Chapter 74: Dark Energy and Tachyon Communication Technology

Dark energy is a form of energy that drives the expansion of the universe.

If gravity is an attractive force, dark energy is a repulsive force. It is this repulsion that causes the universe to accelerate its expansion.

Dark energy is pervasive in the universe, possibly making up 70% of its composition.

Here, composition does not refer to matter, as dark energy does not belong to the category of matter.

It is a form of energy derived from dark matter and can be understood as a type of force. Some even believe that dark energy might be the "fifth fundamental force."

Like dark matter, dark energy is not easily observable, and since it is not a form of matter, it is even more challenging to detect than dark matter. Its effects can only be observed on a macroscopic scale, such as its repulsive force on the universe's space.

The applications of dark energy were unknown to 21st-century humans on Earth. The only property it seemed to exhibit was antigravity.

This antigravity is different from the antigravity achieved through the application of gravitons.

The antigravity currently used in the Civilization Federation should be called gravity counteraction. It involves creating a gravitational source at a specific location to attract matter to that source.

A simpler analogy is that gravity is like a magnet that attracts surrounding objects, while the technology used in the Civilization Federation creates a stronger magnetic magnet next to the original magnet to achieve antigravity.

Dark energy, on the other hand, is like another magnet that repels the original magnet, pushing all objects away.

In the Civilization Federation's theory, the only use of dark energy is to make antigravity technology more accessible.

Also, because it is not a form of matter.

The discovery of dark energy was entirely accidental. A scholar from the Lelerala civilization was studying gravitons when their instrument malfunctioned, leading to a minor leak of dark matter. This leaked dark matter reacted with gravity, causing a completely silent explosion.

Fortunately, the scholar was wearing a mech suit, or they would have died.

The scholar found that this explosion was different from dark matter weapons.

The essence of dark matter weapons is to influence the material world by harnessing the energy produced during the decay of dark matter, thereby creating an energy burst at the fundamental force level.

In contrast, this explosion's power was composed of pure gravity or reactive force, with 97% of the energy released coming from dark energy.

Ella speculated that the dark matter had disintegrated into dark energy during the reaction with gravity.

This is not a common occurrence, as there is no life form near a giant gravitational source, and the improved dark matter used in the Civilization Federation does not exist in nature.

Although dark energy is mysterious, its discovery is not particularly groundbreaking for ordinary people due to the lack of practical applications.

The reason Yan Xia took notice of dark energy was something else.

Dark energy's influence at the Planck scale.

Previously, Ella had not discovered dark energy's impact on small scales. After all, the force it exhibits is stronger than gravity but weaker than the other three fundamental forces.

This accidental discovery led Ella to investigate dark energy's role in the microscopic world.

Like gravitons, dark energy forms closed strings and can penetrate the dimensional membrane, affecting other dimensions. As the universe expands, other dimensions also experience accelerated expansion, preventing the three-dimensional universe from extending into other dimensions.

If dark energy only acted on the three-dimensional universe, it would be like having several overlapping pieces of paper, with one becoming significantly larger while the others remain the same size. In that case, would the concept of dimensions not apply to the expanded regions of the three-dimensional universe?

In other words, some regions in the same universe might exhibit a "lack of physics."

With the existence of both attractive and repulsive forces, Ella can now influence other dimensions more profoundly.

The most exciting aspect for Yan Xia is the tachyon.

It has been proven that tachyons do not exist in the three-dimensional universe and can only be influenced by gravity.

However, with the discovery of dark energy, another force can be applied to tachyons.

Can these two forces form the "0" and "1" in a computer?

For example, throwing a ball into a box and observing the changes in the box's contents can calculate and control the movement of the object, or the tachyon.

By capturing the changes in gravitons and dark energy produced during the tachyon's movement, the simplest information can be obtained.

A group of tachyons influenced by gravitons transmits the information "0," while another group influenced by dark energy transmits "1," forming a continuous stream of information.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xia immediately thought of something.

A telegraph using tachyons!

A primitive and crude method, but the only way to achieve tachyon communication when one cannot observe the fundamental dimensions or cross dimensions.

Through experimentation, Ella found that while the current technology is not very reliable, they have indeed mastered tachyon communication.

The speed is approximately 1900 times the speed of light, meaning that information that previously took one light-year to transmit can now be sent in less than five hours.

If they can influence tachyons across dimensions and increase their mass, communication could be even faster, surpassing 10,000 times the speed of light.

Once Ella stabilizes the tachyon communication equipment, she can announce that the Civilization Federation's technology has taken a significant leap forward.

This technology should only be researchable by civilizations at level 2.5 and above.

After all, a typical level 2 civilization is still studying the four fundamental forces and has not yet reached the dimensional level.

"So, Yan Xia," Ella said.

"Should we apply tachyon communication throughout the Civilization Federation?"

Sixty-four days after discovering dark energy, Ella perfected tachyon communication, increasing the accuracy from a pitiful 22.4% to 91.07%, making it barely usable.

Achieving 100% accuracy will require a long journey, as they must delve deeper into the dimensions.

Yan Xia sat in his repair shop, feeling lighter again as he pretended to be the apprentice, continuing his repair work.

He thought for a moment.

"Let's tighten things up a bit. Let's first implement this technology in the military, and once tachyon communication is more stable, we can introduce it to the general population."

"Now that I've decentralized power, I must remain vigilant about hidden currents within the Civilization Federation. I can't be too lenient, as the ambitions of intelligent life forms are enormous and can even swallow the universe!"

As he decentralized power, he also needed to tighten control over some aspects.

For example, military force!

All military power must be in his hands, obeying his every command.

"Hmm!"

Ella replied, "We'll do as you say, Yan Xia. But this technology has a significant flaw in terms of stability, as well as a substantial energy loss when influencing microscopic particles and probing dimensions."

"The energy required for each tachyon communication is equivalent to twice the total energy consumption of the Civilization Federation."

Hearing this, Yan Xia felt a tightness in his chest, and his blood seemed to rush through his veins.

How much would this cost?

In the past, a single cannon blast could cost a fortune; now, a single signal transmission could cause a power outage across a star system.

"It seems that developing technology alone is not enough; we also need to increase energy production."

"Ella, how is the Dyson Cloud project in Tian Cang Wu progressing?"