I heard this sentence coming from my friend's mouth.
Gabriel Veniziano's somewhat decadent face finally showed a smile.
"That's right, Titanic, this is an eternal classic, enough to become a god."
"Pedro, do you remember who is my favorite in the movie?"
Angie Pedro nodded and gave a name without much hesitation:
"Wallace Hartley."
Gabriel Veniziano took a deep breath when he heard this, and a trace of emotion appeared in his eyes:
"Yeah, Wallace Hartley..."
The movie Titanic was released in 1997. After the movie was broadcast, it aroused unprecedented popularity both at home and abroad.
Many viewers were moved by the romance between the male and female protagonists, or were conquered by Leo's good looks.
But Gabriel Veneziano's favorite character is not the protagonist, but Wallace Hartley.
He was the band leader on the Titanic.
When the Titanic just happened.
The band, under the captain's instructions, played hymns on the deck.
The purpose is to calm passengers' emotions as much as possible and avoid excessive panic.
Seeing the ship tilting more and more seriously, band leader Wallace Hartley had to disband the band and let them escape individually.
But he himself chose to stay where he was and continued to play the famous song "Nearer to the Lord".
When other people are like ants on a hot pot, scrambling to escape.
However, Wallace Hartley still calmly sang on the deck until he died.
When the other members of the band heard the leader's music, they also turned back and joined in again - by the way, this is what Wallace Hartley did during the real shipwreck in 1912.
Today, there are monuments to Titanic musicians in Southampton and Broken Hill, Australia.
Wallace Hartley's final performance was Gabriel Veniziano's favorite scene.
At this moment, he suddenly discovered...
In fact, Liner Laboratory...or all participating institutions are on a high-energy physics Titanic at this time.
Facing the iceberg and ocean of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The research on dark matter by many institutions is infinitely close to the countdown to sinking.
Think of this.
Gabriel Veniziano suddenly looked at Angie Pedro and asked:
"Gabriel, would you like to do me a favor?"
Angie Pedro raised his eyebrows and asked Gabriel Veniziano:
"What's the deal?"
"Join me...play the last song before this shipwreck."
".......speak English."
"I want Liner Laboratory to be the first institution to obtain the final retest results."
Angie Pedro looked at his friend for two seconds and took the initiative to extend his hand:
"my pleasure."
........
At this moment.
On this invisible "Titanic", there is also a show of beings slowly unfolding.
Facing the last round of retest data given by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Some organizations are struggling.
For example, the Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics.
Some institutions want to stop losses in time.
For example, Kamiokande Laboratory and two Gallic laboratories.
Others face it calmly.
For example, Liner Lab.
But no matter what these people think in their hearts, they cannot change the established fact that the ship is sinking.
ten minutes later.
Angel Pedro's assistant Nelson came to Gabriel Veniziano with a document and said:
"Mr. Gabriel, the equipment is ready. Director Pedro asked me to inform you that you will be responsible for injecting the water-based fluid."
According to normal conditions.
At this time, Gabriel Veniziano should nod, sign his name on the execution authorization form, and then ask Nielsen to produce the results as soon as possible.
But to Nelson's surprise...
Gabriel Veniziano just glanced at him and said:
"Very well, Nelson, take me to the F4 warehouse and take door C."
Nelson was slightly startled:
"F4 library?"
F4 library.
This is a huge liquid reservoir for water-based liquids in Liner Laboratory, which can hold 16,000 tons of heavy water.
Even within Europe, the F4 library is firmly at the forefront in terms of specifications.
only......
What is Gabriel Veniziano going to do in the F4 library at this time?
With this doubt.
Nelson and Gabriel Veniziano passed through two closed doors and soon arrived at the entrance to a secret room inside the mountain.
The entrance is a semicircle about two meters in diameter, with a large letter written on it:
C.
Mentioned earlier.
In order to avoid external interference as much as possible, most dark matter research institutions are located in hollow areas of mountains, usually covered by hundreds or even one or two kilometers of rock layers.
Liner is also a laboratory with a similar layout, but the area where the water-based liquid is placed...that is, the F4 library is not located below the main control room like the Jinping Deep Laboratory, but next to the main control room.
.
Didi didi——
Nelson opened the door C of the F4 library.
Gabriel Veneziano walked into the liquid store wearing a jumpsuit.
The predecessor of Liner Laboratory was an arsenic mine, which was simply a place where arsenic was produced. However, it was abandoned more than 60 years ago due to exhaustion of mining.
Later, under the coordination of the Spanish Academy of Sciences, this place was turned into a placement site for the Liner Laboratory.
The F4 warehouse is an earlier relatively large mine. After expansion, the diameter is 34 meters, the height...or the depth is 31 meters.
Today's F4 library is a high-standard clean room. The walls of the library are covered with photomultiplier tubes the size of helmets, from top to bottom, including the bottom of the pit. Readers of secret fears are advised to read more about this passage.
all over.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The cost of building this liquid library alone is as high as 20 million euros.
Of course.
In order to prevent operators from falling to the bottom of the pit without liquid, the F4 warehouse is equipped with a walkway with a width of nearly three meters and a guardrail with a height of more than two meters along the entrance.
throughout the liquid reservoir.
Only in a few areas can a small opening be opened through the equipment lock, allowing employees to go down to debug equipment or clean photomultiplier tubes.
At this moment.
In this "big pit" more than thirty meters deep.
All photomultiplier tubes have been powered on, and the entire liquid reservoir is filled with dazzling light.
Gabriel Veneziano walked to the guardrail and stared at the bottom of the pit for a long time through the gap in the guardrail.
Then he turned his head and said to Nelson:
"Nelson, take me to the manual valve."
Nelson had vaguely guessed what Gabriel Veniziano was thinking at this time, and without asking any questions after hearing the words, Nelson led Gabriel Veniziano along the aisle and walked in another direction.
Generally speaking.
In today's highly intelligent processes, it is actually very simple to start water-based liquid injection.
In most cases, as long as the supervisor signs, the main console can directly perform relevant operations.
But intelligence is intelligence.
Considering some special circumstances, some manual operation links will be retained as a back-up reserve in emergency situations.
Just like today's high-speed trains or subways.
Passengers must use electronic doors for normal entry and exit, but trains will also have some fire hammers near the glass of the windows to prevent the failure of electronic equipment from affecting the escape of passengers.
The same principle applies to the manual valve in the F4 library.
Its default function is to manually pour and drain water-based liquid when the control console fails, ensuring that there will be no uncontrollable accidents.
Half a minute later.
Gabriel Veneziano and Nelson arrived at the manual valve.
The manual valve is a metal circle with a diameter of more than 30 centimeters, similar to a steering wheel. The outside is covered with a layer of specialized glass and requires an electronic lock to open.
Nielsen entered the password with some hesitation.
A few seconds passed.
Click——
The specialized glass opens with a sound.
Gabriel Veneziano touched the manual valve with his hand and looked around aimlessly:
"Nielsen, if I remember correctly, this manual valve has never been opened since the laboratory was built, right?"
Nielsen nodded slightly and said in a concise manner:
"That's right, pipes, pressure valves, adapters...these non-scientific instrument hardware have never had problems, so manual valves will naturally not be used."
"That's really amazing... By the way, who is the supplier of these hardware? It must be one of the world's top heavy industry companies that can produce such solid equipment, right?"
"The supplier...is China's Hanhua Heavy Industry. The price quoted at that time was a full 40% lower than that of European manufacturers."
"...."
Gabriel Veneziano's face suddenly stiffened visibly, and he was silent for a while before saying to Nelson:
"Nelson, help me with the handle and open the valve together."
Nelson complied.
The two then worked together to open the valve.
Crash--
The prepared water-based liquid is quickly filled from the bottom of the pit.
Different from ordinary water, what is poured from the channel at this time is purified liquid xenon.
Liner Laboratory is at the forefront of the world in the preparation of liquid xenon. As early as 33 years ago, they made a scientific breakthrough:
They successfully purified the krypton from xenon gas.
Krypton is the most abundant impurity in xenon gas, and almost all institutions around the world were stuck at this step.
In the end, Liner developed a method called gas charcoal chromatography, which successfully solved the impact of krypton in liquid xenon purification.
Without Liner's breakthrough, many studies on neutrinos would have been postponed for many days.
When the krypton purification technology made a breakthrough.
Gabriel Veneziano was just a fresh graduate who had just graduated from his Ph.D., following his beautiful mentor like a follower.
Now thirty-three years have passed.
He already has two sons and a daughter with his mentor. It’s really sad how time flies... (This is true)
Crash--
The eight water outlets were filled with water-based liquid very quickly. Within ten minutes, the height of the water-based liquid was close to twenty meters.
At the same time, liquid xenon is extremely cold.
At this time, the temperature in the entire F4 library also suddenly dropped a lot.
Gabriel Veniziano looked at the slowly rising water-based liquid below, his eyes a little misty for a moment.
As the water-based fluid surged up, images of the Titanic's cargo hold being filled with seawater kept flashing in his mind.
At this moment, he seemed to be on the deck of the Titanic. What was surging below was not liquid xenon, but...
Cold sea water.
He thought again of the nickname Liner Laboratory, the ocean liner of the Iberian Peninsula.
At this moment.
This giant ship is also sinking slowly.
Is this a coincidence?
Or is there really a destiny somewhere in the dark?
after awhile.
Gabriel Veniziano suddenly thought of something and lifted up his jumpsuit.
Saw this move.
Nelson beside him couldn't help but blinked and said subconsciously:
"Mr. Gabriel, this is a clean room, you are not allowed to take off your jumpsuit..."
As a result, the words were not finished.
Gabriel Veniziano waved his hand and interrupted his persuasion:
"Nelson, this may be the last time."
Nelson was stunned for a few seconds and stopped talking after he recovered.
yes......
Let’s look at the current situation.
The probability of the Chinese discovering dark matter is infinitely close to 100%. All that is missing is a final proof.
And once dark matter is identified.
Other equipment in the laboratory may be moved and sealed, but the F4 library has one and only one ending:
Permanently filled.
Yes, it is filled directly - this is not a joke, it is the norm.
For example, the original neutrino oscillation.
After the phenomenon of neutrino oscillation was discovered.
Almost all the project teams around the world that measured the primary mass of neutrinos were cut in half within a week, and millions of dollars of equipment and experimental sites were filled and abandoned.
no way.
Front-end scientific research is so cruel.
When the mission of a piece of equipment or site is the only one, its fate is already determined at the beginning of its operation.
Either he will be glorious and become a god, or he will die sadly.
Then a few more months.
There will be a new project team, new equipment, and new sites appearing, opening up new research on this new substance.
Think of this.
Gabriel Veniziano couldn't help but put his hand into his opened pocket and took out a mouth organ.
This was a gift given to him by his mother on the year of his coming-of-age ceremony. It was 28 holes, and it was already over forty years ago.
After a while.
A melodious harmonica sound slowly sounded from the F4 library.
The tone is strikingly...
"my heart will go on".
Nelson no longer admonished Gabriel Veneziano, but slowly became an audience on the sidelines.
Gabriel Veniziano's harmonica technique is very skillful, and the tunes are melodious with a hint of sadness.
The water-based liquid at the bottom of the pit is constantly surging, and when you drive it, it seems like you are applauding this song.
Although the injection of water-based liquid relies on manual operation, the specific injection volume is still controlled by the background, so there is no need to worry about the water injection line overflowing or endangering their personal safety.
At the same time, the purpose of the water-based fluid is to isolate external background radiation. There is no radiation risk where they stand. The only disadvantage is that it is a bit cold...
After playing a song.
Gabriel Veneziano glanced at Nelson beside him and said with concern:
"Nelson, the temperature here is too low. If you feel cold, you can go back to the main control room to get warm first. There is no need to suffer here with a bad old man like me."
Unexpectedly, Nelson shook his head, pinched the jumpsuit on his chest with his index finger and thumb and shook it a few times:
"Team leader, you don't have to worry about me, I'm wearing a down jacket."
Although the atmosphere was a bit sad at this time, Gabriel Veniziano still couldn't help but look at him, gently rubbed his chilling shoulders, and asked:
"Down jacket? Which brand can keep you so warm? I'm also wearing a down jacket, and my shoulders are completely cold right now."
Nelson thought for a moment:
"Bosideng, a Chinese brand."
"...."
Gabriel Veniziano was silent for a few seconds, then slapped his forehead speechlessly: