Chapter 1263: Won again!
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
For most parts of China, three o’clock in the afternoon was far from dawn. However, for Stockholm, which was located in Northern Europe, they had already entered a long winter night.
The heavy snow flying in the sky was like a melting furnace, engulfing everything in the world, smelting everything into silver. Only a few lights from street lamps and windows could be seen, giving an outline of the streets.
However, the heavy snow did not shut down people’s enthusiasm.
On the streets near the Blue Hall, people were wearing thick jackets and handmade lanterns in their hands. As if they were watching over the great Blue Hall.
Under the heavy snow flying in the sky, a reporter lady stood in front of the camera with a CTV microphone in her hand as she spoke with excitement.
“The street I am standing on is Osterbergs Street, near the Blue Hall. Standing behind me are local Chinese residents. Some of them come from nearby communities and some are from hundreds of kilometers away. The hotel reservations in the city are totally full… They have gathered here with lanterns in their hands. Let us interview one of them…”
The reporter found a Chinese person holding a paper lantern.
“Sir, may I interview you?”
“Yes! No problem!”
The forty-year-old man looked at the CTV microphone. He was wearing a thick jacket, and he looked quite excited as he waved at the camera behind her.
“How do you feel right now?”
The reporter pointed the microphone toward him.
The man in the down jacket looked at the microphone. He was scared that his voice was too quiet to be heard, so he shouted out loud, “Excited! Happy!”
“Can I ask, what makes you feel so excited and happy in this cold winter?”
The man said with a smile, “Seeing our scientists flourish makes me happy!”
Behind the invisible wall formed by the wind and snow.
The Blue Hall standing by the lake was shining brightly, like a torch in the dark night, capturing hopeful gazes.
The entrance of the Blue Hall was surrounded by reporters from all over the world. They carried cameras in their hands, like hunters waiting for an opportunity in the dark, waiting for the moment when the door was opened, and waiting for the person to appear on camera. They would then press the shutter button and record this historic moment.
Inside the spacious hall, a symphony orchestra was playing music.
Lu Bangguo was sitting in the special seat zone as he watched the crowd around him. He was a little nervous, and he couldn’t help but whisper to his wife who was sitting next to him, “Do you think our kid will be nervous?”
Before Fang Mei could speak, Xiao Tong, who was sitting next to them, couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Dad, what are you talking about? He’s won more awards than you can count!”
Fang Mei smiled. She patted Xiao Tong’s hand lightly and said, “Your dad is just like this. Sitting in this Blue Hall is no different than watching his son graduate high school.”
“What nonsense, I’m just worried about our son. Aren’t you worried?” Lu Bangguo blushed and glared at Fang Mei. He then looked at Xiao Tong and said, “You don’t understand, wait until you have a son!”
Xiao Tong stuck her tongue out and made a funny face.
“Pfft! You think my brother is never having kids, so you’re pressuring me to have one, right?”
“What do you mean pressure? Your dad is just worried! You’ve been out on your own for so long, how come you don’t have a partner?”
“I’m not interested, and I’m so busy every day, there is no time to fall in love.”
“No, I heard the life of international students should be very romantic, right?”
Xiao Tong couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“There is also a big difference between students, not everyone enjoys life. Also, Princeton is a small village far away from the big city. Half of the world’s nerdiest and weirdest people are there, and everyone is doing their own thing… Forget it, you won’t understand. Just don’t expect me to get married any time soon.”
“No wonder…” Lu Bangguo touched his chin and said to himself, “No wonder he hasn’t found a partner for so long. It’s because of the environment.”
Xiao Tong: “Uh, I think my brother counts as one of the weird people.”
The sound of the symphony became more and more exciting. The hands of the conductor started to wave faster and faster.
“The last person who won the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry at the same time was Marie Curie.” Edward Witten looked at the symphony on the stage. He was wearing a long trench coat. With a trace of envy in his eyes, he said emotionally, “I didn’t expect to see this. Great men live among us.”
Witten had been obsessed with the Nobel Prize in Physics for a long time, and this was an open secret in the physics community. But it was impossible for the Nobel Committee to award this prize to him purely because of his academic prestige. Both the M theory and string theory were unproven things.
They would not make compromises for the physics award.
“Yeah.”
After Witten glanced at Professor Deligne, who was standing next to him, Professor Witten joked, “This honor belongs to your favorite student. Is that all you have to say?”
“I don’t do research on physics and chemistry, so I have nothing more to say.” Professor Deligne continued after a moment of silence, “But I admit that when I sent him the offer, I really didn’t expect his knowledge to change the world.”
Deligne looked at the stage with a trace of relief in his eyes. He suddenly smiled.
“It’s quite funny. The Bourbaki Group has always promoted the purity of mathematics, thinking that mathematics should only serve mathematics. But from him, I noticed something different.
“Mathematics can change more than just mathematics; it can even change the world.
“I still remember him saying this.
“Moreover, he actually proved it.”
The symphony was over.
The chairman of the Nobel Foundation stood on stage, facing the audience. He announced the beginning of the Nobel Prize award ceremony.
Immediately afterward, the chairman of the Nobel Committee on Physics, Simatz Larsson, walked on stage.
The old man with gold-rimmed glasses gently pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose. He reached out to straighten the microphone and continued with a steady and solemn voice.
“For a long time, we knew very little about the higher dimensional world.
“That was until a tiny spec changed everything.”
The venue was dead silent.
Everyone stared at the stage, quietly waiting for the old man to continue speaking.
“It was so small that almost everyone, including you and I, missed it.
“Fortunately, something happened.
“The Lunar Hadron Collider was established, and a new physics research system was born. Everything was because of a great man’s unwillingness to give up. All of us have taken a big step forward and reached a place where no one has ever set foot before.
“This proves that there is no randomness in nature.
“Behind all of the seemingly incomprehensible phenomena, there are always rules and reasons.
“Fortunately, he did not give up.”
The man sounded like he was telling a legend. The old man suddenly raised the volume of his voice with a touch of solemnity as he said, “I hereby announce on behalf of the Nobel Prize in Physics committee.
“The winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics is—
“Lu Zhou!”