Early the next morning, Fang Xu pushed open the laboratory door with dark circles under both eyes.
Watching the researchers bustling around the laboratory, Fang Xu looked momentarily lost.
Where was Lü Yongchang?
He hurriedly stopped a researcher passing by and asked, "Where... where did Lü Yongchang go?"
Surprise flickered in the researcher's eyes before he pointed toward the back of the laboratory.
"Professor Lü got here ages ago. He was already busy in the lab when we arrived!"
At some point, Lü Yongchang had become "Professor Lü" to these researchers.
Fang Xu could not be bothered to correct their form of address.
After all, having witnessed Lü Yongchang's skilled, confident approach to research, even Fang Xu admired him from the bottom of his heart, let alone these researchers!
Had he not known Lü Yongchang's actual identity, he probably would have mistaken him for a seasoned professor, too!
Pulling himself out of his musings, Fang Xu quickly turned to glance at the clock on the wall.
6:45.
He inwardly marveled.
Success really was never an accident.
As Fang Xu reflected on this, he quickened his pace toward the back of the laboratory.
Perhaps hearing the approaching footsteps, Lü Yongchang looked away from the apparatus on the lab bench.
He froze for a moment when he saw the dark circles under Fang Xu's eyes.
"What happened to you?"
Fang Xu smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing! I just had a little trouble sleeping last night!"
"Why don't you... get some rest?" Lü Yongchang suggested with concern. "We don't have much to do today anyway. We just need to test the carbon nanotubes' superconducting properties."
Excitement flashed in Fang Xu's eyes, and he promptly swore. "Rest, my ass! This is why I stayed up and got these dark circles, and you're telling me to rest?!"
"Where's the wire? Let me see it!"
Seeing Academician Fang so excited, Lü Yongchang could not help chuckling.
He stepped aside, revealing the apparatus on the lab bench.
It was a glass cover thirty centimeters in diameter.
Fang Xu hurried forward a couple of steps to stand beside it.
Through the glass cover, he could clearly see a black wire about ten centimeters long connected to two metal probes.
The wire was very thin.
To the naked eye, it looked about as thick as a strand of hair.
Fang Xu reached out, curled his fingers, and gently tapped the glass cover. "Is it... a vacuum in there?"
Lü Yongchang shook his head. "Of course not. Right now, it's just a miniature clean room. You wouldn't want dust affecting the results, would you?"
But he soon added, "To be precise, it isn't a vacuum yet."
As he spoke, Lü Yongchang pointed to the vacuum pump beside it.
Fang Xu raised his eyebrows slightly.
That statement carried some major implications.
"Are you saying... this material can achieve superconductivity in a vacuum, too?!"
Lü Yongchang picked up an A4 sheet covered in writing from the lab bench and handed it to Fang Xu. "According to my calculations, a superconducting wire made of carbon nanotubes is extremely stable. Its normal operating temperature ranges from minus fifty to eighty degrees Celsius."
Fang Xu's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "What about pressure?"
"Up to two standard atmospheres."
"Hah!"
At Lü Yongchang's answer, Fang Xu sharply sucked in a breath.
Good lord!
If Lü Yongchang's calculations were correct, this superconducting wire made of carbon nanotubes could be used practically anywhere on Earth!
Even in the deep sea, where pressure was extremely high, all it would need was a pressure-resistant casing!
That also meant Xia Country's power industry was about to undergo earth-shaking changes!
"Yongchang... do you realize what you've done?"
Imagining the series of changes this would bring, Fang Xu stood rooted to the spot and murmured to himself.
A hint of amusement appeared in Lü Yongchang's eyes, but he said nothing.
Of course he knew what this length of wire meant!
Although these technologies were somewhat advanced for present-day Xia Country, they were... still nowhere near enough to face the disasters to come!
After admiring the carbon nanotube wire on the lab bench for a while, Fang Xu turned serious. "Let's start the tests!"
Upon learning that the first test of the room-temperature superconducting coil was about to begin, every researcher in the laboratory set aside their unfinished work and gathered around Lü Yongchang.
This was a chance to witness history!
No one wanted to miss an opportunity like this!
Lü Yongchang swallowed lightly and carefully reached out to connect the metal probes at both ends of the wire to the testing equipment.
Although he was very confident in the material he had made...
Who could ever be certain when it came to materials science?
Perhaps a slight mishap during manufacturing had changed the carbon nanotubes' angle by one degree, or perhaps something else had gone wrong...
Even the tiniest error would mean the attempt to manufacture this room-temperature superconducting material had failed!
With all these worries running through his mind, he flipped the testing equipment's switch.
The current began to flow!
A number appeared on the testing equipment's screen.
Resistance: 0 Ω!
It worked!
Excitement flashed in Lü Yongchang's eyes.
"Increase the current some more!"
Fang Xu's excited voice came from beside him.
Lü Yongchang immediately turned the knob, slowly increasing the current.
When they saw that the resistance reading on the screen did not fluctuate at all, every researcher in the laboratory let out a soft gasp.
Unlike the researchers around him, Lü Yongchang remained utterly serious.
The testing was not over yet.
He still needed to test how this material performed at low pressure!
Lü Yongchang gave Fang Xu a meaningful glance.
Fang Xu nodded lightly and switched on the vacuum pump beside them.
With a low hum, the air inside the glass cover was gradually drawn out.
Watching the pressure gauge's reading slowly drop, even Lü Yongchang broke into a nervous sweat.
Superconducting materials reacted extremely strongly to environmental changes!
With previous superconducting materials, even the slightest change in temperature or pressure would cause superconductivity to vanish!
Under such a powerful current, if the wire lost its superconductivity, even a tiny amount of resistance would instantly generate tremendous heat.
The result... would naturally be the melting of the world's only existing room-temperature superconducting wire!
Several dozen seconds later.
Watching the perfectly steady resistance curve on the testing equipment's screen, Lü Yongchang finally broke into a radiant smile.
He gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised his right hand high, and shouted, "It worked!"
"We did it!"
Overcome with excitement, Fang Xu shut down the instruments one by one, then rushed over to Lü Yongchang and clapped him firmly on the shoulder. "Well done!"
"Now that we have room-temperature superconductivity technology, Academician Fang, it's time to prepare the modifications to the Stellarator!" Lü Yongchang quickly pulled himself out of his elation and spoke in a grave voice.
Fang Xu nodded excitedly.
"I'll notify the lab staff right away. We'll start modifying the Stellarator this afternoon!"
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