Chapter 38 System Simulation

It was 2:00 AM, and Lin Mo was still sitting in the laboratory.

The table was covered with printed research papers—those from the Japanese team, the Germany team, and over a dozen sketches he had drawn himself. His coffee cup had been emptied and refilled countless times; he couldn't even remember how many cups he had drunk.

The three-dimensional scaffold scheme for the Lithium-Sulfur Battery was theoretically perfect—using freeze-casting to prepare a superconducting porous structure, then impregnating it with sulfur to assemble the battery. But when it came to specific process parameters, problems arose.

What was the most appropriate porosity? What was the optimal pore size? How high could the sintering temperature be without damaging the superconductivity? How long should the sulfur impregnation time be to ensure full filling?

Every single question required countless experiments to verify. And each experiment consumed days of time and a large amount of materials.

Lin Mo leaned back against his chair, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.

Just then, the system's voice echoed in his mind.

"Detection of host in research and development bottleneck period. Enable System Simulation function?"

Lin Mo snapped his eyes open.

Simulation function?

"System description: The simulation function can consume research points to rapidly deduce experimental schemes in a virtual environment. The deduction speed is approximately ten thousand times faster than real-world experiments. Current simulation scope: material formulations, process parameters, structural design, etc."

Ten thousand times.

Lin Mo's heart accelerated. This meant that experiments that would take months to complete in reality might only take a few hours in the virtual environment.

"How many research points are consumed?"

"Depending on the complexity of the deduction, each time consumes between 50 and 200 research points. This deduction is recommended to consume 50 research points, which can cover the rapid screening of 100 formulation combinations."

Lin Mo checked his system balance: 80 points.

The last time he redeemed the Lithium-Sulfur Battery technology package, it cost 500 points, leaving him with 80. If he used 50 now, he would only have 30 left.

But if he didn't simulate, he might be stuck on this problem for months.

"Confirm consumption of 50 research points, start simulation," he said in his mind.

"Confirmed. Constructing virtual deduction environment..."

In an instant, Lin Mo felt the surrounding scene begin to distort. The laboratory walls, instruments, tables, and chairs all rippled like water and then gradually blurred.

Replaced by a purely white space.

He stood in the void, with no ground beneath his feet and no sky above his head, only boundless white. But strangely, he didn't feel panicked; instead, he felt a strange sense of peace.

"Deduction space constructed. Please set the deduction goal."

Lin Mo steadied himself and said, "The optimal formulation combination for the Lithium-Sulfur Battery three-dimensional superconducting scaffold, including scaffold material ratios, additive types, sintering temperature, porosity, and other parameters."

"Goal set. Deduction scope: 12 material formulation variables, 8 process parameter variables, total combinations approximately 12,000. This deduction will screen the 100 most promising ones, taking approximately 15 minutes. Start?"

"Start."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless floating screens suddenly appeared before Lin Mo. On every screen, data, curves, and molecular structure diagrams were jumping rapidly. The speed was so fast he couldn't see clearly; he could only see the screens streaking past like meteors.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes...

Ten minutes later, the number of screens began to decrease. Those eliminated schemes disappeared one by one, and the remaining ones became increasingly refined.

Twelve minutes, 50 groups remaining.

Fourteen minutes, 20 groups remaining.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, all the screens suddenly merged into one, floating in front of Lin Mo.

"Deduction complete. 10 optimal formulation combinations have been screened, sorted by comprehensive score. View detailed data?"

Lin Mo took a deep breath: "View."

The screen immediately displayed dense data. Every formulation combination listed detailed ingredient ratios, process parameters, and expected performance.

He looked through them one by one.

The first group, score 98.5. Scaffold material: 85% Room-Temperature Superconductivity powder, 10% conductive carbon black, 5% binder. Additive: a certain rare metal compound A, addition amount 0.5%. Sintering temperature: 850 degrees. Porosity: 72%. Expected energy density: 1450Wh/kg.

Lin Mo's eyes widened.

1450? That was double the Germany team's 780, and more than half of the theoretical value.

He continued looking down. The second group, score 97.2, energy density 1380. The third group, 96.8, energy density 1350...

But when he saw the fourth group, he froze.

The fourth group, score 96.1, energy density 1320. The scaffold material was similar to the first three groups, but the additive had been changed to another rare metal compound B.

This B—he had never thought of using it here.

He carefully examined the deduction data and discovered that the role of this B was to stabilize the interface between the superconducting material and the sulfur, preventing performance degradation during the cycling process. Although the energy density was slightly lower than the first three groups, the cycle life was nearly doubled.

"System," he asked, "does this additive B have a basis in reality?"

"Yes. Compound B has had application precedents in high-temperature superconducting materials, but it has not yet been reported in the field of Lithium-Sulfur Battery. The deduction results indicate that it has a significant stabilizing effect on the superconductor-sulfur interface."

Lin Mo stared at the name, his mind spinning rapidly.

This was a brand-new direction. No one had ever tried it. If verified successfully by experiment, this would be their original technology, not following in others' footsteps.

"System, can I view the detailed information on this compound B?"

The screen immediately displayed the compound's molecular structure, physical and chemical properties, synthesis methods, supplier information...

Lin Mo read page by page, becoming more and more excited as he went.

Fifteen minutes later, he exited the deduction space.

The surrounding scene distorted again, the white faded, and the laboratory reappeared before his eyes. He was still sitting in the same chair, the coffee on the table still steaming, as if only an instant had passed.

But Lin Mo knew that in that space, he had already completed the screening of one hundred formulation combinations.

He checked the time—only seventeen minutes had passed in the real world.

Seventeen minutes to complete work that would take months in reality.

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night scenery outside.

The mountains undulated under the moonlight like silent behemoths. But this time, he felt only excitement in his heart.

He turned around and wrote the name of that compound B in his notebook.

Then he picked up the phone and called Zhang Zhe.

At 2:30 AM, Zhang Zhe answered the phone, his voice as alert as if it were daytime.

"Chief Lin?"

"Zhang Zhe," Lin Mo's voice carried irrepressible excitement, "meeting for the team tomorrow morning at eight. I have a new direction."

There was a silence on the other end of the line for a second, then Zhang Zhe said, "Okay."

The next morning at 8:00 AM, in the laboratory.

Lin Mo stood in front of the whiteboard and wrote the name of that compound B right in the center.

Everyone was staring at the unfamiliar name.

"This is a type of rare metal compound," Lin Mo said. "It has been applied in the field of high-temperature superconductivity, but no one has ever used it on a Lithium-Sulfur Battery."

He pointed to the whiteboard and began to explain the formulation combination obtained from the deduction. Scaffold material ratios, additive dosage, sintering temperature, porosity... every parameter was clearly defined.

Zhang Zhe listened and was silent for a long time.

"These data," he asked, "where did they come from?"

Lin Mo looked at him and said calmly, "Derived from deduction."

Zhang Zhe didn't press further. He knew that some questions shouldn't be asked.

"Good," he said, "then let's do it."

Li Xiao raised her hand: "Teacher Lin, can this compound B be bought domestically?"

Lin Mo nodded: "The system... data shows there are domestic versions, and the purity is sufficient."

Li Xiao immediately opened her computer: "I'll check for suppliers."

Academician and Su Qing exchanged a glance and also stood up.

"Teacher Lin, what should we do?"

Lin Mo smiled.

"Prepare for the experiment," he said. "This time, we're going to do something big."

Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly.

A new day, a new beginning.