Chapter 523: Chapter 521 Neutron Star Observation Plan
Days passed one after another.
The intense preparations continued in an orderly manner, and since the cooperation with the Tos Civilization had been established, people had to discuss the general cooperation sche during this period.
After scientific discussions, it was found that human’s current technological strength was far from capable of surviving a collision with a neutron star, and they needed to leverage the interstellar trading market to make a great leap in their civilization.
The 1,000 Amoeba Points they had beca their most crucial lifeline.
“Gentlen and ladies,” said the physicist standing on the stage, nad Li Yuese, “After verification, we found that we need to observe the collision from within 120 to 200 astronomical units in order to obtain relatively precise data.”
He simulated the entire neutron star collision process on an electronic computer.
“But 120 astronomical units is too close. Our devices would likely be destroyed instantly.”
“Once the equipnt is destroyed, how can we gather data? Our equipnt must fully observe the process of two neutron stars colliding, transforming into a quark star, and finally turning into a black hole…”
Zhang Yuan frowned, deep in thought. Theoretically speaking, 120 astronomical units was already a considerably large number.
How far is it from the Sun to Pluto?
Only 49 astronomical units.
At that distance of 49 astronomical units, Pluto receives very weak sunlight, and its surface temperature is just -201.11 degrees Celsius.
So, 120 astronomical units is an even greater distance…
But!
This distance, compared to the most violent cosmic disaster, a gamma-ray burst equivalent to millions of tons of TNT, was like the distance of about one centiter from the edge of the explosion crater!
How to defend, even if just for an extra minute or two, was a major problem.
“So the best solution is to find a planet nearby that can shield our observation equipnt from harm.”
A planet’s mass undoubtedly far exceeded that of a spaceship, giving it a greater chance of keeping equipnt operational for a longer ti.
However, such an event had a low probability. Who could guarantee that humans could find a planet around 120 astronomical units?
The orbit of Sedna in the Solar System, at its closest and furthest points from the Sun, was approximately 76 astronomical units and 937 astronomical units, respectively, forming an elliptical trajectory that fluctuates.
That is, a planet engine would need to be established on this planet to control its orbital path and, thus, control the distance.
Professor Li Yuese said with a bit of excitent, “…let introduce the rough plan. Once we reach that star domain, we must first observe whether the neutron stars will collide imdiately. If the two neutron stars are going to collide within a few years or decades, we better evacuate imdiately. We can’t risk losing our lives!”
“Just that all the money we’ve spent would go down the drain. We’ve already negotiated for the Huantai Civilization’s War Star to take us back to the trading market for free.”
Murmurs and laughter rose from the audience, while others simply shook their heads in resignation.
These are things beyond calculation; everything depends rely on luck.
“Of course, in all likelihood, if the two neutron stars are not going to collide imdiately, and the ti fra is within ten thousand years, our two civilizations will choose to build two War Stars.”
“These War Stars aren’t ant for human habitation but for conducting experints. We require only basic mobility; all other aspects are not considered.”
On the screen, he drew a circle around the outer regions of two neutron stars: “We need to build two Planet-level Fortresses. Position one Planet Fortress at 120 astronomical units for astronomical observation.”
Then he drew another, smaller circle: “The other Planet Fortress, after all preparations are complete, will attempt to trigger the neutron stars to collide… like this.”
A planet’s gravity, though smaller compared to a neutron star, still possesses so gravitational pull and could form a simple Three Body motion with two rapidly spinning neutron stars.
Three Body motion is unstable and can hasten the ti of the neutron stars colliding.
According to the computer simulation, this planet, through the planet engine, constantly disturbs the motion of the neutron stars. After approaching the neutron star to a certain extent, it would imdiately be torn apart by the fierce gravitational forces. Then, various materials falling onto the neutron star at sub-light speeds generate powerful explosions. Simultaneously, the intertwined orbits of the neutron stars get disturbed, shortening the ti to collision.
“This is a very rough plan in theory, and adjustnts will be made on-site as required.”
“Professor, I have a question,” asked a gentleman, who looked like a reporter, raising his hand, “Can the collision ti of the neutron stars be accurately predicted? What if the calculations are inaccurate?”
Li Yuese nodded affirmatively: “If it’s a binary system, the prediction can certainly be made more accurately!”
Without external disturbances, two neutron stars orbiting each other at high speeds gradually lose energy through gravitational radiation, magnetic field radiation, and more.
Under normal circumstances, two small balls in space attract each other, forming a mutually high-speed rotating equilibrium state, apparently without any energy loss, hence they could continue orbiting indefinitely.
But for super-high-mass neutron stars, the space warped by gravity behaves like water ripples, posing significant resistance to their own movent. Gradually, after a certain degree of kinetic energy is lost, the two neutron stars collide all of a sudden.
Of course, for celestial bodies, every scale generally spans millions of years as a basic unit. A collision may occur the next second, or it might take a million years, perhaps even a hundred million years.
“In a nutshell, as long as we observe the two neutron stars closely, we can calculate the approximate ti of collision. If it turns out to be a million-year scenario, we certainly won’t wait a million years… using a Planet Fortress to speed up the collision of neutron stars could also be a favorable result.”
This was a staggeringly large undertaking!
Many people listened, utterly dumbfounded. According to human productivity at present, creating preliminary propulsion for a planet would take thousands of years, and it was all just to speed up the collision of neutron stars?
Zhang Yuan sat in the audience, contemplating the ticulously planned project. It was the largest engineering feat humanity had undertaken to date. Even with the cooperation of two civilizations, it could stretch over thousands of years.
It posed a massive challenge, not only in terms of technology but also for the spirit of New Human Civilization.
Internal mobilization efforts had to be well-executed, and external diplomatic efforts had to be conducted properly.
Cooperating with the Tos Civilization represented a choice that could lead to either trouble if mishandled, or to better outcos if handled well. Each civilization building a War Star reduced the workload by half. Moreover, two civilizations jointly defending against a cosmic-level disaster increased the likelihood of success.
This was a monuntal challenge, a challenge not only on a technological level but also a spiritual one… Forecasting the future was challenging; could humanity stay true to its original aspiration over a millennia-spanning plan?
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