SWNOVELXO Chapter 88
Some people argue like this. When a scholar publishes a paper or the like, they must always undergo peer review.
No one would refute that claim as wrong, but the peer review system has not yet been established as a custom within the academic world.
Except for the reviewers who decide whether to publish in journals, evaluation of papers is usually done after publication. In most cases, it’s done through letters.
In other words.
“I wondered why there were so many carriages gathered at the research building. Was it because of your paper presentation, theorist?”
“Probably……”
It was clearly an anomaly for so many people to gather for an informal academic conference.
Leaning on a bench near the research building, I gently glared at this anomaly.
I guess the impact of my previously published paper,《A Heuristic Perspective on the Generation and Transformation of Light》*1, was greater than I had imagined.
A paper that directly challenges existing theories and includes experimental evidence.
Rumors like ‘The author is still in his first year of doctoral studies, is a disciple of the theoretical magic scholar Klaus Müller, and according to rumors, his hair is the color of a rat’ must already be widespread.
“Otherwise, there’s no way so many people would gather for an informal academic conference with just one presenter.”
“I suppose so. Well, do your best.”
“…Why did you come?”
“To watch.”
“The academic conference hasn’t even started yet?”
“I came to watch your tense face, theorist. I’ve seen enough, so I’ll be going now.”
The spectator, Werner Ross Diemann, who was smiling shamelessly, really left the research building waving his hand casually.
“Huh.”
It was ridiculous.
But thanks to that, the tension seemed to have eased a bit. It was obvious that wasn’t that rascal’s intention, though.
I dusted off my knees and stood up from the bench.
The double-button suit I bought last time seems to have been broken in after wearing it a couple of times. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]
After checking the fit of the suit that now fits my body better, I rechecked the shine of my leather shoes, the alignment of my tie, and even my tie pin.
It was worth getting advice from Lena, who has a knack for maintaining dignity, in preparation for this day. Even I thought it looked quite neat…
“Phew.”
With a deep breath, I took a step.
Research Building 1.
Unlike Buildings 2 and 3, which are mostly occupied by research labs, Building 1 allocated its interior space to more multipurpose facilities. It housed spaces like seminar rooms and conference rooms.
On its first floor was the largest seminar room in the research building.
I stared blankly at the social gathering unfolding in front of it, standing apart.
“Hahaha. How have you been?”
“Have you been well too, professor? It’s been a while since I’ve come to the Federal University of Magic……”
They looked quite amiable.
Except for the fact that they were all dressed in suits, the atmosphere looked like an ordinary social gathering.
That was the scariest part.
It meant that these people casually shaking hands were veterans who had been in the academe for decades.
“Let’s go in now.”
As I overheard those words, the starting time of the academic conference was approaching.
Following behind them, I entered the seminar room last and closed the door.
Thud―
The sound of the door closing drew people’s attention, and naturally, most people in the seminar room turned around.
“……”
The moment they discovered me and the atmosphere changing happened almost simultaneously.
“Is that the fellow?”
“It seems so.”
The friendly atmosphere of asking about each other’s well-being just moments ago was gone.
As the chilly aura emitted by about 30 scholars filled the fan-shaped seminar room, I headed to the front along the sloped aisle between the chairs.
Thud.
Finally, I stepped onto the podium.
I thought anew. Standing here, you can see everything about the audience.
Not only the familiar faces ―from the professors of the Federal University of Magic to Klaus Müller― but also whether their gazes were directed at a promising young scholar or a gray-haired heretic, I could see it all.
Nodding to the audience, who had started to skim through the distributed materials, I addressed them.
“I am Eugene Oslo, a doctoral student affiliated with the Auchlimé Institute of the Frauzen Federal University of Magic.”
It’s meaningless to expect a response to the greeting.
They are walking masses of honor, and the reason they have made the effort to come with their heavy footsteps is not for me personally, but because they are curious about my scholarship and paper. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]
There was only one way to meet that expectation.
I picked up a piece of chalk.
“I will now begin the explanation of my paper, ‘On the Polarity Magic Studies of Moving Objects.'” *1
I inserted the chalk into my hand and pulled down one of the three segmented blackboards in front of me.
Screech―
No separate signal was needed.
Tap.
The snow-white chalk hit the pitch-black blackboard.
It was the beginning of a hot silence.
“The main point of the paper is to resolve the contradiction between classical magic studies and polarity magic studies―”
Contradiction.
The coordinate transformation method of classical magic studies, the Auchlimé transformation, does not match with polarity magic studies. *2
Klaus Müller solved this by inventing the Müller transformation, but the contradiction wasn’t actually resolved. It was an arithmetic solution without an inherent reason. *2
“I will derive the Müller transformation from two premises: the principle of relativity and the invariance of the speed of light―” *3
Now, I will give meaning to it.
This will truly resolve the contradiction.
“For the values x, y, z, t that define an event in a fixed frame, I will set up the values ξ (xi), η (eta), ζ (zeta), τ (tau) of frame K, moving relative to the fixed frame, that relatively define that event. Now, to find the equation between these values―”
Presentations have a unique quality.
Even when explaining complex content in detail, the presenter strives to make the logical flow more concise.
[ ξ² + η² + ζ² = c²τ² ] *4
Therefore, even as my fingertips wrote down formulas, I internally immersed myself and recalled the framework of the paper.
Long ago…
The early magic scholars who moved objects with Type I Magic thought that when viewing that movement from different places, it could be represented by a simple transformation formula.
But when polarity magic studies appeared decades ago, people learned.
[ τ = β(t – vx/c²) ]
[ ξ = β(x – vt) ]
[ η = y ]
[ ζ = z ]
[ where β = 1 / √(1 – v²/c²) ] *5
“Thus, the form of the Müller transformation―”
The transformation formula in polarity magic studies is never simple.
No one knew why.
But now they will know.
“―I’ll state the conclusion first. There exists a principle of relativity that satisfies both magic studies, and the Müller transformation is exactly that.”
And they will also learn that the magic theories established up until now need to change significantly.
“This further implies that time and space are not absolute, but relative.”
The conclusion flowed out smoothly.
The audience who heard this didn’t get shocked and created a commotion.
“Huh.”
“……”
Instead, they quietly flipped through the distributed materials and lowered their gazes.
It was natural.
If academia is a fierce wild prairie, they are experienced predators, and the virtue of a predator is to hide its claws and wait for the right moment.
So they waited. They waited until the prey named me stopped moving.
The presentation continued after that.
Come to think of it, the paper contained a simple idea, albeit difficult, but because its principle was located at the foundation of the discipline, there were many areas to apply it.
So many that I had to fill and erase the three blackboards repeatedly for two and a half hours.
“According to this logic, when slowly accelerating the mana body, ahem― excuse me, when slowly accelerating the mana body……”
Around the time when I started coughing from my throat, unaccustomed to long presentations…
“That’s all.”
The presentation was concluded.
It wasn’t bad. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]
That was my impression, but a presentation is not made up of just the presenter.
“Hmm.”
“Is it alright to proceed directly to the Q&A?”
The audience, that is, 30 professors and doctors of philosophy, started spinning their pens and flipping their papers.
The 30 audience members didn’t immediately start a barrage of questions as soon as the presentation ended.
There were several reasons, but the main reason was that about 20 doctoral-level scholars had all become mute as if they had eaten honey.
“It’s not my field of research……”
They made such excuses and started to close their mouths one by one.
Most of those words were true, but to the eyes of a veteran scholar who had rolled around in academia, a few people who were conspicuously averting their gazes were clearly visible.
That guy didn’t understand.
Thus, the right to speak was passed to about five or six veteran scholars and professors.
It wasn’t that the veteran professors had a significantly better understanding of the paper.
It’s just that while other scholars had to mind the eyes of thirty people, the veterans only had to mind about five, and naturally, it was much easier for them to open their mouths.
Since ancient times, piercing the weak points of a young person who considers themselves entirely correct has been one of the few pleasures of the elderly.
“I’ll ask first.”
Professor Eric Kleiner was also a veteran professor who enjoyed this, so he opened his mouth first.
The gray-haired presenter responded.
“I’ll listen to your question.”
“In the content of the paper, there’s a sentence that says: ‘A balanced clock at the equator should run slightly slower than an exactly similar clock located at one of the poles under identical conditions.’ Is this correct?” *6
“According to the principles of the paper, yes, that’s right.”
“Can it be experimentally proven?”
The absence of experiments.
This was the weak point of the paper that Kleiner was thinking of.
If you were going to write words like ‘space contracts’ and ‘time expands,’ you should have at least done experiments.
Otherwise, it’s unavoidable to be treated as nonsense.
To that question, the presenter answered as if perplexed.
“I think it can be proven.”
“If you thought so, you should have done experiments. Don’t you have equipment in the lab?”
The moment he finished speaking, Professor Kleiner felt gazes fixed on him. Why?
The problem was his tone.
Even though the professor himself was a veteran, it was not good to upset even someone who didn’t need to mind anyone’s eyes in this place.
Soon, Professor Kleiner waved his hand and said.
“My tone was too harsh. I’m sorry. Anyway, why didn’t you do experiments?”
“I would love to, but in principle, we need to get even slightly close to the speed of light to get meaningful results. I didn’t conduct experiments because, with our current technology, there’s neither a vehicle that fast nor measuring instruments that can measure it.”
“Hmm……”
“As long as there are no flaws in the current theory, I believe there’s no need to rush experiments.”
“I don’t think so. Well, I understand for now.”
Thus ended the first inquiry.
The frontrunner tends to influence the followers.
Having confirmed Professor Kleiner’s aggressive attitude, the rest were also willing to open their mouths.
Among them, there were also those who purely admired the insights contained in the paper, but in any case, even simply asking about curious points was quite sharp, befitting a professor.
The presenter answered eloquently, but…
That was it.
As a few more questions and answers were exchanged, the atmosphere among the audience gradually began to loosen.
Thoughts like ‘I thought so,’ began to spread.
No matter how groundbreaking the content of the paper is, what’s the use?
Most of those attending the academic conference were expecting that this paper would be wrong or at least have errors. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]
It was a perfectly reasonable inference. What could a mere first-year doctoral student know?
And as the inference was slowly turning into certainty…
“Page seven, fourth paragraph.”
A voice completely different from the ones heard so far echoed in the seminar room.
That voice was nearly an octave lower compared to other veteran professors.
It’s due to his unique physique.
Klaus Müller, who made his presence known to the entire seminar room with just his voice, began to ask questions in earnest.
“Page five, fifth paragraph. Please explain in more detail why φ(v) can be eliminated.”
“Ah, yes. If we define a new frame K moving at a speed of -v……”
It continued.
“The word choice in the conclusion is ambiguous.”
“Which part are you referring to?”
It continued.
“Page three……”
There seemed to be no end to the questions.
Other scholars who were trying to ride the flow and throw in their own questions had to close their mouths. They couldn’t interrupt Professor Müller’s questions.
The scholars were about to quietly become indignant at this treatment, but…
Before long, they began to focus on a quite different perspective.
Those are such sharp questions, even though he’s firing such fierce attacks that don’t seem to have been agreed upon even though he’s the thesis advisor.
The presenter’s answers continue to flow smoothly.
It’s not that the answers themselves were smooth. The important part is the confidence in his voice, along with the fact that the answers keep coming.
This made some audience members harbor a certain thought.
On the off chance…
‘Could it be?’
The thought that this bizarre theory might actually be true.
Meanwhile, Eric Kleiner didn’t have such thoughts at all.
Whether it was because he had some expertise in experimental magic studies, or because he felt a biased aversion from the moment he saw that distinctly gray hair, he couldn’t know himself.
It’s not satisfactory. He just kept repeating that to himself.
“In the last section, you newly defined mass as longitudinal and transverse. Is this area possible to experiment?”
The moment he heard Klaus Müller’s question, he joined in and added words.
All to somehow uncover the flaws in that logic.
“Well said. Yes, don’t ignore the importance of experiments. Until ten years ago, all major discoveries in magic studies were the products of experiments, but now you say there’s no need to rush experiments because the theory is perfect―”
That’s when it happened.
“Professor Eric Kleiner.”
Kleiner closed his mouth.
To be precise, he had to close it.
Because Klaus Müller turned towards him.
To use an analogy, didn’t they say that the academe is a prairie and scholars are the predators on it?
He didn’t need an analogy.
The golden gaze was that of a bird of prey in itself, and the height of just under seven feet was that of a predator itself. The voice, needless to say, resembled the cry of a beast.
The predator growled softly.
“I’m in the middle of asking a question. Mind your manners.”
“Ah, yes……”
Immediately after, Professor Müller continued the Q&A with the presenter as if nothing had happened.
With each question and answer, the audience’s understanding of the paper gradually increased, and they could also see how ridiculous a problem this mere doctoral student had challenged.
They thought. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]
Could it be? Is it really true?
Is this radical paper, that connects classical magic studies and polarity magic studies and then tries to rewrite its premises, true?
In the end, the Q&A session lasted as long as the presentation time before it ended.
The aftermath could be simply summarized. My throat hurts, my legs hurt, and even my head hurts.
“Phew……”
I sat on an empty chair in the seminar room, completely exhausted, and let out a deep sigh.
A familiar face approached me and spoke.
“Good job.”
“Professor.”
I stood up abruptly to receive that greeting.
As soon as I saw that impassive face, resentment welled up.
To do this on the day of presentation without saying a single word about asking so many questions…
I was inwardly glaring at that figure who was repaying the favor of improving the father-daughter relationship with enmity.
“I can see plainly what you’re thinking.”
“……”
“I thought it would be good to show the completeness of your paper as much as possible, with about two months left until the Magic Studies Yearbook review. Or, could it be that you weren’t confident in your paper?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it.”
“I see.”
And then.
Suddenly, Professor Müller bowed to me.
The gentleman’s way of paying respect is by taking off his hat.
Before I had time to be surprised, he said:
“I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again. It’s entirely thanks to you that Julia could change this much.”
“Uh……”
I tried to answer something, but in the end, I just mumbled.
Not only was my body and mind exhausted, but it was also too unexpected to hear gratitude now for something that happened three years ago.
Right now, even combining words to answer was a struggle.
Therefore, the sentence that was finally composed was not a warm answer like ‘You’re welcome.’
It was something more materialistic.
I said.
“Then, could you give me your daughter?”
An unintentionally blurted-out true feeling.
A moment later, I realized my mistake, but once words are spoken, they can’t be taken back.
It surely wasn’t an illusion that Professor Müller’s usually detached expression seemed to harden.
After the inevitable silence…
He smiled while adjusting his monocle. Very, very slightly.
“Speak to my daughter directly. I’ll decide whether to give permission then.”
Autumn deepens. It’s time for the day, which dominated during summer, to retreat in its fight with its sister, the night.
I looked up at the darkening sky as I walked.
“……”
It feels like I’ve finished a month-long journey.
For some reason, I feel unsettled.
I stopped for a moment, fiddling with the pipe in my pocket, then consciously pulled my hand out. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]
Judging by the states of Director Lovelace and Louise, the end of a heavy smoker is depressing. I had to be cautious…
Instead of smoking, I glanced at the clouds covering the full moon, then continued walking.
It was time to return now.
Home.
Creak―
“I’m back.”
―Click.
And.
#December 19th. Snow.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, which invariably turned white this winter, too, I prayed.
I prayed for it to become a season of reunion.
T/N
After doing more research on the concepts of special relativity, I discovered that the titles of Eugene’s papers are very similar to two of the four annus mirabilis (lit. miracle year in Latin) papers published by Einstein in 1905 and accurately reflect their contents. The first of the four papers, On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light, is where Einstein details the photoelectric effect. The third of the four papers, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, is where Einstein introduces his special theory of relativity and derives the Lorentz transformations, discussed in a succeeding note. It is at this point where the parallel between what is referred to as ‘polarity magic studies’ and electrodynamics is most obvious.
The parallel of the Auchlimé transformation in reality is the Galilean transformation. The Galilean transformation is used to transform between the coordinates of two reference frames, which differ only by constant relative motion within the constructs of Newtonian physics. With this foundation, the transformation assumes that space and time are absolute and unchanging as the reference frames are moving at constant relative motion with respect to each other as time flows at the same rate between them. The contradiction arises because the Galilean transformation assumes absolute time and space, leading to the expectation that the speed of light should vary depending on the observer’s motion. However, electrodynamics, as described by Maxwell’s equations, shows that the speed of light is constant and the same for all observers. Thus, the Lorentz transformation was derived to account for this fact, and is presented in this novel as the “Müller transformation.”
In reality, the Lorentz transformation indeed used these two postulates, but to be more specific, the principle of relativity used here refers to the fact that the laws of physics are the same in all inertial reference frames. No preferred inertial frame of reference exists. The main difference between the Galilean transformation and the Lorentz transformation is that the former is concerned with constant relative motion bounded by Newtonian physics, while the latter is concerned with the transformation of a fixed coordinate frame in spacetime to another frame in constant relative motion to the fixed frame.
This equation represents what is known as the spacetime interval, a form of the distance equation that combines distances in space and time. For simplicity of understanding, the variables in the moving frame can be replaced with those of the fixed frame (as the same laws of physics apply to both frames as mentioned earlier):
x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = c^2 * t^2
resulting in an equation of a sphere with a radius of ct, that is, the speed of light (c) multiplied by time t. Such implies that, when light is emitted from a point (say at the origin), it expands outward as a spherical wavefront in three-dimensional space. After a time t, the light has traveled a distance r = ct (of course, from distance = (rate or speed) * time), forming a sphere in space with radius r. Consequently, all observers who measure the time and distance between any two events will end up computing the same spacetime interval, and this equation is useful in deriving the equations that form the Lorentz transformation.
I won’t be explaining how the Lorentz transformation was derived in detail because I personally don’t understand it completely myself, but it basically uses some principles with the Galilean transformation by assuming that the relationship between the coordinates on the fixed and the moving frames are linear and deriving equations for x’ (ξ) and t’ (τ) resulting in constant factors to be found, then using the spacetime interval equation mentioned earlier while setting y and z to 0 to get x^2 = c^2 t^2, then solving for those constants and completing the equations for x’ and t’. y’ (η) = y and z’ (ζ) = z since the constant relative motion involved is, for simplicity, limited to the x direction, and thus, these coordinates remain the same.
This fact can be explained by both general and special relativity, but the more significant effect comes from special relativity. The Earth’s rotation implies that points on the equator are moving much faster through space than points at the poles. According to special relativity, moving clocks run slower than stationary ones (from the perspective of a non-rotating observer). This effect is much stronger than the gravitational time dilation and is the dominant reason for the time difference.
Hello! Axiomatic here.
This is easily the hardest chapter I’ve ever translated to date. I don’t want to read something I don’t understand myself, so I looked up the unfamiliar equations and did everything I could to make these concepts accessible to the general public. I don’t expect you to read my yapping in the T/Ns above, but I am hoping that you stick with me until the end in return. This novel only has around 60 chapters left, and I’m excited to complete this novel that’s challenged me to go above and beyond, relive the “trauma” of my past physics lessons, and spot parallels like I’ve never done before.
I won’t be writing another note like this for Chapter 90, so thanks in advance for reading this set of five and see you in the next!