749 The More Essential, the Simpler? (2/2)

”This issue of 'Arcana' is really thick.” one of the arcanists said to his friend in confusion.

Instead of going to his office to claim his copy, Jurisian began to read the unsold journals on the reception desk.

”Quantum field theory? A series of papers from Mr. Brook, the Lord of Storm, and Mr. Evans?” An arcanist read the table of contents and found the key phrase, ”quantum field theory”.

Hearing that, the other arcanists were even more puzzled. They knew quantum, and they knew the field theory, but what did it mean when they were combined? Was it what they thought it meant?

The papers on the quantum field theory were intricate and brimming with dizzying equations. Those arcanists sensed the confusion when they encountered the general theory of relativity and matrix mechanics again. Some of them even skipped the deduction and looked for the conclusions.

”The essence of the electromagnetic force?” one of the arcanists blurted out in shock; his voice was full of intense shock. As one of the two most studied fundamental forces, the electromagnetic force had always been the foundation of the world and something closest to the ”truth” for the sorcerers of the Moonsong League. How did anybody come up with an explanation about the essence of the electromagnetic force? Wasn't it like someone who was unable to walk suddenly learned how to run?

Of the four fundamental forces, the strong interaction force had been specified but lacked further research. Even its basic features hadn't been grasped yet, much less systematic theories about it. The weak interaction force, on the other hand, was merely Fernando's speculation and had not been verified by any experiment. There was still no telling when it would be specified. Therefore, after the nature of gravity was partly explained by the general theory of relativity, the essence of the electromagnetic force became very symbolic.

For a long time, the arcanists who were adept at electromagnetism had proposed many hypotheses on the nature of the electromagnetic force, but they never had a complete theory. The series of papers on this issue of ”Arcana”, on the other hand, seemed to be suggesting a brain-blowing possibility!

Jurisian was reading the paper slowly. The introduction at the beginning was what he was good at, so he had no trouble understanding it. But after he heard the exclamation, he turned to the end and read the part about the nature of the electromagnetic force.

”The electromagnetic force is the interaction realized by the reactions among charged objects through the exchange of photons? Virtual photons…” The hall fell quiet until Jurisian murmured to himself a long time later. The conclusion had a thorough theoretical support and mathematical descriptions of the complicated processes. Whether or not it was correct, it would be one of the greatest breakthroughs after the electromagnetic force was discovered, second only to the Brook equation.

The other arcanists could only manage to understand the conclusion, but even so, their eyes were full of shock and delight. ”Is this the electromagnetic force?”

If the electromagnetic force could be understood perfectly, the sorcerers who were adept at electromagnetism like them would receive unimaginable returns!

”Well, the three Excellencies have proposed the questions about quantum field theory. How should the infinity problem brought by divergence be addressed?” An arcanist reached the end. It seemed that the quantum field theory was not perfect and had many unresolved problems.

For some reason, he was more or less relieved after seeing that. Understanding the nature of the electromagnetic force exalted him and made him feel that he was in a dream. It was more acceptable to him right now.

All the arcanists on the spot were feeling the same. One theory that surpassed the age, like the general theory of relativity, was enough. It would be too unreal if there were many of them.

They heaved a sigh in relief and smiled. ”If the problem of infinity can be resolved by anyone, he will certainly win the Evans Prize in Arcana and the Silver Moon Medal.”

They did not have much hope in that, but it was not too unusual for the middle-rank and senior-rank arcanists to solve the problems that the grand arcanists couldn't. Similar cases had happened in the past hundreds of years. After all, the grand arcanists had too much knowledge and experience, which might turn out to be shackles. The lesser arcanists were less likely to be affected.

”Huh? 'A Hypothesis on Protons and Neutrons According to the Diffusion Experiment', by Yaroran Hathaway Hoffenberg…” An arcanist turned to another paper.

The diffusion experiment on the title was quite familiar to them. Ever since neutrons were discovered, the diffusion experiments of protons and protons and those of neutrons and protons had been going on all the time, and a lot of data had been accumulated. A few months ago, Mr. Raventi and Morris discovered that in such experiments, the nuclear force, or the strong interaction force right now, wouldn't change at all whether charged protons or uncharged neutrons were used. The result had nothing to do with the electric charge, which was against the common understanding. Many arcanists had proposed their hypotheses to explain the phenomenon.

”Perhaps we can consider protons and neutrons as the same particle, which I'd like to call a nucleon. Just like some electrons spin leftwards and some spin rightwards, some nucleons are charged and some are not. They cannot be regarded as different particles because of the apparent disparity…” The same arcanist read a sentence of the paper and felt deeply shocked.

In her paper, Hathaway introduced a new quantum number to indicate the state.

”What? Protons and neutrons are the same particle?” Including Jurisian, all the arcanists and magic apprentices on the spot were shocked.

It was not because they found it incomprehensible. It was because they were overwhelmed with disbelief and awed by the nature of the world. Was it true that the deeper they went, the simpler things would be?

”So to speak, there are only three kinds of basic particles: nucleon, electron, and photon. Also, the interaction between the charged particles and the photons behaves as the electromagnetic force?”

”This makes sense. The fundamental things cannot have so many complicated categories!”

”Is this the truth of the world?”

Sometimes, complications did not necessarily result in astonishment, and it could be the extreme simplicity that brought an astounding sense of beauty. Therefore, although the arcanists hadn't finished reading the paper, they were already inclined to Hathaway's speculation.