Chapter 45 On-site Verification
At 10:30 AM, the atmosphere in the laboratory was even more tense than in the conference room.
Seven experts gathered around the operation console, packing the small space tightly.
Chen Xueming stood at the very front, only a meter away from Lin Mo, his eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses fixed unblinkingly on his every move.
The other six experts were either standing or leaning against the nearby experimental benches, all eyes focused on Lin Mo's hands.
Li Xiao stood behind and to the side of Lin Mo, responsible for passing materials and tools. Her palms were sweaty, but her movements remained steady.
Zhang Zhe leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, watching everything expressionlessly.
At the doorway, Zhao Gang stood like a statue, his gaze sweeping over every expert before finally landing on Chen Xueming.
"Can we begin?" Chen Xueming asked.
Lin Mo nodded and picked up a bag of white powder.
"This is the base powder for the Room-Temperature Superconductivity material, batch number RM-2317, with a purity of 99.8%." He handed the bag to Chen Xueming. "Dr. Chen, you may inspect it first."
Chen Xueming took the bag, carefully examined the label, opened the seal, and leaned in to sniff it. Then, he dipped his finger to take a little powder, rubbed it in his palm, and observed it closely against the light.
"No problem." He returned the bag.
Lin Mo began to weigh the materials. The numbers on the electronic balance jumped before finally stopping at 85.00 grams.
"Superconducting powder, 85 grams." He announced the number, then switched to a different container. "Conductive carbon black, 10 grams."
Chen Xueming leaned in to check the balance reading, nodded after confirming it was correct.
"Binder, 5 grams."
Once the three materials were weighed, Lin Mo poured them into a mixing container, added the solvent, and started the mixer.
"Slurry preparation. Rotational speed is controlled at 500 revolutions per minute for 30 minutes." He pointed to the jumping numbers on the mixer. "As you can see, both the speed and time are within the set range."
Chen Xueming stared at the numbers, saying nothing.
Thirty minutes later, the slurry preparation was complete. Lin Mo poured the slurry into a mold and placed it into a freezing device.
"Now, we begin freezing and molding. The freezing rate is controlled at 5 degrees per minute, with a final temperature of minus 50 degrees." He pointed to the control panel on the device. "This device can monitor the temperature curve in real-time, and all data will be automatically recorded."
Chen Xueming glanced at the temperature curve on the screen, his brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything.
"The freezing process will take about twenty minutes." Lin Mo looked at the clock on the wall. "It is 11:00 AM now; at 11:20, we can proceed to the next step."
The laboratory fell quiet. No one spoke, only the faint humming sound from the freezing device could be heard.
Chen Xueming stood in front of the device, staring at the temperature curve on the screen, motionless.
An elderly expert with gray hair nearby whispered to his companion, "This kid actually dares to reproduce it on the spot; he's got some skills."
The companion nodded without speaking.
Twenty minutes later, the freezing was complete. Lin Mo took out the frozen sample, which was an ice-white cylinder with a thin layer of frost covering its surface.
"Now, we proceed with freeze-drying." He placed the sample into the freeze-dryer. "This process will take about two hours to sublimate the ice directly, leaving behind a porous structure."
He looked at the experts. "It is 11:20 now. Drying will be finished at 1:20 PM. Everyone can go have lunch, and we will return at 1:30 to continue."
The experts looked at each other; some nodded, others hesitated.
Chen Xueming shook his head. "I'm not going. I'll wait here."
The other experts hesitated for a moment before indicating they wouldn't go either.
Lin Mo didn't insist and asked Li Xiao to go to the cafeteria to get takeout for everyone.
At 1:20 PM, the freeze-drying was complete.
Lin Mo took out the sample. By this time, the ice-white cylinder had turned silver-gray, and its surface was covered with fine, visible pores.
"This is the three-dimensional skeleton." He handed the sample to Chen Xueming. "The porosity is 72%, and the specific surface area is 850 square meters per gram. Please, take a look."
Chen Xueming took it, but didn't look at it immediately; instead, he weighed it in his hand first, then held it up to his eyes to observe it carefully. He even pulled a small magnifying glass from his pocket to get a closer look at the structure of the pores.
After watching for a full two minutes, he handed the sample to the gray-haired elderly expert nearby.
The elderly expert took it, mimicked Chen Xueming's actions by weighing and observing it, then nodded. "Very light density, uniform pores. Good stuff."
The sample was passed around among the experts before finally returning to Lin Mo's hands.
"Next is the sulfur impregnation." Lin Mo placed the skeleton into a specialized container, added molten sulfur, sealed it, and put it into a vacuum device.
"Vacuum impregnation allows the sulfur to fully fill the pores. This process takes about an hour."
At 2:25 PM, the impregnation was complete.
Lin Mo took out the sample, which had now turned a uniform dark gray. He placed the sample into a battery casing, added the electrolyte, and sealed it.
"The battery assembly is complete." He looked at the clock on the wall. "It is 2:30 now. Next is the formation and testing, which will take about an hour."
He connected the small, silver, pouch-type battery to the testing device and pressed the start button.
Everyone's eyes turned to the screen.
The voltage began to rise, the current began to flow, and the energy density figures began to jump.
100, 200, 300, 400...
Chen Xueming stared at the jumping numbers, eyes unblinking.
500, 600, 700, 800...
When it jumped past 780, his brows twitched slightly.
900, 1000, 1100...
The elderly expert nearby whispered, "It passed a thousand, it passed a thousand."
1200, 1300, 1400...
The numbers were still climbing.
Chen Xueming's expression began to change. It wasn't anger, nor was it disappointment, but a complex, indescribable expression.
1450.
The number stopped at 1450.
There was silence in the laboratory.
Chen Xueming stared at the number for a full ten seconds. Then he turned his head, looked at Lin Mo, opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.
The elderly expert nearby was the first to applaud.
"Good!" he said. "Great! It's the real deal!"
The other experts joined in the applause. Some nodded, some exclaimed in admiration, and others exchanged surprised looks with each other.
Only Chen Xueming did not applaud.
He stood there, his face ashen.
It was not the ashen look of anger, but a complex one, a mixture of shock, admiration, and a hint of unwillingness.
Lin Mo looked at him and said calmly, "Dr. Chen, you have seen the data. Is there any problem?"
Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
It was a strange smile—somewhat bitter, somewhat relieved, and contained something Lin Mo couldn't understand.
"Dr. Lin," he said, "I have lost."
He extended his hand, looking at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo shook his hand.
"It is not a matter of winning or losing," Lin Mo said. "It is about seeking the truth."
Chen Xueming was taken aback for a moment, then smiled even wider.
"Seeking the truth," he repeated, "Well said, seeking the truth."
At 4:00 PM, the experts left the laboratory one after another.
Chen Xueming walked last. He reached the door, suddenly stopped, and turned back to look at Lin Mo.
"Dr. Lin," he said, "I have learned a lot today."
Lin Mo nodded.
Chen Xueming paused, then said, "If... I mean if, there is an opportunity in the future, I would like to come more often."
Lin Mo looked at him and smiled.
"You are welcome anytime."
Chen Xueming nodded, turned, and left.
In the hallway, Zhao Gang watched his back and suddenly remarked, "This guy is alright."
Lin Mo was taken aback for a moment and looked at Zhao Gang.
Zhao Gang didn't say anything else and turned back to his security control room.
Inside the laboratory, Li Xiao finally couldn't help but jump up.
"Teacher Lin! It worked! We did it!"
Lin Mo looked at her excited face and smiled as well.
"Yes," he said, "we did it."