We Need a More Powerful Collider
Let's get back to the main topic.
The collision experiment conducted by Liu Miyan's team went smoothly, but this was precisely what they least wanted to see, because it meant that, as usual, they had discovered nothing.
"Old Liu, this can't go on. It must be a problem that the collider's energy level isn't high enough. I think we should find some time to talk to the chief engineer. We need to build a more powerful collider." One of the scientists involved in the experiment sighed.
Liu Miyan shook his head. "What's the use of finding the chief? The key is whether we have the technology to build a collider that meets the requirements. Besides, even if we find him, he'll just put it in a meeting for a vote."
"That's true, but we can't really get around him, can we?"
"Alright, then let's not go back to look for it. I'll go over now."
With that, Liu Miyan left the others behind and headed towards the entrance and exit of the Research Ship, where a small transport ship, the means of transportation used by the fleet to travel between the various spaceships, was located.
Regarding the matter of getting feedback from Yue Yuan, Liu Miyan could actually connect directly via video call, as he has the authority to make direct calls to Yue Yuan's communications. However, perhaps due to his habits from the Earth Era, he felt it was better to discuss such matters in person.
The journey from the Research Spaceship to the Lyra was not far. Liu Miyan boarded the Flagship Lyra in less than half an hour on a small transport ship. Because he had informed Yue Yuan in advance through the communication system before departure and knew where Yue Yuan was, he went straight to the bridge after boarding the Lyra.
The Lyra is a giant ship, larger than a typical Sea-Class vessel, but its interior decoration is not much different from other warships. Liu Miyan had worked on the Lyra for a long time before, so even without the automatic navigation of the Brain Chip, he could find the bridge by memory.
The bridge of the Lyra, which is also Lyra Command Center, is very spacious. Even after accounting for the space occupied by various machines, equipment, and instruments, the activity space is about half the size of a football field. In the center is a large projection screen, followed by multi-functional seats for each workstation.
Having arrived at the bridge without any obstacles, Liu Miyan first glanced around, clearly looking for Yue Yuan's location.
Upon seeing the familiar figure, he simply stopped walking, used the guide rod to propel himself forward, and with a flick of his toes, floated towards Yue Yuan's location.
Liu Miyan hadn't seen him because he was blocked by the large screen in the middle, but after he had floated halfway across, he realized that there was another person next to Yue Yuan.
"I've arrived, Chief of Staff! Academician Yu Nanfeng is here too, that's perfect!" After opening the Magnetic Boots, Liu Miyan floated down from mid-air.
Although he and Yu Nanfeng were not in the same department, they were old acquaintances.
At this moment, Yue Yuan and Yu Nanfeng were sitting facing each other, with a small Round Table between them, though it was empty. On one side of them was a porthole of the Lyra. This was a very good position, allowing them to talk while enjoying the view of space outside the warship.
"Yes, have a seat." Yue Yuan Liu Miyan.
As he spoke, the floor beside the small Round Table changed. Suddenly, a wisp of flowing mist seemed to emerge from the smooth floor, then coalesced to form a gray sofa.
This is a simple application of nano-reconstruction technology, a scrap of the technology used to manufacture Little Grey materials, Liu Miyan is already used to.
He immediately activated the magnetic adsorption function of his clothes using his Brain Chip, allowing himself to stick to the rising gray steel sofa.
Sitting on a sofa in a weightless environment is completely unnecessary. Liu Miyan, but since Yue Yuan and Yu Nanfeng are both sitting, he can't stand and talk.
"Chief, to observe the unification of the Strong Nuclear Force and the Weak Electricity, theoretically we need at least an energy level of 10 to the power of 15 GeV. Otherwise, we simply cannot explore what the Electroweak Force is all about, and the grand unification will be out of the question. Therefore, we need a more powerful Particle Collider." Liu Miyan said bluntly as soon as he sat down.
GeV stands for billion electron volts.
Humanity's current colliders are still a very, very long way from reaching that energy level. When the Space Multiparticle Duoplex (SMP) collider was being built, experts calculated that to reach the standard for studying the Grand Unified Theory, the collider would have to be at least one trillion kilometers long.
What does one trillion kilometers mean? Converted to Astronomical Unit, it is 6684.6 Astronomical Unit, which is 6684.6 times the calm distance between the Sun and the Earth.
This design is based on the design of the Large Hadron Collider at European Nuclear Research Center.
If current theories of physics are correct, then this is the case.
As early as Earth Era, humanity successfully verified the Electroweak Theory at an energy level of 100 GeV, thus unifying Electromagnetic Force and the Weak Electricity.
In this theoretical model, the next step is to explore the unification of the Strong Nuclear Force and the Electroweak Force at an energy of 10 to the power of 15 GeV, that is, to incorporate the Strong Force into this model for unification, which is the Grand Unified Theory model.
Of course, these values are the results calculated by humans based on the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The specific development of the Grand Unified Theory, its mathematical formulas, and physical processes still need to be found in experimental observation data.
Without experimental data, no one can come up with a formula from scientific conclusions.
So, although Liu Miyan this, it's really just one sentence: if you want to have real data to study the Grand Unified Model and master the real Grand Unified Theory, you first need to have the corresponding observation methods.
"I regret to inform you, Old Liu, that we cannot build a collider of that energy level." Yu Nanfeng shook his head, and said this without any hesitation after hearing Liu Miyan's words.
Upon hearing Liu Miyan frowned and looked at Yue Yuan.
"I called Academician Yu Nanfeng here precisely for this matter. Before you arrived, we had already discussed this issue. He is right; with our current technological level, we cannot build such a collider."
Yue Yuan took a deep breath. He was well aware of the difficulties that theoretical and experimental physicists were facing, but what could he do?
Yu Nanfeng is no ordinary academician; he is an academician who is proficient in engineering. He is the most qualified to speak on how powerful human manufacturing technology is and what level of creations can be made. If he says it cannot be made, then it is highly likely that it really cannot be made.
"Hey Old Liu, could our Standard Model and Grand Unified Theory be wrong? Logically speaking, our Human Civilization should have reached the peak of Level 3 Civilization by now, since True Nano Technology can no longer penetrate the microscopic level. Yet, with such technology, we still can't build a collider that corresponds to the energy level in the theory. Isn't this just coming full circle?" Yu Nanfeng looked at Liu Miyan, whose face didn't look too good, and said what he had been holding back for a long time.
"It's definitely correct, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to unify the Electromagnetic Force and the Weak Interaction Force." Liu Miyan firmly, then thought for a moment and added, "At least it's correct in terms of logical reasoning."
The Silver Mist once told humanity that the Grand Unified Theory consisted of the Electromagnetic Force, the Weak Interaction Force, the Strong Interaction Force, and Gravity; achieving complete unification of these four forces constituted the Grand Unified Theory. However, human scientists later discovered that this statement was either deliberately misleading by the Silver Mist, just as it had previously told humanity that Level 3 Civilization's propulsion technology was achieved through Heavy Nuclear Fusion and charged antiparticles, or the Silver Mist itself simply didn't understand it.
In fact, the unity of the four forces is already Super Unified Theory, or Theory of Everything.