Chapter 104. Goldfish Returns
The lab was a total mess. Every time I didn’t feel like going to the alchemy building, I just brought everything I needed here instead.
I put on my plague doctor mask for the first time in ages and checked the chemicals. Amy also tied her mask securely around her head.
Over the past few days, I’ve learned quite a bit. One of those things is this: sometimes it’s better not to ask for help and just do it yourself.
“Alright. Do you know what we’re doing today?”
“Uh… chemical experiments.”
That was correct.
I nodded.
“Amy, have we ever experimented with goldfish before?”
“No.”
“Here’s how it works. You know how hydroxide ions meet hydrogen ions to form water? When you add an acidic substance to a basic solution, the water forms while the number of hydroxide ions converges to zero…”
“Did I hear that wrong?”
“So, when the number of hydroxide ions converges to zero and then oxidized ions outnumber hydroxide ions… The pH, expressed as the negative log of hydrogen ion concentration, changes drastically at the equivalence point because the amount of hydrogen ions changes arithmetically during titration…”
“Professor, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Amy clearly had no idea what I was saying. How should I explain this better?
“Do you know what titration is? It’s when you drop specific substances into a solution drop by drop until its properties change.”
“Yes, I get that much.”
“The amount of hydrogen ions in neutral pH 7 water is an extremely tiny quantity converging to zero. Adding even a small amount of acid can increase the hydrogen ion concentration dozens of times over.”
“Uh… yes?”
“That’s why we needed goldfish last time. They can’t survive the sudden pH change when passing the equilibrium point, dying right near it.”
In other words, crude acid-base indicators aren’t precise enough to detect that critical moment. Especially in situations like now where chemical impurities are abundant and purity can’t be guaranteed.
That’s why we used goldfish instead of making indicators – to easily find the point where the buffer solution equilibrium breaks.
“What does this have to do with goldfish?”
I sighed.
If only Istina were here, she’d understand perfectly. She handled our first goldfish experiment well enough…
“To put it simply, we’re creating an indicator to evaluate material acidity. We’ll mix various substances with indicators and go through lots of trial and error to create it.”
“Ah, I think I get that part.”
Finally, Amy seemed to grasp something. I nodded.
“Istina can explain more later, but here’s the plan. We’ll combine substances extracted from gray lichens and red cabbage water to create a rainbow-colored indicator, solidified onto paper.”
“Oh, I understand now. We’re making an indicator that shows solution properties!”
This explanation seems to match Amy’s level better. I nodded again.
You might wonder why I keep explaining things beyond graduate students’ comprehension. Simply put:
There’s research suggesting speaking in complete sentences helps infant development more than simplifying language for them. Same applies to grad students.
In conclusion:
It’s not good to simplify explanations too much for Amy just because she doesn’t understand. Even if she doesn’t grasp everything, explaining concepts fully will benefit her more.
“Let’s get started then.”
We had prepared red cabbage, blue lichens, and white hydrangeas for today’s experiment. Getting the blue lichens was a bit challenging – they were hidden deep in the alchemy department warehouse.
The rest were easy to obtain.
“So, what are we doing with these?”
“Well, each indicator has different colors, so we’ll mix several together to create one that changes continuously based on hydrogen ion concentration in solutions.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. We don’t have many options right now, but we’ll boil the purple cabbage, grind the lichens, and crush the hydrangeas.”
Back in my previous life, the universal indicator was made by mixing four or five chemical compounds – far beyond what simple cabbage could replicate. And even that method has long been replaced by electronic equipment.
Still, we have to work with what we’ve got now.
“What ratio should we use?”
“I’m not sure either, but since the cabbage liquid is strong, we probably need to use very little of it.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
This wouldn’t take too long, aside from drying the paper.
Amy chopped, ground, and boiled the cabbage nearby, filtering out the red liquid with a sieve.
Ten minutes passed. After mixing the three solutions, we soaked paper in the resulting gray liquid. A few hours later, we had our results.
“Are we done?”
We just need to test it now. I dipped the paper in distilled water first – it only darkened slightly without significant changes.
Next step. I dropped a nitric acid droplet onto our test paper, which quickly turned red.
“Is this success?”
“We don’t know yet.”
We need to try it with basic substances too.
This time I dropped lye onto the test paper, which immediately turned blue.
“Looks like it worked.”
“Amazing!”
“The process could be improved, but this matches what we intended to make – test paper that continuously distinguishes acidity levels by color.”
Amy nodded.
“Will you write a paper about this?”
Hmm… I’m not sure yet.
I don’t know how advanced this world’s chemistry community is, so I hesitate to publish papers about alchemy or chemistry right away.
This indicator itself doesn’t seem like groundbreaking research that would revolutionize the world. I also don’t want to visit alchemists again anytime soon asking for collaboration. Let’s revisit this later.
“Let’s clean up. Make sure to document the experiment properly.”
“Yes, understood!”
Amy looked happy about organizing the experiment records.
*
I returned to the research lab.
Mint was sitting on the lab sofa watching me again. I thought dating a princess would make her more clingy, but surprisingly, Mint has become less whiny.
Maybe this was the best solution from the start? Something to ponder.
“So, are you coming?”
“Huh? Where?”
“I’m talking about the autumn thanksgiving banquet at the imperial palace. I’d like you to come with me.”
“Oh? Who are we thanking exactly?”
“Not really sure about that.”
“Shouldn’t we know what event it is?”
Mint awkwardly scratched her head.
“Good point.”
“Anyway, if Miss Mint wishes, it shouldn’t be hard for me to come. Why am I attending this event? Is there anything I need to prepare?”
“Hmm, let me think…”
“Yes?”
“First, a practical reason you might like. Since many important people will be present, there won’t be a better opportunity to find investors for your work.”
That’s true.
Mint crossed her legs.
“That makes sense.”
“So, prepare some short explanations that even non-experts can understand during dinner conversations. That way, we can develop medicine faster and get more help.”
“Understood.”
“Also, imperial events and banquets are usually boring. I usually pretend to be sick and leave early. But this time I’m not sick, and I have someone to come with me…!”
I nodded.
Since Mint wants to come so badly, it feels wrong to refuse. Her effort to find practical reasons for me to attend was somewhat touching.
She wasn’t trying to pressure me into coming – she’s not that kind of person. If she wants to come, let her come.
“Have you discussed this with the imperial palace yet? It’s not a seat anyone can just take.”
“Don’t care. My decision.”
“Yes, but you should talk to them. Surprising anyone is never good…”
“Okay, I will.”
This isn’t specifically about the banquet discussion. Just mentioning I’m seeing Mint would likely shock the palace greatly.
Just thinking about it gave me a headache. Reconsidering, this isn’t the kind of issue that can be resolved by slow, careful conversation.
Alright. Let’s see if Mint can persuade them properly.
The palace is basically Mint’s family after all. If Mint can’t convince her own family, I doubt I’d have anything useful to say to them.
“Need to pick out formal wear. What do you suggest?”
“Not sure…”
“Ah, I’ll help you choose…”
“Looking forward to it!”
Mint stretched her legs and yawned.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Tidying up the experiment.”
“When will you finish? Let’s hang out after you’re done. Or we can grab dinner and come back.”
“Hmm, maybe…”
It wasn’t directly patient-related and could wait, so I put down what I was reading and stood up. As soon as I did, Mint hugged me tightly.
“By the way, what’s for dinner?”
