Chapter 247 - 238: You Can’t Get By With an Empty Head

Chapter 247: Chapter 238: You Can’t Get By With an Empty Head

Li Dong had initially planned to send his ideas over using the file transfer feature.

His finger had already tapped the "+" icon.

But he hesitated.

Klein had granted him file transfer uses—two of them, in fact.

But the number of uses wasn’t the problem.

The problem was... he didn’t really have a "file" in his head to send.

He only had a rough outline of the whole concept.

"Use the characteristic X-ray absorption edge of a single atom as its ’fingerprint.’"

"Use the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope as a detector, making the X-ray-excited electrons tunnel directly onto it."

And then there was the "orbital orientation" that Professor Zhang Lufang had pointed out with a single sentence.

With these three points, he could just barely scrape together enough to sound knowledgeable in the group chat.

But beyond that?

How would he create a coaxial tip with a core that could conduct tunneling current, an insulating layer in the middle, and an outer layer grounded to shield stray light?

Which beamline would he use?

The only soft X-ray beamline in the world that could interface with an STM was the XTIP at Argonne Laboratory, and even that was a bit of a stretch.

He didn’t even know if a suitable beamline could be partitioned from any of the synchrotron light sources in the country.

How could he fish out a signal as faint as a speck of dust—the signal from a single atom—from a roomful of thermal noise and electromagnetic interference?

In the DFT calculations, which U-value should be applied? Get the U-value wrong, and the entire electronic structure profile would be completely skewed.

...

He couldn’t handle a single one of these things.

Li Dong sighed.

He moved his finger away from the "+" icon.

He thought for a moment, then decided to type a message.

[University Research in Progress]: You two, please calm down.

[University Research in Progress]: I’m working on a method.

[University Research in Progress]: If this method works, we could take the phenomenon Madam Curie described from a whole bottle of radium and scale it down to a single atom.

[University Research in Progress]: When that happens, it’ll be obvious to both of you who is right and who is wrong.

After he sent the messages, the group chat fell silent for several minutes.

Li Dong stared at the screen, feeling like he was running a massive bluff.

He’d made a bold claim.

But he had no real confidence he could pull it off.

Just then, a message appeared in the chat.

[Marie Skłodowska Curie]: @University Research in Progress, that method you mentioned.

[Madam Curie]: Can it really be done on a single atom?

[Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev]: If you can present a convincing path forward, I am willing to reconsider my position.

Li Dong looked at the two messages.

To be honest, for a fleeting moment, he was tempted to ask them, ’So, where’s my red envelope?’

But he didn’t send it.

Because he knew full well he was nowhere near capable of pulling this off.

He put his phone down on the table.

After a long moment, he let out a sigh.

"Sigh..."

’I’ve never done a project like this before.’

’Putting aside whether anyone would even lend me the equipment and lab space... even if I were shameless enough to trade on Tian Gang’s and Liu Ruochuan’s names for all they were worth, the best I could hope for would be a menial assistant position in some project group.’

’Chemistry projects aren’t like math; you can’t solve them with just a pen and your brain.’

’Any of the senior students in the group would have better hands in the lab than me.’

’A freshman like me, who burned three crucibles in chem lab, would be too clumsy to even be a decent assistant.’

’And I’m thinking about single-atom characterization?’

At this thought, Li Dong couldn’t help himself.

He lightly slapped his own handsome face.

SLAP.

It didn’t hurt.

But it was invigorating.

’Didn’t I decide to relax?’

’How did I end up thinking about research again?’

But you couldn’t entirely blame Li Dong.

Who could possibly resist?

This was a red envelope from Madam Curie and Mendeleev, after all.

Just as Li Dong was wondering if he should head over to the School of Chemistry to try and wear down Professor Zhang Lufang, and see if she had any connections that would let him sneak into a project group for some hands-on experience, his phone vibrated.

Li Dong looked at the incoming call.

He was stunned for a moment.

The caller ID read: President Li, Northbound.

To be honest, Li Dong really hadn’t expected a call from President Li.

At that closed-door banquet at the Zhongguan Village Shangri-La, he had presented his very unprofessional take on SNNs in front of half the titans of China’s AI industry.

He figured those big shots had probably already labeled him an amateur in private.

So he never expected President Li would contact him again.

He answered the phone.

"Hello, President Li."

President Li’s voice on the other end was very warm.

"Li Dong, are you free?"

"I’d like to treat you to dinner tonight."

Li Dong was taken aback for a second.

’He and President Li barely know each other. A dinner invitation, just like that?’

"Is it about the algorithm?"

Li Dong wasn’t an idiot. The only thing he had that Northbound would be interested in was his dimensionality reduction algorithm.

Many major companies were currently studying his version 1.0.

Northbound was naturally no exception.

Li Dong thought for a moment.

He was also quite interested in the latest developments at these major Chinese companies, so a simple dinner wasn’t a problem.

So he said, "Alright, President Li."

"I’m free tonight."

President Li chuckled on the other end.

"That’s great."

"You’re at the university, right?"

"If it’s more convenient coming from Yan University..."

President Li thought for a moment.

"There’s a Jiaquan Qifu at the Sanlitun Tongying Center. It’s about a half-hour taxi ride."

"I had my secretary book a private room in advance."

"Six-thirty. Just give them my name when you arrive."

Sanlitun Tongying Center.

Li Dong knew the area.

He and Wang Hao had passed by the Tongying Center when they were shopping in Xidan.

Wang Hao had pointed at the glass wall above them and said resentfully, "Brother Dong, a single meal at any random restaurant in this building would be enough to feed the two of us in the cafeteria for a year."

Back then, Li Dong had replied with a resolute expression, "It’s so expensive. Only a complete idiot would eat here."

’Looking at it now...’

’Well, if I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot. It’s not my money, anyway.’

So he replied, "Alright, President Li."

"See you tonight, then."

...

The Fourth Ring Road during evening rush hour was jammed like a giant open-air parking lot, and the ride-share driver grumbled and cursed the entire way.

Li Dong, however, barely noticed. He was inside his Memory Palace, flipping through information on X-ray beamlines, completely oblivious to the passage of time.

After a stop-and-go journey, the car arrived at the base of the Tongying Center at exactly 6:20 PM.

Pushing open the car door, Li Dong was hit by the scent of money, a smell unique to Sanlitun, the so-called "center of the universe."

Li Dong followed his phone’s navigation and found Jiaquan Qifu.

The restaurant’s storefront was decorated in a low-key manner, but it still screamed two words: "very expensive."

The hostess at the door didn’t ignore him just because he was dressed like a student.

Instead, she came forward with a sweet smile.

"Hello, sir. Do you have a reservation?"

"The private room booked by President Li," Li Dong said, giving the name.

Hearing this, the hostess’s eyes lit up imperceptibly, and her attitude became even more respectful.

"Of course, this way please, sir."