Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 81 - 5 Months
Chapter 81: Chapter 81 5 Months
Due to the vastness of the gap in energy levels, this hypothesis is called the “Big Desert.” The vast majority of civilizations die of thirst midway, unable to see the next step.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan sighed to himself, “The Universe is so vast, I wonder if there are any super civilizations willing to undertake god-like projects such as the Galactic Ring Accelerator…”
However, on second thoughts, colliders are not necessarily the only way.
As early as the 20th century, scientists had proposed that to continue exploring nature, one must rely on another method, instead of brutishly probing with proton colliders.
For instance, cryophysics might just yield an unheard-of new particle when solving the conditions at absolute zero.
Unfortunately, to date, countless geniuses, in their dedicated work, still have not found a new breakthrough.
...
This is a very sad thing, the impasse in high-energy physics has forced people to explore other fields, not knowing whether they will find a way out.
But, let these cutting-edge problems worry the bigwigs, Zhang Yuan doesn’t think he alone can change anything. He has one great advantage, that is self-awareness, and does not bother with some inexplicably troubling issues.
Currently, the most mainstream direction in physics research is condensed matter physics, a discipline more vibrant than high-energy physics and of greater practical value. It provides strong theoretical support for the development of new materials, new technologies, and new processes.
After reflecting for a short while, Zhang Yuan remembered the task at hand and began to search for “nuclear fusion” on his computer, the subject he was to study in the future.
Good heavens, nearly a million papers appeared!
A million papers!
Even if he absorbed new knowledge quickly, it was impossible to read them all.
He complained to himself, these folks were too good at watering down their work, hardly leaving any room for future generations.
Seeing his dumbfounded look, Senior Brother Zhao said with a smile, “No need to rush, study more, make more contacts. Humanity has explored nuclear fusion for three hundred years, a million papers aren’t too many, just selectively read a few.”
“I’m currently making a diagnostic analysis tool by hand. Although there are already excellent finished products for this stuff, making one by myself certainly leads to a different understanding.”
“I suggest that you first conduct some research on triple product aspects. The study in this area has been profound already, but researching it on your own, after all, is somewhat different.”
And so, time passed day by day, and with the assistance of the notable Senior Brother Zhao, Zhang Yuan’s progress was swift.
In the fifth month after starting his work…
Everyone in the laboratory had distinctive characteristics.
Senior Brother Zhao had a very peculiar habit; whenever he was thinking about a problem, his neck seemed to lose support, his head drooped onto his shoulder, and he didn’t like to be confined to a chair. Since there was no gravity in the laboratory, his whole body would sway freely, like a tumbler.
The two female seniors were like aunties, always overly concerned with him, relentlessly thinking about introducing a “life partner” to him, to the point of annoyance.
And Zhang Yuan’s main characteristic was that he thrived on overnight shifts; the more he pulled all-nighters, the happier he became. He wasn’t tired at all; on the contrary, he became ever more cautious. This characteristic gave everyone in the lab goosebumps wave after wave.
He felt he was still a newbie, and writing something decent was still too difficult, how could he catch up without pulling all-nighters.
The more Zhang Yuan studied the discipline of nuclear fusion, the more he understood its complexity and intricacy, like the impacts of periodic impulses and on any aspect, there were excellent papers already.
However, on this day, Zhang Yuan finally completed the first table of his life—”Helium-3 Fusion Rates Under Different Triple Product Conditions.”
It was just a minor task.
Even a standard answer was already available.
But, when one’s hard work matched up with the standard answer, there was always a profound sense of joy.
Truth could be replicated; the ancients did not deceive me.
He shook his heavy head, took a long breath, and fogged up the glass helmet on his head with his breath.
“Ah, now I finally understand how those million papers came to be. It’s really tough.”
The project covered such a broad range of topics, yet there was seldom any overlap between them―they were all isolated from each other.
Take for instance the experimental fusion devices and their auxiliary facilities, plasma heating and current drive, plasma engineering and control, diagnostics, data collection and remote participation, magnets and power supply, vacuum chambers, in-chamber engineering and remote manipulators, Science Material and so on―any of these topics alone could keep someone busy for a lifetime. Even a genius like him couldn’t master them all…
“Your chart here is quite good, very precise. Only five months, eh?”
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Senior Brother Zhao said with a slightly odd look on his face, “I have a question, how do you stay focused for so long each day?”
He witnessed firsthand Zhang Yuan’s insane hard work and his almost divine rate of progress.
Without enough mental preparation, he was nearly scared to death.
How long did it take him to draft this diagram back in the day?
… It seemed to have taken a full 10 months, and to make matters worse, he was a Ph.D. student!
Zhang Yuan patted his glass helmet and said, “Focused? I don’t know. Senior Brother Zhao, are you ill, unable to focus? Maybe you should take a break. Spending too much time studying every day is bad for your health.”
Zhao Qingfeng blinked and felt a bit amused. Please, shouldn’t that be what I’m saying to you?
“… It’s not that I can’t focus, but after a while, there’s a sense of fatigue. Humans aren’t robots, after all; it’s natural to get tired. I see you can concentrate for a long time, glued to the screen all day long. Is it because of an innate talent?”
Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said with a smile, “As long as you think of controlled fusion technology as a super cool and aloof girl, even the most mundane and boring times become interesting.”
“Because magnetic confinement, this loser, has been trying to charm the cool girl for hundreds of years and only succeeded after such a long time. All the different methods used could pretty much make up a romance novel. Doesn’t that sound interesting?”
“That does make a bit of sense! Keep going.”
“There’s a universal truth in the cosmos: boys never know why they’ve annoyed a girl. If they can’t win her over, it’s the boys’ fault, and they should strive to make amends, to correct their errors. These million papers are like humanity correcting its mistakes, writing letters of penance, being the dutiful servile followers. Think of it that way, and it might be slightly more entertaining.”
“Okay…” Zhao Qingfeng fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Could maintaining singlehood be a necessary condition for high combat power?
Wait a second, what does being a dutiful follower mean, groveling to Nature?
He made a joke, “That method doesn’t seem to work, though. If being a dutiful follower meant the Natural Goddess would reveal her charm, then scientists from ages past would have already pinned her down and licked her clean…”
Zhang Yuan responded with a laugh, “That’s because she gets bored with the old and is always craving the new. If you keep using the same old methods, she’ll grow tired of you and ignore you. If you try new methods, she’ll give you a little reward. That’s why we have to keep innovating, continuously coming up with new ways.”
Senior Brother Zhao laughed heartily.
