Chapter 57: Foundations and Forces

At this point, Aiden used an apt analogy to explain further.

"It's like building a bridge!" he said.

"The grander the bridge, the sturdier and more solid the supporting pillars or towers must be! Only then can they support the massive bridge deck."

"And right now, the situation is like having slender pillars representing the four fundamental forces, trying to support the vast bridge deck symbolizing genetic technology and subplane technology."

"Weak fundamental pillars cannot support a larger genetic and subplane bridge deck!"

"I believe Shinhwa might have realized this, but their fixed thinking didn't allow them to rebuild the pillars. Instead, they chose to explore new paths!"

Ethan, hearing this, quickly responded, "They started researching the void?"

"Yes, BOSS!" Aiden nodded.

"Because of researching the void, the Shinhwa civilization was destroyed!"

"Without concrete evidence, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but Karl's ultimate fear theory must be false!"

"The void might exist, but ultimate fear is not synonymous with the void!"

Ethan slowly nodded and said, "I basically understand your point."

"No matter what the void is, it doesn't matter to Nova. We must not use fixed thinking to understand it; consider it a robust branch of Nova's tech tree, right?"

"Yes, BOSS!"

"According to your idea, Nova should base itself on the four fundamental forces, considering quantum microcosm, material macrocosm, space, genetic subplane, void, antimatter, dark matter, void, and even dimensions that might be involved in the future as extensions of the four fundamental forces."

"Develop comprehensively, perfecting each aspect, and finally combine everything to form a complete tech tree!"

"In short, Nova must master everything others can, and what others can't, Nova must master even more! Not only to master but to be better and stronger!"

"Tsk tsk, Aiden, you have grand ambitions!"

"But... I..."

"I share the same thoughts!"

Ethan, with a mysterious smile, looked somewhat dangerous!

"Thank you for your praise!" Aiden accepted Ethan's words nonchalantly, then continued.

"Currently, Nova's development in the four fundamental forces, with electromagnetic interaction advancing the fastest, is because this is the first force most civilizations encounter. Electromagnetic interaction is the interaction of charged particles with electromagnetic fields and between charged particles through electromagnetic fields."

"Its strength is second only to the strong interaction, ranking second among the four fundamental interactions, a long-range force."

Aiden, in a teaching tone, began.

"In the real forces we encounter daily, besides gravity, others are essentially electromagnetic forces!"

"For example, tension, elastic force, friction, support force, etc."

"And its propagation medium is the photon, but it's crucial to note that this photon isn't the usual one but a virtual photon! Yet, we haven't truly discovered the existence of virtual photons!"

"One purpose of the Nova Particle Accelerator is to discover virtual photons!"

"And my photon array's key point relies on virtual photons to verify!"

"Electromagnetic interaction affects everything. If one day we master electromagnetic interaction, controlling everything won't be far off!"

"Moreover, electromagnetic force is the key to the other three fundamental forces. Whether it's strong interaction, weak interaction, or gravity, electromagnetic force plays a more significant role than we imagine!"

"Take current nuclear fusion, for instance. Essentially, it results from the mutual influence of electromagnetic interaction, strong interaction, and weak interaction!"

"So Nova's primary development direction must be electromagnetic force!"

"As for the remaining strong and weak forces, these forces are hard to feel because they only act in the microscopic realm!"

"Let's talk about weak force first."

"Weak force only occurs between elementary particles, such as quarks, electrons, and neutrinos, but not gluons and photons."

"Gluons and photons are responsible for transmitting interactions between elementary particles. Electromagnetic force relies on photons for transmission, and protons and neutrons transmit strong force through gluons!"

"Weak force is closely related to atomic decay. The decay of subatomic particles is caused by weak force."

"Simply put, weak force controls the radioactive decay of elements!"

Ethan nodded.

"So, nuclear bomb radiation is caused by weak force?"

"Yes, BOSS!"

"I understand, please continue!"

Aiden nodded and continued.

"Okay, next is strong force!"

"Strong force is the interaction between quarks. Strong force not only has 'strong' in its name but also has the strongest interaction strength among the four fundamental forces, about 137 times stronger than electromagnetic force. Its range is approximately 10^-15 meters."

"The generation of strong force is somewhat similar to electromagnetic force. Charged particles have electromagnetic force, and quarks have color charge. Strong force is the interaction between quarks with color charge."

"Strong force is transmitted by exchanging gluons. For example, protons and neutrons are composed of three quarks, and the interaction between quarks is transmitted through gluons. Strong force tightly binds quarks together, forming immense energy."

"Like weak force, strong force also causes particle decay. Strong decaying particles have an average lifespan of about 10^-20 to 10^-24 seconds. We call these particles resonant particles, which are also composed of quarks."

"One important point is that a proton is composed of three quarks, but the combined mass of the three quarks is only 1% of the proton's mass; the remaining 99% is the energy binding the quarks together through gluons, and energy can manifest as mass!"

"Simply put, if a person weighs 100 pounds, 99 pounds are the energy of strong force!"

"In other words, if we control this energy without changing our form, we control strong interaction!"

At this point, Aiden had a glimmer of hope.

"If one day we master electromagnetic, strong, and weak forces, we will have undergone a transcendent evolution!"

"At that time, we could be truly called 'gods'."

"And if we also grasp gravity, which we haven't yet observed but can feel, with my current capabilities, I can't even imagine what that would be!"

Ethan laughed heartily.

"Aiden, there's no need to think so far ahead. We haven't even mastered the basic electromagnetic force yet, let alone the strong, weak forces, and gravity!"

"Whether we can master all of them, I don't care, as long as we have enough power!"

Aiden shook his head.

"Though that's true, one must have dreams. Nova must advance along this path. Quantum microcosm, material macrocosm, dark matter, antimatter, space, genetic subplane—all these are either means to study the four fundamental forces or extensions of their technology!"

"I believe as our research into the fundamental forces deepens, these will be no problem!"

Ethan was not bothered by Aiden's rebuttal. Instead, he was very satisfied and said, "I understand. I'll leave this aspect to you and the Grand Academy. Interact more; although they can't compare to you, human thought is limitless, and their perspectives might inspire you!"

"Understood, BOSS!"

"Good, you may go!"

With Aiden's projection disappearing, Ethan walked to the window. Looking at the pitch-black sky, Ethan's eyes gradually turned cold.

"Nova will find you…."

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