On the last day of the fusion conference, the much-anticipated topic is finally here.

The presentation was scheduled for 3 p.m., but since 10 a.m., scholars from all over the world have already arrived at the venue in advance, intending to grab a front-row seat.

However, they were disappointed to find that, unlike the previous seats that could be swapped at will, the seats for this report had already been arranged, the tables were set up with name tags, and the security personnel in the conference room were eyeing them, as if anyone who reached out to the name tags before the meeting began would immediately be pushed to the ground.

This arrangement displeased many delegates, especially after they took a closer look and found that they could not guess the logic of the seating arrangement.

"Why did you put me in the last row? We are the industry's top material research and development institutions, is it only official institutions qualified to participate in the research and development of new materials? ”

A white man yelled in the room, but the well-behaved conference staff simply replied:

"I'm sorry, but this was a long time ago."

"Then why is Brookhaven Labs at the top of the line? They haven't had any great results in recent years! ”

"I'm sorry, but the seats aren't arranged according to the achievements of each institution, and the big screen is set up in the venue, so it's the same place to sit."

"Since it's the same, then why don't you let them sit in the back?"

"Sorry, no."

Listening to the man's hysterical roar, Chen Nian, who was standing aside and watching the excitement, couldn't help but want to laugh a little.

However, on second thought, although the other party's demands are unreasonable, they are understandable.

After all, today's report is no different from a concert, as long as the financial ability is enough, who doesn't want to sit closer and take a good look at the stars they have been chasing for ten years, or even more than ten years?

If you can spend money to buy a seat, it is estimated that someone will have to buy a VIP seat if they are bankrupt.

You know, it's metallic hydrogen.

While the way it debuted was a bit bizarre – blowing up an island – that didn't affect its position at the top of the field of peace technology.

And after a few months of stormy weather, after countless reports, speculations, and reasoning, the significance of the first official announcement is self-evident.

It can be said that this is a historic moment.

So, who wouldn't want to witness history?

Therefore, it is understandable to make a fuss for a while.

However, Aichendorf and Sebastian around Chen Nian didn't think so.

"See, this is AMMI."

"On the surface, it is under the banner of official funding, but in fact it is just a purely commercial organization."

"They don't know how to respect science, respect technology, and in their eyes, science is just a business that can be exchanged."

"This person is embarrassed to accuse Brookhaven Labs, as if they have some major achievements-—— isn't what they do is to sell the new materials researched by others at as good a price as possible?"

Hearing Aichendorf's words, Sebastian nodded solemnly, seemingly in great agreement.

Chen Nian, who was on the side, still maintained a basic objectivity, and said:

"I can't say the same, AMMI has also made a contribution to the industrialization of new materials."

"After all, without them, a lot of the expensive materials would end up in the lab."

"You see, we also have a similar organization, the Civil Science and Technology Development Office, which does similar things to them."

"It's completely different."

Before Eichendorf could speak, Sebastian spoke first:

"I know your agency, and I even know their abbreviation-—— the Office of the Democratic Development and Development."

After a not-so-standard Chinese sentence, Sebastian continued:

"But, the CDO-—— okay, I'll call it CTDO, in short, CTDO's way of doing things is completely different from AMMI."

"AMMI is chasing maximum economic benefits, and the speed of capital appreciation determines the direction of their work."

"But CTDO is pursuing more social benefits, things that can't be displayed on paper or on books."

"You are from Huaxia, you should know this better than me."

"In recent years, almost every major project of CTDO, including high-speed rail, chips, heavy machinery, new materials, etc., has fallen to the ground, and many people's lives have been changed because of it."

"In contrast, AMMI is just Johnson & Johnson in the field of materials."

"Well, it's true, well, it's novel."

Chen Nian nodded slightly and did not continue to talk about this topic.

The reason is simple, he doesn't want to reveal too much about his opinion on certain things.

Although it is true that the two scholars are more open-minded than the others after a few days of contact, this does not allow him to open up in front of each other.

Seven points is enough, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.

And while he was talking, a few representatives who came out of nowhere ran up to question the number of seats, and the scene was a little chaotic for a while, and the three of them didn't bother to look at it anymore, so they returned to their seats.

"Coincidentally", Chen Nian, as well as Chen Nian's "mentor", happened to be in the position adjacent to Max Planck's laboratory.

"Oh, this is what you Chinese people call 'fate', Chen, we are sitting together again."

"Yes, it's fate."

Chen Nian replied with a smile.

He thought to himself:

Fate is a hammer, and it is not arranged by myself.

Both Sebastian and Echendorf are experts in the field of plasma control, which is a key node in the technological breakthrough of the entire tokamak plant.

The reason why I want to contact them is actually similar to Isaac at the beginning, that is, I want to use their technical capabilities to improve my own technical foundation, so as to reduce the consumption of the source point of the entire technology.

——

Of course, now it's just a matter of getting acquainted.

If you really want to get wool, you have to wait for them to officially enter the project.

After deciding on their seats, the three of them did not plan to wait stupidly at the venue, and after a lunch, they did not re-enter until after two o'clock.

At this time, the venue was already overcrowded.

For the first time, the scholars, who had found various reasons not to attend the meeting, gathered under the dome for the first time, consciously and without notice.

As the delegates came to the stage, the originally noisy conference room was instantly quiet, but then it erupted into even greater noise.

Everyone was talking to each other, and it seemed that before the report officially began, the atmosphere was already hot.

The reason is simple.

This mysterious reporter was unexpected.

He's Isaac.

"How could they let Isaac do the presentation-—— is he really the core of the project team?"

"How is it possible that Isaac said it himself before, until the end of the project, he did not enter the core layer."

"But how do you know he's telling the truth? Maybe it's just a casual excuse for keeping the job secret? ”

"It can't be. If that's the case, at least Isaac will show a flaw. ”

"Probably he has integrated into Huaxia's way of working."

In the midst of the discussion, Isaac coughed, then spoke into the microphone and said:

"Dear colleagues."

"It's a pleasure to meet you here."

"I think most of you should be surprised that I was on stage."

"But there's no doubt that it's true."

"Of course, this does not mean that I am the most critical contributor to the metallic hydrogen project, in fact, everyone involved in this project has put their heart and soul into this super material that has crossed generations."

"I was chosen for one reason: to keep my other colleagues as safe as possible."

"It's really sad because I don't know if I'm going to be kidnapped, assassinated, threatened when I walk out of this conference hall. But that's okay, I'm not going to back down from that. ”

"After all, my colleagues have accomplished great things, and all I can do is help them do what is not so glorious, but no less important, as much as possible."

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Isaac's opening remarks left many in the room silent, and in fact, such an opening statement can be considered shocking no matter what type of international conference it is placed in.

After all, the main purpose of most meetings is peace and cooperation, and no one will show those things that are hidden under the table at such a time, which are full of corruption and blood.

——

But it seems, is this really a last resort?

The significance of metallic hydrogen was so great that Huaxia had to take advantage of this opportunity to make a safety statement through Isaac's mouth.

And if there is a real problem in the future, they can take much more action.

After all, they have already warned .

The thought flashed through everyone's minds, and after a brief distraction, everyone in the room was quickly attracted to Isaac's report.

Before actually coming here, even people who knew about high-pressure physics, metallic hydrogen materials, and the Huaxia project would not have regarded Isaac as the central figure in this project, and even most people thought that he was just a mascot.

But Isaac's report completely upends their view.

The report is logical, the experimental process is detailed, and even contains a small amount of specific experimental data for validation.

Anyone with scientific training can see that even if Isaac is really not the "core", the information he is exposed to is not far from the core.

What surprised everyone even more was that after the extremely short report compared to the previous few days, Huaxia arranged a lot of time for interaction, and the questions and answers lasted for a full three hours.

The amount of information contained in these three hours is more than even the years of accumulation in some small labs

In particular, Isaac's brief mention of the concept of electrochemical fusion to prepare metallic hydrogen can be said to have opened a long-term closed door for many scholars who are obsessed with low-temperature and high-pressure preparation methods.

——

Yes, Isaac did not mention any more technical details that were informative enough, and this report alone was not enough for any other organization to figure out how to industrialize metallic hydrogen.

But at least, he was clear about one thing.

That is:

In this way, metallic hydrogen can be produced.

In fact, real scientific researchers are not worried about the long journey and the difficulties in the process, they are afraid that the direction they have adhered to for a long time will eventually be proved wrong, and they are afraid that they will become a stepping stone among those who go forward one after another, and that unknown person who is drowned in the torrent of history because of "trial and error".

So, as long as there is direction, it is enough.

With the last question about the actual physical properties of metallic hydrogen raised, the atmosphere of the whole presentation was officially pushed to a climax.

Isaac stood on the stage with a satisfied smile on his face.

He clapped his hands lightly, pointed to the person who asked the question, and said:

"Actually, I knew you were going to ask this question for a long time."

"I deliberately saved it for last, though."

"The reason is simple-—— I think you should see for yourself and feel it with your eyes."

As the words fell, there was a huge cheer in the conference hall.

Although it had long been expected that Huaxia might display metallic hydrogen samples in this report, when this moment came, no one could suppress the excitement in their hearts.

Even people who have nothing to do with this field are infected by the enthusiasm.

Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Isaac high-fived again.

A small workbench then rises from the ground.

Isaac stepped forward and lifted the red cloth from the counter.

A rectangular object with a slight metallic sheen appeared in front of everyone.

Is this metallic hydrogen?

The legendary Holy Grail of high-pressure physics?

Why it feels. So mediocre?

At this time, countless eyes converged on the metal object, but Isaac's next sentence made everyone cry and laugh.

"Look, look closely."

"It's just an ordinary neodymium magnet."

"Our protagonist hasn't appeared yet."

A burst of laughter erupted in the venue, and even Chen Nian had to admit that this person did have an innate sense of humor.

——

With such expressiveness, it's a pity not to be a stage actor.

As the laughter faded away, Isaac fumbled up and down the pockets of his suit, as if looking for something.

He then pulled out a small glass tube from his pocket.

"It's here."

This action made the eyes of everyone present widen, but for a moment, they couldn't make any sound.

"Here's 0.2 grams of metastable metallic hydrogen – yes, it's the same as diamond, it can be metastable at room temperature and pressure."

Undoubtedly, this sentence was like a thunderclap, completely shattering the mystery about this substance for decades.

For a long time, no one could make a definitive conclusion about the physical properties of metallic hydrogen, and it was not even known whether it could remain stable at atmospheric pressure.

Or rather, how much pressure does it take to keep it stable?

Now, the answer is obvious.

To maintain metastability, only one atmosphere is required.

At this point, Isaac on the stage had already walked towards the magnet.

He then suspended the carefully leveled glass tube above the magnet.

"Metallic hydrogen is known to be completely diamagnetic."

"The same is true for metastable metallic hydrogen."

As he spoke, he let go of his fingers.

After a brief tremor, the glass tube floated steadily above the magnet.

At this moment, the audience was silent.

Everyone knows that there is definitely more than 0.2 grams of metallic hydrogen suspended above the ground.

(End of chapter)