Chapter 97 Pre-research Launch

Three days later, a new Prefabricated Building appeared on the Gobi Desert.

A temporarily printed sign hung on the door, with only two words on it: "tritium road."

Chen Xueming stood beneath the sign, staring at those two words for a long time. Then, he pushed open the door and walked inside.

The room was empty, containing only a few tables, a few chairs, and a brand-new server host.

Li Xiao was in the corner debugging the network, while Zhang Zhe was squatting on the floor unpacking equipment crates.

"Teacher Chen, you're here!" Li Xiao looked up. "Do you think this layout works? We put the server over here, the data terminal over there, and leave a discussion area in the middle."

Chen Xueming looked around and nodded.

"It works. It's a bit cramped, but it's enough."

Zhang Zhe stood up and brushed the dust off his hands. "The equipment will all be installed by tonight, and we can run data tomorrow."

Chen Xueming walked to the window and looked at the Lithium Extraction from Seawater device outside.

Sunlight shone on the metal casing, reflecting a dazzling light.

"Where is Lin Mo?" he asked.

"Teacher Lin went to the reactor early this morning, saying he needed to debug the system simulation interface," Li Xiao said. "He asked me to tell you that he will send over the first set of simulation data at three o'clock this afternoon."

Chen Xueming checked his watch.

Two forty-five.

Fifteen minutes left.

He pulled over a chair and sat down, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

It had been thirty years.

Thirty years ago, he had conducted theoretical research on isotope separation for his doctoral thesis. Back then, there was no equipment this good, no computers this powerful, no Room-Temperature Superconductivity; there was nothing. He could only derive formulas on paper and then imagine in his mind what the results would be if he could actually perform the experiments.

Now, it was really about to begin.

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from Lin Mo: "Data transmitted. Please check."

Chen Xueming took a deep breath and opened his computer.

An encrypted folder popped up on the screen; he entered the password and unzipped it.

Inside was a complete set of simulation data—curves showing the relationship between magnetic field strength and separation efficiency, comparisons of separation effects at different flow rates, suggested schemes for optimizing the separation chamber structure, theoretical performance predictions for candidate materials...

It was dense, with over a hundred files.

Chen Xueming flipped through them page by page, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"Li Xiao!" he called out. "Come look at this!"

Li Xiao ran over and leaned in toward the screen.

"Did Lin Mo run this using the system?" she asked.

Chen Xueming nodded.

"Look at this," he said, pointing to a curve graph. "When the magnetic field strength is 2.3 T, there is a jump in separation efficiency. I had calculated this inflection point before, but I was never certain. Now I have the data."

Li Xiao stared at the graph, her eyes also lighting up.

"Then shall we design the experiment based on 2.3 T?"

"Don't rush yet," Chen Xueming said, continuing to scroll down. "Look at this—the influence of flow rate. If the flow rate is too fast, the separation time is insufficient; if it's too slow, the throughput is too low. The optimal range is between 0.5 and 0.8 meters per second."

Li Xiao took out her notebook and recorded it quickly.

Zhang Zhe also came over. "Teacher Chen, is there anything you need me to prepare?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment. "Pull up the blueprints for our pilot device and compare the structure of the separation chamber. Lin Mo provided optimization suggestions; we might need to change a few things."

Zhang Zhe acknowledged the instruction and ran to turn on the computer.

At 3:15, the three of them gathered around the table with blueprints and data spread out before them.

Chen Xueming held a pen, sketching on the blueprints.

"The original separation chamber was 1.2 meters long, with a uniform magnetic field area of only 80 centimeters. According to Lin Mo's simulation, we need to increase the uniform area to 1.5 meters to achieve a separation efficiency of over 90%."

Li Xiao did a quick calculation. "Does that mean we need to lengthen the magnet?"

"Yes," Chen Xueming said. "But lengthening the magnet means increasing the current, and the heat dissipation must keep up. Zhang Zhe, contact the manufacturer and ask if they have ready-made long magnets, or if they can customize one."

Zhang Zhe nodded. "I'll ask right away."

"And the collection system," Chen Xueming said, pointing to another part of the blueprint. "The original collection system was for liquid products, but tritium is a gas, so we need to change it to a gaseous collection device. This has to be redesigned."

Li Xiao raised her hand. "I can make a model for this first. I'll run simulations for several gaseous collection schemes to see which one has the highest efficiency."

Chen Xueming looked at her, his eyes filled with gratification.

More than half a year ago, this young woman was just a technical assistant helping with code. Now, she could proactively suggest using models to solve engineering problems.

"Alright," he said. "You run them first, and when you're done, we'll look at them together."

The sun outside the window was gradually setting.

In the Prefabricated Building, the three of them were busy with their own tasks—Chen Xueming stared at the data, Li Xiao typed on her keyboard, and Zhang Zhe was on the phone. Occasionally, someone would ask a question, and occasionally, someone would stand up to sketch a few lines on the blueprints.

At six o'clock sharp, Zhang Zhe hung up the phone with a smile on his face.

"Teacher Chen, the manufacturer says they have a long magnet that fits our requirements perfectly. The uniform field area is 1.6 meters, and the magnetic field strength is adjustable from 0.5 T to 3.5 T. It can arrive in two weeks."

Chen Xueming looked up. "What about the price?"

Zhang Zhe reported a number.

Chen Xueming did a quick calculation and nodded. "It's within the budget. Place the order."

Zhang Zhe picked up the phone again.

Li Xiao suddenly shouted, "Teacher Chen! Look at this!"

Chen Xueming walked over and looked at her screen.

It was a 3D simulation showing a design scheme for the gaseous collection system. The airflow rotated inside the separation chamber, and after being deflected by the magnetic field, the light components floated out along one path, while the heavy components fell along another.

"How is this design?" Li Xiao looked at him expectantly.

Chen Xueming stared at the screen for a full minute.

Then he reached out and patted Li Xiao on the shoulder.

"It's good," he said. "Let's build it according to this."

Li Xiao was stunned for a moment, and then a smile bloomed on her face.

"Really?"

"Really," Chen Xueming said. "It's much better than your Teacher Chen's design from thirty years ago."

Li Xiao laughed embarrassedly.

The door was pushed open, and Lin Mo walked in.

"How is it?" He looked at the three people in the room. "Any progress?"

Chen Xueming stood up and pointed to the screen.

"The magnet is sorted; it will arrive in two weeks. Li Xiao came up with a scheme for the collection system, and I think it's feasible. Now we just wait for the equipment to arrive and start the modifications."

Lin Mo walked over and looked at the design drawing on Li Xiao's screen.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

"Not bad," he said. "This airflow guidance design is even more optimized than the one in my simulation."

Li Xiao's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Lin Mo smiled.

"Really."

Zhang Zhe finished his call and came over. "Teacher Lin, have you eaten?"

Lin Mo shook his head. "Not yet."

Zhang Zhe turned to walk outside. "I'm going to the Canteen to get food; you guys wait here."

The room quieted down.

Chen Xueming stood by the window, watching the sky outside gradually darken. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the Gobi Desert a golden red, and the outline of the Lithium Extraction from Seawater device appeared exceptionally clear in the twilight.

"Lin Mo," he suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"When I was doing my doctoral thesis thirty years ago, I was often like this, still in the laboratory after dark," he said, turning to look at Lin Mo. "But back then, it was just one person. Now, there are four."

Lin Mo nodded.

"That's why we can go further."

Chen Xueming laughed.

"Yes, we can go further."

Li Xiao whispered from the side, "Teacher Chen, Teacher Lin, don't get all sentimental; I'm starting to want to cry."

Both of them laughed at the same time.

Zhang Zhe pushed the door open, carrying four lunch boxes.

"What are you laughing at? Time to eat!"

Night on the Gobi Desert had arrived once again.

But inside the Prefabricated Building, it was brightly lit and steaming with warmth.