of the experimental data.

He looked at the data for a long time, but finally shook his head. "It would be good if we could do experiments."

"However, lanthanum-nickel-oxygen 327 is a bit troublesome..."

Lanthanum nickel oxide 327 is the only nickel oxide that clearly exhibits 'high-temperature superconductivity' properties.

This study was also published in the journal Nature.

The experimental request from the other party was to determine the data on the nickel electron layer in lanthanum nickel oxide 327, which is definitely very difficult.

Peng Jinquan wandered into the office and found Zou Jianyong looking at some documents. Curious, he leaned over to take a look and asked, "Is this an experiment sent from Zhang Minghao's side?"

"Director Peng!"

Zou Jianyong looked up and called out.

Peng Jinquan laughed and said, "Another experiment? Your experiments are quite frequent."

He sounded a little distressed.

Zou Jianyong and Zhang Minghao's team collaborated on a number of experiments, which, while not an excessive number, were certainly not insignificant.

Their agreement was that the research center would subsidize 20% of the experimental expenses.

20% doesn't sound like much.

It would be very painful to spend money on experiments that have no meaning.

That's a waste!

Peng Jinquan was also curious about Zhang Minghao's research. He had been paying attention to Zou Jianyong's experiments and later discovered that Zou Jianyong had even conducted a superconductivity measurement experiment on aluminum-based materials.

Measurement of superconducting properties in aluminum-based materials?
The two are fundamentally contradictory, because aluminum-based materials themselves do not possess superconducting properties, so what is the point of measuring superconducting properties?
In the field of high-temperature superconductivity, copper-based superconductors are the mainstream, such as copper oxides, and some materials have critical temperatures that can even reach more than 100K.

Aluminum-based materials, or rather, aluminum elements, have absolutely nothing to do with high-temperature superconductivity.

Zou Jianyong was unaware of Peng Jinquan's thoughts. He continued, "The requirements this time are quite high. Some measurements of superconductivity in nickel and aluminum compounds are fine, and we can also obtain some data from the study of surface microstructures."

"The main material is lanthanum nickel oxide 327. We need to prepare this material first, and we also need to consult Professor Zhang from Tsinghua University."

"After the material is prepared, we still need to perform data analysis on the electrical resistance, diamagnetism, and superconducting upper critical magnetic field of the single crystal material..."

Peng Jinquan grinned and asked, "These experiments must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"It must be quite expensive. I'm not sure, but the bulk of the cost comes from them."

Zou Jianyong said nonchalantly, he was actually looking forward to the experiment.

Because experiments are truly a luxury.

Peng Jinquan was very concerned. He muttered something but didn't say anything. He just felt heartbroken and that it was such a waste.

This kind of research is completely meaningless.

All the experiments conducted will be fruitless and will be nothing more than a waste of money.

He shook his head, but still said a few words against his will, "Just do whatever Zhang Minghao asks of you!"

"What if we find something..."

In fact, he was not optimistic at all, feeling that the experiment was just messing around and conducting research haphazardly.

Is there a connection between the Zhang phenomenon and high-temperature superconductivity?

Let's see who believes that?
Aside from Zhang Minghao himself, even Zhu Bingkun and Xue Kun probably don't believe it!

Aluminum-based materials: researching superconducting properties?
If this were said out loud, it would become a laughing stock in the superconductivity community, and people would laugh their heads off!
(End of this chapter)