top of page

Published:

January 22, 2025

Fan link copied

0

0

+0

"Thank you for coming today!" announced Professor Kozak.


The crowd ignored him and continued their chatter.


Professor Alvin Kozak straightened his glasses as he surveyed the lecture hall. A precocious researcher with a growing list of academic accomplishments, he wore glasses and a beard to appear older than his twenty-seven years. He sighed.

 

The hubbub in the crowded amphitheater settled down when a white-haired woman wearing a white lab coat stood. Dr. Aperio commanded the respect due Tech's Dean of Physics. She walked up next to Dr. Kozak. By the time she turned to face the crowd, the room was silent. 

 

"Thank you all for coming. Alvin here has been bursting with enthusiasm for his 'secret project.' As his post-doc advisor, I’d say that his enthusiasm is merited. I’ve been looking forward to this almost as much as he has.” She smiled fondly at her protégé.

 

"Thank you, Dr. Aperio." Dr. Kozak waited for his mentor to sit down. Beside him on a table sat a conical metal structure about the size and shape of an umbrella, covered in wires and LEDs. The young professor pushed a button on a remote, turning the wall behind him into a giant screen with the words "Falling for Gravity" in bold. 

 

"What is gravity? For centuries, this question has captivated some of the greatest minds that humanity has ever produced. Galileo, Newton, Einstein: they all expanded our understanding of gravity. But something still doesn't work, does it? The theory of everything doesn't fit together. What if that's because we're thinking of gravity the wrong way?" He clicked the button on his remote and the slide behind him changed. 

 

Dr. Kozak looked over his crowd and pointed to the image behind him. "Here you see the classic image of the Earth on a stretched sheet that demonstrates the warped spacetime postulated by Einstein's theory of general relativity. But what if he's wrong?" A murmur started in the crowd as he clicked the remote again to change the slide. The Earth remained but was surrounded by a diffuse cloud with arrows pointing inward.

 

"Here you see a representation of what I call graviton flux. I believe that I have discovered a new substance which causes gravity, and proven its existence." The murmur swelled at the audacity of his proposal.

 

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Raymond Surdus called out. In his mid-fifties, he’d taught astrophysics for twenty years. His classes had made more than a few undergraduates transfer to the College of Communications. Kozak had aced them.

 

"Great question, Dr. Surdus. I want you all to think of gravity as something similar to an electron cloud, that surrounds each atom individually and exerts a pressing force inward towards the nucleus. Graviton flux is undetectable with a single atom but aggregates in larger masses. When you get a mass the size of the planet Earth, the force of the graviton flux adds together to create a downward pressure that accelerates a body towards the center of the planet at 9.8 meters per second squared." 

 

Dr. Surdus scoffed. "Dr. Kozak, do you expect me to believe that you've disproven General Relativity?"

 

His rival’s attitude didn’t faze Dr. Kozak. "Not exactly. Because the same math still works. But the model of why it works isn't correct. It's not about spacetime at all. Graviton flux is massless and can pass through matter, but carries matter toward the center of mass the way the wind carries a sailboat." 

 

"You said you have proof?" Dr. Surdus looked skeptical and angry. "Show me the equations that demonstrate this new substance."

 

"Well, it's not a mathematical proof yet. I've been working more from a perspective of intuition and experimentation. Imagine being able to shield yourself from graviton flux and leave a gravity well using a fraction of the energy normally required. Or even better, imagine being able to generate graviton flux and use it as lossless propulsion. You will literally fall towards your destination!"

 

"You are a junior faculty member of one of the finest technical universities in the world. We don't do intuition. We do science." Dr. Surdus looked enraged.

 

Dr. Aperio stood and intervened. “Dr. Surdus. I appreciate your zeal for our reputation. But will you please allow Dr. Kozak to continue?”  

 

A smile creased Dr. Kozak’s face. “Better yet, perhaps you can assist me with a demonstration. Will you join me, doctor?” 

 

Dr. Surdus hesitated. Dr. Aperio smirked and gestured for him to go up. With a sigh of exasperation, he walked up and crossed his arms. 

 

The younger scientist picked up the conical apparatus and handed it to his rival. Dr. Surdus looked embarrassed as the younger man moved his hands until the cone was directly over his head, pointing at the ceiling.

 

“Whatever you do, don’t let go. Bend your knees.” The older scientist’s face turned red with embarrassment. Dr. Kozak pushed a button on the apparatus and lights started flashing over its surface. “Now jump, but not too hard.” 

 

Dr. Surdus obeyed and his expression changed to terror as he launched upwards. It was good that the auditorium had high ceilings because his trajectory took him fifteen feet up before he slowly started to descend. The crowd exploded with noise and laughter. When he landed, Dr. Kozak took the apparatus, pointed it at the ceiling, and performed a similar feat. 

 

As his rival sheepishly took his seat, Dr. Kozak continued. “My esteemed colleague just experienced what it’s like to play basketball on the moon. Who else wants to try?” 

 

The room erupted with noise as scientists started shouting questions. After two hours of Q&A, Dr. Kozak again offered the opportunity to give moon jumping a try. Some graduate students were first in line, but then even the older faculty members joined. Dr. Aperio herself took a turn, followed by Dr. Surdus, who wanted to give it another shot.

Copyright 2024 - SFS Publishing LLC

The Revolutionary

The gravity of scientific discovery

Nathan Krupa

0

0

copied

+0

bottom of page