Chapter 102: Clearing Doubts with Shen Lao, Meeting Ninth Master Again
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After Shen Lao finished asking, he followed his gaze and saw Xu Kaiqing using his card to swipe at the machine. He swiped it once, then again, and then a third time, like a card-swiping machine without emotions.
“Is Old Xu planning to bring undergraduates with him?”
Xie Dingyuan withdrew his gaze and replied, “Teacher, I still have two research projects on my plate. I came back to Q University this time just to use the lab, and I won’t be involved in the information competition.”
“That’s good,” Professor Shen nodded, showing understanding. “Even if it’s just one question, it’s still a waste of energy.”
“Agreed,” Xie Dingyuan replied as he focused on eating, chewing each bite with great thought.
With his calm and composed demeanor, and his focused and indifferent gaze, it appeared as though he was not looking at a meal but rather a research paper.
Professor Shen: “….” It’s all about getting used to it.
While they remained silent, on the other side, there was laughter and conversation.
“Grandpa, are you a teacher at Q University?”
Xu Kaiqing: “Yes.” Referring to him as a teacher instead of a professor was perfectly fine.
Gao Zhaoming: “What do you teach?”
Xu Kaiqing: “Physics.”
“Wow! I love physics so much, I want to study physics at Q University too! When I get in, I’ll come to your class!”
Xu Kaiqing: “….” If he had time to teach undergraduate courses at that point.
Huang Hui: “These meals here are so delicious!”
Upon hearing this, Fanye raised his head, his eyes gleaming, with bits of food stuck to the corners of his mouth. “Yes, delicious! Grandpa, did you and Sister Yue know each other before?”
Xu Kaiqing: “Of course!” How could they not know each other? They had to know each other!
After lunch, Huang Hui and the others returned to their hotel, while Jiang Fuyue was invited to Xu Kaiqing’s laboratory.
He put it as, “Just a visit, the lab is quite spacious.”
While the hospitality was hard to decline, Jiang Fuyue could sense a hint of conspiracy.
As expected, as soon as she stepped inside, a stack of materials was forcefully handed to her.
Xu Kaiqing scratched his nose and said, “… since you have some free time. Take a look at this.”
Jiang Fuyue glanced down at the materials. “Schrödinger’s Cat in optics?”
Xu Kaiqing nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes.”
“But this falls within the realm of quantum mechanics. When did you start researching this?”
“Ahem… it’s not me, it’s a colleague’s research topic. It mainly discusses filter design and the measurement methods for filter cavity length. From a theoretical perspective, I see no issues. However, in practical application, the measurement results are not stable,” Xu Kaiqing explained.
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow, “So, what do you want me to do?”
“….Well, I believe you should be able to identify the problem.”
Before Jiang Fuyue could respond, a figure burst into the room and snatched the paper from her hand, saying, “Who are you? This is a restricted area for experiments. Don’t you know that outsiders are not allowed in?”
The newcomer was an elderly man with white hair, wrinkles covering his face. However, his eyes were sharp and piercing, and when he looked at Jiang Fuyue, they gleamed with intensity.
“Hey, Old Shen, what’s going on?” Xu Kaiqing quickly pulled the man aside.
Shen Wenzhao glared, “What am I doing? I wanted to ask you the same thing. You casually brought someone into the lab. Do you think it’s your own property? And why are you using my paper? This is absurd!”
Xu Kaiqing’s lips twitched, “Didn’t you give it to me?” He actually was turning the tables on him.
“I gave it to you so you could help me identify the problem, not for you to use it for a public display.”
The onlookers knew Shen Wenzhao was a prominent figure in the field of biology, but they were unaware of his achievements in the field of physics, which wasn’t his main specialty, unlike Xu Kaiqing.
Hence, they had given him the research paper to seek his opinion, and they never expected…
Xu Kaiqing felt quite wronged, “Wasn’t I trying to help you find the issue?”
“Is that it?” Shen Wenzhao gave a highly skeptical look that moved back and forth between Xu Kaiqing and Jiang Fuyue.
“Yes! I couldn’t find it myself, so I asked someone else to help. What’s wrong with that?” Xu Kaiqing couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
What a great opportunity it was, he hadn’t even let “Chou” look at his own research project, yet he what was the result?
Upon entering, he lost his temper and had a high-pitched voice.
Shen Wenzhao: “Whom did you ask for help?”
“Her,” Xu Kaiqing pointed to Jiang Fuyue with a matter-of-fact expression.
Shen Wenzhao’s eyes darkened, and he was so furious he couldn’t even speak, “You—”
Xu Kaiqing was puzzled, “?” What did I do?
“You… You actually let an undergraduate student review my research paper and expect her to find my issue?”
“Well, it’s not…”
“I saw it with my own eyes, and you’re still trying to explain?” Shen Wenzhao looked at him as though he were a disloyal partner, filled with accusations.
Um!
Xu Kaiqing calmly replied, “I’m not explaining; I’m correcting. She’s not an undergraduate…”
Shen Wenzhao, “?”
Xu Kaiqing continued, “She’s still in high school.”
“?!”
Shen Wenzhao was almost breathless: “Her? You can even think of her!”
“Don’t underestimate her. What I know, she knows. What I don’t know, she knows too.”
“Xu, this joke isn’t funny at all! Does a high school student even understand what Schrödinger’s cat state means? Do they know about the filter cavity or the squeezed state? You dare show her my thesis?”
Jiang Fuyue interjected, “Optical Schrödinger’s cat state is one of the main research subjects in quantum mechanics and an important resource in continuous-variable quantum information. In its experimental preparation, filtering operations on the triggering light path are a crucial step that determines the purity, yield, and other important parameters of the cat state.”
Shen Wenzhao was taken aback. These were basic knowledge, not particularly difficult, and he wouldn’t be surprised to hear an undergraduate student mention them. However, coming from a high school student, it left him a bit baffled.
Xu Kaiqing had his arms crossed, a smug look on his face, as if he were watching a show.
“I briefly checked the thesis earlier. I’m not sure about other parts, but there is indeed an issue.”
Xu Kaiqing’s eyes lit up, “What’s the problem?” He couldn’t find any issues himself.
Shen Wenzhao still seemed a bit dazed.
Jiang Fuyue added, “According to the design requirements, the cavity length ‘L’ should be less than 189μm but greater than 119μm. The interval is too short for conventional measurement methods. The only way to meet the design requirements is by measuring the cavity length using the phase shift of high-order transverse modes. Barring any surprises, it should be around 141μm. This method doesn’t rely on any specific properties of the cavity’s interior and is thus universally applicable.”
“Old Shen, did you understand now?”
Shen Wenzhao finally realized what was happening. He quickly flipped through the thesis in his hands, found the page about cavity length measurement, and read, “141? How did they arrive at this? Let me think…”
Jiang Fuyue gave Xu Kaiqing a warning glance: No next time!
Xu Kaiqing sheepishly touched his nose.
She said, “I’m leaving.”
“I can walk you out!”
“No need.” With that, she turned and walked away.
The next moment, her steps halted. Xie Dingyuan was standing not far away, wearing a white lab coat, and she wasn’t sure how long he had been listening.
His expression was unreadable, his gaze sharp and deep, and his appearance impeccable from head to toe.
He seemed otherworldly, not like an ordinary person.
Jiang Fuyue’s gaze flickered for a moment, but she quickly looked away and walked past him.
To her surprise, just as she left the lab, the man caught up with her…
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