Chapter 71 First Experiment

At seven in the morning, Chen Xueming pushed open the door to the laboratory earlier than usual.

Today was a big day—the first official experiment of the Lithium Extraction from Seawater project.

After more than a month of preparation, they had finally set up the first small-scale experimental apparatus. The apparatus was not large, covering only a few square meters, but it was fully equipped: a seawater simulation tank, superconducting magnets, separation pipes, a collection system, real-time monitoring equipment... Every component was the result of the team's hard work over the past month.

Chen Xueming walked up to the apparatus and carefully checked every connection.

"Dr. Chen, you're here so early again!" Li Xiao's voice came from behind.

Chen Xueming turned around and saw Li Xiao walking over with a thermos cup: "I brought you some soy milk, drink it while it's hot."

Chen Xueming took the cup and smiled: "Thank you."

Li Xiao leaned toward the apparatus, her eyes bright: "Are we really testing it today?"

"Yes," Chen Xueming nodded, "The theory has been pushed countless times, the simulations have run hundreds of times, it's time for the real thing."

Zhang Zhe had also arrived. He walked over to the apparatus and silently checked the adsorbent module—this was the part he was responsible for; although magnetic separation was the main line, the adsorbent route was a backup and also needed to be tested simultaneously.

At eight o'clock sharp, Lin Mo and Zhao Gang came in together.

"Is everyone ready?" Lin Mo asked.

Chen Xueming took a deep breath: "Ready."

Lin Mo nodded: "Then let's begin."

The experiment began.

Li Xiao started the data acquisition system, and real-time data began to pop up on the screen. Zhang Zhe stared at the pressure gauge of the adsorbent module. Chen Xueming personally opened the valve for the simulated seawater liquid.

The pale blue liquid slowly flowed into the pipes, passed through the strong magnetic field generated by the superconducting magnets, and then entered the collection system. Everything looked very smooth.

"What's the magnetic field strength?" Chen Xueming asked.

Li Xiao glanced at the screen: "2.8 Tesla."

"And the flow rate?"

"0.2 meters per second."

Chen Xueming nodded and continued to stare at the collection tank. According to theoretical calculations, under these conditions, it should be possible to extract tens of milligrams of lithium per ton of seawater.

Ten minutes later, the sampling of the first batch of collection liquid was completed.

Li Xiao took the sample to the analyzer and pressed the start button. Several people gathered around the screen, waiting for the results.

A few minutes later, the results came out.

Lithium concentration: 0.18 mg/L

Chen Xueming was stunned.

0.18 mg/L. And the initial lithium concentration of the seawater was 0.17 mg/L. In other words, after being processed by the entire apparatus, the lithium concentration had hardly changed.

"Separation efficiency..." Li Xiao said softly, "Let me calculate it."

She tapped the keyboard a few times, and a number popped up on the screen: -5.8%

Negative.

Chen Xueming stared at that number, unable to speak for a long time.

Negative separation efficiency. This meant that after passing through their apparatus, the seawater's lithium concentration had not decreased, but had instead increased slightly—probably due to measurement error.

In short, it was equivalent to having separated nothing at all.

"Try again," Chen Xueming said, his voice a bit hoarse.

Li Xiao nodded, took new samples, and re-analyzed.

The second result: 0.17 mg/L. Exactly the same as the original seawater.

Chen Xueming clenched his fists.

"Lower the flow rate," he said. "Reduce it to 0.1 meters per second."

Zhang Zhe went to adjust the valve. Li Xiao reset the parameters. The apparatus continued to run.

Twenty minutes later, the analysis results for the third batch of samples came out: 0.17 mg/L. It still hadn't changed.

Chen Xueming's expression grew increasingly ugly.

"What about the magnetic field strength?" he asked. "Can it be higher?"

Zhang Zhe shook his head: "It's 2.8 Tesla right now, which is already the limit for this magnet. To go higher, we'd need to replace it with a larger magnet."

Chen Xueming was silent.

He walked to the apparatus, watched the seawater flowing quietly, and a sense of indescribable frustration welled up in his heart.

A month of preparation, countless deductions, a first experiment full of expectations—and the result was that nothing had been separated.

"Dr. Chen," Li Xiao said cautiously, "Should we try another set of parameters?"

Chen Xueming shook his head, his voice low: "No need. The problem isn't in the parameters."

He turned around and looked at Lin Mo:

"Teacher Lin, our theory is wrong. Magnetic separation just won't work."

The laboratory was quiet for a few seconds.

Li Xiao and Zhang Zhe looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Zhao Gang stood at the doorway, his eyes filled with worry.

Lin Mo walked to the apparatus, carefully examined the pipes and connections, and then asked:

"Dr. Chen, where do you think the problem lies?"

Chen Xueming gave a bitter smile:

"The problem is fundamental. The lithium concentration in seawater is too low—only 0.17 grams per ton. The principle of magnetic separation is to make lithium ions deflect in a magnetic field, but deflection requires time and distance. Our pipes are too short, and the magnetic field strength isn't enough; the lithium ions flow past before they have time to deflect."

He walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and drew a simple schematic diagram:

"Look, lithium ions are subjected to the Lorentz force in a magnetic field, which produces a lateral acceleration. But this acceleration is very small and requires a sufficiently long movement distance to produce a significant deflection. Our pipes are only two meters long, and it only takes a few seconds for the lithium ions to flow through; that amount of time is simply not enough for them to deflect into the collection tank."

He put down the marker and looked at Lin Mo:

"This is a physical limit. It's not something that can be solved by parameters."

Lin Mo nodded, without refuting him.

He walked to the apparatus, looked at the quietly flowing seawater, was silent for a few seconds, and then said:

"Dr. Chen, you are right. This is a physical limit."

Chen Xueming was stunned—he hadn't expected Lin Mo to admit it directly.

Lin Mo turned around and looked at him:

"But physical limits are not impossible to break through."

He walked back to the whiteboard and drew another diagram next to the one Chen Xueming had drawn:

"Look, if the pipe were long enough, say one hundred meters, or even one thousand meters, the lithium ions would have enough time to deflect. But such a long pipe is unrealistic; it would take up too much space."

He drew another diagram next to it:

"So, we need to change our approach—not by making the seawater flow through a long pipe, but by letting the seawater stay in the magnetic field for a sufficiently long time. For example, by letting the seawater circulate repeatedly in the magnetic field area, or by reducing the flow rate to the limit, or..."

He paused and drew a spiral-shaped pipe on the diagram:

"Or, design the pipe into a spiral shape, letting the seawater travel a longer path within a limited space. This way, the magnetic field strength remains unchanged, but the effective distance is greatly increased."

Chen Xueming stared at the spiral-shaped pipe, his eyes slowly lighting up.

"Spiral pipe..." he murmured, "This way the flow rate can be maintained, but the path length can be increased by dozens of times..."

Lin Mo nodded: "Right. The theoretical separation efficiency could be increased from almost zero now to tens of percent."

Chen Xueming looked at the diagram, was silent for a few seconds, and then asked:

"Teacher Lin, how did you think of that?"

Lin Mo smiled:

"It wasn't me; it was your words just now that inspired me. You said that lithium ions need a sufficiently long movement distance to deflect—so I thought about how to increase this distance within a limited space."

He patted Chen Xueming on the shoulder:

"Dr. Chen, the experiment failed, but the problem has been found, and the direction has been found, too. This doesn't count as a failure; this is progress."

Chen Xueming looked at him blankly, then slowly nodded.

"You're right," he said, "This isn't a failure; this is... finding the problem."

He turned to look at the apparatus, his eyes becoming firm again:

"Spiral pipe. I'll start designing it tomorrow."

Li Xiao leaned in: "Dr. Chen, let me help you draw the designs! I've studied CAD!"

Zhang Zhe also spoke up: "For the spiral pipe material, we need to consider corrosion resistance. I can help with the selection."

Zhao Gang made a rare humorous remark: "I'll be responsible for ensuring no one disturbs you while you're designing."

Chen Xueming looked at them, his eyes feeling a bit warm.

Just a moment ago, he had felt that he had failed, that a month of hard work had been in vain. But now he realized, that was not the case at all.

The team was still there. Lin Mo was still there. The problem had been found, and the direction had been found.

This was what mattered most.

"Alright," he said, "Starting tomorrow, let's get back to work."

In the evening, Chen Xueming was the last person to leave the laboratory.

He stood in front of the apparatus, looking at the quiet pipes, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

The first experiment, the efficiency was almost zero. It would be a lie to say he wasn't frustrated. But Lin Mo's idea of the spiral pipe kept turning in his mind—the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

If the pipe length could be increased to dozens of times the original length, the separation efficiency could be raised from zero to a considerable level.

Physical limits are not impossible to break through.

He took a deep breath, turned off the lights, and walked out of the laboratory.

Outside the door, Lin Mo was standing there, as if waiting for him.

"Dr. Chen," Lin Mo walked over, "Don't take today's events too much to heart. Scientific research is just like that; it takes a hundred failures to trade for one success."

Chen Xueming nodded: "I know. It's just... I'm a bit unwilling to accept it."

Lin Mo smiled:

"It's good that you're unwilling to accept it. Only when you're unwilling to accept it will you think of ways to solve it."

He looked at the distant Kunlun Mountains, only a blurred outline visible in the night:

"Think about that spiral pipe idea when you go back, and we'll discuss it again tomorrow. Whatever support you need, just say so."

Chen Xueming nodded, hesitated for a moment, and asked:

"Teacher Lin, do you really believe this direction can succeed?"

Lin Mo turned back to look at him:

"It's not the direction I believe in."

"Then—what do you believe in?"

Lin Mo said:

"I believe in you all. Dr. Chen, you are the most persistent person I have ever met. A persistent person won't let a problem keep them stuck forever."

Chen Xueming was stunned.

Lin Mo patted his shoulder and turned to walk away.

Chen Xueming stood in place, watching his back disappear into the night.

Then he looked up at the stars in the night sky.

Those stars looked very far away. But someone had told him that they could be reached.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the dormitory.

Tomorrow, start over.