My Study Chat Group is Full of Real Big Shots

Chapter 128: Chapter 126: Is Your Energy Infinite?

A head poked into the office, saw someone was inside, and then—WHOOSH—it quickly ducked back out.

Mrs. Zhang heard the noise and bent down slightly to look toward the door.

The doorway was empty; not a soul was in sight.

But Mrs. Zhang seemed to have already guessed who was outside. She barked irritably at the doorway.

”Get in!”

A girl with black-framed glasses pushed open the door and walked in primly.

It was none other than Qi Yu, whom Li Dong had run into several times before.

”Teacher Zhang.”

Qi Yu first greeted Mrs. Zhang, then smiled and nodded at Li Dong.

Mrs. Zhang pointed to a nearby chair.

”Xiaoyu, just wait a moment.”

”Okay, Teacher.” Qi Yu sat down quietly.

Seeing that the student wasn’t causing any trouble, Mrs. Zhang turned her attention back to Li Dong.

”Chemistry isn’t quite like some other subjects, like mathematics,”

Mrs. Zhang said earnestly.

”If you were asking a math question, I could just write out formulas for you, explain the theory, and walk you through the logical derivations.”

”But what you just asked me about is a cutting-edge characterization method that combines synchrotron radiation X-ray technology with scanning tunneling microscopy, or SX-STM.”

Mrs. Zhang looked at Li Dong.

”It involves capturing the faint changes in tunneling current produced by core-level electrons—excited by X-rays—at the single-atom limit.”

”I can tell you this much with certainty: even if I were to derive the working principles of this equipment and the formula for the quantum tunneling potential barrier for you right now, you still might not truly understand it.”

”Chemistry is a science built upon experimentation.”

”If you haven’t personally adjusted the nanometer-scale gap between the metal probe and the sample surface, if you haven’t personally observed those faint photoelectron signals in an ultra-high vacuum and at cryogenic temperatures, then just thinking about it in your head will always leave you one crucial step short of true comprehension. Don’t you agree?”

After listening, Li Dong nodded thoughtfully.

’She’s right.’

He could rely on pure logic to power through physics and mathematics, but for the delicate operations in chemistry—observing chemical states and molecular orbitals at the single-atom limit—theory was just talk without the support of experimental intuition and practical experience.

”I understand, Teacher Zhang.”

Li Dong stood up.

He glanced at Qi Yu sitting beside him. ’This senior is clearly here to see Mrs. Zhang about something important. I shouldn’t take up any more of her time.’

”Well, Teacher Zhang, I’ll let you two get to it. I won’t disturb you any longer—”

”Wait a moment.”

Just as Li Dong was about to take his leave, Mrs. Zhang stopped him.

”While it’s true you have to get hands-on experience, we can still sort out the basic theoretical framework for you first.”

Mrs. Zhang turned her head and looked at Qi Yu, who was sitting nearby.

”Xiaoyu, come over here.”

”You happen to be working on characterization in a related field. Why don’t you explain it to this junior from Yuanpei?”

Then, Mrs. Zhang briefly repeated Li Dong’s question about ”using an STM probe to collect X-ray-excited electrons for localized single-atom detection.”

Hearing the question Li Dong had asked, a flash of surprise crossed Qi Yu’s eyes.

She had a strong impression of this junior from Yuanpei.

It wasn’t just because she’d seen him a few times. More importantly, his name had been absolutely everywhere on the Yan University campus network and the academic forums of major universities for the past few days!

Mrs. Zhang might not have paid much attention to the comings and goings of the mathematics world.

But Qi Yu was still young; of course she was online.

She had been following all the gossip about his first-author paper in the top journal *Math. Comp.*, the groundbreaking dimensionality reduction algorithm, and how he was even considered the top contender for the next Salem Prize.

’He’s actually studying chemistry, too?’

Qi Yu muttered to herself inwardly.

In her mind, even if Yuanpei College students had the freedom to choose their courses and double major across disciplines, the logical choice for a math whiz would be physics!

After all, the underlying logic of physics and mathematics are much closer, which would save a ton of learning effort.

’But he’s come to chew on a tough bone like chemistry, and the first thing he asks about is a cutting-edge topic like single-atom limit characterization. Does this guy have infinite energy?’

However, since Mrs. Zhang had spoken, Qi Yu naturally wouldn’t refuse.

She walked over to Li Dong’s side and said,

”Junior, your line of thinking has actually already touched on the core of SX-STM technology.”

”We use synchrotron radiation X-rays as the excitation source. When they irradiate the sample’s surface, they excite the core-level electrons of specific elements.”

”Traditional X-ray absorption spectroscopy is limited by the spot size, so its spatial resolution is typically only a few tens of nanometers.”

”But if we bring the metal probe of an STM extremely close to the sample surface, we can utilize the minuscule, atomic-scale radius of curvature at the probe’s tip, turning it into a nanoscale, localized electron collector.”

Qi Yu explained, laying out the concepts with perfect clarity.

”When the X-ray-excited electrons quantum tunnel through the vacuum barrier, we can detect the resulting increase in tunneling current. This allows us to precisely acquire the X-ray absorption spectrum of just the one or two atoms directly beneath the probe.”

”In this way, the element specificity and chemical-state sensitivity of X-rays are perfectly combined with the atomic-scale spatial resolution of STM.”

At this point, Qi Yu looked at Li Dong.

”Junior, do you understand the basic principle?”

As Qi Yu explained, Li Dong—a cheat-level character with [Chemical Intuition], after all—felt as if he could actually see a microscopic image of electrons tunneling between the probe tip and a single atom.

The point where he had been stuck was suddenly crystal clear...

”Yes, I understand now. Thank you, senior!”

Qi Yu was amazed he understood so quickly. ’So geniuses really can master any subject, huh?’

Thinking this, she decided that the junior before her was indeed a rare talent and proactively extended an olive branch.

”In the future, if you run into any problems with chemical characterization or spectral analysis that you don’t understand, you don’t necessarily have to find our teacher. You can just ask me directly.”

Li Dong heard this and thought for a moment.

’That’s true!’

As a senior professor in the chemistry department, Mrs. Zhang wasn’t always on campus.

Trying to find her for advice would depend on luck.

But this senior in front of him had a solid grasp of theory, explained things clearly, and was obviously a hands-on expert who had struggled and triumphed in cutting-edge research.

”Alright then!” Li Dong agreed readily and immediately took out his phone.

”In that case, senior, can I add you on WeChat?”

”Then, if I have any chemistry questions in the future, I can ask you, if it’s convenient.”

Qi Yu didn’t play coy, and the two of them added each other on WeChat.

”Well, Teacher Zhang, senior, I’ll let you get back to it. I’ll be heading off.”

Having achieved his goal, Li Dong didn’t linger. He said a polite goodbye and left the office.

As the office door closed, only Mrs. Zhang and Qi Yu were left in the room.

Mrs. Zhang picked up her teacup and took a sip.

”Xiaoyu,” she asked with a smile.

”From your reaction just now, it seems you know this junior? How do you know him?”

With no one else in the office, Qi Yu couldn’t be bothered to act anymore.

She plopped down on Mrs. Zhang’s desk.

”Teacher, have you really not been online at all to check the news lately?”

”This junior, Li Dong, is a huge celebrity at Yuanpei College right now—no, at all of Yan University!”

”A huge celebrity?” Mrs. Zhang was taken aback.

Qi Yu explained,

”Just a few days ago, he published a featured paper as the first author in the top international journal for Computational Mathematics, *Mathematics of Computation*!”

”He proposed a brand-new algorithm that completely shattered the historical record for calculating the non-trivial zeros of the Riemann Zeta function.”

”Everyone in the math world is saying now that he’s a shoo-in for next year’s Salem Prize!”

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhang was truly stunned.

She might be in chemistry, but how could she not know the weight carried by a top journal like *Math. Comp.*?

How could she not know the prestige of the Salem Prize in the world of mathematics?

A freshman, causing such a huge stir?

Mrs. Zhang then looked at Qi Yu and said earnestly,

”Xiaoyu, in that case, you should make sure to learn from him when you two talk in the future.”

”When it comes to chemistry, once you get down to the microscopic and quantum levels, you often need mathematical tools to support it.”

”After all, mathematics is the foundation of all natural sciences, isn’t it?”

However, in the face of her teacher’s earnest advice,

Qi Yu just scoffed.

”Hmph! Me, learn from him?”

”I’m his senior, okay!”

”Besides, he’s the one who came to me for help just now! If anyone’s learning, it should be him learning chemistry from me!”

The Qi Yu of this moment was like a completely different person from the one who had been in front of Li Dong.

Mrs. Zhang shook her head with a wry smile.

”You, you silly girl...”

”You’re great in every way, just a little too mischievous.”

”And... a little bit of a poser.”