Chapter 51 'Return to the old business' (4K two-in-one)
"What do you want to do?..." Qiong took it in confusion, "Actually, I want to tell you that although elixir science has a relatively large mysticism component, it has a relatively independent threshold and is inextricably linked to natural science...
Could it be that as a musician, you are ready to enter the field of chemistry to develop your own business?"
She lowered her head and opened the layers of folded paper. She first saw some glass instrument styles or connection diagrams that although not complicated, she had never seen before.
"A vacuum distillation device with an air pump? I didn't buy this one, and I don't use it much, but I remember that your school has an elixir refining room. You need a special-shaped flask and a mechanical rotor that can rotate? This one doesn't exist.
I’ve seen it before, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to assemble.”
Qiong looked at each item one by one: "Such a slender glass pillar? What do you want to use it for? The upper end is frosted, and there are openings and plugs below that I haven't seen before, but it is quite simple. It is not difficult for the manufacturer to burn it."
"A glass ball with openings at the top and bottom? I've never seen it before. It's not difficult to make."
"A small cylindrical glass bottle with a lid? I don't know what you use it for, but it's not difficult."
"..."
"The rest of the list...a lot of small test tubes, capillary glass tubes, glass plates, and flasks are all common things. At most, they can be adjusted according to your size requirements."
"Crystal ball? Gem altar? I have plenty of them at home, but with such a strong sense of spirituality, do you need such an object that is mainly used to assist the ignorant?"
Fan Ning asked: "I want to start using it before leaving for the imperial capital. Do I have time to prepare these?"
"It's Monday today and we'll leave on Friday. That's three days of preparation. That's enough." Qiong thought for a while and said, "Although some of your requests are strange, they don't involve any complicated inventions or are unusual.
Glass shape, or modify some parts of the existing machinery. Let’s go to the sales point of an instrument factory I often visit to have a look later.”
But she still asked uneasily: "Caron, what formula did you get, are you going to refine the elixir yourself? If you lacked experience before, it would be difficult to succeed at once. It would probably be a waste of precious extraordinary materials... Why don't you let me
Can I try it for you?"
Refining the elixir is by no means a "stew in an iron pot" as many people imagine: just boil a pot of water, pour in the raw materials and auxiliary ingredients in the formula in the specified order, heat and simmer, and you will get a sparkling pot of water.
of liquid.
This is definitely a stereotype or pure imagination of ignorant people about elixir refining.
Fan Ning had communicated with Joan and Cyndia before. He knew the actual situation and could easily understand why it was so.
——Elixirs are often mixtures of extraordinary components and ordinary components that are transformed into each other and then dissolved together in a solvent. However, most substances with extraordinary properties and ordinary substances are physically repellent. For example, as common
Water as a solvent has extremely limited applicability in the refining process, and many simple organic solvents are difficult to use.
Therefore, the first important issue in elixir science is to study how to combine the ingredients of the formula organically instead of mechanically mixing them, while at the same time avoiding unnecessary and uncontrollable additional reactions at the "chemical" level.
The essence of the mysterious realm is chaos. If it is 'stewed in one pot', the combination will be forcibly combined. However, in addition to the transmutation required by the knowledgeable, a large number of unknown "side reaction" components will also be produced, such as elixirs.
The final effect of taking it will definitely be strangely different from the original expectation...
Therefore, it is necessary to do a lot of complex pre-processing of the raw materials, and to match them with specific emotions, prayers or ritual vessels. It is also necessary to consider the impact of different phases of the evaporation ratio of the radiant spirit liquid on the refining.
The water of this knowledge is very deep, and the ceiling is also very high. Extraordinary substances naturally have a deeper connection with migration. In theory, if they are used well, they can play a fundamental role in transforming human beings. But you are willing to delve into this field and have the talent.
There have always been only a few knowledgeable people who have achieved real results. The official knowledgeable organization can only try to have one in each branch, while the elixir experts at the headquarters are very high-status talents in the organization.
Although he was a chemistry dog in his previous life, Fan Ning never expected to become familiar with the laws of material change in this mysterious world in just three or four days.
"I'm not preparing to refine it," Fan Ning said, "but I'm going to try to separate the extraordinary components of the few suspicious substances I have on hand. I was in such bad shape some time ago that I didn't start this matter, but now I've calmed down a little bit.
.”
"Separate the extraordinary components!?" Qiong opened her eyes wide. Judging from her expression, this matter was even more unreliable than refining the elixir.
"Caron, I told you before that once the extraordinary components are mixed, it is extremely difficult to separate them. This field is already chaotic. Even if you try to refine it yourself, you only know the initial formula. As for the final composition of the finished elixir,
Most of the time, it is a confused account. If the sample is obtained from outside, it is almost impossible to analyze the components. At most, some targeted experiments can be done to determine its application properties in certain aspects."
As if she wanted to persuade Fan Ning to give up her thoughts, Qiong thought for a while and then said: "You know, as far as I know, there are quite a few elixir formulas handed down today that can theoretically slowly and permanently improve the human body or
The spiritual function even helps to explore the migration or climb the Hui Pagoda."
"Oh?" Fan Ning became interested when he heard this, "The few knowledgeable people I have met so far who are involved in this field, including you, the refined elixir is basically used to heal wounds, stabilize sanity, repair spirituality, and assist
Regarding temporary aspects such as falling into dreams, I haven’t heard of anything that can permanently improve physical or spiritual functions. You mean, do you know some such high-level formulas?”
"I know a few things," Qiong recalled, "such as the 'Oil of Black Skeleton' that can delay aging to a certain extent, the 'Blood of Gray Dawn' that improves the body's strength and reaction sensitivity, and the ability to react to people when passing through doors.
'Pure White Holy Ointment' that protects the spirit body."
"These effects sound alluring, but why do they feel so rare?" He was a little curious at this time.
And he suddenly realized at this moment, yes...it's more than just changing human body functions? Certain high-level elixirs can even be used as keys, such as the one that Dean Gould took during his lifetime - although the key is indeed
It's relatively bad, but it doesn't rule out the existence of other elixirs that can allow people to pass through the door safely.
He began to speculate on his own about the reason why this type of elixir was so rare: "Is it because these formulas contain extremely rare migration substances? Or is it that the process of refining them requires too much spiritual control from the knowledgeable?"
Qiong shook his head: "They do need some rare migration substances, but this is not the core reason. Although many migration substances are expensive, compared with the effect of the elixir after they are refined, those secret or official knowledgeable organizations
It’s still bearable. The main problem lies in the difficulty of separating extraordinary matter that I just mentioned——”
"The refining principles of elixir and secret atmosphere are similar, but the difference is that elixir is used to apply, smoke or ingest, so the human body's reaction to it is more delicate and sensitive... and the finished products refined according to these formulas
Mixed with a large number of hallucinogenic or lethal substances produced by chaotic transmutation, if they cannot be separated and purified, these formulas are just a piece of waste paper."
"There are very few cases that can be successfully separated. They are limited to specific operations under a few specific situations and require at least high-level spiritual control capabilities. This leads to the extreme rarity of such elixirs. The thinking of most elixir masters
They all improve the refining process to minimize the production of dangerous substances that undergo chaotic transformations. Elixir with fewer side effects is already expensive..."
When Fan Ning heard this, he completely understood that it was similar to an organic chemical reaction.
False organic reaction: A and B react in the bottle and finally become product X.
Real organic reaction: The reaction of A and B in the bottle requires solvents C and D, catalyst E, ligand F, oxidant/reducing agent G. After the reaction for a period of time, there are both unfinished A and B in the bottle, as well as
The main by-products X, Y, Z, as well as A1, A2 produced by A itself due to a series of reasons such as hydrolysis, rearrangement, oxidation...A1 and B produce D1, A2 and B produce D2, and the by-products are not
It must be stable, and it will immediately decompose into Y1, Z1... The above situation will also change randomly with different solvents, temperatures, pH, catalysts and ligands...
Especially for more complex reactions, you never know how many substances are in that small bottle of yellow-black reaction solution.
I heard that the essence of the mysterious realm of this world is chaos? Learn about organic chemistry.
If the refining process of the elixir is really similar, then you end up with a bunch of stuff in your stomach?...Fan Ning probably understood that Dean Gould used the elixir to forcefully break through the Knower.
, why did it end up like that?
Follow the elixir recipe? Just have the skills.
The difficult part is always the details, optimizing the conditions into the river, minimizing the chaotic transmutation ratio, and how to purify the target extraordinary substance after the refining is completed, or to characterize and analyze the suspected target extraordinary substance.
"Anyway, I'll give it a try." Fan Ning felt more confident after getting this information from Qiong, "I want you to help me select a batch of common reagents used for the adsorption and dissolution of extraordinary substances.
"
"Okay... If you really want to try it, you can try it. It's quite fun anyway..." Qiong smiled at this time, "The purpose in your words is so clear, you seem to have made some preparations... However, if your
If the method is segmented distillation, recrystallization, centrifugation, etc., it is recommended not to have too much hope... Do you have any directional requirements for my primary selection? Maybe you can come to my house and sit down. Dad has asked you several times if you have any.
It’s time to go see the exhibition…”
"Let's talk about it after we finish the concert." Fan Ning thought for a while and said, "The adsorbent needs to be solid, sufficiently dispersed, stable enough in the solvent without swelling, and the adsorption ratio should be as large as possible... Can silica gel be used?
?”
"I don't know what you need to absorb." Qiong said, "I usually use some silica gel balls to dry the water..."
"What I need is silica gel powder. Can it absorb the extraordinary substances in the elixir?"
"It doesn't work under normal circumstances. In order for them to accommodate each other, some special extraordinary substances need to be mixed into the adsorbent powder, such as fusiliated particles, such as the ash produced by calcining and grinding the black body light spot glands..."
"Then silica gel powder." Fan Ning nodded, "Then the solvent. First of all, it should have properties similar to ordinary organic solvents. It should have a low boiling point, strong volatility, and weak interference with spiritual perception. Then it is best to list them in two categories.
, one type has better and broader dissolution properties for extraordinary substances, and the other type is relatively poorer and narrower..."
Fan Ning just wanted to try to use the mystical version of "column chromatography" to separate the extraordinary components of the mixture.
The main problem why high-level elixirs are so rare in this world is not that the formula is difficult to find, nor that the migration material is too expensive, but that their subsequent separation technology is too backward.
Put a drop of the mixed pigment solution on the paper, and as the moisture spreads, you can see concentric rings appearing - this chromatography phenomenon has been discovered by the ancients, but when it is really applied to material separation, it is "
"Chromatography" only appeared in the early 20th century in Fan Ning's previous life, and it was only after the 1950s that it began to develop rapidly.
As for this mystical world, although the overall style is close to that of the previous world at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, some technology trees are obviously not lit in the direction of modern development, and chromatography is one of them.
If Fan Ning's conjecture turns out to be valid, then those "waste formulas" that Qiong mentioned may all be able to be refined into high-level elixirs in his hands, and they are high-level elixirs with a very high safety factor - as long as those "waste formulas" can be refined
The lethal by-products brought about by "chaotic transmutation" are separated.
In this case, you can "return to your old business" and sell one or two of the unused elixirs. Are you afraid that the symphony orchestra cannot afford to buy instruments and cannot pay wages?
His previous confidence in predicting the band's treatment mainly came from short-term record sales and publishing revenue, as well as long-term band management and painting investment. Is this considered a new potential way to make money?
Next, Qiong accompanied Fan Ning to several chemical instrument companies and reagent companies for customization and purchase. Under the urgent request, all his miscellaneous expenses did not add up to more than 100 pounds. This fully proves that music is the most important thing.
Things that cost money.
As for the various extraordinary reagents Qiong provided him... Fan Ning once again gave her a large bottle of 100% pure radiant spiritual liquid.
Next, in order to thank Qiong for providing consulting services, Fan Ning invited her to have a drink at Hu Chi Hai on the first floor of Woodpecker Consulting Office. In fact, this restaurant had attracted her attention for a long time, and she had almost tried all the dishes.
times, but this does not hinder her continued enthusiasm, and the speed of developing new dishes that guides the school is always astonishingly fast.
The two of them fought until closing time, eating a variety of staple foods, snacks, snacks, drinks and seasonal fresh fruits. After all the friendship was wiped out, Fan Ning spent a total of 10 pounds.
It was Thursday. After finishing the last rehearsal at school at noon, Fan Ning went straight to the elixir refining area behind the training room on the third floor of the Guidance School.
Except for Cyndia's permanent stay, almost no one comes here. After Fan Ning made a request before, he was directly assigned to a room equipped with common basic equipment.
At this time, on the operating table where he was sitting, in addition to the things he had purchased previously, there were also three samples placed on the table: the paint used by workers at the Golden Langia Watch Factory to apply the dial, the paint purchased by the workhouse (yellow),
Knocked-out paint from underground construction.
The latter two are okay, with large and sufficient quantities, but the only remaining pigment samples in the watch factory are only as big as a pitiful little toothpick box, and the "radioactive" extraordinary substance that Fan Ning suspects only has a certain concentration. If a chromatographic column is not used,
This is basically inseparable.
"Caroun, have you ever considered wearing a similar white coat to conduct on stage?" Seeing Fan Ning sitting upright and thinking intently, as if he was preparing for a performance, Joan felt very strange.
"I understand that he knows oil painting, but when will he still have this skill?" Sheeran's tone was full of interest.
Fan Ning turned his head and looked at the curious eyes of the two little girls: "Qiong, Xilan, you two are taking this so seriously, why don't I give you a task?"
"What mission?" Sheeran asked subconsciously.
Fan Ning quickly tied on the mask, then snapped a few times, shook off the dark green rubber gloves, and skillfully put them on his hands.