Genius Club.

Chapter 508 Cosmological Constant
The next day, Lin Xian and CC sat in the living room eating breakfast, while the black and white TV next to them was broadcasting the morning news.

"Your throat seems to be getting better."

CC picked up the sandwich with a fork, looked at Lin Xian and said:

"I feel like my voice is not as hoarse anymore, and has basically returned to its previous state."

"Yeah."

Lin Xian cleared his throat and tried it.

indeed.

Maybe the anger has subsided, or maybe the folk remedy "boiling water frangipani" I used yesterday really worked:

“I really don’t know whether this is good news or bad news.”

He said helplessly.

Look at the calendar next to you.

CC had already turned to the page of November 1952, 11 in the morning.

There were only four days left until November 11th, when the meeting with Einstein would take place at his farm in the suburbs of Brooklyn.

in fact……

Time comes second.

It doesn't matter if it's a day earlier or later.

The key is, how can I hide my voice and face? I can't wear a gorilla mask to meet Einstein, right?

Obviously that's not possible.

It's not like every day is Halloween in the United States. It's okay to wear a mask at a dance, but it's really rude to wear a mask when visiting someone's home... And Einstein couldn't understand it, and he couldn't explain it, which made him seem even more suspicious.

Lin Xian took out the small note from his pocket and handed it to CC:

"CC, can you help me check this address to see if it's not far from the orphanage where you lived as a child?"

CC swallowed the food in his mouth, took the note and read it:

"How can it be not far? It's still quite far. It does look not far on the map, but in reality... it's at least five miles."

“This is Einstein’s farm.”

Lin Xian put down his knife and fork, leaned back in his chair and said softly:

"In the past few years, starting from when you were twelve or thirteen, Einstein passed by the gate of your orphanage many times. His destination should be this farm."

CC looked at the note and thought for a moment:

"But...it doesn't make sense."

She handed the note back to Lin Xian and said doubtfully:

"If he actually grows something or raises something on the farm, he only goes there three or four times a year, which is a bit too low; even if they don't have to do it themselves, farmers have a lot of things to deal with on a daily basis."

"And if he just uses the farm as a holiday resort... I think there are better and more comfortable places to choose. What's more, the time interval between his visits to the farm is almost the same. If he's on vacation, it shouldn't be so regular, right?"

Lin Xian nodded:
"I thought so too. It was obvious that Einstein was not on this farm to grow vegetables, raise cattle, or take a vacation... He had some other [purpose]."

"But there's no need to discuss this now. Anyway, he invited me to meet him at the farm on November 11. By then, all the truth will be revealed."

"I see the weather is nice outside today. Where do you want to go? What do you want to buy? We can cancel the room here and go to a place farther away in Manhattan to have a look—"

suddenly.

The morning news on TV was interrupted.

The female host was full of excitement and pride, and she said loudly in the studio:

"Next, we will insert an exciting piece of news! According to the latest information, at 11 a.m. today, November 1, the U.S. military tested a thermonuclear device named 'Mike' on the Eluglubo Coral Island."

"The test explosion was a complete success. The thermonuclear device released an equivalent of 1000 million tons of TNT, razing the entire island to the ground."

"We are very honored to introduce to you this thermonuclear weapon, which is far more powerful than an atomic bomb. It is the world's first hydrogen bomb on the entire planet! The successful development of this hydrogen bomb indicates that our military strength far exceeds that of other countries in the world!"

On the TV.

The female host was boastful.

The situation was very good, and it seemed as if the Soviet Union could be destroyed tomorrow.

Can understand.

During this Cold War stalemate, the United States took the lead in developing the extremely powerful hydrogen bomb, which indeed greatly enhanced people's confidence and sense of security... Now, it was the Soviet Union's turn to be nervous.

However, Lin Xian was standing from a God's perspective, and he knew that the Soviet Union would not have to be nervous for too long.

because.

A year later, in 1953, the Soviet Union also tested its first hydrogen bomb, becoming the second country in the world to possess the hydrogen bomb; and it was at this time that the Eisenhower administration of the United States announced its nuclear retaliation plan, and global nuclear deterrence was officially formed.

It has to be said that the speed of technological advancement during the Cold War was truly legendary.

The United States and the Soviet Union were completely reckless in their pursuit of technology, with each taking their turn, and the devil was as cunning as the sword.

“It’s such an amazing time.”

Lin Xian couldn't help but sigh that it seemed that there would never be another era of such rapid technological advancement.

"hydrogen bomb?"

CC tilted his head:
"1000 million tons equivalent...what does this mean?"

"You know about the atomic bomb in World War II."

Lin Xian explained to her:
"The equivalent of the atomic bomb in World War II was 2 tons of TNT, so roughly speaking, the power of this hydrogen bomb is about 500 times that of the atomic bomb."

“500 times!!!”

CC widened his eyes and screamed:
"That atomic bomb destroyed a city. If this hydrogen bomb explodes, won't it be able to destroy 500 cities?!"

"That won't happen."

Lin Xian smiled slightly:
"The destructive power of this thing is not calculated in this way, but it is indeed much more powerful than an atomic bomb."

at this time.

The female host on TV had finished reading the script and smiled at the audience:
"Then let us watch the explosion video provided by the military and experience this extremely shocking scene!"

……

112 Marshall Street, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Einstein sat on the sofa and watched the morning news.

The development of the hydrogen bomb has always been top secret in the United States. Like everyone else, he only learned the news this morning when he watched the news.

The principle of the hydrogen bomb is different from that of the atomic bomb. It is a kind of nuclear fusion, just like the sun. This is the most original energy of stars and the universe... and it releases much more energy than nuclear fission.

On TV, the host has finished reading the script and the picture switches to a long shot of a camera.

It was very far away, and there was the sea between us, so we couldn’t see clearly what was in the distance.

But suddenly!
Intense white light!
explosion!

The earth is shaking!
A fireball rising into the sky!
It was not until more than ten seconds later that the sound of the explosion was heard, bringing with it a billowing air current that caused the camera lens to shake violently.

At the same time... it seemed that some rays hit the videotape, showing a discontinuous and dense white snowflake.

gradually.

The fireball in the distant sky slowly went out and turned into billowing red smoke that gathered into the sky.

Mushroom cloud...

A huge mushroom cloud stood between heaven and earth.

roll.

Spin.

Gather.

Elevated.

The gray-red mushroom cloud grew larger and larger, and it was still rising slowly until the end of the video... like a rapidly growing tumor.

Look at this huge destructive power.

Einstein was in a trance.

He was not worried or afraid, nor was he anxious or concerned.

If it were him before, he would have fallen into despair when seeing the explosion of a hydrogen bomb that was hundreds of times more powerful than an atomic bomb.

But it's different now.

I chatted with the young man named Douglas yesterday. After he came back, he thought about it for a long time and felt that the concepts of nuclear deterrence, nuclear counterattack, and nuclear retaliation are very realistic. Perhaps this global situation will take shape in the near future.

Einstein knew this.

In order to form a nuclear deterrent, the more powerful the weapon, the better; the greater the power, the greater the deterrence, and the more cautious people will become in launching a war.

Douglas is right.

The detonation of the hydrogen bomb...when the Soviet Union also possesses the hydrogen bomb in the future...this will not be a bad thing for the long-term peace of the world.

And the reason why he is in a trance now.

It was because the scene of the hydrogen bomb explosion just now gave him some unprecedented inspiration, especially when the radiation and rays produced by the explosion hit the camera tape, the dense and flashing white dots.

This dense white spot reminded him of a study he had proposed and then overturned, which he even called the biggest mistake in his life.

【Cosmological constant】.

In 1917, Einstein used his gravitational field equations to examine the universe as a whole. In order to explain the existence of a static universe with non-zero matter density, he introduced a term proportional to the metric tensor into the field equations.

The value of this proportionality constant is very small, and it can be ignored even on the scale of the Milky Way. Therefore, he named this constant the "cosmological constant" and represented it with the symbol Λ.

after that.

As the research and experiments progressed, Einstein discovered that this cosmological constant was completely wrong and unreal... No matter what the situation was, this virtual assumed constant did not seem to produce the correct result.

So he publicly denied the cosmological constant and admitted that adding the cosmological constant to the general relativity equation was the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life.

He never studied the cosmological constant again in these years.

Because he knew that the cosmological constant was wrong, and there was no method or premise that could make it correct.

But just now.

When the countless, overlapping, flickering radiation snowflakes that fill the screen come into view.

He was suddenly stunned!
He had a new inspiration!

The cosmological... constant...

Perhaps the point is not about the constants, but about the universe.

Just like the nuclear fusion energy released by a hydrogen bomb, this is also the most original energy of the universe and stars.

It is just the collision of two extremely tiny atomic nuclei, with only a few quarks' mass loss, but it can explode with such a huge force that is enough to burn stars and destroy planets!

Small…and big.

The smaller it is, perhaps, the greater it is.

is it possible……

What about the cosmological constant?

"What, exactly, is the cosmological constant?"

Einstein frowned and asked himself:
"Could it be... that I was wrong all those years ago?"

"[What exactly is the cosmological constant? What is the cosmological constant?]"

He had no idea before.

but now!
He got it!
It was the explosion of the hydrogen bomb and the dense white snowflakes that gave him inspiration!

"Paper...pen...I want to calculate now!"

Einstein's breath was rapid.

He turned around and rushed to the study, knocking over countless things along the way.

But he doesn't care!
He needed to calculate! He needed to calculate now!
Perhaps the secret of the cosmological constant will be revealed in his hands!
Swah——

He sat at his desk, spread out a stack of manuscript paper, and wrote quickly on it with his fountain pen.

The temperature is very low in the early morning of winter.

Beads of sweat appeared on Einstein's cheeks due to excitement.

This old man in his seventies hasn't been so excited for a long time.

He stared intently at the formulas listed on the manuscript paper.

If the cosmological constant is really a specific number...

That number.

How much is it exactly?

quickly!

He'll figure it out quickly!
……

at the same time.

Empire State Building Hotel Suite, Manhattan, New York, USA.

Clang.

The silver fork slipped from CC's hand and hit the New York Daily on the coffee table. It bounced twice and then rolled onto the wool carpet.

CC was breathing rapidly and looked pale.

She stared at the TV screen, the violent [explosion], the dazzling [white light], the [burning] fireball, the [mushroom cloud] rising into the sky...

Pupils tremble.

The whole body is shaking.

"CC!"

Lin Xian noticed that something was wrong with CC, and ran over to support her:

"CC? What's wrong with you?"

CC took a deep breath.

He lowered his head and said softly:

"Lin...Lin Xian, let's go back to Brooklyn...I don't want to stay in Manhattan anymore."

"what?"

Lin Xian was caught off guard and asked in confusion:
"Why? Didn't we have a lot of fun these days?"

CC squinted his eyes as he looked at the screen on TV that was covered with fluorescent snow.

That was the scene after the hydrogen bomb exploded.

The entire island was bombed.

There is a huge hole in the middle due to evaporation, and the surrounding seawater continues to spread in.

All destruction,

Everything returns to nothingness,

Everything ceases to exist.

Just like the things she had been worried about these days...

[Is this a dream? Once she wakes up, these things that do not belong to her will disappear in an instant, just like being hit by a hydrogen bomb, without a trace.]

She shook her head.

She is not afraid of having nothing.

But she was only afraid of... losing the only thing she had that was so precious to her.

"CC?"

Seeing CC didn't say anything, Lin Xian asked:
"Your dream is to come to Manhattan. Your life in Manhattan has just begun, but you... don't want to stay here anymore?"

"We have a lot of money, so we can't spend it all. You can do whatever you want here, open a coffee shop, a flower shop, etc. Don't girls like this kind of life?"

CC turned around:
"You're right, Lin Xian. I've had a very happy time in Manhattan these days. These are definitely the happiest and happiest days of my life."

"But... just now, I suddenly realized that these things never belonged to me. I was afraid that after owning them, I would lose something more precious..."

She bit her lip and shook her head:

"Lin Xian... What really makes me happy and blessed is not Manhattan, but having you accompany me and by my side."

Lin Xian didn't say anything.

He got it.

Sure enough, CC was worried and anxious again, just like that day in the cinema.

The scene of the hydrogen bomb exploding violently woke up the world, and it seemed to have also woken up CC, a poor girl from Brooklyn...

"I won't leave."

Lin Xian said softly:

"I know what you're worried about. You're still worried that this is a dream and you'll find I'm gone when you wake up. But... no, CC, this is not a dream, this is reality."

however.

CC didn't say anything and didn't respond.

She seemed to be really afraid of Manhattan all of a sudden. She was afraid that this extremely prosperous international metropolis would drown her only little world.

"Lin Xian... let's go back..."

CC said in an almost pleading tone:

"I want to go back to our Brooklyn with you...even if it's poorer and more backward than Manhattan, even if there's no delicious food or beautiful clothes, even if Brooklyn has nothing, but..."

She pinched Lin Xian's sleeve and held it tightly like a straw.

He looked up and looked into Lin Xian's eyes:
"Brooklyn... you are enough for me."

(End of this chapter)