From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 39: Paper published, media coverage!
In the laboratory.

The three experts on the acceptance team, Yuan Hui, Zhou Tiejun, and Cui Ji, observed the experimental preparation process from the sidelines.

Chen Mingzhen and Wang Xiguo waited in the outer room.

Xue Kun is skilled in experimental procedures, and he is responsible for most of the preparatory work.

Zhu Bingkun was also busy working alongside them.

Zhang Minghao did not participate in the experimental work, and his experimental operation experience was limited, certainly not comparable to that of the two professionals.

He was responsible for explaining to the experts in the acceptance team that "the material Professor Xue Kun has is a nickel/alumina cermet."

"The material is made by sintering a mixture of nickel and aluminum oxide powders, and it was prepared with the help of Professor Han Xiaoxu from the Heterogeneous Materials Physics Laboratory..."

The three experts listened and observed simultaneously.

Yuan Hui and Zhou Tiejun are both academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Yuan Hui studies quantum physics, so he's a complete novice in the field of metamaterials.

Zhou Tiejun is engaged in research on metamaterials theory and computational artificial intelligence, and can only be considered a semi-expert in the field of electromagnetic metamaterials experiments.

Cui Ji is the most professional; he conducts research in the same field and has several metamaterials projects under his supervision.

What is not widely known is that he also participated in the design and research of metamaterial stealth coatings for the next generation of fighter jets.

He was also the most authoritative of the three.

Zhou Tiejun and Yuan Hui did not believe in the so-called 'new physics discovery', and the size of the laboratory overturned Cui Ji's inference. They subconsciously thought that there was a problem with the experiment.

They were all trying to find problems and demonstrate the expertise of the inspection team.

When Zhang Minghao explained that "the material was prepared with the help of Professor Han Xiaoxu from the Heterogeneous Materials Physics Laboratory," Yuan Hui immediately frowned and asked, "Why did you need to have the material prepared by another laboratory?"

"Professor Han Xiaoxu is a materials expert, and his laboratory has a very high level of material preparation skills."

Zhang Minghao glanced at Yuan Hui and patiently explained, "In addition, compared to our lab, the materials lab has more professional equipment, and the materials it produces are of higher quality..."

Yuan Hui opened his mouth but said nothing. He suddenly realized that he had asked a stupid question.

Zhou Tiejun secretly felt fortunate.

He had the same question, but fortunately Yuan Hui spoke up first.

Yuan Hui is an amateur, so it's okay if he makes a mistake.

He'd be embarrassed if he asked that question.

After processing the materials, the next step is to prepare for the formal experiment.

Xue Kun remained in the laboratory.

Everyone else came out and looked through the glass window.

Zhang Minghao has already explained it in great detail, so there's no need to say anything more.

Now we're just waiting to see the fluctuation values.

Zhou Tiejun remained silent, and he couldn't find any problems either, because the experiment was too simple, so simple that 'there simply wouldn't be any problem with any part of it.'

That's like measuring the resistance of a conductor. You just need to place the conductor in the circuit and check the reading on the instrument. At most, you need to do a calculation.

What problems could there be in this?
He muttered under his breath, "This is an experiment that even graduate students could do..."

The surroundings fell silent.

Everyone else looked at Zhang Minghao without prior arrangement.

Zhang Minghao then looked at Zhou Tiejun and added, "This is indeed my experiment."

The others couldn't help but laugh, and they all covered their mouths to try not to make a sound.

Yuan Hui laughed, feeling instantly at peace.

He asked a stupid question, and now Zhou Tiejun has said something stupid.

Everyone will forget about him by now, right?

Cui Ji smiled, then turned his head to stare at the screen of the measuring instrument. He had not studied nickel/alumina cermet, but he had done many similar material testing experiments.

There's not much to say about the experimental process.

Now we're just waiting for the results.

The readings on the measuring instrument's screen kept fluctuating between '0' and '1'.

After the experiment officially started, it only took about ten seconds to see the number '44'.

Then, the page will redirect again.

After about twenty seconds, there was another fluctuation, with the highest value reaching '46'.

Cui Ji's expression was grave. "It's this kind of fluctuation, isn't it?"

"Correct!"

Zhu Bingkun said, "At fixed intervals, the jump value is 40 to 50, and the duration is about 2 seconds."

"Our experimental controls weren't rigorous enough, resulting in less consistent fluctuations. We believe that more rigorous experiments would produce more stable, and longer-lasting fluctuations."

Everyone stared intently.

The numerical fluctuations lasted for about two minutes, after which it remained consistently at '0' and '1'. The experiment ended there.

The inspection team left the laboratory and headed towards the office building in front.

On the way, Chen Mingzhen asked the three experts, "How is it? Did you find any problems?"

Wang Xiguo also looked over.

Yuan Hui didn't say anything; he was an outsider and couldn't possibly see anything.

Zhou Tiejun's brow remained furrowed as he analyzed, "The experiment is too simple, so simple that there's no way to find any problems, but how could there be no problems?"

"Shouldn't it?"

The group continued walking in silence.

Wang Xiguo suddenly looked up and said, "Is it possible that the experiment itself was not the problem, and their discovery is a new physical phenomenon?"

Zhou Tiejun's face immediately turned red. He had said so much professional stuff and made several clear judgments.

no problem?
He couldn't quite accept it.

Cui Ji said, "It should be fine, and it might even be a very important discovery."

"The experiment is simple, which means it's easy to replicate. I'll try to replicate it when I get back."

No one else said anything.

The school attached great importance to the arrival of the inspection team. They prepared a reception meal, hoping to subtly obtain information about the inspection results.

The inspection team members simply said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Yuan Hui and Zhou Tiejun were both embarrassed. They were whispering about "a problem with the experiment," and they knew that others had heard them. It would be even more embarrassing for them to stay any longer.

Cui Ji, on the other hand, was busy going back to replicate the experiment.

Chen Mingzhen and Wang Xiguo, who came on behalf of the Ministry of Science and Technology, were willing to stay and communicate, but the three experts had already left, and they couldn't even find a reason to stay another day.

In the end, the entire inspection team left.

……

Four days passed in the blink of an eye.

That afternoon, Deng Baoshan made a special trip to the Applied Electromagnetism Laboratory to find Zhu Bingkun, Xue Kun, and Zhang Minghao, and announced some good news.

"Congratulations!"

"The Ministry of Science and Technology has already archived the results, and your experimental results have passed the acceptance test!"

"Passed?"

"that is really good!"

Zhu Bingkun and Xue Kun were both excited.

Even though I was mentally prepared, I was still quite excited when I actually heard the news.

Zhang Minghao also let out a soft breath, and the smile on his face couldn't be kept up either.

Although the replication experiment was only half successful and it failed to create a 'continuous airflow' similar to that of its predecessor at Donggang University, the two are definitely the same phenomenon.

The successful completion of the experiment means that the Ministry of Science and Technology acknowledges that the phenomenon of interference with airflow exists.

His paper was certainly not wrong!
At this moment, he even had a feeling of 'being exonerated'. Even though it was the second time he had appeared in the public eye, most people did not think that he had deliberately falsified the data, but they still believed that the experiment itself was wrong and the data in the paper was meaningless.

Things will be different from now on.

Two weeks later, the English version of Chinese Physics Letters published a new issue.

The first news bulletin was titled: "Major Experimental Discovery: New Physical Phenomenon!"

The English version of Chinese Physics Letters is one of the top three physics academic journals in China and is indexed by major academic journal search databases worldwide.

It is ranked among the top 20 international physics journals and is a top-tier journal at the Q1 level.

Because it is a top-tier journal, the wording of its news headlines is very rigorous, and it rarely uses eye-catching headlines like those found on online self-media.

The title of the first article in the new issue is 'Major Experimental Discovery', which immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Upon closer reading of the news report, it became clear that the content matched the title, confirming a major discovery in physics—an unprecedented physical phenomenon.

Within just one hour, there were already numerous related reports.

Each headline is very eye-catching—

Domestic team discovers new physical phenomenon: unprecedented.

"A team from Jiangzhou University discovered a special phenomenon that resembles the principle of UFOs."

Major Breakthrough in Physics: Electromagnetic Interference with Air Flow.

Shocking! A new phenomenon will lead physics to new heights!

"Alien technology has been breached, and future spaceships may be able to ignore air resistance."

Major Breakthrough...

(End of this chapter)