Chapter 528: Just Bring You Here
In fact, it is not difficult to separate the iron element alone.
However, it is definitely not an easy task to not destroy the special molecular structure of iron.
Once a metal mineral is acted upon chemically, it is likely that the structure of the iron will be destroyed.
Due to the limited number of minerals, there is not much room for error in the exploration of this substance.
After organizing the experts of the project team together, Xu You asked everyone about some of the previous research on this mineral.
"Professor Xu, after our research on this metal mineral, we found that there is indeed a special form of iron in it. This iron is different from all the iron we have discovered. It is combined in a molecular form."
Normal iron has a single atomic structure and does not have a molecular structure like this.
This form is somewhat similar to the iron atom clusters previously studied by Xu You and Xu Zhou, but there are some differences in comparison.
"Have you had any breakthroughs in isolating this special form of iron?"
"We have tried to separate the iron using various chemical methods, and we have indeed succeeded in separating the iron element, but the molecular structure of the iron has been destroyed during the reaction."
Xu You nodded slightly, which was consistent with his previous guess.
When doing experiments on iron atomic clusters, Xu You discovered that the structure of the atomic clusters could be easily destroyed by some chemical reactions.
The same situation indeed appeared in this new type of substance.
"It seems that it will be difficult to successfully separate these new types of iron through chemical methods." Xu You thought.
If we simply separate the iron element without considering whether it will destroy the molecular structure of the iron, then such separation is completely meaningless.
However, it is extremely difficult to separate a substance from a mineral without using any chemical method.
Thinking of this, Xu You couldn't help but frown and start thinking.
Like Lin Shi and Xu You, after listening to the experts' stories, they also began to think about relevant methods.
After thinking for a while, Lin Shi took the lead and said:
"That is to say, if you want to successfully separate this special iron from the mineral, you can't use any chemical methods."
"Yes, judging from the current experimental phenomena, this is indeed the case. Of course, it is not ruled out that some chemical reactions will not destroy the special structure of this new type of iron. However, because the tolerance rate is very limited, we have not yet found a suitable chemical reaction that can successfully separate it without destroying the molecular structure of iron."
This time, although several hundred kilograms of lunar samples were brought back from the moon, the number of samples containing this special mineral component was still very limited.
Experts did not dare to use too many samples for experiments. After all, some minerals needed to be preserved as treasures.
Xu You also knew this reason. Before the next moon landing mission was carried out, not too many experiments could be carried out using the existing minerals.
At this time, Lin Shi continued:
"So can we use purely physical methods to separate this new type of iron?"
After hearing what Lin Shi said, everyone felt a little surprised and thought that Lin Shi’s idea was too bizarre.
In the purification of any kind of mineral , purely physical methods are almost never used, unless the purity of the mineral itself is already very high.
Because everyone didn't know much about Lin Shi, they thought that this girl who had just joined the project team was just casually expressing her opinions.
But, everyone knows that Lin Shi was brought here by Xu You.
Due to their respect for Xu You, they did not dare to comment on Lin Shi's ideas.
Xu You, who knew Lin Shi, knew that since Lin Shi came up with such an idea, he must have his own reasons.
"Lin Shi, do you have any direction you can try?"
"I think we can use the fact that iron can be attracted by magnets to separate it. Simply using magnetism will not damage the structure of iron."
Hearing Lin Shi's idea, some experts couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Teacher Lin, you have to know that in addition to iron, there is also nickel in the mineral. Nickel, like iron, can be attracted by magnets. Moreover, these different types of substances are combined together. How can we separate different substances by relying solely on the characteristics of magnetism?"
Lin Shi heard this and said calmly: "I know that in addition to iron, there is also nickel in the mineral, but their specific magnetic susceptibility coefficients are different. As long as the magnetic field is set to appropriate parameters, it is theoretically possible to separate different substances. Before separation, we can process the mineral into tiny powders, so that we can use the magnetic field to purify the new type of iron."
Lin Shi's idea immediately enlightened Xu You. This was indeed a feasible direction in theory.
"Yes, Lin Shi's direction is indeed feasible. With the size of the new iron molecule structure, our existing technology can process the mineral into a corresponding appropriate size. We have completed similar experiments in our previous experiments."
At this point, Xu You had to admit that it was indeed a right decision to bring Lin Shi here this time.
Even if Xu You is given more time, he should have thought of this direction.
But Lin Shi proposed this direction in time, which bought valuable time for the project team.
It can be seen that Lin Shi was indeed very diligent in the laboratory before, which is why he was able to accumulate such solid knowledge.
Seeing that her idea was adopted by Xu You, Lin Shi didn't say anything, but she was still a little proud in her heart.
Lin Shike used his spare time to read a large amount of literature, especially all the results produced by Xu You.
It was from Xu You's research on iron atomic clusters that Lin Shi learned about some related properties and came up with the inspiration he has today.
With Xu You's affirmation, no one dared to question Lin Shi's opinion anymore.
After formulating a complete plan, Xu You and others started a new round of experiments.
Because physical changes do not destroy the molecular structure of matter, when conducting physical experiments, we no longer have to walk on thin ice as before.
Xu You put the mineral into a ball mill and milled it at a speed of 300 revolutions per minute for an hour until the mineral was fully ground into powder.
Using this time, Xu You once again studied the previous experimental data and performed various simulations in his brain from time to time.
"Before 1400 degrees Celsius, the structure of the new iron will not change. After roasting at this temperature, magnetic separation can be carried out."
