The sounds of the argument in the meeting room were still ringing in her ears, but Liu Li felt her thoughts drift away. She didn't try to join the debate, which had no end in sight. Instead, she picked up the broken main shaft, walked to the window, and examined it carefully by the light.

Her fingers traced the slightly discolored bearing, and that subtle pulsation returned. She closed her eyes, trying to recall fragments of knowledge about rotor dynamics from her modern mechanics course—the vibration characteristics of high-speed rotating components are dynamic and changing, influenced not only by the initial equilibrium state but also closely related to speed, temperature, and support conditions.

A thought, like a match struck in the darkness, suddenly illuminated her mind.

Existing dynamic balancing methods all aim to achieve a uniform mass distribution by removing or adding weights when the main shaft is stationary. This is similar to balancing a stationary gyroscope. However, once the gyroscope starts spinning at high speed, centrifugal force, thermal deformation, oil film pressure, and countless other factors can alter this "balanced" state.

Why must we pursue an "absolutely perfect" static equilibrium? Since vibration is generated dynamically, can we also use a dynamic method to counteract it?

She suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze sharp. Ignoring the arguing crowd in the meeting room, she strode to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and drew a simple main axis diagram next to the chaotic flowchart.

"Dear teachers," her voice was not loud, but it had an unusual clarity that gradually calmed the argument, "can we change our approach? Let's not get bogged down in the pursuit of that 'perfectly balanced' rotor on the lathe."

Pointing to her drawing, she said, "When the spindle rotates at high speed, the vibration changes in real time. Could we... install a 'little gadget' on it?" She added a few small squares to the spindle diagram with her pen. "A device that can automatically fine-tune and generate a counterbalancing force based on the real-time vibration? When it detects that the spindle is vibrating in one direction, it immediately applies a small balancing force on the other side to 'pull' it back?"

The idea was so audacious that a brief silence fell over the meeting room.

Engineer Li was the first to react, his brows furrowing deeply: "Real-time adjustment? This... how is this possible? How can it be adjusted? How can it be controlled? Isn't this just absurd?"

Zhou Wei's eyes lit up, and he immediately leaned close to the whiteboard: "You mean...online dynamic balancing? Using sensors to detect vibrations and applying compensating forces in real time through actuators? This...this is feasible in principle! Just like active noise-canceling headphones!" He seemed very excited, but then calmed down, "But, sensors, control systems, actuators...with our current conditions..."

Sun Mei also came over, looked at the sketch on the whiteboard, and pondered, "The idea is very novel, directly addressing the essence of dynamic vibration changes. But its implementation is indeed fraught with difficulties. Especially the miniature sensors and fast-response actuators, I'm afraid domestically..."

Liu Li knew they would react this way. She put down her pen, her tone calm but firm: "I know it's difficult, and it may seem a bit far-fetched. But if we continue to argue along the old paths of 'improving static equilibrium accuracy' and 'optimizing system stiffness,' we probably still won't be able to solve the problem. This method, at least, provides a new direction that may be more direct in solving the problem."

She looked at Team Leader Chen, who had remained silent, and said, "Team Leader Chen, I request permission to form a temporary team with Zhou Wei and Sun Mei to conduct a preliminary theoretical demonstration and conceptual design of the feasibility of this 'online dynamic balancing device.' We don't require resources, just some time and space to think. If the demonstration proves completely infeasible, we will abandon it immediately and go back to tackling the more difficult challenges. But if there is even a glimmer of hope..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear. Rather than going around in circles in a dead end, it's better to try to forge a new path, even if it's full of thorns.

Team Leader Chen stubbed out his cigarette, his sharp gaze sweeping over Liu Li, then looking at the bold idea on the whiteboard, before finally speaking slowly: "Okay. You have three days to produce a preliminary feasibility analysis and conceptual plan. Remember, I need to see concrete theoretical basis and possible technical paths, not just wishful thinking."

This limited permission, like a glimmer of light, shone onto that unknown path. Liu Li knew that the next three days would be a race against time and the limitations of her understanding.