Universe of Discovery

by Jan Koenig

Dr. Donald O’Neal was so excited about the latest development in his project that he just had to call up his young friend, colleague, and parttime assistant, Alan Reed, to tell him all about it. Don was talking so fast, and so excitedly, that his normal vocal tone seemed to have gone up an octave. He was spewing technical jargon so fast that it was almost incomprehensible.

Alan did not recognize who it was at first, until he checked the caller ID.  When he finally realized that it was Don, he just knew that the man was, uncharacteristically, way too enthusiastic about something.  The diminutive, but highly intelligent nuclear physicist was not known as one who went off into streams of incomprehensible babble easily.  In fact, most of the time, not at all.  Don was one of the most levelheaded, low keyed individuals Alan had ever met.  Caught up in the fervor of Don’s enthusiasm, although not completely understanding what he was trying to convey, Alan agreed to come over to the lab complex immediately.

It was more through chance than intent that Alan and Don had met in the first place.  That they should become close friends had surprised everyone.  Alan, young, handsome, athletic, had been an undergraduate in computer science when he had taken the Introduction to Physics class taught by Dr. O’Neal.  Alan did not exactly understand much about physics, but he had needed an extra science elective for his program course and he had heard that Dr. O’Neal was a very thorough instructor.  He was also known for giving students extra time and private instruction when needed.

 

It was during these extra tutorial sessions that the two discovered that Alan had a certain knack for translating some of Don’s formulas and concepts into computer code.  After Alan graduated, he decided to pursue an advanced degree in computer science in programming.  Don asked him to continue to assist him with computer adaptation whenever he could. 

 

Alan agreed just because there was something about the quiet older man that appealed to him.  Alan had lost his father quite a while ago, and Don just seemed to him to be the father-like figure he had been missing.  Also, it helped that Don made him feel like he was making at least some small contribution to his very important work.

Alan drove to the laboratory complex.  He had never been there at this time of night before.  The deserted complex and parking lot gave off a rather eerie vibe. He was met at the door, however, by a zealously impatient Don.  Don’s unkempt hair and scruffy beard matched the dingy lab coat he wore, which looked like he had slept in it.  As Don escorted Alan into the building, he prattled on about measurements, parameters and instrumentation.  Alan did not really understand all of it, but seemed to get the main gist of what his friend was saying.   Don had been working for years on perfecting equipment that would enable him to see and photograph the minute particles that made up the atom itself.

The room Don walked Alan into was enormous, but there was barely enough room for both men to move around.  The ballroom-sized room was literally crammed to the ceiling by the various interconnected equipment.

 

Alan had been here before, but never at night, and never while the equipment had been fully operational.  There was a hum that permeated the room, accented by various colored lights that shone and/or blinked.  It impressed upon him the idea of how small a being he really was in comparison to the world, and universe, around him.  It also struck him as paradoxical that such a huge conglomeration of equipment was needed to view something as small as an atom.

He followed Don up a metal ladder to a catwalk.  The catwalk ended at what Alan called the bird’s nest.  There was some technical term for the cubby hole that was basically the command and control area of the entire room of equipment, but Alan could never remember it.  The bird’s nest was situated at the end of the catwalk on a closet-sized platform which overlooked the equipment throughout the room.  There was barely room for both men on the platform, as well as the stool and small table located there.  The table held a printer and stacks of papers.  To one side of the table was mounted a large computer monitor with an eyepiece affair, surrounded by banks of dials, levers, and switches.

Since Alan’s arrival, Don had prattled on nonstop in technical explanation, most of which Alan did not exactly understand and only half listened to.  When they reached the platform however, Don’s explanations ceased.  He just stood there, beaming down at the mechanical monstrosity, like a father showing off his infant son.

Alan was not so much impressed by the equipment, but more by what it had done for his friend.  He had never before seen the older man display such open emotion.

“Alan,” Don said, breaking the momentary silence.  “I tested it this morning.  And it works!”  His voice was almost breathlessly quiet, as if he was sharing a really important secret.  He then turned and rifled through several papers on the table, to finally discover what he sought lying on top of another pile.  He handed it to Alan, for him to examine.  It was a somewhat fuzzy photograph of what appeared to be a collection of globular shapes.

“I took that two hours ago,” Don went on proudly.  “That, my friend, is the nucleus of an atom.”

Alan was flabbergasted.  Don had actually done it!  He had photographed one of the smallest things known to man.  Alan had always known that had been the older man’s goal, but it did not lessen the incredulity of the actual achievement.

Don stood there, a broad grin covering his face, basking in his young friend’s amazement.

“This is fantastic!” Alan finally sputtered.

“And that is only the beginning,” Don told him.  “That was taken using only the second setting.”

Alan almost choked.  “You mean you can go further than this?”

“Certainly,” Don answered matter-of-factly, still grinning broadly.  “I just wanted to wait until you were here.”  Somewhat embarrassed, he added, “You have helped and encouraged me so much along the way, I could think of no one else I wanted to share this moment with more than you, Alan.”

“I am truly honored,” Alan told him humbly, not knowing what else to say.

Don sat down on the stool and turned to his instrumentation, adjusting dials and settings.  Alan stood just behind him, quietly watching.  A short while later, Don finally jabbed a button decisively.  A picture formed on the screen.  It showed the luminous globular shapes in sharper focus.  These were the protons and neutrons of the nucleus of the atom.  He printed out the picture from the screen.  Alan picked up the printout and examined it more closely, as Don went back to fiddling with the settings.

The next picture on the screen, and printout, showed that these particles were not solid, but, instead, spherically shaped conglomerations of even smaller luminous particles.

The settings progressed upwards, as the view went ever increasingly downward.  Patterns continued to evolve and further refine the shapes shown.  The luminous particles turned into cloud-like swirled masses, of various shapes and sizes, composed of even smaller particles.  Those particles, in turn, were found to be clusters of even smaller objects, moving and rotating around and among each other.

 

Still closer, the dials and settings took them, concentrating on one of the patterns.  It appeared to be one larger particle, around which revolved smaller ones.  It also appeared that only the central object was luminous.  The smaller satellites were merely reflecting the light given off by the one that they circled.

At the highest setting, one of the satellite particles was brought into clear focus.  It was a round globe that appeared to have forms and shapes both floating above and etched upon its surface.  Within the gaseous layer surrounding it, floated wispy, cloud-like formations.

“If I didn’t know better,” Alan said quietly.  “I would swear you were taking pictures from outer space… not the inside of the inside of an atom!”

Don’s eyes widened.  The implications and possibilities of that theory began to sink in.

Both men looked at each other, then back to the screen.

“That should not be possible…” was all Don could say.

And it was all he would ever say again.  For as the two men tried to absorb this new reality and unprecedented discovery, their universe exploded.  Instantaneously, it was all converted into pure, free energy.

#

Xax48T straightened from its stooped position over its instrumentation.  Its flurma turned pink and expanded to twice its normal size in excitement.  Three tentacles waving, it turned to the group floating at various positions behind it and exclaimed “Colleagues! We have done it!  We have split an atom!”