Chapter 145: The Last Question, Physics and Chemistry (Update 3)
The last question is not a regular one, but was originally created by Xu Kaiqing.
A scientist of his level is naturally qualified to set questions, and questions are hard to come by!
For example, Xu Kaiqing’s original questions appeared at the Romanian Mathematical Masters Competition two years ago.
That’s right, it’s not a physics competition, but one of the world’s top mathematics competitions.
Laymen don't understand the ins and outs, so they just like to join in the fun. In order to attract attention and gain popularity, some people used their big V status to publicly question Xu Kaiqing's personal ability and question-setting level online.
Throughout the whole process, he kept harping on the point that "physicists can also solve math problems" and criticized the domestic academic atmosphere thoroughly.
The process is full of quotations from classics and the language is sharp and inflammatory.
But in the end, he was mocked by the whole network for being "ignorant". Who said that physicists can't solve math problems?
Planck was not only a physicist, but also had great attainments in literature and music.
Not to mention Leonardo da Vinci, who was proficient in physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, painting, architecture... he was a real jack of all trades.
Someone once asked how good Newton was at mathematics. The answer was: If his contribution to physics is 1, then his contribution to mathematics is definitely no less than 0.9.
As an interdisciplinary doctor and doctoral supervisor, Mr. Xu is not only a leading figure in the domestic physics community, but also a distinguished guest in the fields of mathematics and chemistry.
Who dares to question his authority and professionalism?
And the facts have proved that Xu Kaiqing is indeed worthy of the identity of "question setter".
At the Romanian Mathematical Masters that year, this problem became the final battle for the 26 participating countries on the road to victory. In the end, Country Y successfully solved the problem, calculated the optimal solution, and won the gold medal.
After the competition, this question was included in the "IMDP" magazine as a key research example and became known to mathematics enthusiasts around the world.
Since then, Xu Kaiqing has not provided any original questions for international academic competitions.
I didn’t expect it to happen again today!
"It's amazing that Elder Xu can personally take action."
"If I steal the questions and sell them, can I become rich overnight?"
"Oh, people buy the complete set of questions. Do you have the answers?"
“…” Sorry to bother you.
"I think the questions are quite difficult. Can Jiang Fuyue and Huo Fanjin handle them?"
"I don't know if Jiang Fuyue can do it, but Huo Fanjin is probably hopeless."
She only finished a small question on the first one. By the time she finished the second question, it would take her forever to finish the third question.
"According to the IPhO schedule, the theoretical exam lasts three hours. Huo Fanjin's speed is normal, right?"
"It's normal, but... I can only say that there is no harm without comparison."
With Jiang Fuyue's outstanding performance, no matter how well Huo Fanjin performs, he will only be overshadowed.
"Hiss! That's not right. Look at the last question..."
"What's going on?"
"That's it? That's all?"
"The document didn't load?"
On the projection screen, there was only one sentence about the third question:
Explain the physics of quasi-crystals with data support.
Based on data, the physical properties of quasicrystals are explained.
Jiang Fuyue was also stunned when she saw the question.
There were no scenarios, no parameters, and not even specific questions asked.
The word "physical" is vague and abstract, which makes people confused.
At first glance, I thought I was going to write a popular science essay.
But Jiang Fuyue quickly grasped the key point - "with data support"!
Supported by data.
It’s still a physics problem, still requires the use of formulas, and still requires a lot of calculations.
It’s just that the entry point is very random, so random that it is a huge test for the test taker to choose.
The reaction from the audience was even more intense——
"Can this be called a question?"
"It doesn't know me, and I don't know it, thank you."
"What are quasi-crystals?"
"Quasi-crystals."
"What is that?"
"Who knows? We haven't studied detailed physics."
Someone shook his head: "This is not the scope of discussion in the field of physics."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Quasi-crystals are a type of crystalline structure. The atomic arrangement within a quasi-crystal is not symmetrically arranged in a repetitive periodic pattern, but rather lies somewhere between that of crystals and amorphous solids. The person who discovered quasi-crystals was Daniel Shechtman, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011 for his discovery."
"Oh, I see... Wait! What Nobel Prize are you talking about?"
"Chemistry Prize."
"Oh my God, shouldn't it be the Physics Prize?!"
"No. That's why I said quasi-crystals don't belong in the realm of physics."
But it just happened to appear in the IPhO test questions!
Let’s discuss physics!
Huo Fanjin hadn't finished the first question yet, but listening to the constant discussions and exclamations coming from all around her, she couldn't help but take a distracted look at the projection screen.
Just one glance and I was stunned.
If the first and second questions were within her ability and just took a little longer to solve, then the third question was like a mystery to her.
The confusion in her eyes was no less than that of the onlookers in the audience.
At this moment, she was suddenly very curious about Jiang Fuyue's reaction. Was he as confused and at a loss as herself, or was he frowning and thinking hard about how to solve the problem?
Thinking this in his heart, Huo Fanjin indeed looked at her.
Jiang Fuyue, who had been standing still for a long time, suddenly moved. She stood in front of a clean whiteboard and wrote a chemical formula with the marker in her hand.
Al57.0+xCu39.5-xRu3.5 (x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10) and Al62.0Cu34.0+yRu4.0-y (y = 0, 0.5, 1.5)[1]
"What is she doing?"
Someone in the audience asked the question that was on Huo Fanjin's mind.
Even Yan Zhenfeng couldn't help but remind her: "This is a physics competition!"
Jiang Fuyue turned a deaf ear...
Three updates, two thousand words.
References: [1] Kotoba Toyonaga, Ryosei Shibata, Tsunetomo Yamada, et al. Growth and characterization of single grain Al-Cu-Ru icosahedral quasicrystals from self-fluxes. 2020, 100(17):2220-2243.
The author is not an academic, nor a scientific research expert. All information comes from papers. There is no need to delve into details or be too serious about it. If there are any inaccuracies, please forgive me.
(End of this chapter)
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