Chapter 90
On Monday, as soon as Yi Yan entered the lab, he could hear the machines already running in the next workroom. He checked his watch and realized he had arrived half an hour early; his boss had started work so early.
He walked over, intending to ask about today's experimental schedule, but found stacks of data output piled up on the workbench. Deng was busy but not chaotic, shuttling between the particle radiation imaging detector, computer, and printer, while Ji Zhixing was operating and observing back and forth between the particle radiation imaging detector and the high-energy alpha particle detector.
Is this... a direction we're heading? Yi Yan's spirits lifted, but he cautiously refrained from interrupting the two, quietly approaching the pile of documents on the table. He didn't dare touch them, peering cautiously at the top few documents.
d+p+e=T=3^He+e（13.9） Q≤5.1MeV;
d+d+e=4^H=4^He+e Q≤25.7MeV;
p+t+e=T=5^H=4^He+n+e Q≤16.3MeV;
...
Was the effect of neutrinos deliberately ignored in the calculation? Yi Yan was about to look at the document next to him when he suddenly noticed Yu Zhuli standing beside him.
Yu Zhuli had just arrived as well. He was in this group, so he wasn't as restrained as Yi Yan. He reached out and picked up a stack of papers, quickly flipping through them.
“You’ve come at the perfect time,” Ji Zhixing said while adjusting the dynamic range. “I need the S(Ei) factor data for the reaction channel.”
Yu Zhuli immediately understood: "Is it a polynomial fitting of the high-energy region reactions of 8Be(p, α)-5Li and 8Be(p, d)-5Be [1-2]?"
“Yes!” Ji Zhixing once again felt that incredibly smooth cooperation. He didn’t even need to explain; Yu Zhuli knew what he wanted.
A voice interrupted: "Then I will perform R-matrix fitting analysis on the reactions of 7Be(d, α0)-4Li and 7Be(d, α1)-4Li[3]."
Ji Zhixing looked up and saw Jian Yi from Lin Yujing's group. His role in Lin's group was similar to that of Yu Zhuli, both providing mathematical support for the experiments.
“Alright! You two work together on the calculations,” Ji Zhixing said. He and Deng Yi had stayed up all night, and their experiments couldn’t stop yet; the output data urgently needed someone to analyze and calculate.
"Yi Yan, could you help me measure the nuclear reaction cross-section in the Gamow energy range of 9.5 keV-10.4 keV?" Ji Zhixing emphasized, "It needs to be precise!"
"no problem!"
Shan Yan, Lin Yujing, and others arrived one after another, and Ji Zhixing assigned them tasks one by one.
The group worked tirelessly until ten o'clock. Ji Zhixing looked at the fruits of their collective labor, his eyes shining: "It's done!"
Last night, Professor Wen's mention of "a conserved flow with a constant number of fluxions" in an interview suddenly sparked an idea in him. Since the overall explanation of low-energy nuclear reactions of atoms is not possible, why not "break it down" and analyze it from the perspective of low-energy nuclear incident and outgoing particles?
Particles possess a fixed mass. A single flux particle not only has its own mass but also necessarily carries a certain amount of microscopic field matter. Since the law of conservation of mass is fundamental, the conservation of flux particle number is definite! And the small amounts of vacuum that appear in isolated local areas are precisely where they can make a significant difference!
Ji Zhixing explained his complete thought process, and everyone understood. Their first phase of the experiment had not been in vain, and the theoretical basis was sound; they could certainly continue the experiment from the particle perspective!
"Great!" Everyone clapped excitedly, their eyes fixed intently on Ji Zhixing.
With such a clever leader who can quickly lead everyone to break through the encirclement, all the researchers' confidence in the vacuum energy project soared.
Seeing the high morale, Ji Zhixing was also very pleased: "The overall plan for the second phase is to stimulate a vacuum through the collision of high-energy particles."
He looked at Yi Yan: "Your group's task is to study the spontaneous emission of photons from atoms or nuclei."
Then he looked at Lin Yujing and said, "Your group is responsible for observing the Lamb shift of the atomic energy level. It would be even better if you could capture the anomaly of the electron gyromagnetic ratio."
Yi Yan and Lin Yujing received their assignments and led their eager team members back to their workspace. They needed to hold a meeting to develop a detailed experimental plan.
During lunch break, Ji Zhixing was working on an experimental design on his computer when Yu Zhuli knocked on the door and came in.
"I...I might have to..." Yu Zhuli stammered for a while before finally managing to utter two words, "...take leave."
“Sure. Just ask for a few days off and tell the director.” Ji Zhixing replied readily.
Based on his understanding of Yu Zhuli, he knew that Yu Zhuli would never choose to take leave at a time like this unless she had something truly important to do. The experiment was important, but he didn't want to be an inhumane boss.
Although Ji Zhixing didn't ask why, Yu Zhuli still explained, "My grandparents were in a car accident and are both hospitalized, so..."
Upon hearing this, Ji Zhixing urged, "Then you should go quickly and come back after everything is settled at home."
Taking care of patients is no easy task, let alone two. He had been taking care of his grandfather while attending school, and the hardships he endured are still unforgettable. Naturally, he wouldn't force Yu Zhuli to work while also worrying about his relatives in the hospital.
Yu Zhuli left in a hurry.
After a while, Zhu Ren came up with a leave request form and a document.
"Xiao Yu said he'll take two weeks off for now." Zhu Ren said, handing the leave application to Ji Zhixing for signature, and sighed, "It's really tragic. His parents passed away a long time ago, and now this has happened."
Zhu Renyi said that Ji Zhixing only then realized that Yu Zhuli's parents had both died in a plane crash when he was young, and he had grown up with his grandparents.
Thinking of Yu Zhuli's paper on "clear-sky turbulence," Ji Zhixing sighed. After a moment's thought, he picked up his phone and sent Yu Zhuli a message, telling him not to worry about work and to focus on taking care of his grandparents.
“The first phase of the underground laboratory project has been completed and went smoothly. I have conducted a preliminary inspection and there are no problems. You can take another look when you have time.” Zhu Ren said, placing the document he brought on the table. “This is the cost estimate for the second phase of the project. Based on the original plan, the construction team has provided a new plan using BIM technology, which can shorten the construction period by 1/4, but the budget will have to be increased.”
How much?
10.3%
"Hiss! That'll be over 100 million." Ji Zhixing said with a pained expression.
Everyone envies him for earning millions here and there, but he's spending hundreds of millions here and there! He spends faster than he earns. If it weren't for the patent fees from photonic chips, he really wouldn't dare to do vacuum energy research.
"If you're worried about funding, why don't you take on some ads? So many companies are throwing money at us. We don't even bother wasting our time on those million-dollar ads. Let's pick out a couple of real estate or car ads worth tens of millions, and we'll have a hundred million in our pocket!"
Since the institute's inception, Zhu Ren has turned down countless endorsement offers and even film and television appearances for Ji Zhixing. Ji Zhixing is a highly topical figure, possesses outstanding looks, enjoys high public favor, and is a youth representative strongly promoted by the state—making him the perfect spokesperson.
But Ji Zhixing rejected all of them except for one public service advertisement for education.
Ji Zhixing smiled but didn't say much. He simply didn't like facing the camera and didn't want to risk his academic reputation for this kind of quick money.
“We still have the money; isn’t this just being prepared?” Ji Zhixing flipped through the project cost estimate. “Let’s stick with the new plan.”
Their experiments are progressing quite smoothly; hopefully, they won't be ready in time. If the originally estimated 16-month construction period can be shortened by a quarter, it will be completed in 12 months. That's settled then; he can afford over a hundred million! Ji Zhixing signed his name with an air of wealth and power.
Having spent over 100 million yuan in the blink of an eye, Ji Zhixing hesitated about purchasing more equipment.
The second phase of the experiment involves stimulating the vacuum through the collision of high-energy particles. He had originally set his sights on a small-scale high-energy particle collider costing 127 million and was planning to place an order, but now he's having some reservations.
When he inquired about experimental equipment with Professor Gao Xiao, Professor Gao Xiao generously offered to lend him a small-scale high-energy particle collider. However, since the collider occupied most of the classroom, transporting it to Guangling was impractical, and even if it were transported, it would easily be damaged.
Therefore, if he wanted to borrow the equipment, he would have to go to Beijing. Ji Zhixing had previously thought that was too troublesome and decided to order one himself. But seeing how quickly the money was being spent, he had to carefully consider the cost-effectiveness of the two options.
In fact, his systems lab has everything, including a large high-energy particle collider that cost nearly 100 billion. But experimental data can't be created out of thin air; everything he does in the systems lab is only suitable for verifying inspiration and stimulating thinking.
Ji Zhixing couldn't decide whether to order or borrow it. Since he didn't need it for the time being, he put the matter aside for now.
Another pressing issue is that Yu Zhuli has taken leave, so what should be done about the vacancy? Ji Zhixing immediately thought of Jian Yi.
Jian Yi had previously worked in Lin Yujing's group, so he hadn't had much contact with her. Seeing her today, although she wasn't quite as good as Yu Zhuli, she could fill a temporary vacancy.
Lin Yujing said she had no objection. Their group's calculation task was not heavy, and besides, she herself was a double PhD in physics and mathematics, so she was no less capable than Jian Yi in providing data support.
Jian Yi joined Ji Zhixing's group on short notice.
After they started working together, Ji Zhixing discovered that Jian Yi's abilities far exceeded his expectations. Although her thinking was not as quick as Yu Zhuli's, given enough time to think, she would definitely be able to give the most suitable answer in a day or two.
Ji Zhixing looked at the data in his hand, then looked at Jian Yi with admiration: "Weren't you still thinking about the process of sub-GeV dark photon decay into light dark matter before you left work yesterday?"
“Yes, I was more relaxed after getting home, and suddenly I had an inspiration.” Jian Yi smiled and touched her nose. “This was derived by using 16fb-1 brightness data from BESⅢ from 2012 to last year, limited to 0.07GeV≤mA’≤8GeV. When mA’=3GeV, the detected ε can reach 6.2×11-5…”
Ji Zhixing listened while looking at the data on the paper. The scalar data for the quality range of 0.04-1.1 GeV, the STCF data for 2 GeV, and the BaBar data were all correct.
Why was he so sure? Because he conducted an experiment last night using the large particle collider in the system laboratory, and the output he calculated was the same result.
Why bother buying a high-energy particle collider? Jian Yi's brain is a high-energy particle collider, the kind that can directly output results!
Ji Zhixing hadn't expected that his research institute had such a brilliant person hidden away. Thinking that Jian Yi always got inspiration to solve problems after relaxing at home, Ji Zhixing smiled and said, "Why don't you work from home from now on, and we can communicate remotely?"
"No!" Jian Yi was so shocked that she jumped up from her chair. When she saw Ji Zhixing's surprised look, she realized that she had overreacted.
"I just... still feel that the atmosphere in the lab is better. Working from home blurs the lines between work and rest, which may actually make it harder to relax."
“That’s right.” Ji Zhixing looked at Jian Yi. “I just made a few sets of DGCNN high-energy particle classification models. Ask Deng Yi for the results and calculate the selection of nearest neighbors.”
“Okay, no problem.” Jian Yi wasn’t embarrassed at all and got up to find Deng Yi.
Ji Zhixing stared intently at Jian Yi's retreating figure, a suspicion creeping into his mind for the first time. His responses while working from home—always submitting seemingly perfect answers only two or three days later—were all suspicious.
He didn't want to suspect that there were people with ulterior motives in his team, but the vacuum energy project was his life's work, so he had to be cautious.
Ji Zhixing thought for a moment and quietly told the security captain, Fang Shou, about his suspicions. He knew that with Fang Shou's background, he could definitely find a suitable person to investigate Jian Yi without alerting her.
Three days later, Fang Shou reported back the results of the investigation. As expected, Jian Yi was contacting people abroad every day through encrypted channels.
"I'll go up and take him down right now!" Fang Shou's eyes were sharp.
"No!" Ji Zhixing stopped him, smiling with narrowed eyes, "Keep him for now, I have a use for him."
It's extremely useful!
A note from the author:
① Our story is now entering its final countdown—
② The experimental descriptions in this chapter refer to "Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (Cold Fusion) - LENR-CAN" and "Phenomenological Studies of Dark Matter at High-Energy Particle Colliders".
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