129: Chapter 129 Superconducting Materials

Material CW-001 was a designation Wang Shuo had determined himself. Behind this designation stood... a Room-temperature superconductor!

Because Wang Shuo, who was terrible at naming things, felt that coming up with names was mentally draining, he just slapped his head and, without thinking, used the pinyin initials of the characters for "Room-temperature" as the designation, and he considered it quite easy to remember.

Hmm... it was indeed quite easy to remember.

The Room-temperature superconductor with the designation 001 was a prototype of an iron-based superconductor that Wang Shuo had carefully selected based on the Humanoid Race's superconducting material ratios, while also considering process, cost, and scope of application.

The reason it was called a prototype was that even Wang Shuo himself did not know if it could be successfully produced.

The reason for this ultimately boiled down to the trouble caused by translation.

Take iron, for example. The reason "tie" (iron) in Chinese and "iron" in English refer to the same thing is that there is only one substance with the same properties on Earth, and this substance has been defined as iron. Although the name in English has its own pronunciation, it refers to this specific substance.

But the Humanoid Race language was different. It had names and material properties, but Wang Shuo dared not confirm whether it was actually iron.

Forced by circumstances, Wang Shuo could only carefully look up the physical properties of iron on Earth and compare them one by one with the Humanoid Race records, finally confirming this critical base material—iron.

However, an iron-based Room-temperature superconductor required 28 different elements just for the combination. If he had to rely on looking up the data himself, who knows how long it would take? Furthermore, data might not even be available for some of the material properties.

With no other choice, Wang Shuo had to turn to the only professor in his memory who conducted materials research for help.

Fortunately, Professor Qian was truly helpful; he quickly sent over a very detailed list of material properties, and most importantly, this list included sample photos of the materials.

That made things much easier.

If I can't identify the text, surely I can identify the pictures?

Wang Shuo quickly found the materials by comparing them to the photos. For those he couldn't find, he could only use other materials with similar properties as replacements, based on his own understanding.

After everything was set, he handed all the materials to Ling, letting Ling control the specific refining process.

There was no other way...

Besides iron, the other elements that needed to be doped into the Room-temperature superconductor—such as rare earth elements like lanthanum, neodymium, samarium, gadolinium, thulium, etc.—not only required strict purity and proportions but also had to be added in a specific sequence measured in milliseconds. If even one thing went wrong, the entire Room-temperature superconductor would undergo unpredictable changes in properties, and whether it met the requirements would be entirely up to luck.

Wang Shuo knew he couldn't possibly achieve this with his own hands, so he had to leave it to Ling to control; at the very least, it was much more reliable than doing it himself.

And now, it was time to test the results.

A small block of metal was slowly brought before Wang Shuo by a robotic arm controlled by Ling.

Wang Shuo held it in his hand and observed it carefully. Because it was a high-temperature sintered composite of various iron-based materials, it looked quite different from a normal block of iron. Its entire surface was covered in a special substance resembling the glaze on porcelain, shimmering with a mysterious blue-purple hue.

"Ling, record."

Wang Shuo carefully felt the metal block in his hand.

"It is ice-cold throughout, with a temperature lower than human body temperature. After holding it for one minute, there is still no rise in temperature. I judge that the superconductor has lost its thermal conductivity at room temperature."

"There is an oxidation reaction on the surface; the oxide layer is light blue-purple, and its properties are stable."

Next, he tossed the metal block onto a scale and placed a piece of iron of the same size on the other side.

"The density is lower than that of an iron block of the same volume. The specific data will be calculated later."

"It possesses metallic yield strength, toughness, and plasticity. I suspect it has a certain degree of machinability."

After finishing these, Wang Shuo turned his attention to the magnetic track that Ling had already set up.

"The final item: diamagnetism test at room temperature."

This was the main focus of this test. If the diamagnetism test failed, all the previous data would be useless.

He gently placed the metal block in his hand above the magnetic track. Just as Wang Shuo was about to let go, Ling's voice suddenly rang out.

"Sir, there is a visitor. The name is: Zheng Yi."

Zheng Yi?

Wang Shuo frowned. What was she here for?

"Ling, total silence."

Watching the various pieces of equipment that had been running rapidly pause their operations, with the robotic arms freezing in place, Wang Shuo felt a bit strange.

After thinking for a moment, he changed his mind: "Never mind, keep the current status, continue working."

The various pieces of equipment in the factory building started running again.

Looking down at the small metal block already suspended on the track, Wang Shuo smiled and gave it a gentle push. The small metal block immediately began to move along the magnetic track at an extremely fast speed.

"Let her in."

...

Seeing Zheng Yi for the second time, Wang Shuo had a different impression.

Zheng Yi in her military uniform was imposing and heroic, her military aura radiating unrestrainedly without the slightest concealment, creating an air of "no strangers allowed within three feet." Yet, Zheng Yi out of uniform became extremely calm, as if the person Wang Shuo had met a few days ago wasn't her, but another Zheng Yi altogether.

To be honest, Zheng Yi's appearance didn't reach the level of Chen Xin, Liu Yemei, or Qin Xiaoting, but when her aura was added to the mix, the impression she gave far exceeded that of Chen Xin and Qin Xiaoting; only the seasoned professional Liu Yemei could barely compare.

This was a kind of aura radiating from the inside out, originating from one's spirit and energy, unique to soldiers.

In a sense, after Wang Shuo immersed his mind in the brilliance of the Humanoid Race, what he radiated was also this kind of aura.

It was just that, unlike this sharp aura, Wang Shuo's "aura" was instead heavy and profound, as if accumulated over countless years. Facing Wang Shuo in such a state, even though he was only eighteen, would make people feel a sense of craftiness, steadiness, restraint, and confidence, making one afraid to underestimate him.

Only Zheng Yi entered the factory; the other accompanying person did not enter with her.

Perhaps because it was her first time in such a peculiar place, or perhaps out of curiosity about what kind of person her younger brother's classmate really was, Zheng Yi did not chat with Wang Shuo immediately. After greeting him, she began to tour the factory on her own.

The self-operating CNC Machining Center did not catch her attention.

The industrial robotic arms running around busily only made her curious for a moment.

The metal block happily sliding along the magnetic track only caused her to pause slightly.

"Meissner effect."

Zheng Yi said calmly.

"You actually know this?" Wang Shuo was a bit surprised. Most people just know about superconducting magnetic levitation; a professional term like "Meissner effect" usually isn't something people remember.

"I also have a master's degree."

Zheng Yi explained.

That was true.

Wang Shuo smiled awkwardly. Superconducting levitation was a discovered phenomenon and something everyone knew about; he had been making too much of a fuss.

"Yes and no. I prefer to call it the diamagnetic phenomenon of super-conductive metal."

There was nothing to argue about. Zheng Yi nodded, acknowledging Wang Shuo's words, and then continued her tour.

It wasn't until she reached the test bench and saw the metal projectiles placed openly on it, along with the steel pipe that hadn't yet had its fixing device removed, that Zheng Yi's brow furrowed slightly.

She turned to look at Wang Shuo, then walked straight to the titanium alloy target about ten meters away, touched the bullet craters on the target with her hand, and carefully examined the deformation of the bullet heads.

Then, without a word, she returned to the test bench, inspected the power supply device and the supercapacitor that Wang Shuo had utilized, and checked the parameter data on them.

Her entire process was silent and professional; to someone who didn't know better, she would have looked like a serious researcher.

Immediately, her expression became very serious, and she raised her wrist to her mouth.

"Come in for a moment."

Before Wang Shuo could ask what was going on, Zheng Yi's companion, who had been waiting outside, arrived in front of Zheng Yi with great speed.

"Team Leader Zheng."

The man saluted.

Zheng Yi returned the salute, then pointed to the steel pipe and the target: "Conduct an investigation and assessment immediately. I want the data."

"Yes!"

Is it that serious? Wang Shuo opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't know what to say, so he had to wait quietly with the grim-faced Zheng Yi.

A few minutes later, the man finished his investigation, calculated the data, and came before Zheng Yi.

"Team Leader Zheng," the man saluted and said, "After investigation, the target is a national standard TC series titanium alloy plate. The specific grade is unknown; the thickness is 50mm."

"There are two damage marks on the target, caused by the impact of metal projectiles. The first mark is 1mm deep. Based on a comparison with test data in the archives, the estimated muzzle energy is 1700 joules, and the initial velocity is 400 meters per second."

"The second mark is 2.5mm deep. The estimated muzzle energy is 4000 joules, and the initial velocity is 800 meters per second."

"The impact energy of the second mark has already exceeded the standards of most active-duty rifles, reaching the category of a dangerous Weapon. I recommend destruction."

"I understand," Zheng Yi nodded. "Wait outside."

After the man saluted and left, Zheng Yi finally turned her gaze to Wang Shuo. She didn't say anything, just stared at Wang Shuo quietly.