A Period of Confusion
Rather than being overly respectful, Shen Qi obeyed the organization's arrangement, temporarily staying in an apartment building with an elevator, and later moving into a separately designed villa.
As a Party member, one cannot only focus on personal enjoyment while neglecting collective honor and interests.
While a professional team was helping Shen Qi design the villa, Shen Qi was more concerned about when the central research building would be completed.
We can't borrow the math building for an extended period; it's too old.
Shen Qi found Principal Lu and complained a bit, "Principal, I've been back for almost a year. Has the location for our center building been chosen yet? It seems like it hasn't been chosen by then?"
Principal Lu reassured him, "You've made your choice, you've made your choice. We're going to build a research center building for you on the Weiming Lake."
Shen Qi expressed his doubts. "There's still vacant land by Weiming Lake? Are you suggesting we demolish the Boya Pagoda? Forget it, don't demolish the pagoda. I'd rather work inside it; the view is better from the top. It's settled then."
Principal Lu nearly spat out his tea. "The tower can't be demolished, and you can't work in it. In short, I'll help you find a place to build a central building. This project is currently in the planning stages. Don't you trust me?"
"When will it be finished and ready for my inspection?" Shen Qi asked.
Principal Lu held up one finger. "Starting from now, one year."
"Okay." Shen Qi remembered Principal Lu's promise.
Back in the central laboratory, Shen Qi saw that Yang Ding Tian had a blank stare and looked dazed.
Yang Ding Tian failed to complete the task assigned by Shen Qi before he went abroad.
In reality, there has been no progress.
"Everyone goes through a period of confusion when pursuing a PhD. There's no other way but to grit your teeth and get through it. Come on, pull up a chair and sit next to me. I'll teach you how to get through this period of confusion." Shen Qi put on his white lab coat and prepared to demonstrate his procedure.
Yang Ding Tian sat silently next to Shen Qi, holding a cat.
Shen Qi sat in front of his computer, operating two computers simultaneously. "Amorphous Alloy have excellent performance and a wide range of applications. They can be used on aircraft carriers and in infrastructure. For example, 30% to 60% of the power grid losses in China come from transformer losses. If all existing transformers were made of a certain Amorphous Alloy material, theoretically, it could reduce power transmission losses by about 24% to 50%."
"People outside are always shouting slogans about energy conservation, emission reduction, low carbon emissions, and National First Prize green hills and clear waters. What's the use of just shouting slogans? We have to do it, we have to get to work! Yang Ding Tian, the work we're doing is truly beneficial to the country and the people, and its merits will last for generations. You better pull yourself together!"
Yang Ding Tian felt a surge of excitement, finding himself getting a little tipsy.
"The problem you're facing is exactly what I've been struggling with lately. I have a preliminary idea, and I'd like to share it with you." Shen Qi operated computer number 1 and entered the simulation software interface.
"The difficulty in studying Amorphous Alloy lies in exploring and defining their microstructure." Shen Qi modeled the alloy in simulation software and selected Pd425Ni75Cu30P20 Amorphous Alloy as the research object.
Palladium, nickel, copper, and phosphorus are all basic chemical elements, but when they are combined, they exhibit a microscopic structural disorder that has long puzzled scientists.
Shen Qi's simulation calculations were being performed on computer number 1, and schematic diagrams of amorphous and crystalline materials were being generated.
"Tracing back to the source is a fundamental means of understanding and studying this world, and the study of Amorphous Alloy is no exception." Shen Qi operated the mouse on computer number 1 with his right hand, while his left hand typed seemingly random symbols on the keyboard of computer number 2.
Computer No. 1 displayed the distribution of the relative displacements of particles in a two-dimensional space within the supercooled liquid.
This operation is not difficult; Yang Ding Tian could do it too.
Suddenly, Shen Qi's right hand trembled, and a TTT Curve appeared on the screen of computer number 1.
Because most TTT Curve resemble the shape of a human nose, they are also known as nasal curves.
The TTT Curve in front of Yang Ding Tian was somewhat strange; it had a hooked nose, a very rare shape.
Meanwhile, Shen Qi's left hand was inputting a large number of Mathematical Physics symbols into computer number 2.
After initially having no clue, things gradually started to make sense. Yang Ding Tian saw Shen Qi trying to find some kind of Mathematical Physics law in computer number 2 to explain the simulation results in computer number 1.
"This is... you introduced non- Gauss parameters?" Yang Ding Tian seemed to understand some of Shen Qi's thinking.
"Hmm." Shen Qi nodded.
"So, to obtain valuable clues, the correct approach is to use both hands simultaneously?" Yang Ding Tian realized why he had made no progress: because he hadn't mastered the technique of using both hands simultaneously.
"Using both hands is mainly to save time. I have something to do later and need to go out." Shen Qi concentrated his resources on operating computer number 2.
Computer No. 1 is an analog machine, while Computer No. 2 is equivalent to Shen Qi's Mathematical Physics notebook. He introduced non- Gauss parameters, factors based on four-point correlation, and dynamic structure factors to make a Mathematical Physics derivation.
"Everything I've done is aimed at describing the inhomogeneity of the selected Amorphous Alloy object... Holy crap!" Shen Qi suddenly stood up.
Yang Ding Tian didn't react for a moment. "Huh... what the hell? The description of the inhomogeneity of Amorphous Alloy is... what the hell?"
"Holy crap is an interjection, it has nothing to do with this project." Shen Qi excitedly paced around the lab, circling the lab bench repeatedly. "Holy crap, I found it!"
Yang Ding Tian was also excited. "Holy crap! Professor Shen, tell me quickly, what did you find? I only half understand, I don't quite get it!"
The orange cat that resides in the lab stares at Shen Qi and his apprentice as if they were idiots, swishing its tail and idly patting the ground.
"It's not a local cluster, it's not a local cluster!" Shen Qi slammed his fist on the lab table, both frustrated and excited. "We wasted several months of time, we went in the wrong direction! This is my fault, not yours."
"What is it? What is it?" Yang Ding Tian was excited. He shook off his dejection and became completely excited.
Shen Qi stared into Yang Ding Tian's eyes, then raised his hand and said, "What do you think?"
"I... I think?"
"What is the name of our 973 Program?" Shen Qi asked.
"<The Application of Defect Topology in Condensed Matter>, so..." Yang Ding Tian was shocked, then slapped himself. "Holy crap, Local Five-fold Symmetry?"
"That's right, Local Five-fold Symmetry! Using Local Five-fold Symmetry as a parameter to describe the structural characteristics of amorphous materials is OK, I just proved it! You're in charge of processing, saving, and exporting the simulation data from Unit 1, hurry up, right now." Shen Qi sat in front of Unit 2, frantically typing on the keyboard.
The mentor and apprentice each performed their respective tasks, and an hour later, Shen Qi summarized their preliminary conclusions. "Through simulation calculations and Mathematical Physics derivations, Local Five-fold Symmetry can describe the local structural characteristics of amorphous materials from a topological perspective. This research result is crucial, and we have made significant progress."
"Next, we need to observe the actual state of the palladium-nickel-copper-phosphorus Amorphous Alloy under a high-resolution electron microscope. I originally thought this was a calculation problem, but now it seems to be a proof problem." Shen Qi breathed a sigh of relief; proof problems were his favorite thing to do.