Chapter 1305: Shocked the World!
The ILHCRC press conference was over.
Through the microphones and cameras in the hands of the reporters, the sensation quickly spread to the headlines of major newspapers.
Everyone Daily: “The success of the Z particle has opened the door of physics, pus.h.i.+ng civilization to a better future!”
Jinling Evening News: “63.6 seconds!”
Wall Street Journal: “The speed of light is no longer insurmountable!”
The Sun: “The universe is smaller than we think!”
Times Magazine: “…”
Whether it was the newspaper or television, printed or digital media, almost all of them were talking about “Academician Lu”, the “ILHCRC”, and the “Z particles”.
What did faster than light mean?
Very few people could fully understand the academic significance of this. Most people didn’t even know what the Z particle was.
However, the majority of people had the same image for the future!
One day, human beings would set foot on distant planets. One day, the seeds of civilization would be carried far away from the solar system.
The farthest s.p.a.ce probe launched by mankind had only just left the boundaries of the solar system. With the current technology, it would take hundreds of years to reach the nearest star.
However, no one thought that the future of mankind would be forever stagnated on this blue planet.
The successful opening of the hypers.p.a.ce channel opened a door for people’s imagination.
Even though it was still a beautiful and distant dream, at least for now, the dream was possible.
This small particle had not only changed the physics world, but it had also completely changed the future of all of mankind!
Who could possibly remain calm in the face of such an important historical moment?
Because of this, most of the media outlets were enthusiastic about this event, and they reported it without any hesitation.
Even though the Secretary-General of the ILHCRC made it clear at the press conference that even if the Z particle successfully opened a hypers.p.a.ce channel, it did not mean that human civilization could enter the interstellar age, but this did not wipe out people’s hopes and dreams for the distant starry sky.
On a popular foreign aeros.p.a.ce enthusiast forum.
Ever since the BFS s.p.a.cecraft crashed into Mars, the forum had gradually gone downhill.
However, something had changed!
After the news of the success of the Z particle experiment, the server blew up with heated discussions.
Many of the big-name experts suddenly remembered their log in details. They were shocked to see laymen registering accounts and partic.i.p.ating in the discussion.
[This is incredible! Hypers.p.a.ce channel! Do you know what this reminds me of? This reminds me of wormholes!]
[But I heard that the Secretary-General of the ILHCRC seems to have a pessimistic view on the use of hypers.p.a.ce technology to achieve interstellar navigation? It is too difficult to maintain the hypers.p.a.ce channels.]
[Secretary General of the ILHCRC? Luo Wenxuan? He doesn’t know sh*t!]
[Hey, don’t say that, although he is far behind Professor Lu, he is still an outstanding young physicist…]
[I disagree! Even if we cannot achieve faster than light navigation using this technology, we can at least achieve faster than light communication. It used to take 270.7s for a text message to reach Mars, but because we can take a shortcut, it now only takes 207.1s, which is a full minute faster! I heard that this is not even the fastest shortcut. Wait until we find the best hypers.p.a.ce route using supercomputers. We’ll be able to call Mars with no delay!]
[It’s not just communication, but also astronomical observation. The stars we see now are the rays of light from various stars hundreds or even thousands of years ago. If we can use a method to make light or signal reach our galaxy faster, we will be able to see what the stars are like right now! As opposed to thousands of years ago!]
[The Z particle clock is not cheap. It takes hundreds of millions to create a hypers.p.a.ce channel that does not even exist for five minutes. This dream is beautiful, but it is too expensive!]
[Any technology is expensive when it first comes out, but we always make it better, right?]
…
Beijing.
Changan street.
In a conference room with a solemn atmosphere, the president, who was wearing a tunic suit, read the report in his hand.
Without hesitating, he put down the report in his hand and looked up at Director Li, who was standing at his desk.
“It really only needs 207.1 seconds?!”
“It’s true!” Director Li nodded seriously. With a hint of excitement in his respectful tone, he said, “I was at the command center!”
After the experiment was over, Director Li got on the maglev, which had been open for less than two months, and returned to Beijing as soon as possible. He brought the report to Chang’an Avenue immediately.
He still remembered the moment the number was printed on the screen. There was no way this could be a mistake!
The president couldn’t help but ask, “Then, what about the 63 seconds? Where did it go?”
Director Li: “I don’t know the specific theories behind it! It seems to involve very complicated physics and mathematical calculations. Academician Lu has talked about this with me many times, but I still don’t quite understand it.”
The President stared at Director Li and said, “Tell me then! Tell me what you know!”
After making a gesture with his fingers, Director Li tried to use his own understanding to give a vague explanation.
“So, basically, the earth and other planets are being pulled by gravity, right? It’s like being tied by a tie. Even though gravity is invisible, it is real.”
The president couldn’t help asking, “What then?”
Director Li: “Then they used the Z particle and shook it in high-dimensional s.p.a.ce, like a jumping rope. Because of the theory of relativity, gravity itself is the bending of matter to s.p.a.cetime. Then this curvature vibrates. From the perspective of our three-dimensional s.p.a.ce, the s.p.a.ce has turned upside down. Some of the roads have become longer, and some have become shorter—”
After pondering in his mind for a while, the president said, “In other words, the photon that arrived… It just walked a shorter path?”
Director Li slapped his thigh suddenly and nodded.
“You’re so smart! It took me a long time to understand this.”
Haha.
Of course I’m smart.
The president sat back on his chair with a calm expression. He pondered for a while and said, “Using this thing to achieve faster than light speeds… How feasible is it?”
If we can achieve warp travel…
The impact of this thing on China will be greater than the impact of nuclear fusion!
Not only did this mean that China would be given priority to develop distant planets, but it would also mean that the Chinese civilization would transform Earth to a s.p.a.ce civilization!
Even the president began to feel excited.
Director Li guessed what the president was thinking.
Even though he didn’t want to destroy the vision in his heart, considering the advantages and disadvantages, after hesitating for a while, he answered truthfully.
“According to Secretary-General Luo, the feasibility of achieving faster than light navigation… It’s unlikely. The cost of the Z particle clock is very expensive. In just a few minutes, it can burn a small fusion reactor. I’m afraid it’s not a suitable choice.”
“Secretary-General Luo?” The president frowned and asked, “Who is Secretary-General Luo?”
Director Li had an awkward look on his face as he explained, “The secretary-general of the ILHCRC, the one who replaced Professor Lu in the press conference to give a report.”
“Oh, that young man… is a promising young man.” The president nodded with a polite smile. He was silent for a while. He then said with a serious expression, “But I still want to ask for Academician Lu’s opinion.”
Director Li: “…”
The president continued, “Where is Academician Lu now? Can you invite him to Beijing? Or I can go to Jinling.”
“Um…” Director Li’s face once again showed an awkward expression. He said, “I might not be able to contact him now.”
The president asked anxiously, “Can’t contact him? Is he sick again? Is it serious?”
This happened last time with the controllable fusion ignition.
As soon as the ignition was successful, before he had time to celebrate, Professor Lu fainted and became unconscious.
After staying at the 301 Hospital for a long time, nothing was found. Even now, the 301 Hospital had a special department responsible for studying what happened to his illness.
“It’s not that he’s sick, I think he’s very well.” Director Li was dumbfounded. He looked at the concerned expression on the president’s face and said, “It’s just that as soon as the experiment was over, he went into a retreat…”