Zhou Yu'an thought about it behind closed doors, and the FASTER project team, under the leadership of Shen Qi, worked together as one.

Metal plastics were first discovered and successfully prepared by the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences, and Shen Qi obtained the key information at that time from the director of the Academy of Sciences.

According to the data, the team of the Institute of Physics did not have a very mature theoretical basis at that time, and they kept doing experiments, and finally made amorphous metal plastics with cerium aluminum and copper as the main components in an experiment.

The earliest products are the most creative, but not necessarily the best, Shen Qi's current work is equivalent to improvement, and he has a set of self-created theoretical basis.

"According to Shen Qi's definition of No. 4, I think it is a good choice to choose the metal elements germanium, tin and lead in the carbon group elements, doped into the cerium aluminum-copper amorphous system. Shen Qi put forward his own ideas.

In the book "A Review of the Structure of Condensed Matter Physics", the author Shen Qi innovatively proposed a universal theoretical principle, a basic rule of phase transition, a basic mathematical and physical equation, and a defining description of the microstructure.

In order to facilitate the use in daily work, the physics community refers to the above theories as Shen Qi No. 1 principle, Shen Qi No. 2 rule, Shen Qi No. 3 equation, and Shen Qi No. 4 definition.

Among them, Shen Qi's No. 2 rule and Shen Qi No. 3 equation have been widely recognized by the physics community and written into textbooks, namely Shen Qi's phase transition rule and Shen Qi's equation.

Shen Qi No. 1 principle and Shen Qi No. 4 definition have yet to be verified on an international scale, and have not yet become the standard theoretical basis.

Although the outside world has not completely recognized Shen Qi's No. 1 principle and Shen Qi's No. 4 definition, the FASTER project team took the lead in recognizing these two condensed matter physics theories.

Theories without practical tests are empty, and practice without theoretical guidance is blind.

Tang Yuan said: "In germanium, tin, and lead, with the increase of atomic number, the stability of the positive 2 oxidation state increases, the stability of the positive 4 oxidation state decreases sequentially, and the NS2 electron pair gradually stabilizes with the increase of n value, which is the so-called noble electron pair effect. According to Shen Qi's definition No. 4, transformed into the language of condensed matter physics, the addition of germanium, tin and lead will theoretically make the microstructure of the new test show a tighter local structure. ”

Shen Jinbao, the only female researcher in the project team, shook her head: "I don't agree, I think we need to continue research." ”

This female researcher, also surnamed Shen, is a doctoral student, and the project she worked with before was forced to be suspended because of problems with her supervisor, she had no project to do, and she couldn't finish without a project, so Shen Jinbao came to Shen Qi's FASTER project team.

"Senior Sister Jinbao, where do you think you should start?" Tang Yuan has already graduated with a doctorate and is Shen Jinbao's senior brother.

Shen Jinbao is not pretty, wears glasses, and belongs to a research-oriented science and engineering woman, she said: "Germanium, tin, and lead are not suitable for doping in this project, and we need to continue research." ”

Tang Yuan asked: "In which direction, can you be specific?"

Sammo Shen: "This needs further research. ”

"Shen Jinbao, aren't you talking nonsense? It's very empty, and there is no dry goods. Tang Yuan called Shen Jinbao a senior sister, but he never regarded Shen Jinbao as a woman, and they were good friends.

"Hmph. Yang Dingtian looked at Shen Jinbao and snorted, he and Shen Jinbao entered Yan University in the same year, they used to be top students, and now they are both doctoral students.

"Yang Dingtian, are you humming monsters? If you have something to say, don't hum and chirp. Shen Jinbao looked at Yang Dingtian, the two had known each other for a long time, and she lost to Yang Dingtian in the competition for the undergraduates of the Academy of Physics that year.

"After so many years, you, there is no progress. Yang Dingtian ignored Shen Jinbao, and after humming, he checked the information by himself.

"Hey, you're so interesting. Shen Qi, who had been watching, spoke, and he said to Shen Jinbao: "Jinbao, you have ideas to mention, my team has always advocated academic freedom, but you can't just deny and not give a specific negative opinion, right?"

Shen Jinbao nodded and shook his head: "Academician Shen, I simply believe that the elemental properties of germanium, tin, and lead are not suitable for improving the microscopic properties of cerium-based amorphs, and theoretically I don't have your depth, so I can't refute or even overturn Shen Qi's No. 4 definition." I'm making a negative view, it's just a woman's intuition. ”

Shen Qi could not change the established scientific research plan because of a woman's intuition, and he instructed the researchers to prepare the test sample codenamed A1.

According to a certain composition ratio, the project team successfully prepared the A1 sample through a series of complex experimental operations such as alloy smelting, master ingot crushing, electromagnetic induction heating, high-purity argon protection melting, quenching strip throwing, arc heating, etc.

The specimen is a small metal ball with a silvery-gray metallic sheen on its surface, and is 7 mm in diameter.

After obtaining the A1 sample, in order to confirm the formation of an amorphous phase, the project team used an X-ray instrument to test it.

Special pipes are installed in the laboratory for the discharge and recovery of radioactive materials and harmful vapor substances to ensure the safety and health of the laboratory environment and laboratory personnel.

Shen Qi and others were fully armed, put on all protective equipment, and tested the A1 sample.

XRD results show that the A1 sample forms a typical amorphous phase.

The first metal plastic sample of the FASTER project was successfully prepared, and everyone was very happy, and under the leadership of Academician Shen, the progress was very smooth.

The main component of the A1 sample is cerium-aluminum-copper amorphous, doped with a certain amount of germanium.

The specific proportion of the ingredients must be kept secret, which is equivalent to the formula, this is the thing that has scientific value, and it is also this thing that is valuable.

The A1 sample has high strength at room temperature and has all the properties of a metal.

If it's just a matter of synthesizing a piece of metal lump with a complex composition, this doesn't need to be done by a team of academicians, but by the blacksmiths.

The unique feature of metal-plastic is that when the temperature rises, it enters a new form, that is, a supercooled liquid state.

The transition from an amorphous state to a supercooled liquid, commonly known as a glass transition.

Glass is a very familiar material, after heating to a certain temperature, the glass begins to soften, showing viscous flow characteristics, which can be deformed at will.

However, glass is fragile at room temperature, while amorphous alloys are equivalent to metal at room temperature.

In physics, Tg is often used to describe the softening point of glass, and Tg is also used to describe the softening point of metal plastics.

After testing by Shen Qi's team, the Tg of the A1 sample was 78 degrees Celsius.

In other words, when heated to 78 degrees, the A1 sample begins to soften and it turns from metal to "plastic".

Shen Qi's team performed various plastic deformation operations such as stretching, compression, bending, and embossing on the A1 sample, a small metal ball, in boiling water, and they embossed a one-dime, five-cent, and one-dollar RMB coin pattern.

Minting is illegal, Shen Qi, of course they know.

The FASTER project team is not a real coin, and the diameter of the imprint is smaller than that of the real coin, and the design is exactly the same.

Shen Qi and his colleagues used their scientific knowledge to successfully imprint a reduced version of a full set of RMB coins using A1 metal plastic samples in boiling water at 78 degrees.

This makes perfect sense, as it means that metalwork of any shape can be manufactured in boiling water at a lower processing cost.

"Yay!"

The researchers high-fived and celebrated that the project had made significant progress.

What is the commercial significance of the A1 sample when it is promoted to reality?

According to the current experimental results, the A1 sample can be used in the processing and manufacturing of auto parts.

This metal plastic is lighter than traditional automotive steel plates and can be used to replace some automotive metal parts.

Automobile lightweight has always been an important research topic in the automotive industry, whether it is oil-burning, charging or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the reduction of vehicle quality means that energy consumption is reduced, which has a positive effect on protecting the environment.

The processing cost of metal and plastic is very low, and there is no need for any stamping machine to process automotive metal parts in the future.

The reduction in manufacturing costs means that the price of cars is getting cheaper and cheaper, of course, this is a later story, how much will a car sell for in the future, it is not something that Shen Qi and them worry about.

"Shen Jinbao, do you see it, it's okay to dope germanium, right?" Tang Yuan said.

Shen Jinbao shook his head: "I can't say that, I think we still need to continue research." ”

Tang Yuan glanced at Shen Jinbao: "You just shake your head baby, no, no, you can't say that, you still need to continue research...... It's the same routine all day long, where is the dry goods?"

Shen Jinbao said stubbornly: "It is also necessary to test various parameters of the nano-micro-processing scale of A1 samples. ”

Tang Yuan: "Isn't this nonsense, do you still need to say it?"

"Campbell is right, I think it's a bit of a problem. Shen Qi stared at various data such as XRD, DSC curve, and TTT curve for a long time, and suddenly frowned, always feeling that something was wrong.