Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen

July 16.

Huang Xiuyuan arrived at the Materials Laboratory early in the morning.

Before he had headed north to Bingcheng, Lu Xuedong, He Wen, and the others had continued their research into polygonal silicon oxides.

However, given the safety risks, they had been very cautious throughout their research. After all, Nitrogen-20 from their previous work was a high-energy material.

One mistake could have disastrous consequences.

He looked over the laboratory's reports. Their current work was focused on polygonal silicon oxides, Nitrogen-16, and Nitrogen-20.

Of the four subtypes of polygonal silicon oxide, they had studied the first one discovered, Hexagonal Silicon Oxide, the most extensively.

During their research, He Wen and the others had made quite a few discoveries.

For example, the elements that could pass through Hexagonal Silicon Oxide weren't limited to nitrogen atoms. Other pnictogens—nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth—could also pass through its central hole under specific voltages and a vacuum.

Pentagonal Silicon Oxide, meanwhile, seemed to favor carbon-group elements. Besides water molecules (dihydrogen monoxide), Heptagonal Silicon Oxide could also pass other chalcogens, while Octagonal Silicon Oxide corresponded to specific halogens.

Ambitious as they were, He Wen and the others hoped to draw on Huang Xiuyuan's experience to develop entirely new materials.

He was fully supportive, but insisted that they take proper safety precautions to avoid accidents.

For now, Huang Xiuyuan still needed to further strengthen the foundations of Suiren Company. So he planned to bring a material that would one day become wildly popular into the world ahead of time.

"Lao He, make the arrangements. I want to run an experiment."

"Just say the word, Mr. Huang."

A little over an hour later, the equipment and materials were ready. In front of them stood a device fitted with a Heptagonal Silicon Oxide–Graphene Film component.

He began by testing pure oxygen more than a dozen times, but none of the attempts succeeded.

"Mr. Huang, should we try pure ozone?"

Huang Xiuyuan shook his head. "I read your previous reports. Ozone probably won't work either."

After pretending to think for a moment, he gave an order. "Lao He, prepare liquid oxygen as the raw material."

"Liquid oxygen?" He Wen was taken aback, but quickly understood.

Of the oxygen allotropes we commonly encounter, the usual ones are oxygen gas (O₂) and ozone (O₃). But oxygen has two other, less common allotropes: O₄ molecules that exist briefly in liquid oxygen, and red oxygen (O₈), which exists in solid oxygen.

They switched to liquid oxygen and restarted the experiment. After more than fifty attempts, a strange red solid appeared at the bottom of the reaction vessel. There was only a tiny amount, but its vivid, blood-red color sent the group into a state of excitement.

"Could it be red oxygen?"

"Doesn't look like it. Red oxygen needs low temperatures and high pressure, but the reaction vessel's practically under vacuum."

"Looks like we've found another new substance."

Unable to contain their anticipation, they carefully collected the tiny amount of red powder and sent it to the testing area.

After more than half an hour of preliminary testing, He Wen hurried over, visibly thrilled. "It's a new molecule, an entirely new allotrope of oxygen made up of fourteen oxygen atoms."

Huang Xiuyuan already knew exactly what it was, but couldn't let that show. He assigned the next tasks. "Lao He, take a team and keep studying the new molecule's physical and chemical properties. I'll continue working on the synthesis process. Let's stay in touch."

"No problem."

The two of them each led a team and got to work in the laboratory.

With each small improvement, the yield of the new molecule steadily increased.

Meanwhile, after more than a week of research, He Wen's team soon worked out the new molecule's general physical and chemical properties.

It was an oxygen-14 molecule. Its three-dimensional structure resembled a sphere. More precisely, it could be thought of as a cube with an oxygen atom protruding from the center of each of its six faces.

After discussion, they named the new molecule Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen.

Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen was relatively stable at room temperature and pressure. It dissolved in water, had weak magnetic properties, and could be attracted by a rubidium magnet, allowing it to be separated from water.

These properties were all fairly ordinary, but He Wen discovered that Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen had one extremely unusual trait.

When an electric current was applied, Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen acquired an extraordinarily powerful, temporary oxidizing ability. The extent of that power was remarkable.

During testing, even highly inert gold atoms couldn't resist Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen's "forcible snatching." They were forcibly combined with it to form Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen–Digold molecules (O₁₆Au₂).

In a series of tests, Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen reacted this way with every element except argon, a noble gas, and radioactive heavy elements that the laboratory didn't have.

This trait vanished as soon as the current was switched off. Once the forcible-snatching effect disappeared, the atoms it had captured were released from their bonds with the Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen.

After studying this trait in depth, He Wen discovered that the forcible-snatching effect could also be controlled.

This control mainly depended on the solution's temperature and the voltage applied. At specific water temperatures and voltages, Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen would selectively target certain elements.

A reaction that indiscriminately snatched up everything might have been of somewhat limited value. But one that could target specific elements was an entirely different matter.

Even without much knowledge of how to commercialize technology, He Wen could think of six or seven possible applications.

As someone who understood the technology inside out, Huang Xiuyuan saw even more potential. He instructed Du Jinhua's engineering team to modify some equipment.

July 28.

Outside the organic fertilizer desalination workshop at Guizhuling Industrial Park,

Huang Xiuyuan, He Wen, Du Jinhua, and plant manager Huang Guotong stood outside the workshop.

Six or seven technicians and engineers from the engineering team were busy inside, modifying the existing desalination equipment.

The desalination technology they had used before was not only complicated to operate and relatively expensive, but it also left the organic fertilizer with sodium chloride levels that only just met the preliminary standard.

Some of the chemicals they used might also cause secondary pollution, further driving up production costs.

The desalination workshop's modifications were complete.

Du Jinhua and the others spent another two hours fine-tuning the equipment before starting a trial run.

Large quantities of gas-refining residue and liquid from the liquefied gas refining workshop flowed along channels and were continuously delivered to the desalination workshop.

Heated, recirculated purified water was added to the residue and liquid until the temperature in the desalination tank reached 35–37 degrees Celsius.

A hatch above the workshop opened, and all the Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen powder stored inside poured into the liquid. Then the electrical system installed in the desalination tank switched on.

Under a specific voltage, Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen molecules reacted with sodium chloride molecules with extraordinary force. In just over a minute, they had forcibly bound all the sodium chloride in the liquid.

Then a mechanical arm reached down through the hatch, carrying an electromagnet, and lowered it close to the surface of the liquid.

As soon as the electromagnet neared the liquid, large quantities of Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen–sodium chloride separated from the liquid and clung to the magnet's surface.

The electromagnet was then drawn back and moved into the next workshop, where its power was cut. The red crystals on its surface instantly broke apart into powder and drifted down.

When the electromagnet was switched on again, the Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen molecules in the red powder were drawn back up by the magnet. At the bottom of the workshop's recovery tank, only a layer of pure white powder remained: sodium chloride.

The electromagnet carried the Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen back above the hatch. Once the power was cut, the powder settled back inside, ready for the next cycle.

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