Afterwards Zhan Gang asked everyone to raise their hands to express their position.
Of the thirty-seven people present, seventeen raised their hands in support, a relatively large number, because those who didn’t raise their hands didn’t necessarily oppose, most of them were ’remaining neutral’.
For instance, so people from non-microphysics research institutions saw the construction of the collider as largely unrelated to them, and in terms of policy-making, they could only be considered minor figures, unable to influence the final decision, so they naturally maintained a neutral stance.
This type of decision-making wasn’t a matter of the minority yielding to the majority, ultimately, the decision would rely on the thoughts of the upper echelon of leadership.
Zhan Gang glanced at the number of supporters in the eting and then waved his hand for everyone to lower theirs, and, with surprise, looked towards Zhao Yi, "Academician Zhao, you don’t support it?" He felt that Zhao Yi had the most reason to support it amongst those in the eting.
Zhao Yi’s theoretical physics research had already reached international top-tier standards, his creation of ’Boundary Theory’ was considered on par with ’String Theory’, recognized by many top international universities and theoretical physics research institutions. Moreover, many physicists simply switched their research to Boundary Theory; he could be said to have founded an academic discipline, a school of theoretical physics.
As a top-tier theoretical physicist, he would certainly hope to have a better experintal environnt for microphysics in order to find inspiration in particle physics experints or to validate his own research and theories.
Zhao Yi lightly shook his head and said to the others in the conference, "I rember talking to Academician Zhang Hongzhi. I supported the construction of a large collider in our country, but not now."
"Why?" Zhan Gang asked with interest.
All eyes turned his way.
Zhao Yi said, "Because the ti isn’t right. If the investnt in building a collider were small, of course, it wouldn’t matter, but we must consider the cost."
"When the cost is very high, we must be cautious—extrely cautious—and the construction must also be purposeful."
"Now is not the ti. One issue is the construction itself; I have recently learned a lot about materials and precision engineering, and high-end manufacturing industries. I am certain that if we build a large collider, a great deal of high-end equipnt and materials will need to be imported, and these are all critical materials."
"I know the specific data, but if we were to invest ten billion, perhaps three or four billion would have to be spent on importing equipnt and materials."
Zhan Gang nodded gravely.
Zhao Yi said with a hint of self-mockery, "So if we build a collider, it would pretty much amount to creating a large number of orders and profits for foreign companies, contributing to their GDP, while our investnt in ourselves would only rely on basic technological demand, infrastructure needs, and labor."
"This is the economic aspect."
Zhao Yi continued, "From a talent perspective, currently, there aren’t that many high-end physicists within the country. Even if the collider is built, we would need to rely heavily on foreign physicists initially. This part is about attracting talent, but they may not work here long-term. They might just participate in one expensive experint and then leave. The truly top-tier physicists can’t be tied down by a single experintal apparatus."
"Furthermore, there is the matter of the objective."
"I think, for the ti being, we don’t have any critical research and developnt directions that require huge investnt in a collider, do we?" Zhao Yi said, looking around at everyone, aning to ask if anyone had a project or direction worth investing in ’billions’ worth of research and developnt funds.
Of course, there wasn’t.
Even the top dostic physicists dared not claim that their research direction was worth the investnt of funds in the ’billions’. Most of those who supported the construction of the collider did so because they had nothing to lose and would gain a very favorable research environnt.
"I don’t either."
Zhao Yi nodded affirmatively, "My theoretical research indeed requires experintal validation, but even I haven’t figured out what kind of experint is needed, and maybe a collider is not the right fit."
"No one has ever said that experints in microphysics research only have one thod—particle collision. Right now, we know it’s a good thod, but in a few years, there might be new ways, and by then, we won’t be able to turn back."
Zhao Yi spoke in a relaxed tone but incited reflection among all those present in the conference room, including Qiu Chengwen. Among Zhao Yi’s points, there were so that even he had not considered.
Such as the last one.
Is particle collision the best thod for studying microphysics? It’s not certain, no one can give a definite answer. Maybe in another five or ten years, better thods will be found, but the construction cycle of a large collider definitely exceeds five years, making turning back impossible.
In conclusion, Zhao Yi said, "Therefore, I support the construction of a collider, but not now."
"I believe that the sa investnt could be spent on research and developnt in precision engineering, high-end manufacturing, or invested in the developnt of materials, which is the foundational technology we need to catch up with the world."
Having finished his point, he sat down.
Following his speech, a round of applause erupted throughout the conference room.
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