I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 394 (Patreon)

Chapter 394: Alpha Particles Traveling at 20,000 Kilometers per Second

At Lynn's command, Elok and the others waiting below quickly brought the props for this experiment.

It was remarkably simple, only three items in total!

A palm-sized lead box, a ring-shaped detection device, and lastly, a gold foil merely 0.1 micrometers wide!

To create this contraption, Lynn had spent a full day. If not for his status as a grand wizard, achieving such precision with the current technology would have been utterly implausible...

Once the experimental apparatus was ready, Lynn wasted no time and, scanning the wizards assembled in the conference room, began speaking solemnly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the atomic model hypotheses you presented earlier were all quite fascinating. However, the proof of any theoretical hypothesis's alignment with reality ultimately requires experimental validation!"

"Absolutely," nodded Anthony confidently. While he was staunchly confident in his Purple Fruit model of elements, he couldn't help but acknowledge the intriguing speculations proposed by some of the parliamentarians.

For instance, Fire Grand Wizard Adela posited that electrons within elements were arranged in a manner intertwining positive and negative charges, allowing for their tight cohesion, avoiding repulsion due to similar charges, and thus forming a sturdy atomic structure.

Beyond this, there were over ten divergent theories like drop-like nature, outward scattering, and solid-element theories, each possessing a certain degree of plausibility...

However, how to verify these theories undoubtedly troubled all the wizards proposing elemental models.

Because the elements themselves were exceedingly minuscule, they had attempted countless methods to break them apart, but none succeeded. Some wizards even utilized the principles of concave-convex mirrors, researching highly magnified magical microscopy, yet they still couldn't see anything. Hence, there was immense curiosity about how this magical luminary would validate these points.

Lynn had no intention of prolonging the suspense and promptly began explaining.

Alpha particles scatter from radium elements internally, signifying their much smaller volume compared to many elements and significantly higher speed. Most importantly, they possessed the capability to escape an element's control.

"According to my calculations, alpha particles move at approximately 20,000 kilometers per second," Lynn articulated.

"20,000 kilometers..." Sanchez was astounded, taken aback by this outrageous data. Although they had calculated even more extreme speeds like the speed of light, this unit of speed, measured in kilometers per second, was still beyond their reach...

Anthony, equally astonished, recalled the recent movements of the mist within the "Nebula Room," which fluctuated almost in an instant, too fast for even these grand wizards to process. This was evidence enough that Lynn wasn't exaggerating intentionally!

"So, are you planning to use these new particles to collide with and disrupt the shell of elements?" Harof quickly deduced this point.

Generally, the faster something moved, the greater its destructive power. Alpha elements had an advantage due to their minuteness; they might be capable of smashing open the shell of an element, causing it to rupture.

"No, I believe atoms don't have shells. Everything about them is exposed," Lynn shook his head, speaking earnestly.

"How is that possible?" Victorio frowned, refuting Lynn. "All elements are constantly in motion. Without a protective shell, wouldn't the internal components have been thrown out ages ago..."

The wizards below engaged in heated debates. Lynn's argument was too far-fetched. If it weren't for his prior demonstrations of innate magical prowess in research, someone would have likely stepped forward to refute him long ago.

In their imagination, elements should resemble spherical shapes enveloped by an extremely tough shell to safeguard their inner substance from damage through the passage of time.

Confronted with the skeptical gazes of the assembly, Lynn smiled and countered, "Composite elements also lack shells, yet they can endure, right?"

According to the prevailing theories among the wizarding realm, the adhesion of composite elements was attributed to something termed "elemental bonding," essentially a form of chemical bonding but with different nomenclature between the two worlds.

Upon hearing this, Victorio and others were momentarily stunned, pondering whether similar forces might exist within elemental interiors, firmly binding their substances.

Lynn didn't elaborate further; words alone weren't sufficient—facts were the best evidence.

During this delay, Elok and the others had set up the experiment table, essentially casting magic to suspend the gold foil at the center of the detection device.

They then positioned the lead box directly opposite the gold foil, creating a small aperture in the front where a certain amount of radium was placed. As lead effectively shielded against radiation, alpha particles would only emit from the small hole in the lead box, forming a continuous stream of high-energy particle rays striking the gold foil.

The circular detection device surrounding the gold foil was coated with fluorescent material. Whenever it encountered an alpha particle, it would fluoresce, allowing the particles' movements to be tracked.

And why gold? Well, its extension capability was exceptional. Just one gram of natural gold could be stretched into several kilometers of wire, ensuring the rays penetrated through a limited amount of elements, minimizing interference...

After roughly explaining the experiment's procedure, Lynn opened the hole in the lead box. An invisible ray immediately struck the gold foil.

Both alpha particles and gold atoms were incredibly minute, invisible to the naked eye. However, wizards had their ways, especially the heightened perceptual abilities of grand wizards, enabling them to discern subtle atomic-level changes.

Upon activating their domains, the entire gold foil transformed in their eyes. Rows of gold elements were arranged in an orderly manner, forming a wall-like obstruction.

However, this wall wasn't as impenetrable as they had imagined. Soon, the detection device behind it began lighting up with small dots, indicating that alpha particles had directly pierced through the gold foil, reaching the fluorescent material at the back.

"They passed right through!" Harof murmured softly. The positions of the lit dots aligned perfectly with the direction of the hole in the lead box, without the slightest deviation.

Anthony, noticing this, furrowed his brow. This outcome differed from what he had expected.

Alpha particles also possessed magnetic field reactions, implying that if they encountered positive and negative electrons, they should have been disturbed.

-----------------

Table of content

• You can access publicly available chapters of "I Pioneered Scientific Magic" right HERE.
• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.
• You can also check out the other Novels I'm currently translating by clicking HERE.
• If you come across any mistakes within this chapter, kindly notify me in the comments below, so that I can make the necessary corrections.