From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 6 Two days? Research yielded results?

The study of 'third-order Kawahara-like equations' is indeed very difficult.

Even listing out the small steps with known results takes a considerable amount of time, and finding patterns after listing them out takes even longer.

Zhang Minghao stayed in the study room until 9 p.m., but his hunger reminded him that it was too late.

I walked along the roadside and found a small stall to have dinner.

Back at the hostel, I continued working at a small table until 3 a.m.

I woke up at eight o'clock the next day, made myself a cup of coffee and felt refreshed and full of energy.

"It's great to be young!"

Zhang Minghao didn't utter a single sigh. In his previous life, staying up all night would have left him with no energy, and he couldn't make up for it with sleep. In fact, the more he tried to catch up, the more tired he felt.

In his early twenties, the peak of his life, the recent turmoil had little impact on him.

At the same time, he became more aware of the situation.

Your health is also very important.

Health is the foundation of everything. No matter what you do, ruining your health is a losing proposition.

The system interface also displays body attributes, and upgrading requires a body value assessment of '70'.

I'm only '59' now. Looking back on the past few days, I've been through drowning, rushing around, and staying up late. I haven't had much rest, and it's a miracle that my health hasn't deteriorated.

The morning was still spent in the study room.

Zhang Minghao remained seated, taking out a large stack of densely written manuscript paper to continue his research.

His research involves an 'approximate substitution transformation' step in equation analysis. The substitution transformation process is smooth, but it relies on accurate perception rather than conventional computational transformation.

The paper lists a series of options and marks the correct ones. The main task is to find patterns by comparing them with the original equation or the equation analysis process.

After three hours of hard work, he finally found the pattern.

This rule is not 100% correct, but the dozen or so substitution terms listed are all correct in the verification, including seven different transformation forms.

Within the scope of the seven transformation forms, the pattern should be correct.

The reason I say "should" is because the pattern has only been found but not proven.

For example, it's like Goldbach's conjecture in number theory.

Goldbach discovered that any even number greater than 2 can be represented as the sum of two prime numbers.

Nearly three hundred years later, Goldbach's conjecture still has not been proven, but it is known that verifiable even numbers can be represented by two prime numbers. Leaving aside the realm of pure mathematics, this can be considered correct to a certain extent.

The same applies to the 'substitution and transformation rule'. Once you know how to perform substitution and transformation, the equation after substitution and transformation will be very similar to the original equation. However, proving its mathematical principle and the degree of similarity is an extremely complex mathematical problem.

Zhang Minghao wrote down the seven transformations of the 'substitution and transformation rules' on a piece of paper, then carefully compared them one by one with the original equation. After a long time of careful examination, he finally came to a conclusion—

The proof of this rule is not something I can solve on my own; at the very least, I need to find a top-notch mathematics professor.

He was a doctoral student in the physics department, and had been doing experiments on electromagnetic materials with his supervisor. He was not a professional mathematics doctoral student, and had never professionally studied partial differential equations, function theory, group theory, etc.

Even if the pattern has not been proven, discovering the law of substitution and transformation is still a significant achievement.

By substituting the transformation rules and transforming the original equation, the amount of computation can be reduced to a level where the computer can perform comprehensive calculations, which means that the computer can be used to find a very approximate set of solutions.

In terms of application, it is of great significance!

"This equation is widely used in electromagnetic experiments and applied research, and it is worthy of publication as a paper."

"Should it be considered part of applied mathematics? Computational mathematics?"

"Ask Teacher Xue!"

Zhang Minghao didn't rush to find Xue Kun.

He packed his things, slung his bag over his shoulder, and took a stroll around the campus.

After lunch, around 2 p.m., he leisurely went to the Applied Electromagnetism Laboratory.

Xue Kun spent a lot of time in the laboratory building.

When they arrived at the office on the first floor, they saw several people inside, including Chen Shuai, Zhu Bingkun, and several other associate researchers from other laboratories.

"coming!"

One of the associate researchers noticed Zhang Minghao at the door, smiled, nodded, and greeted him.

Zhu Bingkun was discussing the experimental problem, asking, "It's still the same result, where did we go wrong?"

“Our preparations were more meticulous than a few days ago, and the design in all aspects was excellent. In theory, at the very least, we should have found that the conductivity of the experimental product would be better, but (the experimental product) is not even as good as elemental iron!”

The group of people were silent.

Xue Kun noticed Zhang Minghao standing by the door and called out, "Sit here..."

He pointed to an empty seat next to him.

People in the office sat wherever they pleased, without any distinction of rank. Zhang Minghao simply sat down.

The others didn't pay any attention and continued their discussion about the experiment.

After listening to just a few words, Zhang Minghao understood the situation: the team's latest experiment had failed again, with results almost identical to the last one.

Zhu Bingkun suspected that the problem lay in the substrate structure. The substrate used in the experiment was bismuth telluride, and by using certain technical means, the surface of bismuth telluride was covered with multiple layers of bismuth atoms.

It is clear that the experiment requires a very high degree of operational precision. Even a slight deviation, or even a calculation error, can lead to the failure of the experiment.

Chen Shuai did not comment on the experiment, but suggested that adjusting the substrate morphology and increasing the reactivity by vaporizing the vacuum tin to a higher temperature might help the experiment.

After the two professors finished speaking, others also expressed their opinions.

In the end, only Xue Kun remained.

Xue Kun said directly, "I'll be in charge of the experiment. Tell me your ideas, and I'll do it."

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai exchanged a glance, but neither said anything.

The division of labor within the project team is very clear. Zhu Bingkun is the overall person in charge of the project, and it is his job to control the research direction and experimental direction of the project.

Chen Shuai's group was responsible for experimental calculations and data analysis.

Xue Kun was responsible for the experimental design and the experiments themselves, but in reality, how to conduct the experiments was the result of discussions and consultations among everyone.

Xue Kun did not finish speaking.

He looked at Zhang Minghao and said with a smile, "Zhang Minghao will be joining the experiment soon, let him speak too."

Everyone else was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Minghao?
A PhD student?

Is asking a PhD student who hasn't even joined the research to speak up about cultivating talent, or what?
Zhang Minghao was also somewhat surprised, but noticing the encouraging look in Xue Kun's eyes, he immediately understood.

He stood up and said seriously, "I haven't joined the project yet, but I have some understanding of the research."

"The preliminary experiments concluded that high-quality tinene can be grown on substrates covered with multiple layers of bismuth atoms. I personally believe that this conclusion is debatable."

"Both verifications failed, but the experiment itself did not reveal any problems. In this case, the preliminary experiments should be carefully studied and reviewed from beginning to end."

Even if it's not perfect, it can still further prove the correctness of the preliminary experiments.

This is exactly what Xue Kun wanted to say.

The reason Zhang Minghao was chosen to speak was because he couldn't directly say that the preliminary experimental results were problematic.

That was mostly Chen Shuai's work.

Zhang Minghao, a doctoral student who hasn't even joined the project yet, wouldn't be in any big deal if he made a mistake.

In addition, it also allows Zhang Minghao to make his mark.

What if I'm right?

By then, everyone in the project team will know Zhang Minghao, which will be a chance for him to make a name for himself. And importantly, Zhang Minghao is his student.

Within the project team, Xue Kun was practically alone, with no doctoral students under his supervision, and the associate researchers assisting with the experimental work were all familiar with Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai.

He is alone.

Now that I have Zhang Minghao, I have someone else I can talk to and share the ups and downs with.

After Zhang Minghao finished speaking, the office fell silent for a moment, and Chen Shuai pursed his lips without saying a word.

If it were Xue Kun, he would definitely refute it, but he's just a doctoral student, what could he say?
All I could do was smile magnanimously.

Zhu Bingkun pursed his lips. In fact, he also thought there might be problems with the preliminary experimental conclusions, but the data from the preliminary experiment had been verified several times.

Even if you suspect there's a problem, what can you do?

Re-examine and re-organize?

Should we recalculate?
The same conclusion will most likely be reached.

Before Zhang Minghao could finish speaking, he hesitated for a moment and continued, "These past two days I've been doing some mathematical research on 'third-order Kawahara equations,' which are commonly used equations in electromagnetic experimental research."

"I have found a way to simplify the computation and enable computers to perform coverage solutions."

"This method can be used to recalculate and analyze the data from the preliminary experiments..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the office became eerily quiet.

Everyone looked at him with strange eyes, even Xue Kun. He never expected Zhang Minghao to say such a thing.

Two days?

Has the research yielded any results?
What are the third-order Kawahara-like equations used in electromagnetic experiment data calculations?

It does not make sense!

(End of this chapter)