Chapter 18: Formula
If it were his previous self, under this heavy burden, he would probably collapse mentally in an instant and step down. But after being tempered by two experiences of death, at this moment, Jiang Yang only felt that this burden was only natural.
He stood up, equally full of seriousness: “I dare not guarantee that I can complete the mission, but I will definitely go all out.”
Sun Changhe continued: “Second, with the scientific verification team, logistics support team, on-site command team, and psychological support team as the main body, build the overall framework of the Apocalypse Project Command, all under Jiang’s command and management.”
……
Hearing these familiar names, Jiang Yang felt a strange sensation in his heart.
As expected, just like in his previous life.
After announcing a series of decisions, Sun Changhe looked at Jiang Yang again: “Comrade Jiang Yang, please continue to host the meeting.”
Jiang Yang nodded slightly and looked at Lu Zhaoming: “Professor Lu, regarding how to figure out my previous two questions, have you discussed a specific plan?”
Compared to the previous bewilderment, Professor Lu Zhaoming was much more steady at this moment, as if he already had some ideas, and he had truly broken free from the shock and fear of suddenly learning that the apocalypse was coming, with his emotions calmed.
“Commander Jiang, after our discussion, we unanimously believe that the key point of the matter still lies in the radiation type.
For now, we won’t research how these radiations penetrated hundreds of meters of rock layer and thousands of meters of seawater from the outside to reach multiple different bases;
Nor will we research how such low-level radiation leads to acute radiation sickness;
Similarly, we won’t explore whether these radiations came from the outside or were generated internally by substances in the base due to some special excitation.
We will only focus on this radiation itself.”
His aged gaze was full of determination: “We hope to reproduce this radiation through our own methods.”
“Oh? What use is reproducing this radiation?”
“Although from the existing theoretical system, such low-level radiation cannot cause acute radiation sickness.
But we cannot rule out the possibility that there exists some physics principle allowing different types of particles and radiation to be combined, thereby possessing the ability to cause high lethality at low dose levels.
For example, pure iron and pure carbon are both soft and cannot effectively kill opponents. But through metallurgical means, combining iron and carbon produces hard steel, making killing opponents a piece of cake.”
Jiang Yang instantly understood the meaning of Professor Lu Zhaoming’s words.
There are many types of radiation.
Alpha radiation, beta radiation, X-rays, gamma rays, neutron radiation, proton radiation, and even more than a hundred elements in the universe—any atomic nucleus of these elements with sufficient speed can be called radiation.
Moreover, each type of radiation has different properties based on its energy level.
So many types of radiation combined with different energies result in millions or even tens of millions of mixed radiation types.
Since in materials science there is the phenomenon of new materials emerging from combinations of different materials, does radiation also have some kind of ‘formula’ where combining different types of radiation allows overall very low-intensity radiation to have the possibility of causing acute radiation sickness in the human body?
“I don’t know much about physics, but I can also tell that this idea doesn’t seem to have gained much recognition.”
Jiang Yang spoke bluntly: “Professor Lu, with your judgment, do you think this possibility is high?”
“Theoretically speaking, not high. We have no theoretical support for this phenomenon at present.
But in reality, we think the possibility is very high. Because this is the only alternative explanation for why low-dose radiation causes acute radiation sickness, and we believe it has enough value for us to invest resources in verification.”
Jiang Yang nodded slightly.
Even with his limited physics knowledge, he could understand the significance of this matter.
If this ‘radiation formula’ is truly verified through experiments, and the process of how low-dose radiation kills the human body is truly figured out, then first, people can find ways to isolate this harm through protective measures; second, they can trace back to the source through the radiation itself and solve the problem at its root.
The doomsday event is like a tangled mess that can’t be sorted out. This ‘radiation formula’ is like a loose thread—as long as one thread is found, the entire tangled mess can be unraveled.
“What is the specific plan?”
A solemn expression appeared on Professor Lu Zhaoming’s face: “From the data you brought back, we saw that the detected radiation included multiple types of heavy ion radiation.
However, limited by instrument detection precision and your memory limits, we cannot know exactly how many types of heavy ion radiation were included, nor their energy and quantities.
We need to attempt ‘formulas’ one by one, just like researching new materials. This requires extremely large-scale experimental equipment and manpower.
At the same time, heavy ion radiation differs from other types of radiation. Other types can be prepared through radioactive sources or photoelectric equipment, but only one type of experimental equipment can prepare heavy ion radiation.”
He emphasized his tone: “Particle accelerator.”
Jiang Yang frowned slightly: “From my memory, in our country, or even worldwide, there are probably only a few dozen particle accelerators for scientific research, but there might be millions or tens of millions of formulas to verify—this won’t be enough, right?”
“Particle accelerators for scientific research are indeed only a few dozen, but you may not know that particle accelerators are also widely used in medicine and industry.
Almost every hospital of any scale is equipped with at least one particle accelerator, used for isotope production, proton/heavy ion therapy, accelerating electrons for radiotherapy, etc.
Large-scale factories and research institutes are the same, usually for ion implantation, industrial irradiation, flaw detection, etc.
A rough estimate shows that our country currently has about 10,000 particle accelerators in total. With simple modification, they can gain the ability to produce heavy ion radiation.
So the specific plan is very simple.”
Lu Zhaoming’s tone grew heavier again: “Conscript all types of particle accelerators nationwide, whether for scientific research, industry, or medical use, and modify them all into heavy ion accelerators, all put into the verification of radiation formulas, testing one formula after another until we find the one that ‘can cause acute radiation sickness with low-dose radiation’!”
At this moment, even though it was a network meeting rather than an on-site meeting, Jiang Yang clearly felt the shock and solemnity of the participants.
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