Chapter 53
The sun always rises because the earth is constantly rotating. Ji Zhixing associated the earth's rotation with the earth's shape—a sphere.
Even elementary school students know that if you walk straight in one direction on Earth, you will eventually return to the starting point after making a turn.
The Earth's circumference is approximately 40,000 kilometers. If you start from a certain point and walk straight ahead, the distance increases from 0 to 40,000 kilometers and then returns to the starting point. Spatially, this is equivalent to equating 40,000 kilometers with 0.
40,000 kilometers = 0;
Furthermore, while the numbers to the left and right of 0 are both positive in terms of physical distance, they should be opposite in terms of mathematical distance. Therefore, in a certain dimension, positive numbers equal negative numbers.
This immediately reminded Ji Zhixing of a problem he had done before.
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 6... (the cumulative number is positive infinity) = -1/12;
When positive numbers greater than 1 are continuously added together, logically the final result should be a positive infinity number. However, the right side of the equation is a negative number less than 1.
Although he proved the problem at the time, he was too busy with the competition to delve into its mysteries.
Looking back now, perhaps the equation on the left went through a process of increasing infinitely in the positive direction, passing through 0 points in an instant, breaking through zero points, and then continuing to move in the negative direction.
In other words, the equation that kept increasing steadily by adding together was distorted into an arc shape! Just like the Earth!
Ji Zhixing felt that he had vaguely touched upon some mysterious law of all things.
The members surrounding Ji Zhixing all saw three words on his face at the same time—he had understood, and then they saw a growing fervor in his eyes.
"Where's the paper! Where's the pen!" Ji Zhixing asked anxiously. He needed paper and pen to verify his suspicions!
Everyone quickly handed over the paper and pens they had. Ji Zhixing grabbed a handful and began writing frantically.
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang had witnessed this state once before, when Ji Zhixing suddenly had an inspiration and spent an entire night solving the task Professor Yan had assigned him. Therefore, although they didn't understand exactly what Ji Zhixing was calculating now, it was very likely related to the pressure relief structure of the zero-gravity seat.
Xu Dongyang told everyone not to disturb him. Lin Lang cleared the rest of the items off the table and brought over a few notebooks, placing them next to Ji Zhixing.
Ji Zhixing never raised his head once. In his current world, there were only numbers, formulas, and theorems. He could not see others or even himself.
He wrote from morning until late at night, leaving the lunch and dinner that Lin Lang had ordered for him untouched.
After persuading all the club members to leave, Lin Lang approached Ji Zhixing and whispered, "Zhixing, why don't you... go back to the dormitory and rest for a while?"
Ji Zhixing did not respond; he was immersed in his own world and completely oblivious to any outside noise.
Xu Dongyang whispered to Lin Lang, "Should we take him back?"
Lin Lang hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "I'm a little hesitant to touch him in his current state."
Ji Zhixing now seems too mad. This madness is not manifested in physical frenzy, but rather surges in his mind, in his eyes, and in his writing.
Although Lin Lang couldn't quite understand what Ji Zhixing was trying to prove by writing down lines of numbers and formulas on the paper, he could sense that it might be some kind of genius innovation.
It is said that the line between genius and madness is very thin. What if he moves Ji Zhixing at this time and affects his mental state?
So the two of them decided to stay in the lab with Ji Zhixing that night.
The laboratory windows had no curtains, and after the sun rose, the sunlight streamed straight in, shining on Ji Zhixing's pen and on Lin Lang's tightly closed eyelids.
Lin Lang was startled awake by the blinding light, only then realizing that he had fallen asleep sometime during the night. Looking up, he saw Ji Zhixing still in the same position as yesterday, writing furiously.
Xu Dongyang walked in carrying three breakfasts and sat down next to Lin Lang. The two looked at each other, both looking somewhat worried.
It has been a day and a night, and Ji Zhixing has not eaten or drunk anything or closed his eyes. Moreover, it seems that he doesn't know when he will finish writing. Can his body hold up if this continues?
However, no matter how they tried to persuade Ji Zhixing, he did not respond at all, as if his soul had left his body.
The two were at a loss and didn't know what to do when they suddenly heard Professor Yan's voice coming from upstairs. So they quickly ran upstairs to ask Professor Yan to take a look at Ji Zhixing's condition.
Yan Anjin had just returned to school this morning. Upon hearing about Ji Zhixing's unusual behavior, he went downstairs without saying a word and walked to Ji Zhixing's side, but Ji Zhixing did not react at all.
He glanced at the table, picked up a full notebook, and flipped through a few pages, his brow furrowing more and more. Suddenly, he held his breath, his eyes widening, and his hand holding the notebook trembled slightly. This was…
Yi Deng and other members of the Physics Society who didn't have classes in the morning arrived one after another, and they all stopped in their tracks at the laboratory door when they saw Professor Yan.
Although Professor Yan is now highly regarded and countless students flock to his laboratory, for many students in the School of Physics, he is both a benevolent figure and a ruthless ruler who tightly controls their final exam scores.
Noticing the commotion behind her, Yan Anjin said sternly without warning, "The lab is closed for the day. No one is allowed to enter!"
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang were completely bewildered when they were kicked out of the lab. They had asked Professor Yan to persuade Ji Zhixing to stop and rest, but it backfired.
However, as an expert in the theory of Navier-Stokes equations, Yan Anjin knew what kind of history Ji Zhixing was creating.
He couldn't allow anyone to interrupt Ji Zhixing's train of thought. Often, inspiration is as fleeting as a soap bubble, and cannot withstand the slightest external interference. He also couldn't allow Ji Zhixing's drafts to circulate in any form, such as photographs or snippets, lest someone with ulterior motives steal their secrets and despicably attribute them to him!
The sun rose higher and higher on its own, shining on everything on earth, and then gradually began to set in the west.
As the last rays of sunlight were about to fade, Ji Zhixing finally put down his pen, snapping out of his reverie. Before he could even review everything he had written, he was overwhelmed by dizziness, followed by an intense hunger.
Yan Anjin reached out and covered his draft notebook, stacking it with the other neatly tidied draft notebooks. Then she turned and nodded to Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang, who had been waiting outside the laboratory, gesturing for them to come in.
Lin Lang placed the still-warm dinner in front of Ji Zhixing. Xu Dongyang broke the chopsticks and handed them to him, but Ji Zhixing's hands were shaking so badly he couldn't hold them. Luckily, there was a spoon. Ji Zhixing eagerly scooped the rice into his mouth with the spoon, almost choking himself after three or four scoops. Xu Dongyang quickly picked up the soup and poured a mouthful into his mouth.
Ji Zhixing wolfed down his meal, finally feeling truly alive again. He put down his soup bowl, wiped his mouth, and turned to say something to Lin Lang, only to notice Professor Yan standing behind him.
Before he could even speak, Yan Anjin instructed him, "Put everything else aside and get your derivation process organized into a paper as soon as possible!"
Upon hearing Professor Yan's words, Ji Zhixing's spirits lifted. Although he had derived the general solution of the Navier-Stokes equation in a burst of inspiration, he had not yet carefully reviewed it and could not be sure if there were any logical errors. But Professor Yan's words at least indicated that he acknowledged his line of thought!
Yan Anjin then thought that the dormitory and laboratory were crowded with people, so she took out a bunch of keys from her pocket, took one off and handed it to Ji Zhixing: "This is the key to my office. You can finish your thesis there. Don't let anyone see your draft before you submit it."
Ji Zhixing was startled, only then remembering the matter of keeping it a secret.
In academia, the theft of research findings is not uncommon. For example, the double helix structure of DNA.
This discovery, along with the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb, is considered one of the two major symbolic representations of the 20th century, causing a sensation at the time. Its discoverers, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962.
It wasn't until 40 years later that people discovered that the first person to discover the DNA double helix structure was actually the British female scientist Rosalyn Franklin.
At the time, she was engrossed in her research and didn't notice that her findings had been leaked by her colleague Wilkins. Furthermore, because of her pursuit of perfection, she kept revising her paper and didn't publish it in time. Ultimately, due to the time lag in publication, her achievements were not recognized, and she regrettably missed out on the Nobel Prize.
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang then understood why Professor Yan wanted to expel everyone from the laboratory.
After Professor Yan left, Lin Lang dared to ask Ji Zhixing, "What were those things you wrote about?"
Professor Yan's serious expression just now made him fully understand how remarkable what Ji Zhixing had written this time was, so he was extremely curious.
Ji Zhixing touched the stack of drafts: "I may have... found the general solution to the Navier-Stokes equations."
Before the paper was officially written and successfully published, he couldn't be 100% certain that the general solution he had derived was correct. After all, scholars from various countries had previously claimed to have obtained results, but their logical errors had been pointed out by public discussions within the academic community.
Therefore, he cannot claim that he has solved the Navier-Stokes equations until his research results are officially recognized by the entire academic community.
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang were dumbfounded, hardly believing their ears. However, Ji Zhixing was not one to boast or make empty promises; the fact that he dared to say this proved that he was at least 90% confident.
"Witnessing history!" Xu Dongyang shook his head and muttered to himself.
Lin Lang's first reaction was to take out his phone and put his arm around Ji Zhixing: "Come on! Let's take a picture together."
Once Ji Zhixing officially publishes his paper and becomes famous for solving the Navier-Stokes equations, this photo of him might even appear in textbooks!
Although Professor Yan instructed Ji Zhixing to put everything else aside, he still spent some time simplifying the theoretical part of the pressure relief structure.
The zero-gravity seat is not his project alone, and organizing the paper on the Navier-Stokes equations is not something that can be done in just a couple of days.
When he was drafting the paper, his pen couldn't keep up with his thoughts, resulting in large gaps in the derivation process and a lot of details that needed to be added. Therefore, filling in these details would take considerable time, and he couldn't let the highly anticipated zero-gravity chair project continue to be delayed.
After finding the general solution to the Navier-Stokes equations, calculating the exact solution according to the needs of the zero-gravity seat is as simple as 1+1=2.
It took Ji Zhixing half a day to compress the original 37-page stress relief formula into just 3 pages.
He looked at the three pages and sighed with satisfaction. Indeed, to truly solve a problem, one must get to the root of the issue! He had spent nearly three weeks without any substantial progress, but now he had simplified it so much in just half a day!
After handing the new algorithm over to Lin Lang, Lin Lang and his decompression team re-examined the connection and coupling parts, and quickly compressed the entire decompression structure to 35.7 centimeters.
The seat height of a typical chair is generally between 40 and 50 centimeters, so the height of this pressure-relieving structure is already quite adequate. With the addition of the base and seat material, the overall seat height of the zero-gravity chair can certainly be controlled within a reasonable range.
Considering that it is now autumn and winter, the materials team focused its efforts and resources on optimizing the carbon fiber composite material of the Yideng group, and then installed it together with the pressure relief structure.
At this point, the zero-gravity seat had taken shape.
A note from the author:
The proof of 1+2+3+4+6… (the cumulative number is positive infinity) = -1/12 was posted in the author's notes in Chapter 23. Those interested can go back and take a look.
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