Chapter 336: Computing nuclear weapons in the chemical world! (Thirty-three)

For any scholar, after hearing this simple request, I am afraid that I will be ecstatic and excited.
After all, supercomputing is very expensive. Even renting is not cheap. David's promise is equivalent to millions or even millions of dollars. In contrast, his request was only that of the position of the research institution, plus the name of the D.E.Shaw Institute.
After hearing David's insignificant request, although Lu Zhou was not as ecstatic as the poor theoretical researchers, he still felt a lot of surprises from his request.
Compared with the profitable application field research, the theoretical field research will definitely lose money, and it will definitely lose a lot of money.
Naturally, Lu Zhou will not refuse a request with such an international spirit.
He nodded, and said happily, "It's easy."
...
In a sense, Lu Zhou's choice of Anton for this experiment is inevitable to a certain extent.
A general-purpose supercomputer cannot perform molecular dynamics simulation very efficiently.
However, Anton is different. It completes the calculation on a dedicated ASIC. Each chip is born for computational chemistry.
It contains a total of 512 computing nodes. It can simulate more than 17,000 nanoseconds per day in a protein-water system consisting of 23,558 atoms.
In contrast, for a general-purpose supercomputing with the same number of processors, the simulation rate of parallel computing on the same chemical system can only reach the level of hundreds of nanoseconds per day.
It is for this reason that Anton is called a nuclear weapon in the field of computational chemistry.
I have to say that David is indeed a genius.
This is true both in finance, massively parallel computing, and polymer chemistry.
If it wasn't because Anton was too expensive, ordinary research institutions simply couldn't afford it, and maybe someday in the future, Nobel committee members would even consider nominating him.
Like Jacques Dubochet, a biologist nominated for the 17th Chemistry Award for cryo-electron microscopy ...
After asking Jericho to drive back in his own car, Lu Zhou sent an application to Columbia University through Princeton University to apply as a visiting scholar here for a month.
Columbia University is naturally open to welcome his famous scholars to visit. Even to facilitate his research, a temporary dormitory was arranged for him near the institute.
With sufficient funding, theoretical research that does not involve patent disputes is always easier to reach consensus than research in the field of application.
This is especially true for the two who are not bad money.
After signing a cooperative research agreement, the scope of work of both parties and the signature of the paper were simply specified, and the experiment was soon arranged.
For the two people's collaborative research project, David also showed the greatest importance.
Not only has the experimental arrangement in the original plan been eliminated, but also all the strength of the entire D.E.Shaw Institute has been drawn into this work.
Soon, Lu Zhou realized that Anton's powerful fighting power.
On the day of the experiment, in the Anton Supercomputing Center.
Large-scale parallel computing engineering sits in front of a computer.
Lu Zhou and David stood behind and watched, quietly waiting for the start of the experiment.
"Experimental group 1 is already in place!"
"Experimental group 2 is already in place!"
"..."
"Start the experiment!"
The blue signal light was blinking.
In the virtual digital world, Anton relies on powerful computing power to simulate the mathematical model provided by Lu Zhou.
The first experiment lasted a full nine hours!
Unfortunately, the results of the experiments were not satisfactory.
Looking at the experimental report submitted by the engineer of the Supercomputing Center, David frowned, and said with some nerves.
"The mathematical model you designed is really too complicated ... Is there a way to simplify it?"
"I tried to simplify it, but it was difficult." Lu Zhou shook his head.
If it could be simplified, he would have done it long ago, and he would not wait until now to consider this issue.
"That's the only way I can think of it," David thought, feeling his chin seriously.
He is not an expert in the field of mathematics. He may not be able to simplify complicated mathematical equations, but consider this problem from the perspective of parallel computing. By improving the software to make Anton's calculation more efficient, it can still be theoretically achieved. of.
Lu Zhou said seriously: "Please."
"You're welcome," David waved his hand, jokingly. "At least for now, the mathematical models you have come out are within the capabilities of Anton. But if it's more complicated, I'm afraid we have to wait. Quantum computers are mature enough to perfect your theory. "
...
Lu Zhou's visit research at Columbia University was not a matter of deliberate confidentiality. As he frequented the D.E.Shaw Institute, the news quickly spread on the campus of Columbia University.
Many people are full of curiosity about the 20-year-old Krafford Award and Adams Chemistry Award winner. Few have been able to make such outstanding achievements at this age, especially in the two very different fields of mathematics and chemistry.
Of course, Lu Zhou is not the student who is most interested in Columbia University, but his opponent in the lithium sulfur battery project-Mobil Chemical.
A little wind and grass over Luzhou will make them nervous.
Not to mention, such a big move ...
Inside Binghamton University, Institute of Materials Science.
Woods, who had just finished his meeting in New York, rushed here.
"Bad news! Lu Zhou found David Shaw and borrowed a supercomputation from him."
Stanley didn't feel much surprise about the news provided by Woods, but still cast an unexpected sight on him: "Doesn't it matter if you run towards the laboratory for three days and two ends?"
Such a thing can be said clearly in one sentence, it is enough to speak on the phone ~ EbookFREE.me ~ In addition to this battery material, the CEO of Exxon Mobil, there should be a lot of important work to be done.
"It doesn't matter as long as you can get ahead of them and make results," sitting on the sofa in the laboratory, Woods' expression was a bit gloomy, cursing grin, "It's so bad! Why did Lu Zhou suddenly find David Shaw and why? It must be that freak who doesn't get into oil and salt? "
If it cooperates with other laboratories, ExxonMobil can rely on its own influence, through those research funds funded by itself, to put pressure on those laboratories that have exchanged funds to delay research progress.
However, David Shaw is an exception. This guy is a famous freak on Wall Street. He is obviously a fund, but he is not interested in money at all.
"It's normal. One of them is for computational materials and the other is for computational chemistry. It's not surprising that they will pee together." Standing in front of the scanning electron microscope and waiting for the experimental results, Professor Stanley's expression said easily, "You In fact, there is no need to be so nervous, no matter how perfect the mathematical formula or the theoretical model, if it can not be finally implemented into the experiment, it is all nothingness. "
Even if your math is superb?
What if you borrowed a supercomputing?
Computer simulation experiments are indeed a promising method, but in the end they have to be implemented in specific experiments.
Summarizing experience through trial and error and finding a way to the key points is the only way for all materials science experiments.
Fortunately, they already know the answer, and all they need to do is write the process according to the answer.
Woods said a little impatiently: "What I want to know now is, how far are we from the end?"
Staring at the molecular model on the screen, Professor Stanley smiled lightly.
"It's close!"