Chapter 87
Ji Zhixing is conducting an electrolysis experiment.
In fact, the electrolysis of water experiment is a basic experiment that junior high school students are required to learn and master. However, Ji Zhixing used heavy water and palladium electrodes in his experiment. He wanted to use palladium electrodes to electrolyze heavy water at room temperature.
"A small number of neutrons have been observed," Deng said, peeking out from behind the observation mirror.
Ji Zhixing didn't stop what he was doing: "Okay, continue observing and recording."
After a while, Deng spoke again: "A transient vortex structure appeared at the tip of the electrode."
Ji Zhixing's spirits lifted: "Bring over the CR-39 solid track detector and record the reaction tracks, nuclear transmutations, and hysteresis effects."
After another set of experiments, Ji Zhixing took the experimental records from Deng Yi and compared them with the records obtained from other experiments yesterday.
“Look! The physical laws governing gas discharge, vacuum breakdown, and electrolysis in liquids are the same!” Ji Zhixing said.
During electrolysis, the electrode surface generates an energy-gathering process due to the tip effect. This process promotes bubble collapse and vortex motion, which in turn induces the dynamic Casimir effect to extract zero-point vacuum energy and release it as thermal energy.
Ji Zhixing couldn't help but smile: "It can be seen that if a nonlinear system far from the equilibrium state is formed on the surface of the electrode tip, then under certain conditions, a quasar vortex structure will be formed, and then zero-point vacuum energy can be extracted through the torsion field mechanism."
Although the generation of high-energy rays, neutrons, and high-energy particles at the vortex center must be considered, the experiment has been successful so far.
What pleased Ji Zhixing even more was that Yu Zhuli had already calculated all the "certain conditions" as soon as he finished his summary.
Ji Zhixing and Yu Zhuli exchanged a smile as they looked at the freshly released data, while Deng Yi silently wept. His brain just couldn't keep up with these two academic geniuses!
However, he saw himself as an assistant, and he was used to being bullied like this every day, so he quickly recovered from his setback and started dealing with the experimental residue.
As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest, but all three groups in the vacuum energy laboratory have made good progress. Yi Yan's group confirmed the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions through a large number of experiments, while Lin Yujing's group introduced asymmetric connections, i.e., the existence of torsion fields when the torsion is not zero, and derived them.
However, Ji Zhixing did not let his guard down. Zero-point vacuum energy was not unseen before, but no one had made any progress, which shows how difficult it was. There would definitely be resistance during the experiment, and the later it appeared, the more likely it was to overturn all previous efforts.
However, a good start always puts people in a good mood, and everyone chatted and laughed as they left work on time.
Following a high-profile recruitment event, the media and the public are closely watching the developments at the Zhixing Research Institute, eager to know what kind of energy Ji Zhixing is researching by offering such a high salary, which is among the highest in the field.
The media are incredibly intrusive, always wanting to get firsthand information, but nowadays, not even a fly can get into the Zhixing Research Institute.
Taking advantage of the previous recruitment event, Zhu Ren also recruited a few people, roughly forming an office that included personnel, finance, and security staff.
The personnel and finances were unremarkable, but the security personnel were completely different from the gatekeepers. They were all agile young men with buzz cuts, guarding the research institute like an impregnable fortress.
Ji Zhixing certainly understood the origins of these people.
After the successful development of the photonic chip, Director Xin of the Capital Information Office conveyed to him the suggestion that he be assigned several bodyguards. He politely declined at the time, feeling uncomfortable always having bodyguards with him. Director Xin did not press the matter. However, in a different guise, Ji Zhixing readily accepted, as the safety of the institute's experiments and the confidentiality of its results were of paramount importance.
However, Ji Zhixing didn't make things difficult for the media reporters. The more he concealed things, the more likely they were to attract unwanted attention. He didn't feel there was any need to keep his research projects secret. In fact, many laboratories regularly publish their research projects and progress reports on their official websites. So, when the editor-in-chief of the Guangling Daily subtly inquired about the information, he simply told him.
The news, once published in the newspapers, naturally attracted attention. The words "cultivation" and "spiritual energy" that Ji Zhixing mentioned in passing sparked heated discussions. The trending topic vaguely stated, "Cultivation enlightenment? Ji Zhixing initiates research on spiritual energy."
"Isn't Ji Zhixing from the science channel? How did he end up in the fantasy world?"
"Uh, the end of science is theology? Metaphysics?"
"How many people just read the entry and then comment on it? Ji Zhixing is clearly just using an analogy. Isn't the spiritual energy described in cultivation novels just like vacuum energy, which is omnipresent? Those with the ability can use it at will."
"But zero-point vacuum energy isn't very scientific either. Wasn't its main theoretical basis, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, refuted by Avery Steinberg of the University of Toronto?"
"Where did you see that clickbait headline? Steinberg's paper clearly shows that Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is still correct; he simply states that 'if the system itself contains a lot of uncertainty, then the uncertainty of the measurement result is not necessarily all caused by the measurement action.'"
"This statement only shows that Heisenberg's uncertainty principle may not be wrong, but it cannot guarantee that it is correct. In short, the search for zero-point vacuum energy is a false proposition, and pseudo-scientific research has no future!"
"Too young and too simple! I used to think that the Navier-Stokes equations were Ji Zhixing's academic peak, but it turns out there's always someone better. He's developed photonic chips. I look forward to him reaching new heights and making a run for the Nobel Prize!"
"It's more like a contender for the Ig Nobel Prize."
"Heh, luckily I didn't go to his research institute back then, otherwise I would have wasted my time."
"Why are there so many sarcastic comments? The main text is clearly very serious, why don't people click to read it?"
Hmph! Luo Bei snorted coldly and typed another sentence:
"What's the difference between spending so much money on a dead-end project and throwing it into the water? It would be better to donate it to build schools in impoverished mountainous areas!"
Ever since being rejected in the interview, Luo Bei has harbored a deep hatred for Ji Zhixing. He had thought that a million-dollar annual salary was his for the taking, but he never expected to miss out on it and even be outshone by Yi Yan. Ji Zhixing was truly blind!
Feeling he had lost face among his relatives and friends, he tried every means to save face, and repeatedly criticized Ji Zhixing on his WeChat Moments.
On the other end of the internet, Pan Tu was also typing away, spewing sarcastic remarks. If Ji Zhixing hadn't publicly exposed his situation at Princeton University, he wouldn't have ended up wasting his time at a third-rate vocational college!
There are also people like Jianxi and Xuehua who resent Ji Zhixing because of their own setbacks in life. They collude with each other and tirelessly slander and defame Ji Zhixing in the comments section of every news article that mentions him.
Because they've been reported several times, they don't dare to openly criticize anymore. They only dare to make veiled accusations and use sarcastic remarks, even extending their reach to Ji Zhixing's greatest achievement to date.
"I've never understood why Ji Zhixing is credited with the primary achievement in developing the photonic chip. The lab, funding, and manpower all belonged to that professor at Yenching University."
"Exactly! If you have real skills, why not stay at the photonic chip research center!"
"Actually, Ji Zhixing was just an assistant in the project, but because he has a pretty face and is good at talking, he was made the spokesperson."
Luo Bei and the others were having a great time singing and dancing together, but when they refreshed the comments, they found that someone had posted a news link in the comments.
"Quick, look! The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has decided to award this year's Turing Award to Zhixing Ji!!" The three exclamation marks fully express the commenter's excitement.
Established in 1966, the Turing Award aims to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of computing. It is the highest international award in the field of computer science and is often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Computing." It is awarded to only one scientist each year.
"Wow! My idol won another award! Well deserved!"
"I'm so shallow, all I want to know is how much the prize money is."
"It seems that it started at $200,000, but later, with sponsorship from Google, it became $1 million."
"Damn! Another million! How much has Ji Zhixing earned along the way!"
"Let me do the math: the 1 million yuan reward from Hengtai Technology for the earthquake prediction software, the 1.1 million yuan reward from various levels of government, the 25 million yuan profit share from my mentor for the protective gel, the 1 million US dollars reward from the Clay Mathematics Institute for solving the Navier-Stokes equations, the 8 million yuan from Guangling University, the 1 million yuan youth talent award from the municipal government, plus the 1 million US dollars from the Turing Award today—that's half a hundred million! I don't even care about including the tens of thousands of yuan from the Fields Medal..."
"And the patent transfer fee for photonic chips is conservatively estimated at 10 billion! There's also a zero-gravity seat company that's like a money-printing machine!"
"I'm so frustrated I could barely stand... Why didn't I go into scientific research? Scientific research is the most lucrative field!!"
"Ji Zhixing is truly a role model for us researchers!!"
"Pshaw! China only won the Turing Award once back in 2000, is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it?"
"But this time Ji Zhixing was elected unanimously!"
The Turing Award nominees are nominated by experts in the field organized by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), who are required to explain their reasons for nomination. This year, without exception, the only nominee nominated by all the experts was Zhixing Ji—for his achievement in "photonic chips."
"There's no Nobel Prize in Mathematics, yet he received the Fields Medal, often called the 'Nobel Prize of Mathematics'; there's no Nobel Prize in Computer Science, yet he received the Turing Award, often called the 'Nobel Prize of Computer Science'. It's like Ji Zhixing is always in a state of flux, sometimes seemingly destined to be involved with the Nobel Prize, sometimes not."
"The principles behind 'photonic chip' technology actually fall under the field of physics, so could we possibly be looking forward to a Nobel Prize in Physics?"
"The Nobel Prize winners are usually announced in October each year, so there's a long wait."
"It's hilarious. Ji Zhixing is a physics major who has won awards in mathematics and computer science, but not in physics."
"It will be available soon."
"Heh, what a big mouth you've got. Do you own the Nobel Prize? You're so sure of yourself."
"No, according to the news just now, this year's Wolf Prize in Physics has been awarded to Ji Zhixing for his contributions to the 'photon theory'."
Holy crap!
"stunned!"
"What kind of award is this? Can anyone tell me? Is it considered the 'Nobel Prize of Physics'?"
"It doesn't count, because while there is indeed a Nobel Prize in physics, the Wolf Prize in Physics is the second largest award in the field of physics after the Nobel Prize."
"Tell me, how much is the prize money..."
$100,000.
"Ah... before, with millions on one hand and millions on the other, I suddenly felt that a 'mere' $100,000 was nothing."
"Haha! Honor and symbolic meaning are more important."
"Where are all those haters? They've disappeared. Did they get so angry they died?"
"Having won top awards in both computer science and physics in one day, anyone who questions Ji Zhixing is both stupid and malicious."
Luo Bei could no longer see these comments because he had smashed his phone to pieces.
A note from the author:
①The award description is based on the encyclopedia entry.
② Luo Bei and other trolls occasionally appear in the comments section, but they can't really cause any trouble, so they don't have much of a role to play. Don't worry about them.
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