Inside the Atom Institution …
Heidi, Annick, and the rest of them were all waiting for the new issues of Arcana and Magic. The series of papers on the quantum field theory at the beginning of the Month of Beginnings had enlightened the arcanists who had studied the microscopic domain deeply. They sensed the direction of breakthroughs in the microscopic domain. Therefore, under their own hard work and Lucien's guidance, they soon grasped the knowledge of the quantum field theory. They each wrote a relevant paper and discussed it with the grand arcanists and senior-rank sorcerers.
Among them, Annick and Sprint were among the founders of the quantum field theory themselves. It was their joint paper that applied the double quantization to the electronic system. Therefore, it was not difficult for them to understand and grasp it. Very soon, they caught up with Lucien, Brook, Fernando, and the other grand arcanists. They were so dizzy by "infinity" that they almost wanted to die together with them.
"The quantum field theory is very remarkable in the low-level approximation. It's a pity that when it comes to the high-level approximation …" Katrina remarked with mixed feelings and did not say the word "infinity". Otherwise, Sprint would've gone crazy before Annick could say anything.
Heidi, on the other hand, rarely bothered herself. She said with a smile, "In any case, this is a field where we can figure out the nature of the electromagnetic force and the secrets of electrons!"
She paused for a moment. "Well, that's not right. At the very least, the quantum superposition state and the observer effect cannot be explained by the quantum field theory for now."
"Also, the different processes of electromagnetic force when charged particles exchange photons gave us some inspiration. We seem to have grasped the 'occasions' where positrons might appear. We need to design some collision experiments." Chelly added for Heidi.
In many cases, the discovery of particles was not as simple as finding the appropriate rays and observing the traces. The "rays" had to collide with different particles in different positions and with different energies, resulting in different reactions (splitting or otherwise). Then, the abnormal traces had to be found from the results of the complicated reactions.
Without the guidance of theories, experiments would be like headless flies. They could only count on the accumulation of time. Therefore, the legendary sorcerers and archmages had not discovered anything valuable from the cosmic rays yet.
Heidi smiled gloatingly. "Therefore, this will be the main content of our experiment in the cosmic observatory. With our professor's attention on positrons, you can't compete with us!"
Sprint snorted. "After all, my attention is focused on the quantum field theory. There is still a lot of knowledge that I need to learn and grasp. I don't intend to go to the cosmic observatory anytime soon."
"Actually, I feel that Ms. Hathaway's paper is also very enlightening and 'beautiful'. When protons and neutrons are considered to be the same fundamental particle, I truly feel the simple beauty of the essence of matter." Layria's daily research was to determine the properties of different materials at different temperatures and synthesize new materials with those properties. Then, she would repeat the experiments to find the reason why they had superconductivity. It was boring and complicated. Therefore, she appreciated the idea that the essence of all complicated things could be reduced to simplicity.
Annick said calmly, "It's not so simple. The studies on atomic decay in recent years seem to indicate that protons and neutrons are not as simple as we thought. Or rather, the situation inside the nucleus of an atom is not as simple as we thought. When it decays, it can release electrons and 'neutrinos' that Mr. Lord of Storm speculated. Mr. Oliver even speculated that neutrons can be transformed into protons. It's hard to tell what secrets are contained in it, and whether it's a sign or not."
Layria basically understood what he meant. She nodded and said, "I know. However, according to some arcanists, 'neutrinos' can barely be discovered."
Neutrinos were not charged, and they were very, very light. They barely interacted with any matter. Therefore, they were known as' invisible particles' by the arcanists, which meant that they were barely observable.
"As long as they exist, they can be observed through designed experiments!" Sprint was very confident about that. Then, he shook his head. "However, the most important thing right now is that many experiments cannot be carried out without a stable reactor."
"Yes. Without a large fission reactor, there will be no stable source of particles, and part of the experiments in the microscopic domain cannot be completed." Katrina sighed. "Right now, the urgent need for fission reactors lies not only in the field of energy but also in the deeper studies in the microscopic domain. It is what most arcanists crave."
Heidi chuckled. "Most arcanists say that they don't know anything about it at all. They can't keep up with the progress in the microscopic domain anymore."
Hardly had she concluded her sentence when she stood up and bowed with a smile. "Good morning, master."
She noticed Lucien who had walked to the door at the first moment.
Lucien took out a stack of journals from his magic pouch and smiled. "I happened to run into the apprentice who delivered the journals to you, so I brought them here."
Heidi and the rest of them were not intimidated by their teacher's action. After all, they knew their teacher's personality very well, and they knew that he was only doing it because it was convenient.
"Thank you, master." Katrina, Heidi and the rest of them accepted the journals with brilliant smiles.
Lucien waved the last journal in his hand. "The most interesting paper in this issue is Granny Hathaway's new paper."
"The most interesting?" Sprint and the rest of them were stunned. How could it be so easy to be praised as interesting by their teacher? It meant that he appreciated the idea and direction of the paper, as well as the edifying value of the paper!
Heidi hurried to turn to the table of contents and found the title of Hathaway's new paper. "'A Speculation on the Strong Interaction'?"
After reading it, Annick and the rest of them looked at each other and vaguely guessed something. After all, they had just figured out the nature of the electromagnetic force, and a paper on the strong interaction immediately appeared. They would find it hard to believe that the two were not related at all.
As they expected, Hathaway introduced the "model" and ideas of the quantum field theory into the nuclear force (the strong interaction). Since the essence of the electromagnetic force was the complicated process of charged particles exchanging photons, could the strong interaction be considered as the interaction between nucleons (protons and neutrons) when they exchanged certain particles?
Hathaway's idea was not difficult to understand, but one had to be brave enough to make the connection without being bound by rules. Therefore, Annick, Katrina, Heidi and the rest of them accepted the premise of the speculation without much difficulty and continued reading.
Although the studies on the strong interaction were still shallow, it was enough for Hathaway to establish a general model. Then, based on the data from the experiments, she deduced that the particle was a new particle that had not been discovered yet. Its static mass was about three hundred times that of an electron.
"If such a particle is discovered, the nature of the strong interaction will be revealed to us …" Annick said in a low voice, somewhat shocked.
"Is this the prophecy of a new particle?" Katrina had a weird feeling.
Slightly frowning, Layria said, "If it is really discovered, can the weak interaction be constructed with such a model and create new particles? How many kinds of particles are there exactly? "
It seemed that the types of fundamental particles had been doubled in a moment. Although it was only a speculation, Layria and the rest of them had to pay attention to it. Could it be that the types of fundamental particles in the microscopic domain did not boast simple features? Instead, they were a complicated and enormous system?
Sprint, however, said excitedly, "If only it is really discovered, it will mean that the nature of the strong interaction will have no secrets in front of us. We will only need to explore the details!"
"If the three fundamental forces other than gravity can all be attributed to the exchange of particles and the corresponding model can be constructed, it will mean that there are no secrets in the world in our eyes!"
He had always been confident and passionate, and he was no exception at this moment. As for exactly how many fundamental particles there were, it was not important at all. It was just a speculation after all.
"It's a pity that the studies on the weak interaction cannot support the construction of such a model. Otherwise, I would've predicted new particles too," Heidi said regretfully. Heidi said 'regretfully'. Then she suddenly became happy. "Maybe these new particles are hidden in the cosmic rays!"
Sprint was stunned. Then, he said 'angrily', "I'm going to apply for the 'cosmic observatory', too!"
Seeing that the students were passionate about their research, Lucien nodded in satisfaction and walked to his office. At this moment, his monocle suddenly became scorching hot.
"Lucien, are you free?" Douglas's gentle and steady voice echoed.
Lucien smiled. "Anytime, Mr. President. What's the matter?"
"My space jump teleportation circle has been deployed. Do you want to pursue the sun with me?" Douglas chuckled.
After a brief silence, Lucien said, "That's exactly what I want."
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