Chapter 2 Chapter 2. Mr. Joseph Davies Learns About Cosmic Rays

The astronomy club was full of unimaginable topics.Here is a concentration of lovers of science, mostly true devotees of science, serious, shy, precise, despite their identities as biologists, engineers, explorers, civil servants, patent attorneys, criminologists, writers, and even artists Wait.In that smoking room there was talk of almost anything, but the topics of the newspapers were evidently of no interest to them.When Mr. Davies came up the clubhouse steps, he collected himself and tried to shake off the vague shadows that oppressed his mind, so as to assume an air of cheerfulness. Yet, walking from the locker room across the hall to the dining room, he still couldn't decide whether to continue his restless trance at a small table, or to take a place among the circles of talking circles?He chose solitude, but regretted his decision as soon as he had made it, and after lunch alone he made a real effort to socialize, joining the circle of a dozen or so between the window and the fireplace, and sat down beside Foxfield. .Foxfield was a shaggy biologist, and Davis took a liking to him.There is a sense of smugness in the fact that the conversation is almost being steered by a new member of the club, a congressional lawyer who could be a hotshot in a few years.People pushed him to speak before realizing he was a little bit more self-righteous than everyone else at the club, and made a point of showing it.He spoke in a tone that was more interrogative than communicative.

"Tell me," he'd say, even pointing at someone. "I don't know anything about these things. Tell me..." "Tell me", except for dictators, royal heirs, and the president of the United States, this kind of speaking attitude is extremely bad according to the standards of the club.But no one ever pointed it out to the newcomer.While it will happen sooner or later, it has not yet.Now he is criticizing contemporary physics in a courtroom tone, trying to show how sensible and practical a brain has passed the Oxford University degree exams and received a proper legal and political education.

"Atoms and forces were great to Lucretius, and they were great to my science teacher when I was a kid. Now you suddenly have to rediscover it all. Because great discoveries have been made, and the air is full of Electrons, neutrons and whole electrons." "Positrons," someone corrected. "It's all the same to us. Positrons. And photons, protons, and nucleons; alpha rays, beta rays, gamma rays, X-rays, and Y-rays. They fly around like everything else in the solar system. Our dear The once solid and stable old universe began to expand and contract - like God playing a concertina. Tell me - tell the truth. I want to remind you - that's scaring people, it's much ado about nothing. It's just showing We sell magic bottles with science labels on them. I ask you."

It was as if he had posed a difficult problem to someone else, pausing to wait for an answer. An old gentleman, who was buried in an armchair and looked thin and old, but still alert, although the finger was not pointed at him, at this moment stretched out his long and thin finger, with a thin but penetrating The voice spoke.His words were like a long sword, and his thick Scottish accent was like the edge of the sword: "You said tell me—tell me. So will you listen patiently while I tell you? Can you not interrupt me?" When this self-righteous new member of the club wanted to say something more, the old man raised his hand to stop him and said, "Listen, I'll tell you. I just said it."

This vigorous fellow, slightly flushed, suspicious and disapproving, looked around, looking for support in the battle of wits he thought was about to take place.However, it was only a fleeting thought, for he suddenly felt as if he were facing a dozen jurors who hated him and felt no mercy.The first lesson he learned from the astronomy club was unforgettable - don't be too arrogant. So, quietly and respectfully, he transformed himself into the most obedient student in the classroom, as if he knew that he still had a lot to learn, and that he could not order others to tell him but to listen.

"On these things," said the old gentleman, "I have given lectures for several years, and the content changes as they change. One has to be succinct when one is old. Fortunately, I have had some experience. But I still need five Minutes. I'll try to make it as clear as I can. Your Oxford professors--you're from Oxford--may make you worse at math and science than when you first came out of a British public school--if there Teachers who don't talk about formulas do give you some mathematical concepts - so it may be difficult for me to explain to you. Like you said, there are some things I have to tell you. They are actually discovered in the past twenty-five years Very simple and believable things. Younger people have no trouble recognizing them."

Then, he began to explain the modern concept of time and space and the movement of matter in it with the most simple words. "Don't ask me what electricity is," he said, "because we know it now, and I'm going to tell you about all the other things. They're not at all as complicated as you think, and there's nothing contradictory about them." He started from the nucleus very clearly and concisely, from atoms to electrons and neutrons surrounding the central proton, and then to the world of jumping and flickering photons.Then, his hand gestured along the sixty odd octaves of the spectrum, from electromagnetic waves on the order of hundreds of yards longer than the wavelength of radio waves, to thermal radiation, light, X, and gamma rays; Taken together, the results produced by crashing through helium atoms; finally, a simple and clear explanation of high-speed fast atoms—cosmic rays.

"Anyway, it's not complicated at all," he said.Indeed, his persuasive words, with a Scottish accent, painted a musical picture in the listener's mind, where there were babbling streams rippling, reflections bouncing on the sides of boats, circles on the water's film. The concentric color circles of the wheel, all kinds of beautiful patterns and pleasing decorations.He made lifeless things dance and whirl, made friends, shone brightly, radiantly, and filled with mysterious power.Atoms as our parents knew them are, by comparison, like marbles lost in the corner of a muddy square on a rainy day.Even when it comes to young neutrinos, he is vividly described as the lastcomer to the atomic party ball in search of a dance partner.One or two experts in the field in the audience were delighted to hear the basics of their profession expressed so clearly, and others were happy to sort out their vague notions of these vagaries of modern theory.

"So, where did we come in from?" Someone asked. "Where is the spirit and the soul in these things?" "It's like going through a membrane, that thin reflective band that's between the electron and the star on such a wide scale." Davis, unusually, listened intently to the brief exposition.He felt that these words were like a good cup of tea, which made people feel refreshed, and they were not muddled at all.Even the new member listened intently, with no regard for his own face. Still, he feels it is his duty to speak up. "Those cosmic rays you're talking about," he said, "are the hardest part of what you're talking about. They're not radiation and they're not protons. What are they? They're raining and snowflakes through the universe day and night. , Come and go without a trace, it is unimaginable to me."

"They must have a reason." A quiet little man said, as if to make a special summary of this discussion. "We have noticed their existence," said the old gentleman, "though we are observing, but we cannot jump to conclusions. They are infinitesimal particles, flying with incredible speed, coming from all directions in outer space. ...that's all we know. If I held my finger out like this for a second, a dozen or so would pass through it in that split second. No damage would be done. That's not bad. There's more out there in the atmosphere above us .But luckily they're all reflected and absorbed by the atmosphere. You know we have a filter around our planet, an electrical coat, that keeps any rays from getting in."

"That's the heavy edge layer," interjected a red-faced burly man who had apparently been sleeping. "What's that?" asked the lawyer. "A beautiful example of scientific terminology," said the burly red-faced man, still sleepily. "This heavy-edge layer, as far as I know, is called that because one it has no weight, two it has no sides, and three it's almost like a layer of rheumatic cold or angry light. Go ahead, professor." His half-open eyes closed again. "You said," said the suspicious lawyer, "that they were fortunately blocked. May I ask why luck?" "I may not have much ground for that," said the old gentleman, "but these cosmic rays, for their size, are very energetic. When they hit an atom they destroy it. Man and all other matter They are all made up of atoms. Too many cosmic rays can cause all kinds of tissue disease, mine explosions, and matches in your pockets to catch fire. But in fact, they rarely touch a single atom-in quantitative terms, they Even less effective than the tiny rays produced by radium on earth; so nature can clean up any trouble that arises." 【①Heavy side layer: English is HEAVISIDELAYER, and Chinese is generally translated into Heidegger layer or positive ionosphere.That is, the atmosphere that reflects radio waves one hundred kilometers above the ground.This is translated according to the needs of the context. 】 "Not quite," said Foxfield suddenly. "I know what you mean, Mr. Foxfield," said the old man. "You mean the idea of ​​chromosomes." "Then tell me," the lawyer repeated, "where have I heard that before. I've heard that these cosmic rays can affect—what do you call it—genetic changes?" "I don't doubt it at all," Foxfield said. "You'll find no physicists to support your view," said the old gentleman. "They're not against me either," Foxfield said. "Yes, yes," said the old gentleman cheerfully, "that is unprovable." "What's that?" Davis asked. "You mean these—these cosmic rays affect genetics?" "I'd say they will," Foxfield said. "But why just them?" the lawyer asked. "Because we've ruled out everything else that could change the chromosomes." "This is the most incredible thing." The red-faced man slowly woke up, and immediately changed from sleepy to sober and quick to say. "Chromosomes," said Foxfield, "the basic building blocks of genes, are composed of very complex and numerous molecules. They are perfectly protected against most kinds of disturbance. They have a kind of maternal independence, own way of acting." "The nature of matter never changes," someone interjected. "It seems so. But X-rays, gamma rays, especially those cosmic rays can penetrate it, so, I think, they must cause new changes after passing through. Since there are always new things." Now it's Foxfield's turn to answer questions and give a briefing. He summed up what he had learned about genetic change and survival in the past twenty-five years in the same way that an old professor explained atoms.He explained how species change gradually and imperceptibly, as Darwin had long pointed out, and modern evolution adds to the recognition of the frequent occurrence of large numbers of spontaneous mutations and genetic transformations.But animal species variation has not been able to explain these situations.So this made Foxfield think that it was the entry of some kind of external force. "Why not God?" said a quiet man. "Because most changes are purposeless and useless," Foxfield replied. "So, when everything else is ruled out," said the lawyer, "you attribute the genetic change—indeed all responsibility for the evolution of species—to these little cosmic rays? Too many to count Rays fly past each other, and as soon as one hits—boom! boom!—a two-headed bull or a Superman appears." "The universe is really unpredictable!" Someone exclaimed. At this time, the red-faced strong man was suddenly touched by a wonderful idea.He had already lost his drowsiness, and sat there energetically. "Listen!" he said, "I have an idea. Suppose..." He stopped. The word "hypothesis" was said by him like a fruit full of honey juice held in the air, just waiting for the moment when he squeezed out the juice to overflow with sweetness. "Assume these cosmic rays come from Mars!" "I told you they come from all directions," said the old professor. "That includes Mars, too. Yes, Mars, Earth's big brother. Intelligent life there is highly developed to a degree that we Earthlings cannot even imagine. It is being frozen and consumed. Some of you may have read a book called The book - I don't remember the author - Julius Verne, Curran Doyle, one of these people anyway. The book tells how the Martians invaded the earth and tried to rule the earth and wipe out the human race. But all in vain! Because they simply can't stand the different atmospheric pressure and gravity; in the end the bacteria wiped them out. The only thing impossible in the story is to imagine Martians being stupid enough to do such a thing. But... " He raised his hand, wagging his fingers, proud of his opinion. "Suppose they say on Mars: Let's transform life on Earth, change the Earth, change the character and the brain of the Earthlings into that of the Martians. We will no longer have offspring on this old, dirty Mars , but to transform Earth humans until they actually become our children. Let us get spiritually our children there. Do you understand? A Martian mind with an Earthen body." "So they started shooting these cosmic rays at us!" "Soon," the red-faced man said with a hoarse voice excitedly, "when they will turn all the people in this world into Martians..." "I've never heard of this kind of nonsense." The old professor said as he stood up and planned to leave. "I said that these cosmic rays come from all directions." "Don't they use something like a shrapnel?" the red-faced burly man said, looking into his back. "Fill the shell with cosmic rays and fire it backwards. Nothing's out of the question, is it?" There was no reaction on the old professor's back, but it conveyed a certain meaning. "Maybe at the beginning, the genetic modification was chaotic." After a moment of silence, someone suggested, "Then it became more and more precise." "This may take quite a while." The quiet little man still wanted to offer assistance. "Of course, you think the Martians know a lot more about us than we do about them," said the young lawyer. "Isn't this very possible?" The red-faced man asked back. "Mars is older than Earth. Evolutionarily far ahead of us. What we know is nothing compared to what they know for sure. They see us perhaps as we see amoebas under a microscope. When they turn Earth Complete Martianization, when creating a new species with a Martian brain and an Earthling body adapted to live on Earth, when they actually enter our lives and weed out our bloodlines, they will bring their wealth, they Institutional facilities of ours - transplanting their lives into us. Earthlings will become their offspring, their heirs. Am I talking nonsense, Foxfield? Am I making sense?" "Today's joke may be tomorrow's fact," Foxfield said. "Let's put it this way, it's nonsense right now." "I'm beginning to believe what I said," the strong man said, "It's great to hear you say that again." "But, tell me," the lawyer was also moved by this idea, "is there anything to prove it? Is there any evidence? For example: Have there been more freaks or monsters on the earth in recent years?" "Until recently, no one had statistics on anomalies like freaks," Foxfield said. "Freaks are always kept secret, especially human freaks. Even animals are ashamed of it, and they kill freaks right away. Any kind of creature wants to be born normally. But from fruit trees and some plants There we can see that mutations occur in unimaginably large numbers every day." "Are most of them bad mutations?" the lawyer asked. "Ninety-nine percent," Foxfield replied. "No survival value. Total chance. Like the most purposeless experiment." This kind of talk is the last thing anyone should hear when they are anxiously waiting to become parents. But don't the greatest scientific discoveries and the most profound revelations of the natural process come from accidents, disasters, and novel ideas born in the brain?What has been unsuspected for a long time may be revealed as a joke.Today's joke may become tomorrow's fact, as Foxfield said. As Joseph Davies left the club and was walking home, he seemed to hear and see the cosmic rays blazing around him like streamers, like falling stars.The old professor said that even if you wrap yourself in hard lead, they will still penetrate your body.