Time rewound to the day before, daytime in the United States, deep into the night in Huaxia.
At 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington D.C., less than a kilometer away from the world-renowned White House, stands the headquarters of "Science" magazine's editorial office.
Speaking of this magazine, it is probably most famous for being partly sponsored by the renowned inventor Edison at its inception. However, after several financial crises, it was taken over by the United States' Science Promotion Association and gradually became a world-famous technology-oriented magazine.
Another well-known event was at the beginning of the twenty-first century when "Science" magazine was in a fierce competition with "Nature" magazine over who could first publish the human genome map. It is difficult to say who won, but in 2008, the first complete human genome sequence map was published in "Nature".
Of course, this does not mean that "Science" is inferior to "Nature"; after all, national strength speaks for itself.
Moreover, for many scientists, publishing in "Science" does not require a page charge. However, the prerequisite is still that the content of the paper must pass a more cautious review process.
The current editor-in-chief, Bull Wilson, not only graduated from the Ivy League's Harvard University but is also the president of another world-renowned school—Stanford University, as well as a professor and expert in material science.
The standards are very high.
But in reality, magazines like "Science" are extremely reader-friendly for the average person.
After all, this is a comprehensive journal that covers all scientific research directions, unlike specialized journals in mathematics and physics. The majority of papers published in "Science" can be understood by most people.
Because Bull had other matters to attend to, he did not spend much time at the magazine office. Often he would work remotely and the deputy editor could keep the journal running smoothly.
Today, when he came to the editorial office, he heard some interesting news.
The young Huaxia mathematical genius who had stirred up the entire world's mathematical community with his watermark recently submitted a manuscript to "Science", and he submitted two papers at that.
This was indeed an interesting affair.
Many editors in the office even started betting whether Qiao Ze's papers contained watermarks.
Well, mathematicians submitting to "Science" was not unprecedented, but Bull was still very interested in Qiao Ze's papers.
Clearly, there was no way he could not be interested because the deputy editor, Kenna, told him solemnly, "Bull, I think you should seriously read Qiao's two papers, especially the one about manufacturing a photolithography machine."
"A photolithography machine? Did I hear that right? Are you saying that math whiz sent us a paper on how to manufacture a photolithography machine?"
"Yes, you heard me correctly, it's about photolithography machines! I don't know how to describe it, but let's just say, his paper is a bit vague in its wording. I've also sent it to some experts, but this paper is really strange..."
Bull looked at his capable deputy with some surprise.
Her words clearly seemed very disorganized.
It was hard to imagine a rigorous top-tier journal deputy editor sounding logically confused when making a simple statement.
"All right, I got it, Connie. I suggest you relax a bit, maybe go have a cup of coffee? I'll skim through the papers first and we'll talk. If you can't find a more suitable reviewer, I'll figure something out.
You know, there are many teams at Stanford University conducting related research, like the high-density elastic circuit monolithic optical photolithography technology in the college, they would definitely be interested in this paper," Wilson suggested, interrupting Deputy Editor Connie.
"Okay, Mr. Wilson, then you should read the papers first," Connie said.
After saying that, Connie turned and walked out of the editor-in-chief's office.
As he watched the deputy editor leave, Bull then pulled up Qiao Ze's paper on his computer and settled down to start reading.
After two hours of careful reading, Bull Wilson roughly understood why the deputy editor had lost her composure.
The paper gave him the feeling that anyone who read it would be bewildered.
The paper's phrasing suggested it was purely theoretical derivation, yet there was detailed data to Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive!
Most importantly, who would develop a control system tailored for a machine that hasn't even been physically built yet? Controlling a system with 28 beams of light requires near-obsessive requirements for stability and precision.
Take ASML's state-of-the-art Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Machine, for example.
It first requires high-power CO2 laser pulses to reflect off several perfectly smooth mirrors, then strike a tin droplet target material with a mere 30 micrometers in diameter to generate high-power 13.5 nanometers of plasma, and rely on this plasma to produce a 13.5-nanometer wavelength EUV light source to expose and etch the wafer.
The high precision demanded by its control unit is beyond evident.
Although the design in Qiao Ze's paper reduced the precision requirements for the machinery, it is, after all, a photolithography machine whose function is to etch countless transistors onto silicon wafers. The requirements for stability and precision stand firm.