Material Engineer Cheolwoo Lee (6)
The new material I made showed a stable structure at room temperature and in the air.
If only those conditions are met, it is a material that can be commercialized in most cases.
The rest were minor conditions.
‘hmm… … . The question is what kind of material properties it has.’
What characteristics does it really have?
The structural group made only of boron would not have lost the basic properties of boron.
That means it is a semi-metal. It will also mean that the strength is slightly lower than that of diamond.
“Are you done?”
Director Min, who had been there for some time, said.
“Yes. First of all, we succeeded in making boron into a two-dimensional structure. It is hexagonal.”
“Wow… Hexagonal structure? Was that structure possible?”
“Yes. I think so.”
“……That shouldn’t be that easy. Then, how about at room temperature? Is it stable at room temperature?”
he asked with a surprised expression.
“As you can see here.”
I talked while shaking the substance in the flask.
“This… Wow, a two-dimensional hexagonal boron structure material. Then, what about its material properties? Can it be used for semiconductors as we expected?”
“Well, I just made it. I’ll have to test things out in the future.”
“I’m sure it’s made of boron, so it’ll have metalloid properties… well, and its hardness will be no less than that of diamond. To be precise, I’ll have to experiment.”
“Yes. Then let’s test it right away.”
“Yes. Ah, before that, we need to decide on a name for the substance. How about boron iron?”
“…… boron iron? No iron?”
It seems that boron is in, and boron is in, what the hell is iron?
“It’s the first letter of Cheol-woo’s name. hahahahaha. It’s common to take the name of the person who discovered it.”
“…”
“Well, iron is still a bit confusing. What about Bungwoo?”
“Bungu… it sounds like the name of a fish.”
“Well, how about then?”
Well, yes, what does the name matter?
“Then let’s do that. Bung-woo…”
“It’s like a fish.”
Next to him, Researcher Jeong walked away.
* * *
After that, for several days, we continued various experiments to find the material characteristics of Bungwoo.
As we expected, boungu had semi-metallic properties.
That wasn’t all. It also had high thermal conductivity, so it was expected that it could be used in various industries.
“Wow, that’s amazing. This material called Bungwoo. If you use it well, it could be made into a material that can replace iron.”
From noble mtl dot com
Director Min said.
“Iron? I don’t think it can replace iron though.”
No matter how much, it can replace iron, the pillar of modern industry?
“No, this boungu is as high as iron in terms of strength and hardness.”
“I see. How high is it?”
“From what I just checked, both strength and hardness are nearly 1,000 times higher than iron.”
“The fact that both the strength and hardness are 1,000 times higher means that the diamond’s strength is much higher than expected?”
“Yes. That’s right. It’s a really innovative material.”
Certainly, the two-dimensional structure of the material was amazing.
It showed completely different performance from existing 3D materials.
“Ooh, then it could be used in high-tech industries like space elevators.”
“Yes. That’s right. It’s a cutting-edge material to make something like a space elevator. Previously, research was conducted on making carbon nanotubes using graphene, but there is no mass production method for graphene.”
Certainly, Bungwoo was showing similar or better performance compared to graphene.
Well, that doesn’t mean that a space elevator can be made easily.
“Certainly it could be used in such an industry.”
“Seriously, you’ve made a great material. Is it possible to mass-produce this?”
“Yes. Probably will. However, I will have to make another facility related to it.”
“However, is there a way?”
“That’s right.”
The performance of Bungwoo was confirmed.
It was planned to be used in various industries.
but… … .
“But it’s a pity. It can’t go into the semiconductor.”
Unfortunately, it could not be used for semiconductors.
No, you can use it if you want to use it. However, even if it was used, it only produced similar or slightly better performance than silicon.
“Still, there is a possibility if we continue to study this boungu.”
It may not be possible to make semiconductors using Bungwoo right now, but one thing is for sure, there was a possibility.
First, it can be used for semiconductor processes of 1 nm or less.
We were able to overcome the limits of silicon.
And the resistance was as low as 1/1,000 of that of conventional silicon. It was safe to say that it was almost non-existent.
“Well, is there a way to prevent electromagnetic interference?”
However, the big problem was electromagnetic interference. Even using a material called Bungwoo, the interference of electrons could not be prevented.
“That needs to be studied a little more in the future.”
“How has the direction of research been set?”
I couldn’t just research.
“Well, I’ve been thinking a little about that part. Now let’s add another element to the part that becomes each vertex in this hexagonal structure.”
“A different element? Is that possible?”
“Perhaps, I think it will be possible if we match the electronic arrangement.”
“Well, I see. Then what element do you plan to synthesize first?”
“The first element to try is hydrogen.”
It was hydrogen, the most stable and common substance in the universe.
atomic number 1.
Group 1, period 1, s-region, non-metal, electron configuration 1s, number of electrons per level 1.
It was also the easiest element to synthesize.
“Okay. Let’s proceed right away.”
We continued our research again.
* * *
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China.
“Manager, the MI results are out.”
“How about it? Is this the right technique?”
“Um… that’s a bit of a problem.”
“The problem? What’s the problem?”
“As a result of analyzing MI at the research institute, um… I don’t know how to say this.”
The subordinates sighed.
“What is it?”
“It is said that it is only a shell technology.”
As he spoke, Director Xiao became dumb for a moment.
“……? Yes? What?”
He thought he had heard it wrong.
“Uh, none of the technologies related to deep learning, which is a core technology, have been transferred. Literally, only the shell, the UX that composes the system, has been transferred. Core libraries have not been transferred.”
“No, so you’re saying it took the lab two months to figure it out?”
“…… Yes. I cleverly hid the library.”
“Does that make sense?”
The manager was angry at the subordinate’s absurd excuse.
“Sorry. It’s a technique using NF Network’s Flyer language… so it took time to analyze.”
“Ha, indeed…”
he let out a deep sigh.
‘No, what the hell are they doing? You said you were passing on the skills, but you said you were passing only the shell skills? Against our Republic of China?’
he was stunned
Who dares to play such a prank against the Republic of China?
‘Wouldn’t it be, isn’t it simply a mistake?’
After thinking a bit more, I came to that conclusion.
“Couldn’t we have done the analysis properly? Or maybe there was a mistake in Korea and important files didn’t come over?”
“Hmm… First of all, our analysis is not wrong. We thought it couldn’t be the case, so we checked it several times.”
“Then, isn’t it a mistake in sending the wrong message from Korea? Contact me right away.”
“……I don’t think so, but I get it.”
He immediately called the person in charge at the Korean Embassy to confirm.
“What do you say?”
“Uh…. The Korean side said they handed over the technology they received from Lee Cheol-woo.”
“……? I beg your pardon?”
“It is as you have heard. In Korea, Chul-Woo Lee received technology transfer for MI, and the document was delivered to us as it is.”
“So you’re saying that this is all Lee Cheol-woo’s joke?”
“Isn’t it safe to say that it is, in fact?”
“…”
He is at a loss for words.
“How dare you! Who could play such a prank against the Republic of China!”
And it exploded.
Who they are, 1.3 billion people. The only country that surpasses the United States. A country dominated by Chinese ideology. A country that can call other countries small countries in public.
It was China.
He thought they were ignoring their country.
“I’ll file an official complaint with Korea right away.”
“No. You don’t have to.”
“then?”
“I will come to see the President. Korea will no longer be able to use the rare earths produced in China.”
“Chul-woo Lee was kidding, but Korea…?”
“I wonder if Korea didn’t know?”
“…”
“I’m coming.”
Their anger reached its peak.
* * *
A few months later, the Blue House.
“…… Prime Minister, we have to make a decision. If we keep going like this, Ohsung Electronics’ damage will reach a serious level.”
China eventually banned rare earth exports to South Korea, and South Korea was holding out with stockpiles of rare earths.
“What decision do you mean?”
“Isn’t there a condition demanded by China? If Lee Cheol-woo is deported, the ban on rare earth exports will be lifted. We must accept the condition.”
China knew that Lee Chul-woo did not want to leave Korea.
Enraged China took advantage of that and wanted to give Lee Cheol-woo a shot, and presented Lee Chul-woo’s deportation to the Republic of Korea as a requirement.
“…”
The prime minister was lost in thought.
‘If Lee Chul-woo is deported abroad… … . The people’s backlash will be extreme. I can’t stand it like this.’
I couldn’t really choose anything.
“Prime Minister! Lee Cheol-woo made a promise at the beginning. If he couldn’t develop a new material to deal with rare earths, he would go into exile.
Although Lee Chul-woo boasted such a boast, there was no news from him even while exports of rare earths were blocked and stockpiles were almost exhausted.
“under…….”
The Prime Minister let out a deep sigh.
‘If Lee Chul-woo is deported abroad… … . Where is our future?’
Korea is a country without natural resources.
It was people and technology that made Korea what it is today.
‘If you are attracted to China like this, will you be able to adapt to the new era led by Lee Cheol-woo? Will there be any competitiveness?’
The Prime Minister made the decision after deep consideration.
“I give up on Ohsung Electronics.”
He chose the LF led by the future Lee Cheol-woo over the current Ohsung Electronics.
“Prime Minister!”
“This is the right choice. Without Lee Cheol-woo, will Korea have a future? In the future, LF led by Lee Cheol-woo will create far more value than Ohsung Electronics.”
“There must be a present, so there is a future. If Ohsung Electronics has a problem with semiconductor production right now, who will earn foreign currency?”
“There are Hyeon-seong and Lee Chul-woo, right?”
“No matter how…. Ohsung Electronics’ industrial influence on Korea will be less than 1/10. Korea will experience a rapid economic collapse.”
“…… My decision has not changed. I will come to see the President.”
“Prime Minister!”
The moment the Prime Minister is about to leave the room.
I met the secretary at the door.
“What’s going on?”
“Prime Minister, I just got a call from LF. It’s news that we have succeeded in developing a new material to replace rare earth elements.”
“what?!”