From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 88 We succeeded!

Chapter 88 We succeeded! The fluctuations lasted for several tens of seconds!
Zhang Minghao returned to the workshop and buried himself in thinking about Ma Yan's 'stirring' operation, the characteristics of the negative permittivity, and the correlation with the replication experiment.

He drew a diagram listing several factors, including nickel content, stirring operation, and negative dielectric constant.

The negative permittivity of the material is directly related to the replication experiment.

Ma Yan's 'powder stirring' operation is also closely related to the replication experiment, and his operation will result in more nickel distribution at the edge of the material than at the center.

In terms of material properties and experimental requirements, the proportion of nickel must not be too low; it must be maintained within the threshold range that allows the material to enter the 'negative permittivity' state.

From a conventional perspective, the overall nickel distribution of the material should be within the threshold range, so the differences between different locations will not be too significant.

However, the threshold has both an upper and a lower limit.

"Therefore, the edge of the material is at the upper limit of the threshold, where the nickel content is high; the middle is at the lower limit, where the nickel content is relatively low."

"That's for sure."

"We also need to clarify whether the nickel is more distributed on the outer side of the material and less in the middle, or more on the sides directly opposite the capacitor plate, or whether there are requirements on the top and bottom sides..."

With the aid of "Correct Perception" and "Associative Perception," coupled with an understanding of the experiment itself, it is easy to draw some conclusions.

However, there are some issues that cannot be judged directly.

What is certain is that the replication experiment requires a higher nickel distribution at the edges of the material and a lower nickel distribution in the middle, and the proportions must be within the range that allows the material to reach the negative dielectric material state threshold.

The relationship between the edge and the direction of the electric field cannot be determined.

"We still need to conduct experiments to see."

"There are direct experimental verifications, so we should be able to make a judgment."

Zhang Minghao summarized his gains and looked out the window to find that it was already dark.

He went out the door and was about to go back to the laboratory when he saw Zhu Bingkun, Xue Kun and others walk in from the back.

Zhu Bingkun looked up and saw Zhang Minghao, waved his hand and said, "It's been verified."

Xue Kun nodded in agreement. "I was just about to tell you that we also measured the instantaneous electric field, and the signal is very clear." He then sighed.

"It's normal if it's detected."

Zhang Minghao said nonchalantly, "Didn't Professor Cui Ji already detect it?"

When Cui Ji joined the group in the afternoon, he said that he had already tested positive and that they were just repeating the test. It would be a real problem if they couldn't get a positive result.

"We need to verify it before we can be sure!" Zhu Bingkun sighed again.

Chen Shuai shook his head and said, "Future research needs to be more comprehensive. We can't just keep measuring fluidity; other tests might also reveal something..."

All three groups were somewhat dejected.

The discovery of the instantaneous electric field is nothing special, as it is part of the research progress on the Zhang phenomenon. However, the analysis results released by Xu Qiujian's team directly refuted their experimental direction.

The electric field transfer only exists instantaneously, thus cutting off the path for increasing fluidity research.

Zhang Minghao shook his head and said casually, "Don't worry about it!"

"Their experimental findings are true, but their analysis is wrong, and their conclusions are wrong."

"As long as we can create higher liquidity, no amount of fancy analysis will matter."

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai echoed, "That makes sense."

"Our experiment also holds promise..."

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and sighed deeply again.

They didn't believe it even when they told them.

The analysis done by Xu Qiujian's team is truly ingenious, containing a great deal of mathematical content, clearly demonstrating the numerical correlation between instantaneous electric field strength, negative permittivity, and other parameters.

They hoped the analysis was wrong, but they couldn't even utter a single rebuttal.

Zhang Minghao said to Xue Kun, "I think the material Ma Yan made is very interesting. We'll test his material tomorrow. I think there's hope."

"Ma Yan, good!"

Xue Kun agreed, but didn't think much of it.

It was too late that day, so everyone went home.

The next morning, Zhang Minghao arrived at the electromagnetic laboratory. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw Ma Yan standing next to Xue Kun, seemingly talking about his improvements to the material preparation method.
"I added a step in the middle: stirring, stirring by hand!"

"Similar to stirring liquids, mix the powders together beforehand, either clockwise or counterclockwise, but it must be in one direction."

"Thus……"

Xue Kun listened with a dark expression. When Zhang Minghao came in, he immediately pointed at Ma Yan and asked him, "Is this what you meant by having great ideas?"

"Uh……"

Zhang Minghao glanced at Ma Yan, completely surprised that Ma Yan would tell Xue Kun about his 'stirring' operation.
How can a person be so confident?
He pursed his lips and said, "I find it very interesting."

He raised an eyebrow and added two words as a hint: "Experiment."

"experiment?"

Xue Kun was taken aback.

Zhang Minghao pulled Xue Kun aside and whispered, "Our goal is to create a material with uneven nickel distribution. If everything is done correctly and it's a standardized preparation, then it's meaningless."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ma Yan, as if to say, 'I'm speaking up for you.'

Ma Yan sensed something was amiss, but Zhang Minghao was speaking up for him, and he was deeply moved.

Xue Kun understood Zhang Minghao's meaning, and when he turned back, his expression became much kinder. He said to Ma Yan, "Having ideas is good, but they are not necessarily right."

"Try this method again."

After he finished speaking, he added seriously, "By the way, keep it a secret, don't tell anyone else."

"oh oh."

Ma Yan readily agreed.

Zhang Minghao thought for a moment and then said, "Today when you're making the ingredients, stir them manually for a little longer. Also, how long did you take the ingredients out of the machine yesterday?"

"Heating it for... about half a minute," Ma Yan said, somewhat uncertainly.

Xue Kun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Zhang Minghao said, "Today we'll make two sets of materials, one for fifteen seconds and the other for one minute."

"Please work harder!"

"The lab will give you a project stipend this month, don't worry. If the lab doesn't give it to you, I'll pay for it myself!"

Ma Yan was initially reluctant, as preparing two sets of materials would take longer.

He still has classes.

Aside from class time, we have to come to the lab to work on materials at all other times, which may keep us busy until after 8 p.m.

Hearing about the project allowance, I immediately perked up.

He patted his chest and said loudly, "Brother Hao, don't worry, I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

Project allowances are amazing.

He had heard from the senior students in the lab that the doctoral program stipend for this semester had been increased to 4,300 yuan, which was equivalent to a salary.

Several second-year doctoral students are vying for this benefit.

He's only a first-year PhD student and just started working in the lab!

It's something to be proud of!
……

In the laboratory.

Xue Kun and Zhang Minghao began preparing for their first experiment together.

Busy with his work, Xue Kun thought about what had just happened and said hesitantly, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to apply for a stipend for Ma Yan?"

"At that time, people will say I'm showing favoritism..."

Ma Yan is only a first-year doctoral student and has just entered the lab. Some doctoral students who have already entered the lab have not yet received their stipends because they did not participate in the previous research project.

They can only receive some of the subsidies that the laboratory provides for doctoral students.

Holding the materials made by Ma Yan, Zhang Minghao asked, "What if the materials he made help our experiment progress?"

"Forget about allowances, I'd even give him a bonus!" Xue Kun immediately said.

"Let's see!"

The two talked as they prepared.

The experimental work was already well-practiced; the values of various testing equipment were calibrated, capacitor plates were prepared according to material specifications and other devices were installed, and temperature adjustments were made...

and many more.

These tasks are all aimed at debugging the detection, preventing diffusion and other influences within the testing area, and making the measurements more accurate.

Zhang Minghao fanned himself with his hand, checked the readings on the flow meter, and suggested, "We should standardize our experiments a bit more. A lot of the work is repetitive, which is a waste of time." Xue Kun said nonchalantly, "It's nothing. The main problem is that we have to wait for the materials to be prepared. The biggest problem with this research is that the materials cannot be reused."

If materials cannot be reused, new materials must be prepared continuously. Preparing materials takes time, effort, and a lot of money.

They said they were ready.

Xue Kun didn't care much about the experiment. He felt it was just a routine task, since the experiment had been done many times before, and this was just another one.

The research by Xu Qiujian's team was a huge blow.

Xue Kun seemed listless while conducting experiments, his mind still preoccupied with issues such as 'electric field transfer' and 'instantaneous fluctuations'.

But the experiment still had to be done, and he hoped that a miracle would happen.

"If the experiment yields any further discoveries, it would truly be a miracle..."

Xue Kun shook his head after thinking about it.

He couldn't say it aloud because the situation was a bigger blow to Zhang Minghao. He felt that Zhang Minghao's relaxed and confident demeanor was merely a psychological suggestion, a way of refusing to accept reality in the short term.

After completing the final step as a routine task, Xue Kun walked out of the laboratory. He and Zhang Minghao stood outside the glass window and each operated the equipment to start the experiment.

The two worked together very well.

Xue Kun said "Start," and all the switches in each part were turned on.

Zhang Minghao stared intently at the display panel of the flowability meter.

Xue Kun, on the other hand, acted very casually. He didn't just stare at the panel; he also looked up and down at other parts of the experiment.

When I turned my head again, I suddenly noticed that there was a reading on the panel of the flow meter.

"53?"

Xue Kun was taken aback.

His mind went blank for a moment, and he thought he had misread it. He subconsciously reached out and rubbed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, the number had changed to '67'.

67, 79, 101, 127...

The numbers on the flow meter's display panel kept jumping and kept rising.

Zhang Minghao stared intently, his eyes fixed on the scene.

Xue Kun held his breath.

The value on the panel rose all the way to '143', then jumped to '141', '138', and just when they thought it would drop quickly, the value jumped to '142', and then fluctuated around '140'.

137、141、145、140、139……

"Stable?"

Zhang Minghao frowned.

Xue Kun stared intently, his breathing having stopped for a long time.

The stable data lasted for half a minute before slowly starting to fall.

132, 127, 119...

The rate of decline in the values is significantly slower than before.

Xue Kun seemed unable to hold it in any longer, took a deep breath, and immediately looked at Zhang Minghao, exclaiming, "Did you see that? A miracle happened!"

Zhang Minghao clenched his fist and swung it forward fiercely, "I just feel that Ma Yan's materials are very interesting!"

"you're right!"

"It's so interesting, so incredibly interesting..."

"It has to be Ma Yan!"

Xue Kun was overjoyed and excitedly said, "The numerical fluctuation exceeded 140 and stabilized for half a minute. We successfully replicated the experiment, right?"

"Ha ha--"

"I guess you could call it a replica. It's not as good as your experiment, but if we do it a few more times, we'll definitely catch up!"

"What analysis, what Xu Qiujian and Richard Arnold..."

"It's all wrong! It's all wrong!"

"We are right!"

……

After the experiment, Xue Kun and Zhang Minghao made detailed experimental records and then walked towards the front row of the laboratory building.

Throughout the journey, the two of them couldn't hide their feelings at all.

Zhang Minghao felt light as a feather as he walked, nodding and greeting everyone he met.

Xue Kun didn't say a word the whole way, but his mouth was wide open the whole time, and he exuded an aura of excitement and exhilaration.

They went to the director's office.

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai were both there, and the two were talking about something; the atmosphere was very tense.

Xue Kun and Zhang Minghao entered the room together.

Xue Kun pulled up a chair and sat down hard, the chair making a creaking sound of dissatisfaction. He then pushed the executive chair towards Zhang Minghao with a bit too much force, almost causing it to hit the wall.

Zhu Bingkun's eyelids twitched as he watched, but he just pursed his lips and said nothing.

Chen Shuai didn't notice their expressions, but just sighed softly, "Another piece of bad news."

"what happened?"

Xue Kun spoke with a completely indifferent expression.

"Our project application was rejected by the National Natural Science Foundation of China," Chen Shuai said in a low voice.

"What's the reason?"

“They said the direction was wrong. Xu Qiujian’s team has already reached a conclusion. Whether increasing liquidity and replicating experiments are promising still needs to be demonstrated.”

Chen Shuai said in one breath, "Professor Deng Kai called and I talked to him. He meant that if we insist on this direction, we can't just submit a report; we have to go to the review meeting to persuade the reviewers."

"If we change direction, we can focus on the research of instantaneous electric field transfer, but the application report will need to be redone and resubmitted, and we may not be able to secure much funding."

Zhu Bingkun frowned and said, "The project is necessary, but changing direction is not something that can be resolved in a short time."

He pressed his forehead hard as he spoke.

Xue Kun suddenly stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "What are you talking about, changing things!"

"We are right!"

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai were both startled and trembled.

They looked Xue Kun over carefully and then realized that something was wrong.

Xue Kun was speaking angrily, but his face was filled with an excited smile, as if he had won five million.

They looked at Zhang Minghao again, who also had a smile on his face, seemingly unconcerned about the news he had just heard.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Chen Shuai asked, bewildered.

"Haha, you figured it out!"

Xue Kun burst into laughter, unable to contain himself any longer, and quickly said, "Zhang Minghao and I did the experiment together this morning, and we succeeded..."

"We made it!"

"It's a success!"

"The highest reading on the liquidity tester was 145, and it fluctuated around 140 for several tens of seconds!"

Do you know what that means?

He grabbed Chen Shuai's shoulder, "Old Chen! We did it! We replicated Zhang Minghao's experiment at Donggang University!"

Zhu Bingkun and Chen Shuai stood up in surprise.

They exchanged a glance, looked at Xue Kun, and then looked at Zhang Minghao as if to confirm.

Zhang Minghao nodded with a big smile.

Zhu Bingkun swallowed hard and asked again, "Are you sure?"

"Of course! Absolutely certain!"

"I%--!"

Zhu Bingkun immediately swore and said, "Take me to see this right now!"