Chapter 2 Chapter 2 The Mystery of the Moonstone

The next day, newspapers published reports about the seminar.Residents of Sun City read the report.Everyone wondered if the moon was really hollow, and if there were really dwarfs living in it.Reports detail what was said at the symposium, and what was not said at all.In addition to this report, there were many sketches in the newspaper, that is, amusing little articles about all kinds of funny adventures of the little moon dwarfs.There are also colorful cartoons on the page of the newspaper.These cartoons depict the moon, and some dwarfs walk inside the moon with their feet pointing upwards, holding various objects with their hands so as not to be attracted to the center of the moon.On one panel was a little man whose shoes and trousers had been pulled down by gravity, himself in shirt and hat, with his arms clasped tightly around a tree.One cartoon that attracted widespread attention showed Jack of All Trades wandering helplessly in the center of the Moon.Know-it-all's expression was so panic-stricken that no one could help laughing.

Of course, these are published only to make readers happy, but there is a newspaper that publishes an extremely serious paper written by Professor Xiaoxing Xingxing.Professor Little Xingxing admits that he was wrong in the argument with Know-it-all, and begs to be forgiven for his strong words.Professor Xiao Xingxing said in the article that the statement that there is space inside the moon does not violate the laws of physics and is entirely possible, so the know-it-all is not as far from the truth as people may think at first.The professor also wrote that it is difficult for him to agree that this space is located at the center of the moon.He believed that the central part of the moon was solid, and it formed long before the surface of the moon cooled and solidified, that is, it formed solid before the space inside the moon began to form.The thing is, whether it is now or a long time ago, the inner layer of the moon is under tremendous pressure from the outer layer, which can reach several million tons or even tens of millions of tons.Due to such a huge pressure effect, according to the laws of physics, the material inside the moon cannot remain liquid, but becomes solid.That is to say, when the moon was still a hot liquid, it already had a solid central core inside, and when the inner cavity of the moon began to form.It formed not at the center of the Moon, but around this solid central core, or rather, between this central core and the recently solidified lunar surface.Therefore, the moon is not a sphere similar to a rubber ball as the master of everything imagined, but a sphere with another sphere inside, and the outside of this other sphere is surrounded by a layer of air or other gas layers.

The professor wrote that as for the existence of dwarfs or other creatures on the moon, it is pure fantasy.There is no scientific basis for the existence of dwarfs on the moon.If what Jack of All Trades found on the surface of the Moon turned out to be a brick wall built by intelligent beings, there is no evidence that these intelligent beings have survived to this day and have chosen the inner cavity of the Moon as their dwelling place.Professor Xiao Xingxing wrote: Science needs reliable facts, and we cannot substitute any unnecessary fictions for reliable facts. The more Wanshitong read Professor Xiaoxingxing's thesis, the more he felt a sense of guilt and regret welling up in his heart.The professor's claim that there is a solid core inside the Moon cannot be disproved.Anyone who understands the principles of physics must agree with that, and he knows it all very well.

"Why didn't I think about such a simple thing?" Thinking about it, Passepartout was so annoyed that he wanted to pull his hair out. "Of course there is something solid inside the moon, which means that space can only form around this core, not in the center of the moon. Cough, I'm a donkey! Cough, I'm a horse! Cough, I'm an orangutan ! Look at the disgrace! Why didn't I think of that! What a shame!" Know-it-all walked around the room after finishing the article, shaking his head constantly, as if trying to get rid of his troubles from his mind. "'Senseless fiction'!" he muttered unhappily, recalling Professor Little Xingxing's thesis. "You can't even imagine that the center of the moon is solid, and you still want to try to prove that there is no fiction!... Cough, what a shame!..."

Tired of walking in the room, the know-it-all coughed twice in frustration, sat down on the chair, stared blankly at a place, then jumped up as if stung by a bee, and panicked in the room again Walk up and down. "No, I want to prove that this is not a meaningless fiction!" he shouted. "There are dwarfs on the moon. There can't be no dwarfs. Science—not mere fact. Science—is a product of fantasy...that is...! What did I say!...Science—not a product of fantasy , but science cannot exist without fantasies. Fantasies can help us think. Mere facts can't explain anything. Any fact must be understood!" After finishing his sentence, the know-it-all slammed his fist on the table. "I'll prove it!" he cried.

At this time, his eyes fell on a cartoon in the newspaper, which depicted him floating in the center of the moon with the same bewildered expression, which made people couldn't help laughing. "Look!" he said dissatisfied. "This has drawn such a face, and you still want to try to prove it!" On this day, Master of Everything left Sun City.Along the way he repeated to himself: "I'm not doing science anymore. Kill me, I'm not doing it anymore. Absolutely not! There's nothing else to think about!" However, after returning to Huacheng, Wanshitong gradually calmed down, and began to yearn for scientific activities and new travels again.

"It would be nice to build a large starship with a lot of food and oxygen. Organize a long-term lunar expedition. There are probably holes in the moon's crust that are shaped like caves or extinct craters. Through this The hole will be able to enter the interior of the moon and see its central core. If this central core exists, it undoubtedly exists. Then, the moon dwarf will live on the surface of the core. Between the outer shell of the moon and the central core Presumably sufficient quantities of air are retained, so that the living conditions on the surface of the central core should be quite favorable for the dwarf."

Know-it-all was thus imagining the preparations for a new trip to the moon, and suddenly remembering everything that had happened, he said: "No! Be firm! Now that I have decided not to do science, I must carry it out. Let someone else fly to the moon, let someone else go to the moon and find the little man, and then everyone will say: 'The know-it-all is right Yes. He was a very clever little man, and he saw things that no one saw before him. And we were wrong! We didn't believe him. We laughed at him and wrote all kinds of sarcasm about him. sketches, and draw cartoons for him.' At that time, everyone should be ashamed. Professor Little Star should be ashamed. At that time, people will come to me and say, "Forgive us, dear know-it-all! We used to It’s wrong.” I said, “It’s nothing, brothers, I’m not angry. I forgive you. You guys laughed at me before. Although I feel wronged, I’m not a person who likes to hold grudges. I’m very kind!” You need to know what is the most important thing to Master of Everything? To Master of Everything, the truth is the most important thing, since the truth wins, then everything will be fine, and no one need be angry with anyone else.”

Know-it-all reasoned so.He thought the situation over seriously, and decided to forget about the moon and think about it no more.For Know-it-All, it will not be easy to implement this decision.For he still had a little moon rock, the same moon rock he had hammered out of the cliff when he went down to the moon cave with the fuchsia and the baby herring.This rock on the moon.Or as the know-it-all called it—the moonstone—it stood on the window sill in his room, catching his eyes from time to time.As soon as he saw Yueshi, he immediately thought of the moon, and when he remembered everything that had happened, his mood turned bad again.

Once, Wan Shitong woke up at night and glanced at the moon stone. He felt that the stone seemed to emit a soft, light blue light in the dark.Know-it-all was amazed by this unusual phenomenon. He got up and went to the window to take a closer look at the moon rock.At this moment, he saw a bright full moon hanging in the sky.The moonlight poured directly into the window, illuminating the stone and creating the impression that it was the stone itself that was shining.Wanshitong fell asleep peacefully after appreciating the beautiful scene for a while. Another time (it was in the evening), Passionate read for a long time, and it was late at night when he finally wanted to sleep.Know-it-all took off his clothes, turned off the light, and got into bed.His eyes fell on the moonstone inadvertently.Again it seemed to him that the stone was glowing by itself, and this time it was somehow extraordinarily bright.Know-it-all thought it was just the effect of moonlight, so he ignored the stone.When he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly remembered that this night was the new moon. Simply put, there should be no moon in the sky.Know-it-all got up.Look out the window and be sure that the night sky is indeed dark with no moon.In the sky as black as the bottom of a pot, there are only stars twinkling, but no moon.Nevertheless, the moonstone on the window sill was shining, not only could it see itself, but it also illuminated its surroundings on the window sill.

Know-it-all took the moonstone into his hand, and his hand was lit with a faint, flickering light that seemed to spill from the stone.He felt that the longer he looked at the stone.The light it emits seems to be getting brighter.Know-it-all already felt that the room was not as dark as before.In the dark, he could already see tables, chairs, and bookshelves.Passepartout took a book from the shelf, opened it, and put the Moonstone on top of it.Stone illuminated the page so that he could distinguish the surrounding letters and see the words clearly. Know-it-all understood that the moonstone was emitting some kind of light energy.He wanted to run at once and tell the dwarfs what he had found, but he didn't feel like waking them, as they were all asleep. ' The next day the know-it-all said to the dwarfs, "Come to me this evening, brothers. I'll show you something very interesting." "What stuff?" Everyone was very interested. "You'll see it when you come." Of course everyone wanted to know what the know-it-all was going to show them.Little Impatience was so restless that he ate nothing for lunch.He finally couldn't bear to come to Wanshitong and pestered him so hard that Wanshitong had to disclose his secret to him.Now, the dwarfs knew all about it beforehand, which increased their curiosity even more.Everyone wants to see for themselves how the stone glows in the dark. No sooner had the sun dipped on the horizon than everyone was in the know-it-all room. "You're early," said Know-it-all to the dwarfs. "The stone can't shine now, because the sky is still too bright. It will only shine when it is completely dark." "It's okay, let's wait," said Little Syrup. "We're in no rush." "Just wait, then," Agreed the Know-it-All. "In order not to make you feel lonely, let me tell you about this interesting phenomenon." He put the moonstone on the table where the dwarfs were sitting and began to talk.He said that some substances in nature have the ability to glow in the dark after being affected by light.This is called luminescence.Certain substances have the property of emitting light even under the influence of invisible ultraviolet, infrared or cosmic rays. "It can be preliminarily believed that moonstones are composed of such substances," said Know-it-all. In order not to bore the dwarfs with some further examples, the know-it-all explained his theory.He said that the moon is a very big ball, and there is another ball inside, and the moon dwarf or the moonman lives on the inner ball. The twilight was growing thicker as the Know-it-all told his friends such beneficial knowledge.The dwarfs all stared at the moonstone in front of them with wide eyes, but they didn't find any light.The most disorganized little impatience couldn't sit still, and kept twisting and turning in his seat. "Why doesn't it light up? When does it light up?" He asked again and again from time to time. "You wait a little longer. It's still too light," said Passepartout reassuringly. At last it was completely dark, and neither the stone nor the table on which it was placed could be seen.But Know-it-all kept saying: "You guys wait a little longer, it's still too bright." "Indeed, brothers, it's so bright that you can even draw!" said the little tin tube in support of the know-it-all. Someone laughed quietly.In the darkness, it was impossible to tell who was laughing. "Isn't this nonsense!" Xiao Zhuangzi said. "I see, stones don't shine." "It's already quite bright, why do you want it to shine," said the little screw. Someone laughed again.This time the laugh was louder.It seems to be completely ignorant.He is the one who laughs the most. "I said little impatient, you are always in such a hurry. You have to be fast in everything, fast." Little Syrup said. "Don't you want to hurry up?" Little Impatient complained angrily. "Why am I in a hurry?" Little Syrup replied. "Isn't it bad here? It's warm and bright, and the flies don't come to bite you." At this time, all the dwarfs couldn't help laughing loudly.Everyone loves this famous quote from Little Syrup about flies, and they all repeat it in different ways. Later, Xiaoxianqin said: "What kind of flies! The flies are already asleep!" "Yes!" The doctor Xiaoyaowan replied. "The flies are asleep, so it's time for us to sleep! The show is over!" "Don't be offended, brethren, it's just something wrong," argued the know-it-all. "The stone did shine yesterday, really!" "Don't be sad, what's the matter! Let's come back tomorrow," said the little chisel. "Certainly come again, it's warm and bright here, and the flies don't come to bite you," someone echoed. Everyone laughed, pushed and shoved, stepped on each other's feet in the dark, and squeezed out of the room.Know-it-all deliberately did not turn on the light.Because he was ashamed to look the dwarfs in the eyes.As soon as they were separated, he threw himself on the bed, put his face on the pillow, and put his head in his hands. "What a fool I deserve!" he muttered in disappointment. "You can't just keep your mouth shut and say nothing, now you've got your retribution! It doesn't matter if you lose face in Sun City, now you're going to laugh at me here too!..." Wan Shitong was so depressed that he really wanted to beat himself up, but he realized that it was too late, so he decided not to break the schedule, so he took off his clothes and lay down to sleep.But when he woke up in the night, he happened to glance at the table, and he saw that the stone was shining again. Passepartout wrapped himself in a blanket and slippers, went to the table, took the stone in his hand and examined it carefully.The stone glowed with a pure sky blue light.It seems to be made up of thousands of tiny, twinkling dots.The light gradually became brighter and brighter.It is no longer the sky blue as it was at the beginning, but an inexplicable color: I don't know if it is rose or green.After reaching the maximum brightness, the light dimmed a little, and the stone stopped shining. Know-it-all didn't say a word, put the stone on the window sill, and lay down on the bed thinking deeply. Since then, he has often observed moonstones glowing.It shines sometimes later, sometimes earlier.Sometimes, the stone shines for a long time.It lights up all night, sometimes it doesn't light up at all.Try as he might, the passer-by failed to find any regularity in the glow of the stone.There is always no way to predict whether the stone will glow or not shine that night.So Know-it-all decided to keep quiet and say nothing to anyone for the time being. In order to better study the properties of the moonstone, Passepartout decided to conduct a chemical analysis on it.However, insurmountable difficulties were also encountered in this respect.This lunar rock will not combine with any chemical substance: it will not dissolve in water, alcohol, sulfuric or nitric acid.Even the mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids that dissolve gold has no effect on it.What can the chemist say about this substance which cannot chemically combine with other substances?It can only be said that this substance is some kind of rare metal like gold or platinum.However, moonstone is not a metal, so it cannot be gold or platinum. With no hope of dissolving the moonstone, Passepartout attempted to decompose its components by heating it in a crucible, but the moonstone did not decompose even after being heated.Passepartout also tried to set fire to it, but to no avail.This moon rock, as the saying goes, "does not burn in fire and does not sink in water"... However, this statement is not true.Moonstones sink in water, and the trouble is that they are far from always sinking.Sometimes the moonstone sinks in the water like a sugar cube or a grain of salt; sometimes it floats on the water like a cork or a piece of dry wood.That is to say, the weight of the moonstone changes for some inexplicable reason, from being heavier than water to being lighter than water.This is a completely new and hitherto unknown property of solids.No other mineral on earth has similar properties. Know-it-all found during the observation process that the temperature of moon rocks is usually two or three degrees higher than the surrounding objects.This shows that in addition to light energy, moonstones can also emit heat energy.However, this increase in temperature cannot always be observed.This means that the heat energy emitted by the moonstone is not continuous, but sporadic.Sometimes, the temperature of the moonstone is a few degrees lower than the surrounding environment.Just can't understand what this means. All these strange phenomena baffled the passer-by, and finally bored him.For these oddities cannot be explained.The jack-of-all-trades no longer studies the properties of stones, but, as the saying goes, puts stones aside.The Moonstone lay on the windowsill of the Know-it-all's room like an object nobody wanted, gradually gathering a layer of dust.