Chapter 896
Wang Donglai's Advantage: Poaching People
On the morning of the fifth day, there was a special session on string theory.
As soon as Wang Donglai stepped onto the stage, he saw several special audience members sitting in the first row.
Edward Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Kip Thorne of Caltech, and Yang Chenning of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This is a "dream lineup" in the physics community.
Witten was the first to stand up, holding a thick stack of printed copies.
"Professor Wang, I have studied your paper for four days. There is a core question that I must ask you in person."
The entire room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Please speak."
Wang Donglai remained calm.
Witten opened the printed manuscript and pointed to a page: "Your conch model, from classical mechanics to M-theory, constructs a unified mathematical framework. But on page 127, you introduce a new symmetry—I'll call it the 'Wang symmetry' for now. This symmetry degenerates into supersymmetry in the low-energy limit, but in the high-energy region, it predicts a new family of particles."
He paused, looked directly into Wang Donglai's eyes, and asked, "The problem is, our collider should already be able to see these new particles. But the LHC has been operating for over a decade and hasn't discovered anything. How do you explain that?"
The physicists in the audience held their breath.
This is a truly hardcore critique, not nitpicking by laymen, but a battle of wits between top experts.
Wang Donglai smiled, a smile tinged with admiration.
"Professor Witten, you've hit the nail on the head."
He pressed a button on the remote control, and a complex energy level diagram appeared on the large screen behind him.
"The new family of particles you mentioned does exist. But they are not in the energy range we usually think of."
He pointed a laser pointer to a spot on the energy level diagram and explained, “Look here! These particles have a mass about three times that of the Higgs boson. The LHC’s energy is just too low.”
Witten frowned, then pressed on without hesitation, "Three times the Higgs mass? That should be around 1.2 TeV. The LHC has scanned this range before..."
"Do not."
Wang Donglai interrupted him, saying, "The LHC scans the production cross-section at the center-of-mass system energy of 13 TeV. But my theory predicts that the production cross-section of these particles is three orders of magnitude lower than that of Standard Model particles. The LHC's statistics are insufficient to observe them."
He pressed a button on the remote control, and lines of data appeared on the big screen.
"This is GalaxyTech's 'Xuanwu-1' quantum computer's reanalysis of LHC data from the past ten years. Pay attention here..."
On the screen, among the densely packed data points, there are a few faint but clear peaks.
"Between 1.18 TeV and 1.22 TeV, there are four instances that exceed the background 3.2σ. The LHC collaboration treats them as statistical fluctuations, but in my theoretical framework, these four instances correspond to four new particles."
Witten stared intently at the screen, his lips trembling slightly.
Behind him, other scholars and professors were also watching the data and information with great tension.
Kip Thorne immediately stood up and asked with a hint of excitement, "Professor Wang, can we verify this data?"
"of course."
Wang Donglai nodded and said, "I have uploaded the raw data to arXiv, and anyone can download and analyze it. At the same time, I suggest that the LHC be restarted for a period of time, specifically scanning this energy range."
Witten slowly sat down and remained silent for a long time.
Then he looked up and asked a question that surprised everyone: "Professor Wang, if these particles are confirmed, what do you plan to name them?"
Wang Donglai thought for a moment before speaking, "Calling it 'Donglaizi'? Too narcissistic. Calling it 'Huaxiazi'? Too political. Let's call it 'Dragon Particles'."
Witten paused for a moment, then laughed.
"Dragon Particle... What a great name."
He stood up and bowed deeply to Wang Donglai.
The audience erupted in applause.
Witten does have an academic standing, and moreover, the question just raised is indeed a crucial one.
The fact that Wang Donglai was able to answer so well is enough to prove how in-depth his research is.
Therefore, this applause came from the hearts of everyone.
……
At 2 PM, the session focused on superconducting materials.
Martin Streler sat in the front row with five of Europe’s top materials scientists.
In front of each of them was a laptop computer connected to the portable testing equipment they had brought from Europe.
"Professor Wang."
Streler stood up and said, "Before we came, there was a consensus in the European scientific community."
"If you have truly achieved room-temperature superconductivity, we are willing to publicly acknowledge it and learn from you. But if it is just false propaganda, we will issue a joint statement to expose the truth."
He paused, then looked around the room: "And now, we want to verify it ourselves!"
Wang Donglai nodded: "Okay."
He pressed a button on the remote control, and the real-time monitoring footage of the Materials Research Institute appeared on the large screen.
“Professor Streller, you may select five people to enter the laboratory and use your own equipment to test the samples you have designated.”
Without further ado, Streler selected four people: Gérard Berger of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Jan Huldich of ETH Zurich, Klaus von Klitzing of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and a young Chinese scientist, Zhang Yuan.
Five people changed into thermal suits and entered the laboratory through two sealed doors.
The entire process was broadcast live globally.
Fifteen minutes later, five people came out.
Streler held a data sheet in his hand, his hands trembling slightly.
He walked to the microphone, looked at the countless expectant eyes below the stage, and remained silent for three seconds.
Then he said something in a hoarse voice: "The resistance is below the instrument's background noise, and it is completely diamagnetic. The critical temperature is stable at -23.4 degrees Celsius. The pressure is five atmospheres. The test was repeated seven times, and the data were completely consistent."
He held the data sheet high in the air.
"This is true."
The entire venue was initially deathly silent, then erupted in thunderous applause.
Béré took the microphone. The seventy-year-old Frenchman's eyes were a little red: "I have been studying superconductivity for forty-five years. I have never seen anything like this before. The Chinese have taken the lead over us."
Huldisch said, "ETH Zurich is willing to establish a joint laboratory with Galaxy Technology. Our students can come to China to study."
"The Max Planck Institute in Germany is willing to open up all its superconductivity research data in exchange for cooperation opportunities," said von Klitzing.
Finally, Zhang Yuan walked up to the microphone.
He is Chinese, a young researcher at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is only thirty-two years old this year.
He looked at his world-class peers in the audience, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said something that stunned everyone: "Ladies and gentlemen, what I wanted to talk about is not superconductivity."
He turned around and bowed deeply to Wang Donglai.
"Academician Wang, I want to thank you."
"Why?" Wang Donglai asked curiously and with a hint of doubt.
Zhang Yuan straightened up, his eyes reddening: "Because no one believed that we could produce such research results, but your appearance shattered all those doubts."
He paused, his voice choked with emotion: "Today, I can finally say to the whole world that we Chinese have never been inferior to others!"
Some people in the audience began to applaud.
The applause grew louder and louder, eventually culminating in a thunderous roar.
Wang Donglai stood on the stage, looking at Zhang Yuan, looking at Strel, and looking at the countless eyes below the stage.
He knew that everything he had done was not in vain, but valuable and meaningful. The subsequent seminar became much simpler.
The real data has been presented and is sufficient to prove China's technology.
Even if everyone present was curious and doubtful, they couldn't force Wang Donglai to show them the craftsmanship.
And so, time passed quickly.
……
Eight o'clock in the evening, in the reception room of the expert building of Tangdu Jiaotong University.
Wang Donglai was preparing to meet with someone.
The doorbell rang at the agreed time.
The door opened, and Edward Witten stood in the doorway, holding a printed paper.
"Professor Wang, may I have a word with you?"
Wang Donglai nodded and ushered Wei Teng into the room.
The two sat down on the sofa, and Witten placed the paper on the coffee table. It was a printed copy of Wang Donglai's string theory paper, covered with dense red annotations.
"I have been studying string theory for forty years."
Witten's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself: "I never thought that someone could solve this problem so cleanly."
Wang Donglai didn't respond, but listened quietly.
Witten looked up at Wang Donglai: "I've been thinking about your conch shell model for three days. From classical mechanics to quantum mechanics, from relativity to string theory, from string theory to M-theory..."
“You’ve pieced all the pieces together. Dark matter, dark energy, the cosmological constant—these problems that have plagued us for decades—are not solved in your model, but rather bypassed.”
He paused, his tone complex, "Do you know what this means?"
Wang Donglai nodded: "It means we may have taken the wrong path."
"Correct!"
Witten slammed his hand on the sofa armrest, a hint of excitement in his voice: "For forty years, I've led hundreds of students, published thousands of papers, held hundreds of academic conferences, and invested billions of dollars in research funding. Now you're telling me that we may have chosen the wrong direction from the very beginning?"
His eyes were a little red.
Wang Donglai paused for a moment, then said, "Professor Witten, it's not that you chose the wrong direction. It's that the path you took was blocked. And you always thought that as long as you dug deep enough, you could dig across. But the truth is, there's a cliff on the other side of the mountain."
Witten was stunned and remained silent for a long time.
After a long silence, he gave a bitter smile: "Your analogy is cruel, but very accurate."
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the brightly lit night view of Tang capital outside.
"Professor Wang, I'm here not just for academic exchange."
He turned around, his eyes becoming serious, and he extended an invitation to Wang Donglai in an extremely sincere tone: "I would like to invite you to join us."
"Join you?" Wang Donglai was clearly somewhat surprised.
"Correct!"
Witten said, “The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton is willing to offer you a tenured professorship. You can lead your own team, with no funding limit, and research whatever you want. Einstein spent twenty-two years here, and Gödel, von Neumann, and Yang Chenning were all members. Your place should be here!”
Wang Donglai laughed, as if he had heard a joke.
He had initially thought that Wei Teng had called him that night because of something important, but it turned out it was just about this.
"Professor Witten, I appreciate your kindness, but I have a question I would like to ask you."
"Please speak."
"Einstein proposed the unified field theory at Princeton. How many years did he study it?"
Witten paused for a moment: "Thirty years."
"Was it successful?"
Witten did not answer.
Wang Donglai stood up, walked to the window, and stood side by side with Wei Teng.
"Professor Witten, do you know why Einstein failed?"
Witten frowned, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Why?"
"Because he is all alone."
Wang Donglai continued, "He spent thirty years alone in a small building in Princeton, writing in front of a blackboard. There was no engineering team, no experimental verification, and no industry feedback. He wanted to unify the universe, but all he had was chalk."
He turned around and looked into Witten's eyes.
“I am different! I have 100,000 engineers at Galaxy Technologies, quantum computers, materials laboratories, aerospace centers, and biomedical platforms behind me.”
"I propose a theory that can be simulated with AI on the same day, tested and verified in a week, turned into a prototype in a month, and launched to the market in a year."
"In fact, this speed can be even faster!"
"You say there's no limit to R&D funding, is that really true? At Galaxy Technology, I can come up with 50 billion, 100 billion, or even 200 billion with a single word. Can you do that at Princeton?"
"Besides these, I can also get the strongest support from China, which is something that cannot be measured by money."
“Professor Witten, this is my real advantage.”
Witten fell completely silent.
Wang Donglai's words completely dispelled his thoughts.
Faced with reality, he couldn't deny it.
The conditions she offered were simply not enough to sway Wang Donglai.
Much later, he let out a long sigh.
"Professor Wang, I understand."
He extended his hand and said, "Good luck. No, I should say, good luck to humanity."
There was a hint of disappointment in his tone.
Wang Donglai, however, didn't take it seriously. He thought he would only agree to this condition if he were out of his mind.
Or even if you agree, the higher-ups won't let you out.
They might even think they have some kind of dissatisfaction with those above them.
"Professor Wei Teng, have you ever thought about staying in China?"
"I think you should have already realized that China will lead the way in future technological development."
"You've already fallen behind, and the gap between us will only widen as time goes on."
"Since you're doing academic research, why can't you stay in China?"
“On behalf of Galaxy Technology, I extend to you my sincerest invitation, and I can even make some guarantees to you.”
"As long as you are willing to devote yourself to scientific research and not get involved in anything other than scientific research, you can also participate in our most advanced scientific research work."
When Wang Donglai said this, Wei Teng's eyes immediately lit up.
After calming down a bit, Wei Teng said with a wry smile, "Your offer is just too tempting. I originally invited you, but I didn't expect to be moved by your offer instead."
"I need time to think!"
Weiteng did not refuse immediately, but gave this reply.
Upon seeing this, Wang Donglai's heart stirred, knowing that Weiteng was interested.
However, he wasn't in a hurry. Knowing that Wei Teng was interested, things would be much easier after that. (End of Chapter)