The God Particle- Part 2
The industrial elevator brought Michael and Dr. Weber down to where the Antiproton Decelerator sat like an oversized capsule. The red cylindrical machine looked very much like a toy train with pipes sticking out of it, covered in silver foils. The machine occupied the entire length of the lower level room at least the size of ten men. Soon as they reached the ground level, Dr. Weber turned on the switch jutting out of a nearby wall, and the machine started humming.
"Not to worry. It is just warming up." Dr. Weber informed while walking over to the center of the room where the control panel was located against the grey wall.
As the machine booted up, Michael opened up his tablet again and displayed all the systems on his screen. He then pressed on the empty icon that said [New System] and typed Antimatter System.
"Okay, I have now created an empty system." Michael informed Dr. Weber, who continued to tinker with the control panel. "My instruction is to replicate however minuscule amount of antimatter you create in the machine. But…," Michael paused.
"Ah, what is the catch?" Dr. Weber sensed the hesitancy.
"Since this is an entirely new system we are building from scratch, the connection between the decelerator and the USV cannot be interrupted until the new Antimatter System is fully established." Michael was glad he successfully reiterated Master Ishu's message.
"What if the link does get disconnected?" Dr. Weber pressed the colored buttons on the control panel in a sequence, and the screen on the wall lit up to display several graphics and metrics.
"Ever seen a dying star?"
"There is an actress from the early seventies." Dr. Weber's left cheek dimpled.
"The new Antimatter system will destabilize and then collapse into itself, possibly creating a black hole, just like a dying star," Michael said while wondering if something went wrong, would the System be able to bring him back like last time? He started when the red capsule behind him began to shudder loudly.
"Not to worry. This is the most it will whine. The process has started. In half an hour, approximately, the first antiproton will be created and trapped. It will then collide with few other atoms and create more and more of antiproton, antineutron, and a positron." Michael felt being teleported to his physics class in his freshman year. He pressed his lips tight to hide an amused smile. The professor continued with zeal, waving his fingers at the graphics on the screen. "Let this continue for long, and we will be able to produce 1 g of antimatter in a billion years."
Michael nodded heavily. "And that is exactly where this nifty little tablet will come in. Beg your pardon." He moved to connect his tablet's USB cable to the control panel computer sitting beside all the buttons.
"One second," Dr. Weber lowered a green handle on the panel. "Almost forgot. My memory is not what it used to be like." Michael wanted to introduce Dr. Weber to the thousand year old Master Ishu. "So, any estimates on the time it will take to create 1 gram of antimatter with your System here? Never seen it produce more than a thousand antihydrogen atoms." The glint in Dr. Weber's eyes was back.
Michael considered Dr. Weber for a moment and then looked down again to his tablet.
[Antimatter System
System source: Antimatter, CERN, Geneva, Earth, 2021
System location: Anti universe
System energy consumption: -Counting-
System access:
Antiproton Decelarator, CERN, Geneva, Earth 2021
United Systems Verse
System Engineer – in charge: Mikael De Besches/Michael Best, Level II Systems Engineer]
"It doesn't say anything about the growth in antimatter." Michael ran his eyes twice over those words on the screen. He exhaled loudly through his nose.
"May I?"
"Knock yourself out." Michael handed over the tablet to the old man. He wondered if the old man would do a better job than him solving this ridiculous puzzle.
"The System has correctly identified the location of the antimatter reaction here. If it indeed accelerates the creation of the antiprotons and the antimatter exponentially,"
"Within the system," Michael added.
"Within the system," Dr. Weber agreed, "then, give it half an hour, and we should see a value to the energy consumption."
Michael explored the rest of the room for the next half hour while Dr. Weber huffed and puffed in front of the control panel. The grey walls and cement floor of the room dampened the exciting nature of the work being conducted there. Other than the enormous red capsule, and three control panels, including the one Dr. Weber stood at, the lower level did not have much to offer. The initial shudders had died down now, and it ran like well-oiled machine, almost quiet. But it was still running alright, from the occasional buttons that lit up attached to it. When he returned to his previous station, Dr. Weber was peering at the tablet and slowly nodding his head.
"Any improvement?"
The old man offered Michael the tablet and he gazed at the screen.
[Antimatter System
System source: Antimatter, CERN, Geneva, Earth, 2021
System location: Anti universe
System energy consumption: 1 million kilowatt-hour
System access:
Antiproton Decelarator, CERN, Geneva, Earth 2021
United Systems Verse
System Engineer – in charge: Mikael De Besches/Michael Best, Level II Systems Engineer]
"I see a change, not sure if it is an improvement." Michael wondered aloud.
"A huge improvement. That energy has been consumed in minutes, and it will only grow exponentially, which means," Dr. Weber turned to his panel screen, "the time we will need to create the energy source equivalent of the antimatter black hole will be…" The old man tapped on the keyboard of the computer. "two hours."
"Ah, two hours!" Michael was expecting an answer that ended with minutes.
"Yes! Is it not marvelous?" Dr. Weber said jubilant.
"In the System."
"All In your System. But even a dream like this is worth dreaming." Dr. Weber walked up to Michael and placed his left hand on his shoulder. "So, how do you plan to spend the next two hours?"