Chapter 240: Chapter 219: Top Physicists Gather Together

In the office.

Shen Xia’s eyes widened, her face somewhat startled.

It was obvious she found it hard to believe what Lu Li said about “volcanic ash rock” subatomic particles releasing energy five times that of nuclear fusion upon annihilation.

It wasn’t that Shen Xia doubted Lu Li as a person.

It’s because her academic knowledge made her hesitant to believe.

Currently, in mainstream science, nuclear fusion energy is at the highest level.

Although there are other ways to produce energy that, theoretically, yield more energy than nuclear fusion, like antimatter, vacuum zero-point energy, etc., these methods either have costs disproportionate to their returns or are unachievable with current technology, making them impractical for real-world use.

Therefore, Shen Xia was so shocked when she heard Lu Li say that “volcanic ash rock” subatomic particles could release such enormous energy.

Lu Li looked into Shen Xia’s eyes and said with utmost sincerity, “Yes, I’m sure of it.”

Shen Xia slightly inhaled and said, “Do you know what this means?”

Lu Li smiled, “Changing the course of human development?”

Shen Xia nodded emphatically, her expression solemn, “Yes, if these subatomic particles can indeed release such significant energy and can be synthetically created, then they would undoubtedly greatly advance human development!”

Lu Li knew she was speaking the truth.

Simply put, while human technology has achieved controlled nuclear fusion, it’s still not perfected and cannot be truly applied to real life, let alone commercialized.

According to relevant data, achieving a commercial stage for controlled nuclear fusion might still require decades of effort.

If controlled nuclear fusion technology can be perfected, human civilization will reach an important milestone.

It signifies the transition of humanity from fossil fuels to cleaner, more efficient energy forms.

It’s expected to propel humanity to the “stellar civilization” stage!

Reaching stellar civilization means humanity can achieve a certain degree of “cosmic travel.”

To give a simple example, scientists have repeatedly simulated that if nuclear fusion could be used to power spaceships, their travel speed could reach ten to fifteen percent of light speed.

That is, a spaceship’s speed could increase to between thirty thousand and forty-five thousand kilometers per second.

What is the current speed of spaceships?

Without any external force, it’s less than seventeen kilometers per second!

Even the Ugly Country’s most advanced spaceship “Juno,” under the immense gravitational influence of Jupiter, only reaches seventy-three point six kilometers per second.

A controlled nuclear fusion spaceship would calculate its speed in tens of thousands of kilometers per second.

Not even breaking the hundred-mark.

The gap is evident.

Now, the subatomic particles Lu Li introduced are even more astonishing.

The energy released can reach five times that of nuclear fusion.

Development based on this would undeniably be terrifying.

Shen Xia became a bit unsettled.

She continuously stared at the “volcanic ash rock” subatomic particle structure diagram.

Tentatively, she asked, “Have you already synthesized these subatomic particles?”

Lu Li thought briefly and said, “I indeed have a way to synthesize these subatomic particles, but not through technology.”

Shen Xia was bewildered, “Not using technology? Then how do you synthesize particles?”

Lu Li shook his head and said, “This is a matter of confidentiality, and I can’t disclose it. I came to you this time to see if these subatomic particles can be synthesized with current existing technology.”

Shen Xia was sensible, knowing what to ask and what not to ask.

Seeing Lu Li unwilling to reveal how to synthesize these subatomic particles, she simply didn’t inquire further.

Analyzing from a professional standpoint, Shen Xia said, “Just from the structural diagram, the difficulty in synthetic creation may be very high, but it’s not impossible… Of course, that’s just my personal opinion. Whether synthetic creation is truly possible remains to be seen.”

Lu Li spun the ballpoint pen in his hand and asked again, “How can we determine if synthetic creation is possible?”

Shen Xia frowned and said, “My expertise isn’t strong enough, maybe ask Teacher Wu?”

Lu Li said, “Alright, I’ll go find him.”

“No need.” Shen Xia stopped him, “Teacher Wu is here with some top domestic physicists today. They came to hear me give a report, you can just go ask them directly.”

…

On the other side, in the multifunctional media room.

A group of the top domestic physicists gathered together.

Besides the eminent Wu Er Mountain, there were several academicians present.

For example, top domestic mechanic Gu Yilong, theoretical physicist Chai Hen, high-energy particle researcher Qian Jin, and nuclear physicist Cheng Yan, etc.

These individuals are true “Grandmasters” in their respective fields, top-tier worldwide.

Not only these academicians, but also about eleven or twelve first-rate physicists were present.

The reason so many top physicists convened was because Shen Xia went to the Ugly Country to participate in a very cutting-edge physics research project.

In fact, this opportunity originally wouldn’t have fallen to Shen Xia, but she was Wu Er Mountain’s personally taught disciple.

Moreover, this opportunity was secured through Wu Er Mountain’s connections, naturally unattainable by others.

This physics research involved important aspects like neutrino detection of proton structures, gravity probing of antimatter, and time’s dual-slit demonstration. The teams from the Ugly Country and Canada demonstrated how to gather information on the internal structure of protons from neutrinos scattered off plastic targets, further elucidating how neutrinos interact with matter.

Because the European Nuclear Research Center has for the first time directly observed that the reaction of antihydrogen atoms to gravity is roughly similar to that of matter, opening a door to new physics beyond the standard model.

And previously, domestically, due to Lu Li’s assistance, the same experimental results were obtained, promising revolutionary breakthroughs from these studies.

This is why so many top physicists have come to listen to the academic presentation.

Although it was scheduled for Shen Xia to give the academic presentation at 2 PM, according to the “customary regulations,” she, as a “junior,” should be here in advance waiting.

However, what makes everyone a bit dissatisfied is that they’ve already arrived, yet not only is Shen Xia not waiting in advance, but even now, after 2 PM, she still hasn’t appeared.

Gu Yilong, unable to hold back, turned his head and asked: “Teacher Wu, why hasn’t Xiaoshen arrived yet?”

Wu Er Mountain also felt puzzled inside, but outwardly he pretended to be composed and said: “Maybe she’s preparing the academic presentation, don’t worry, she should be here shortly.”

Cheng Yan said: “It’s not that we’re anxious, the appointment was for 2 PM, and now it’s already 2:05. Doesn’t she have any sense of time?”

Qian Jin, with a long “hey,” said: “A few minutes’ delay is nothing, Old Cheng, don’t be anxious.”

Cheng Yan was speechless: “How can I not be anxious? I have a 6 PM flight. Couldn’t she notify us if she had something? Why make us wait?”

Chai Hen spoke quite politely, “Maybe she was busy sorting out the academic presentation and forgot the time. If it’s really not okay, maybe we should call her.”

The administrative staff from Su Cheng University, not daring to make such esteemed figures wait, promptly stood up and said: “I’ll call Dr. Shen right away.”

“Please hurry.”

“Some of us need to catch a flight back after the academic presentation.”

Several other physicists urged.

Although no one spoke too harshly, deep down everyone was dissatisfied, feeling that Shen Xia, after coming back from taking part in some research, seemed to have forgotten her place, and dared to act so high and mighty in front of such top figures in the field.

The thirty-something male administrator didn’t dare to say much either, took out his phone and dialed the number.

Who would have thought, just as the call was made, the ringtone of a phone came from the corridor outside the multimedia function room.

In the next moment, the call was dropped.

Subsequently, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Shen Xia and a young stranger walked in one after the other.

Except for Wu Er Mountain, none of the other attendees recognized Lu Li, and they all cast puzzled looks, not understanding why Shen Xia would bring an outsider to such an important academic conference.

Shen Xia, however, was quite perceptive, bowing to everyone as she entered and apologizing proactively: “Esteemed teachers, I apologize, I was busy with some matters earlier, and kept you all waiting.”

“No worries.”

“Just mention it ahead of time next time if there’s anything.”

Everyone casually responded with a few remarks.

Cheng Yan pointed at Lu Li and said: “Xiaoshen, who is this gentleman?”

Before Shen Xia could speak, Wu Er Mountain cheerfully said: “His name is Lu Li, you should already have heard of him.”

“Oh, so it’s Mr. Lu.” Gu Yilong immediately stood up, walked forward, and extended his hand, “Mr. Lu, nice to meet you. Last time, we made progress with antihydrogen atoms thanks to your insightful suggestion. I’m Gu Yilong, very pleased to meet you.”

Lu Li shook hands with him, “Hello, Teacher Gu.”

Standing aside, Shen Xia introduced: “Lu Li, Teacher Gu is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has been in charge of the domestic antihydrogen atom project.”

Only then did Lu Li understand why Gu Yilong was so enthusiastic, inadvertently realizing that he had helped solve a problem for Gu Yilong.

As for the others, they weren’t as enthusiastic, like Cheng Yan and Qian Jin, although acknowledging Lu Li’s contribution to antihydrogen research, they merely nodded and smiled, without standing up.

As for Wu Er Mountain, he looked at Lu Li with mixed emotions, as if harboring some regret.

In his view, Lu Li’s talent in physics was unprecedented.

If Lu Li studied physics earnestly, he could hope to become a great master.

But it seemed Lu Li wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about studying.

After attending his classes once or twice, he completely disappeared.

A promising young man, wasting his talent.

In his heart, Wu Er Mountain sighed deeply, feeling a sense of hating iron for not becoming steel.

Of course, at his age, he had the skill to keep such thoughts to himself rather than voicing them or showing them on his face.

After everyone had introduced themselves to Lu Li.

Cheng Yan, puzzled, asked: “Xiaoshen, you came with Mr. Lu, is he also here to attend the academic presentation?”

Mentioning this, Gu Yilong, Qian Jin, Chai Hen, and all the other top physicists couldn’t help but frown slightly.

This academic presentation was extremely confidential.

Even though Lu Li contributed to the antihydrogen research, after all, he wasn’t someone with a solid background.

How could he get involved in such confidential matters?

They secretly blamed Shen Xia for being imprudent in bringing an outsider over.

Fortunately, Lu Li proactively said: “Oh, I’m here to ask Teacher Wu to help me with something. I’ll leave once he’s done.”

Shen Xia promptly added, “It’s something very important!”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other.

They knew that while Shen Xia might have acted a bit high-handed today, she wouldn’t say something so formally without reason.

Momentarily, all these top physicists became curious, wondering what important thing Lu Li wanted Wu Er Mountain to see.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep