Chapter 1327: The Question of the Century!
The Century of Physics conference officially began.
The number one conference hall doors were closed tightly. The physicists in the International Convention and Exhibition Center gathered in the hall that was about to determine the future direction of physics.
Wei Hong stood next to the poster display area on the first floor. He looked at the large screen hanging on the wall. He suddenly asked Professor Dobrik, “What problems do you think will be selected?”
Dobrik thought for a while, then shook his head and spoke.
“I don’t know… In my opinion, all of the 522 difficult problems that pa.s.sed the preliminary selections are important. It is difficult to find out which one is redundant. I can only rank the few that I know… After all, I haven’t researched the other problems at all.”
As the discoverers of the Z particle gravitational wave equation, although the two were popular candidates for the next n.o.bel Prize, they hadn’t won the n.o.bel Prize yet.
If their qualifications were stronger, they could walk into the conference room and at least be qualified to listen. But unfortunately, apart from the Z particle gravitational wave equation, they had not accomplished any particularly great achievements. They could only stand outside and wait quietly.
“I heard that the meeting is going to be broadcast live?” Professor Dobrik asked in a quiet voice while looking at the big screen on the wall.
“The announcement should be in the afternoon…” Wei Hong thought for a while and continued, “After all, the vote isn’t very interesting for broadcast.”
“How is it not an interesting broadcast? I bet that there is no one in the entire venue not thinking about this conference.”
“I don’t deny that…” Wei Hong shrugged and said, “After all, I am also quite curious.”
Time slowly pa.s.sed by.
Everyone expected to hear a little bit of news from the inside in advance, but it was a pity that the confidentiality of the meeting was done so well that no information was released in advance.
They waited until noon.
The doors finally opened. The reporters around the entrance immediately rushed in, but they were blocked by the venue staff. They protected the scholars as they left the meeting room.
Luo Wenxuan walked to the front of the crowd. He coughed and raised his voice.
“Every scholar with an invitation letter, please move to the meeting room number two.
“We will hold the opening ceremony of the ‘Century of Physics’ Summit there!
“And also, publish the questions of the century!”
The atmosphere at the scene warmed up. Everyone looked at the door with expectations in their eyes.
The crowd was diverted to the door of the No. 2 conference hall.
The scholars with invitation letters in their hands began to enter and sit down.
Unlike the previous group of scholars who attended the meeting, most of the scholars who attended the opening ceremony were outstanding young scholars and young physicists who had made outstanding contributions in physics.
Most of them were over the age of 30 and under the age of 50, in the golden age of scientific research. There were barely any who were over the age of 50 sitting there.
Wei Hong and Dobrik were also on this list. As great young physicists, they were seated near the front.
Lu Zhou walked to the podium. He was in a formal suit. He cleared his throat, glanced around the crowd, and spoke in a calm voice.
“It’s nice to see you all here.
“I think we all agree that the previous era of physics is over. We are standing at the intersection of the old and the new era, and you all represent the future of physics.
“Whether you are sitting here or standing in the exhibition hall, watching the conference through a big screen or watching through the internet…
“This conference has been prepared for you guys.
“What is dark matter, what is the energy that created our universe, what is the ultimate destiny of the universe… Over the past 100 years, we have solved problems that the ancients couldn’t even imagine solving. But there is still a tough road ahead of us.
“Therefore, we send our most sincere wishes to future scholars. We hope that in the next 100 years, we can answer the questions that have plagued our civilization.”
Lu Zhou paused for a moment, looked at the crowded conference hall, and raised his voice.
“Therefore, on behalf of the ILHCRC, CERN… and other physics research inst.i.tutions, I would like to announce the 100 Problems of the Century. We hope that they can inspire us and guide our disciplines toward a more prosperous and greater direction.
“We have invited the editors of the problems. They will help us unveil the curtain of this new era.”
Lu Zhou put down the speech draft in his hand. He picked up a small card from the table and spoke with a smile.
“As a starting point, I shall begin.
“The first problem of the Problems of the Century…
“We all know that there are four fundamental forces in our universe, strong interaction, weak interaction, electromagnetic force, and gravitational force. The first three have been linked together by the electroweak interaction and electrostrong interaction, but we know very little about the last.
“If anyone can link gravity with any of the first three, our physics world will enter a whole new dimension.”
The numerous pairs of eyes in the conference hall looked shocked.
Many people had already guessed what the first question Lu Zhou was about to announce was.
However, they couldn’t actually believe it…
Lu Zhou announced in a clear voice.
“Achieving this is the pinnacle of physics and even human civilization. The perfect and ultimate theory that everyone has dreamed of since Einstein…
“Which is, the Grand Unified Theory of physics!”
“The Grand Unified Theory?!”
The atmosphere in the conference hall exploded instantly.
Wei Hong almost jumped out of his seat.
When he looked around, he found that he was one of the calmer ones.
Unbelievable expressions filled everyone’s face. People stood up in disbelief.
Dobrik was sitting next to Professor Wei Hong. Dobrik looked at the podium. Dumbfounded, he said, “I… I thought he would say something about the Z particle. Is there really hope for finding a Grand Unified Theory?”
“I don’t know…” Wei Hong frowned. He held the armrest of the chair and shook his head, “We should be more optimistic. Maybe it is possible. But in my opinion, the hope is pretty slim.”
Unify the four basic forces!
Complete the Grand Unified Theory!
That was a long-cherished wish that Einstein never fulfilled.
If someone achieved this, they must be smarter than Einstein.
Lu Zhou paused for a while. He then continued to speak.
This immediately pushed the atmosphere of the scene to a peak.
“For the first Problem of the Century, I am willing to donate 100 million yuan to the ILHCRC bonus prize pool! This is a reward to scholars who have made outstanding contributions in this field!
“If anyone successfully solves this problem, they will receive at least 100 million yuan in prize money!”
When this news was announced…
Everyone went crazy!