The FASTER project can be said to be progressing smoothly, the first R&D results have been successful, the patent development rights have been sold, and it has also created a certain amount of noise in international journals such as Physics Today, Nature, and Chemical Review.

The B-series test products are being developed in an intensive and orderly manner, and this series is based on cerium gallium copper amorphous alloys, and Shen Qi hopes to develop test products with better micro-nano processing performance.

It is not difficult to simulate the CEbC amorphous system in sitting, but in real experiments, the preparation of an ideal CEbC alloy faces some problems.

In the sample preparation of the A series, Shen Qi and his data and experience are that the higher the purity of cerium, the better.

B-series samples, gallium replaces aluminum in A-series samples.

At this time, the problem arises, the higher the purity of cerium gallium copper alloy, the worse the performance of the alloy sample prepared.

Shen Qi, who was sitting in the office, looked at the data report, he couldn't sit still, so he went to the laboratory of the Institute of Physics to learn about the experiment on the spot.

Since he had a plan to ask for a BB, Shen Qi has come to the laboratory less often, and he makes long-term plans in the office without any major events, reads philosophy and history books, and practices calligraphy.

Shen Qi came to the laboratory, put on protective equipment, and went into battle in person to find the root of the problem.

Shen Qi selected 10 industrial-purity Ce ingots (nominal purity of 99.7t.%) and one purity of Ce ingot (nominal purity of 99.9t.%), tested the purity of Ce metal by XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy), and measured the content of impurity elements with inductively coupled high-frequency plasma spectrometer.

Everyone looked at the data around the computer, and it can be seen from the data that with the different purity of Ce, the critical formation size of cerium gallium copper amorphous alloy ranges from 1mm to 20mm.

"There is indeed a problem, the lower the purity of the cerium element in the raw material cerium ingot, the better the amorphous formation ability of the prepared cerium gallium copper amorphous alloy?

"I don't agree with Senior Brother Tang Yuan's opinion. Shen Jinbao said.

Tang Yuan glanced at Shen Jinbao: "You can shut up." ”

Shen Jinbao did not shut up, but gave her explanation: "Because gallium replaces aluminum, the intrinsic local structural characteristics of the B-series amorphous system, that is, the free volume, will inevitably change. There was nothing wrong with our experimental design, and we can make qualitative conclusions based on real data, and we have to use low-purity cerium ingots for the raw material of the B-series samples, because low-purity cerium ingots are the most suitable for this particular series. ”

Tang Yuan was a little surprised: "Yo, what you said makes sense." ”

Shen Jinbao must be a bit genuine, otherwise she would not have been admitted to graduate school and would not have been able to study for a doctorate.

Tang Yuan asked Shen Jinbao: "But the question is, what happened to the free volume in the B-series amorphous system?"

Shen Jinbao looked at Shen Qi: "This question, maybe Academician Shen can answer it." ”

"Yes, Jinbao has improved. Shen Qi praised Shen Jinbao, and then answered: "The data show that the Doppler broadening spectrum of all cerium-gallium-copper metal plastics from gallium 6 to gallium 13 is the same as that of cerium elemental, which indicates that the chemical environment around the annihilation positions of τ1 and τ2 is all cerium atoms." ”

"I noticed that τ1~130ps is less than the defect-free intrinsic annihilation time of 197ps for the face-centered cubic cerium element. Therefore, I speculate that low-purity cerium is more conducive to the synthesis of cerium-gallium-copper metal plastics with excellent performance. On the contrary, gallium must be of high purity. If subsequent experiments prove my guess, it means that my theory of defect topology research is not wrong. Shen Qi said as he spoke, becoming more and more energetic, so he operated another DSC and obtained a set of data through differential scanning calorimetry.

DSC data showed that the thermodynamic properties of B-series amorphous alloy samples prepared from different purity Ce raw materials were also different.

"Understood. ”

Academician Shen's explanation is reasonable. ”

The researchers actively discussed that collective strength can overcome all difficulties, and problems are solved one by one under this kind of collective team strength.

Shen Qi cleared the fog, and everyone reached a consensus that the subsequent experiments should focus on low-purity cerium and high-purity gallium.

The purity of the raw material cerium should be as low as 95%, of course, it cannot be less than 95%.

How high purity gallium is suitable, is it 99.99999%?

99.99999% gallium does not exist, and the extraction of extremely high purity gallium at a low cost is another issue for the industry.

Purity of Cerium ??, purity of Gallium??

To solve the question mark, the project team needs to continue to research and practice, and get answers through a large amount of experimental data.

The large number of high-purity cerium ingots used in the previous experiments was in vain, and the energy of the equipment for preparing and testing samples was in vain.

That's what experimental physics is, it's a money-burning business.

The consumption of raw materials and energy cannot be said to be wasteful, at least Shen Qi and the others found a wrong route that did not work in advance.

Once the experiment is done, it can sometimes be addictive.

Shen Qi has become diligent in running the laboratory recently, but he remembers his promise to his wife, no matter how busy he is at work, he must be home before ten o'clock in the evening.

Spring goes to summer, and it enters early summer.

The Nobel Prize will be held in October.

Shen Qi is very smooth in his career, even if he encounters some technical problems, he and his team can solve them in time.

Some media at home and abroad began to focus on Shen Qi, speculating whether Shen Qi could win the Nobel Prize this year and what kind of Nobel Prize he won.

It seemed to be going well, but Shen Qi was uneasy in his heart.

He is not worried about his career, but about his wife's health.

Shen Qi and Ou Ye have been married for more than half a year, and they have been making people through scientific methods for more than half a year.

Ouye is still not pregnant.

There's definitely something wrong with that.

Tonight, Shen Qi solemnly said to Ou Ye: "Wife, let's go to the hospital for a checkup recently, let's both do it." ”

"Qi, it's all my fault, I can't even conceive a child......" Ou Ye choked up and sobbed as he spoke.

Shen Qi held Ou Ye's hand and encouraged softly: "Wife, we have to believe in science, you are ready, we will go to the hospital." ”

Ou Ye wiped away his tears and prepared to face all possibilities bravely: "Hmm. ”

Preconception testing is not something you can do if you want to.

The doctor's recommendation is that the pre-pregnancy examination should be carried out within 3 to 7 days after the menstrual period, and it is best to avoid intercourse before the examination.

Doctors also recommend that both husband and wife should have a preconception check-up at the same time, preferably 3 to 6 months in advance.

Three to six months ago, Shen Qi and Ou Ye did not go to the hospital.

And now, Shen Qi has to pay attention to it and be ready to face reality.

In fact, today's medical methods are very advanced, and even if it is not possible to complete conception through normal intercourse between husband and wife, there are many other effective scientific solutions.

So Shen Qi encouraged Ou Ye to believe in science.