In the laboratory, Academician Zeng and Academician Liu have returned to their posts and are leading a group of space physicists in discussions. Three days ago, the two academicians discovered the key reason for the decrease in the speed of the Wind Master.
Swimming requires more effort in fresh water than in seawater because seawater is denser and has greater buoyancy. The two academicians discovered this and believe that the reason why the speed of the wind Wind Master decreased is because the spatial density of the Nebula Region has changed.
Space density is a topic proposed by Academician Zeng during Earth's time, and it was later confirmed in warp drive. Space density and matter density have opposite characteristics. Matter tends to diffuse from areas of high density to areas of low density. For example, a cloud of smoke, which is denser than its surroundings, will slowly disperse. Ink dropped into water or a beverage placed in a cup will also diffuse because the matter density in the space they occupy is greater than that in the surrounding space.
Space, on the other hand, tends to move from low density to high density. In nature, the increase in space density comes from the influence of matter, most commonly from celestial bodies such as stars. Their massive mass bends space, increasing its density and causing surrounding objects to tend to move towards them. Warp drive utilizes this property of space, bending space in front of the spacecraft to increase its density, thereby causing space motion and propelling the spacecraft forward.
Warp Drive spaceships travel through space. If the density of the entire space increases, it's like a large ship entering a river at sea. The density decreases, the buoyancy decreases, and the ship's speed decreases. However, space works in reverse. If the density of space increases, the spaceship gets stuck in the mud. An engine with the same power would inevitably become less efficient at bending a space with a higher density. A person can easily bend a chopstick, but the same force will bend two chopsticks less than a single chopstick. The same principle applies to space. This is the fundamental reason for the Wind Master's reduced speed.
Previously, Academician Zeng and Academician Liu dared not believe that the overall density of space could increase. This time, they proposed that the spatial density of the entire Eagle Nebula is about twice the average density of the Milky Way. Why mention the Milky Way? Because the two academicians suspect that the overall density of the Milky Way is also greater than the average density of the entire universe.
There is no doubt that matter affects space, but the idea that matter has increased the spatial density of the entire Eagle Nebula is still hard for many academicians to believe.
" Academician Zeng, Academician Liu, if the spatial density doubles, it means that the original spatial volume is compressed by half. Then all the matter in this space will also increase in density and decrease in volume. The most obvious change would be that everyone's height and weight would change. But so far, we have not found this phenomenon," an academician surnamed Huang raised a question.
Academician Zeng and Academician Liu exchanged glances. Academician Liu explained, "Your earlier statement is correct. When space is compressed, all matter within that space will increase in density and decrease in volume. Our height and weight will indeed change, but we won't feel it or measure it because our means of measurement are also compressed. For example, a ruler that measures one meter in the outside world might only measure about 0.8 meters in the Nebula Region due to the reduced space. The ruler's markings will still be one meter, so using it to measure our shortened height will yield the same result as outside the nebula. More importantly, this is an increase in spatial density, which is different from spatial compression. Compression will definitely increase density, but the method of increasing density is not necessarily compression."
(The volume is reduced by half, and the length of the ruler is not 0.5 meters; 0.8 meters is my estimate. If you want to know the truth, you can calculate it yourself. The author graduated from the third grade of elementary school, so he basically couldn't have calculated this.)
"That makes sense. But what about the speed of light? The speed of light hasn't changed."
"Because this isn't warped space, the path light travels doesn't increase. Unlike a warp-sensitive spaceship, light doesn't directly interact with space. For light, space is merely a path, like a car on a road. As long as the road remains clear, the car's speed isn't affected by the density of the concrete used for road construction. Therefore, the speed of light measured here won't change. However, the time it takes for a beam of light to travel from the vast universe into Nebula Region and back into the vast universe will increase. This is because the curvature of this entire area of space differs from that of the vast universe; the space at the boundary is curved, increasing the distance light travels and slightly increasing the measurement time. Of course, the measured speed remains unchanged."
"I know you all still have many questions, so I'll just explain them all at once," Academician Liu Bo said with a smile.
"Some people might wonder, with increased spatial density and stronger gravity, why is the stellar ignition mass here the same as elsewhere in the Milky Way? Logically, the mass of a star reaching ignition at its core should be smaller than its outer perimeter, so why don't we feel any strain? And so on. Actually, everyone's thinking is still outside this nebula; they haven't come in with it. Once you're inside, everything here remains in a state of equilibrium, and nothing will change. This is a huge 3D vector image. The only change is the warp drive spaceship, which directly interacts with space. With increased spatial density, the warp drive efficiency has decreased, and that's all."
"Two academicians, we understand all of that, but there's one thing: how can we prove that the spatial density here is different from the outside?"
"I've already thought of that. Redesign the warp drive, increase its power, use 100% power here and 50% power outside the nebula. If the speed is a thousand times the speed of light, it basically proves our conclusion is correct."
"Academician, there's no need to redesign the warp drive. Just get the existing Wind Master out of the Nebula Region. We won't be staying here for long anyway. If the Fish Horse Star Fleet isn't here, we can leave."
"You lot," Academician Zeng sighed, "We've given you a mountain of gold, and you insist on eating steamed buns instead. Don't you ever think about why the spatial density here increases? What would it mean for the fleet if we mastered this method of increasing spatial density over a large area?"
"Yes, we've forgotten. If we could increase the spatial density, making it impossible for enemy warships to move or even trapping them, wouldn't we be able to chase them down and be invincible?" A group of academicians finally realized this. It's understandable; the bold and powerful ideas of Academician Zeng and Academician Liu had suddenly impacted their minds, leaving them momentarily speechless.
"Furthermore, this could be an opportunity for us to enter the realm of Small Star Sector Civilization. It doesn't mean that mastering this technology guarantees entry into Small Star Sector Civilization Small Star Sector Civilization, but it brings us one step closer. Currently, our overall technology is still in the Mid Star System-Level, and the Wind Star Civilization's technology tree has only just begun to be analyzed. I will discuss with the general whether we stay in this Nebula Region until we solve the problem of increasing spatial density and have analyzed all of the Wind Star Civilization's technologies before leaving. The Fish Horse Star warship used space compression to increase spatial density, and we can learn from that. Everyone has been working hard lately, so please take a couple of days to rest. After the holiday, we may be busy for a very, very long time."