Chapter 547 - 254: At Kang Bridge, Waving My Sleeve Summons a Dark Cloud (Part 1)

"Just some guesses, that’s all..."

Then he pointed at the metal plate not far away and said:

"Dean Huai Wei, you don’t often take part in frontline research, so you might not be aware of some situations."

"The imaging boards we commonly use in optical experiments are usually composite boards based on marble, mainly to display images clearly."

"As for metal plates of this kind, they’re mostly used in reflection experiments, like with sound waves or light, etc..."

"Since Luo Feng requested the experiment be carried out after dark, it must have something to do with light."

"So I think this metal plate is used to reflect light."

Saying this, he glanced over the equipment setup, rubbed his chin, and finally concluded:

"So, assuming nothing unexpected happens, this setup should work like—first the coil is powered up and emits light, then the light is reflected by the metal plate, and some kind of image appears on the receiver..."

Watching Old Faraday talk so confidently, Xu Yun couldn’t help but gently shake his head.

Oh Old Faraday, you really got it wrong this time.

This experiment has absolutely nothing to do with optical imaging.

Of course.

You really can’t blame Old Faraday either.

After all, the phenomenon in this experiment is so bizarre, way beyond what people could understand at the time.

People could repeat the experiment a thousand times with ease, but the underlying principle just drove them crazy.

It wasn’t until twenty years after its discovery that Einstein finally worked out the theory.

In the current year, 1850—

If anyone could predict the outcome just by looking at this equipment, Xu Yun would eat the axe in Wheat’s dorm right then and there!

But just as he was about to speak, a voice suddenly made his expression freeze:

"Um... Professor Faraday, is it possible that the receiver won’t show an image, but instead a potential difference?"

"???????"

Xu Yun turned around, completely bewildered, and realized the speaker was barely three meters away—it was...

Wheat!

Where did he come from?

Oh, right.

This Scottish lad had originally been hanging out as a student rep, watching the show and minding his own business, but during the photoelectric effect experiment, Xu Yun roped him in as the designated flashlight holder.

So naturally,

When the photoelectric experiment ended, he just tagged along with the professors to the site of the third-round experiment, all goofy-like.

Of course.

Xu Yun wasn’t surprised Wheat showed up, nor amazed by his guts to contradict Old Faraday—but what really floored him was...

those words Wheat just said.

At this moment,

Xu Yun honestly wanted to yell "MMP, are you here to steal my thunder or what..."

How does someone, in 1850, just look at a few pieces of lab equipment and immediately guess the actual experiment phenomena...

Where’s the Scythe of Judgment?

I want to report someone for cheating!

But soon enough,

Thinking about Wheat’s connection to this experiment, Xu Yun’s mood gradually calmed down.

What replaced it,

was a hard-to-describe feeling.

Is this...

a fated resonance?

After all, in actual history,

The outcome of this experiment was the lifelong wish Wheat yearned for but never saw fulfilled, and it posthumously sealed his reputation.

Maybe, deep down, some people’s and things’ affinities are just inherently different.

Meanwhile,

Wheat’s comment also caught Old Faraday’s attention.

Seeing Old Faraday look at Wheat, William Whewell took the opportunity to introduce him:

"Mr. Faraday, this is Maxwell, a student; after Newton, he’s the second reduced-fee student ever approved by Trinity College."

"Oh? That Scottish genius?"

Old Faraday sized Wheat up with great interest, curiosity in his voice:

"Maxwell, what makes you think the receiver won’t show an image, but instead a potential difference?"

Wheat was already shy, and facing Old Faraday, a giant in the field, the pressure was just too much—he looked so awkward you could practically see the sweat:

"Pro... Professor Faraday, I can’t really say why, just instinctively thought about the possibility of a potential difference..."

Seeing Wheat was about to die of embarrassment, Xu Yun lightly coughed, jumped in to defuse the situation:

"Professor Faraday, we’re a bit pressed for time, maybe we should..."

Old Faraday paused, then realized he and William Whewell were kind of being inconsiderate.

Especially since Prince Albert was still waiting over there.

So he quickly stepped back half a pace and said to Xu Yun:

"Sorry, sorry—please go ahead, Luo Feng."

Xu Yun thanked him, nodded politely to several directions like a freshly minted conductor taking the stage.

He walked over to the equipment and turned on the power.

Buzz——

With the flip of the switch,

Invisible current passed through the induction coil inside the setup, starting to charge the copper sphere capacitor.

volt...

volts...

volts...

volts...

When the voltage climbed up to 20,000 volts,

Whizz——

The air between the two spheres was instantly ionized.

A huge number of charges began bouncing back and forth between the copper balls, forming a high-frequency oscillating circuit.

A few seconds later,

Crack——

A burst of blue electric arc exploded between the copper spheres.

Tiny beams of current twisted in the air, looking exactly like Misaka Mikoto’s OP in the anime.

If it were in an anime, some middle-schoolers would probably spam: "The electric light at your fingertips—I swear it’s my lifelong faith!" and stuff.

But it all happened in just a flash.

Because each vibration lost a bit of energy, causing the voltage on both ends of the capacitor to quickly drop below the breakdown threshold again.