Pioneering a New Field

It only took Tao Xun three days to translate Du Ke's third paper. He then went straight to the editorial department of the Journal of Chemical Physics with the manuscript.

"Old Tao is here, but Du Ke's third paper is out?" one of the editorial board members asked as soon as he saw Tao Xun. Everyone had been waiting for Du Ke's paper these past few days.

With that one board member's shout, all the editorial board members in the not-so-spacious office received the news.

The board members reviewing chemistry were not particularly excited, but all those reviewing physics gathered around. "Professor Tao, where is the paper? Let me see it quickly. The first two papers really piqued my interest. I've been thinking about it at home for days, trying to figure out how electron flow and proton flow can separate while still maintaining the stability of their aggregate state."

"There's only one physical copy. I've sent the electronic version to Zhu Laijun. If you want it, ask Zhu Laijun to forward it to you."

"Hurry up and forward it, Xiao Zhu."

"Okay, I'll forward it right away." Zhu Laijun was the most junior among the board members. His main job was to organize the submitted papers and distribute them to the emails of the actual reviewing board members.

For the next ten minutes or so, the board members were each at their own computers, diligently reading Du Ke's third paper, How the Interaction of Forces in Electron Flow Maintains Equilibrium. Tao Xun, with nothing to do, borrowed a computer to catch up on the news. Before he could finish reading a trending article, someone suddenly patted his shoulder. "Tao Xun, you have Du Ke's contact information, right? Call him immediately and ask him to come over."

"Ah, Dean Chen, what brings you here?" Professor Tao quickly stood up.

The person who arrived was Chen Yang, the executive deputy editor-in-chief of the Journal of Chemical Physics, Dean of the School of the Young Class at Huaxia University of Science and Technology, a Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, and a Hundred Talents Program scholar.

"I'm the executive deputy editor-in-chief, so it's normal for me to be here. Tao Xun, I heard when you arrived. I just finished reading Du Ke's paper, and it's very interesting. I'd like to discuss it with him in person," Chen Yang said.

"Alright, Dean Chen, I'll call Du Ke right away."

Tao Xun finished the call quickly. Du Ke happened to not be busy and agreed to come over as soon as possible. Tao Xun then asked a staff member to go to the entrance of Xiake University to pick up Du Ke, as the security check at the gate had been strict lately, and unauthorized vehicles and personnel were not allowed in.

While waiting, several board members who reviewed physics gathered around Chen Yang and began a lively discussion.

"The concept of electron flow is very interesting and has vast potential. What I've always criticized before was that it seemed like electrolyzing water into hydrogen and oxygen. While both hydrogen and oxygen are important energy sources, energy conservation is key. Where does the energy for electrolysis come from? So, I always felt it was a pointless endeavor. But now, after reading this paper, I understand."

"Old Deng, what do you understand?"

"Didn't Tao Xun mention that Du Ke plans to enter the battery industry? I suddenly thought, if we can apply the electron flow theory to the battery field, wouldn't that perfectly solve the problem of energy conservation? Charging and discharging, isn't that the working principle of a battery? If an electron flow battery is truly developed based on this concept, then lithium batteries might become obsolete."

"Old Deng's idea has merit, but have you considered the numerous constraints on electron flow? How to stably maintain it is likely a huge challenge."

"Difficulties are meant to be overcome. Before Du Ke's theory on mechanical equilibrium was published, we might have considered electron flow to be mere fantasy. But now, with this paper, electron flow is no longer a concept but a reality."

"Have you all considered that if the electron flow theory is actually applied, Du Ke's achievements might be no less than Cao Yuan's?" one board member suddenly said, a remark that quickly caused a stir.

Many board members, including those reviewing chemistry, chimed in, wanting to refute the claim.

After all, Cao Yuan was the leading figure of the new generation of researchers at Xiake University and the pride of the teachers there. This genius entered the gifted children class at Xiake University at the age of 14, pursued his doctorate at MIT at 18, and published a paper in Nature at 22. His research on magic angle graphene even graced the cover of Nature. Many believed that it was not impossible for Cao Yuan to win a Nobel Prize once he matured.

"Compared to Cao Yuan... this..." one board member started to retort but suddenly swallowed his words.

Then, silence fell.

This was because everyone present was a successful individual in the academic world, either a professor at Xiake University or a promising young scholar. Their vision was naturally sharp. Cao Yuan's discovery of the "magic angle" that imparts superconductivity to graphene opened up a new avenue for research into unconventional superconducting materials. His four publications in Nature were enough to prove the extraordinary value of his research.

However, Du Ke's paper was indeed thin. Compared to the cutting-edge research on graphene superconductivity, this electron flow theory, like turning water into hydrogen, seemed a bit outdated.

But if it were realized, the electron flow theory would represent a vast field of new energy, even more expansive than the new energy represented by graphene superconductivity. Most importantly, the transition of magic angle graphene from an insulator to a superconductor requires conditions of minus 271 degrees Celsius, far from commercial viability. It merely opened another door in superconductivity research.

It made people realize that superconducting materials didn't necessarily have to be sought from compounds; they could be found through other means.

At this point, Editor-in-Chief Chen Yang chuckled, "Why are you all so quiet? Room temperature superconductivity won't be achieved overnight, and electron flow batteries, it seems, won't be developed anytime soon either. The future is open to everyone, right? When Du Ke arrives, we can all ask him. Perhaps we can even collaborate on this in the future and research electron flow together."

No scientific theory is completed by a single person.

Take Cao Yuan's discovery of magic angle graphene, for example. After he published his first two papers in Nature, many others followed with several more papers on graphene in Nature. Du Ke's electron flow theory had also opened a door. Everyone present was among the first to encounter this new theory. If they went back and thought about it more, writing a couple of ordinary SCI journal articles wouldn't be impossible.

As for top-tier journals like Nature, they dared not even imagine it.

As the group of board members were chatting, Du Ke, led by a staff member, drove his BYD Han onto the Xiake University campus. After a few turns, he stopped in front of a small building nestled among lush trees. This was the editorial department of the Journal of Chemical Physics. He went up to the second floor and climbed the somewhat aged staircase, finding it hard to connect the simple environment with technology.

"Senior Du, you're amazing! Our editorial department has been discussing your paper every day recently. I've never seen anyone's paper spark so much discussion among so many professors," said the staff member, a sophomore working part-time. He spoke enthusiastically to Du Ke, showing none of the arrogance of a favored child of heaven at Xiake University – it wasn't easy to get into an SCI journal's editorial department as a sophomore if you lacked social intelligence.

Du Ke smiled calmly. "Just the basics, no need for applause."