Chapter 16: Separated Scattering
Meanwhile, in the experimental building of Caltech's Physics Department.
Compared to the chaos unfolding at Apartment 4A, this place was so quiet that only the low hum of instruments and the subtle sound of water circulating through the cooling system could be heard.
The massive superconducting magnet resembled a sleeping metallic beast, occupying most of the lab space.
Leonard and David were fully concentrated on operating the equipment.
Leonard carefully adjusted two critical knobs—one controlled the parallel magnetic field strength applied to the sample, the other finely tuned the gate voltage on the sample's back surface.
"Magnetic field strength stable at 1.5 Tesla... Gate voltage scanning to -30V... Beginning data acquisition." Leonard stared intently at the scrolling numbers and slowly drawing curve on the screen, his voice hushed as if afraid of disturbing something.
David stood beside him, watching the preliminary results being processed in real-time on another monitor, occasionally offering suggestions. "Leonard, look at data point 45. The resistivity slope seems to have a tiny but sustained jump... Try increasing the magnetic field scanning resolution in that region by another order of magnitude."
"Got it." Leonard's fingers made even finer knob adjustments.
The experiment's core was this "dual-parameter" scanning concept. Instead of fixing one variable and adjusting only the other like traditional methods, the magnetic field (B) and gate voltage (Vg) changed collaboratively under precise control—like a perfectly synchronized dance team covering a two-dimensional parameter space.
Complex pattern recognition algorithms processed massive conductance data in the background in real-time, attempting to extract the unique "fingerprints" of different scattering mechanisms.
Time passed in silent, highly focused work. Outside the window, the sky had long since turned pitch black.
Suddenly, Leonard gasped, pointing at a curve that had just finished plotting on screen, his voice strained with excitement. "David! Look! Right here! Look at this peak!"
David immediately leaned closer. Amidst the complex background signal, a faint but clear resonance peak appeared. More importantly, this peak visibly shifted and morphed as Leonard subtly adjusted the magnetic field strength.
"Magnetic response... This is a magnetic response!" Leonard's voice trembled. "It moved! Look! The background from traditional phonon scattering barely changes with the magnetic field! But this peak... it reacts to the magnetic field we're applying!"
Excitement also erupted in David's eyes. "Exactly! Leonard! We found it! This is the unique signal predicted in the paper—likely originating from magnetic impurity scattering! For the first time experimentally, we've visually and irrefutably separated it from the chaotic background!"
The two exchanged glances, both seeing incredible euphoria in the other's eyes.
They verified repeatedly, changing conditions, and the characteristic magnetic response peak consistently remained, its behavior qualitatively matching theoretical predictions.
What they'd obtained was no longer indirect inference or vague trends, but clear, reproducible, quantifiable experimental evidence!
"We did it! We actually did it!" Leonard nearly jumped up, excitedly slapping David's shoulder. "Quick! Save all the data! Back it up! Oh my God, this is perfect!"
After the initial excitement subsided slightly, Leonard organized data while saying to David, "David, we need to compile these results quickly and write a paper! We'll submit to Physical Review B! You must be first author!"
David quickly waved his hand. "No, Leonard, this is your experiment. You completed almost everything independently—from design to execution. I only provided the initial concept and some suggestions. You should be sole author on this paper."
"Are you kidding me!" Leonard shook his head firmly. "Without the inspiration from your previously published PRL paper, I never would've thought to design the experiment this way! If you hadn't been here tonight supervising,
I might've missed the crucial signal halfway through from lack of confidence or operator error! This is our joint work, and we must co-author it! You're the conceptual source, I'm the primary implementer—that's fair!"
Seeing Leonard so insistent, even agitated, David stopped declining and nodded with a smile. "Alright, alright, I'll defer to you. It's been a pleasure collaborating, Leonard."
"The pleasure's all mine, David!" Leonard's smile was exceptionally bright under the monitor's glow.
When they left the lab in the early morning hours, exhausted yet extremely exhilarated, the sky was already turning pale.
Back at the apartment building, Leonard and David said goodbye outside Apartment 4A.
"I need to crash for a bit, then I'll start writing the paper!" Leonard's voice still brimmed with excitement.
"Exactly—with the data in hand, nothing to worry about. Get some good rest." David smiled, patted his shoulder, and turned toward his own apartment upstairs.
Leonard gently unlocked 4A with his key, trying not to wake Sheldon, who might still be sleeping.
However, the living room sight made him freeze.
Raj was sprawled across the couch, sleeping soundly, a look of satisfied, slightly dopey contentment on his face, even a trace of dried drool at his mouth's corner. The air faintly smelled of alcohol.
Meanwhile, Sheldon sat neatly dressed at the dining table, methodically eating a bowl of Froot Loops and reading an open textbook.
"Good morning, Leonard," Sheldon said without looking up.
"Morning... Sheldon." Leonard pointed at Raj on the couch. "What... what happened here?"
Sheldon adjusted his glasses and spoke in a calm, clinical tone, as if reporting weather data. "Oh, based on last night's observations, ethanol solution appears to temporarily suppress Rajesh's typical neurological language inhibition reflex when facing females. In short, after drinking, he was able to converse fluently in Penny's presence."
Leonard's jaw dropped.
Sheldon continued, a trace of subtle exasperation in his tone. "Subsequently, he became extremely manic and engaged in several hours of 'rehearsal' practice with Penny, repeatedly replenishing his ethanol fuel to 'maintain his state.' He not only read his own lines
but insisted on reading lines for all male characters and attempted to direct Penny's performance, claiming he'd grasped the 'true essence of Popov's Theory.' His behavior exhibited typical disinhibition and mild manic state.
The activity lasted until approximately 3 AM, at which point his fuel was depleted and he entered hibernation mode in that location."
Listening to this Sheldon-esque 'incident report' and looking at the sleeping Raj on the couch, Leonard couldn't help but rub his forehead with a wry smile.
This truly was an... incredibly insane night. On one side, rigorous breakthrough in the lab; on the other, chaotic "medical miracle" in the apartment. The drama of science and life intertwined in a wonderfully absurd way this morning.