After pressurizing it to one thousand times atmospheric pressure, Li Qingsong temporarily halted the hydrogen infusion and began carefully inspecting the operational status of all the Detector's functional modules.
'This is the first high-pressure proton decay Detector I've built, after all. I need to be cautious.'
After a thorough inspection, Li Qingsong breathed a sigh of relief.
All modules were operating normally. There were no unexpected issues.
And so, the hydrogen infusion resumed.
As the high-pressure inflators ran, a continuous stream of hydrogen was forcefully squeezed in, even though the pressure inside the inner spherical shell had already reached a thousand atmospheres.
Its volume was fixed and could not increase. But as its mass continuously grew, its density began to rise accordingly.
The density of the hydrogen began to increase rapidly.
Under normal conditions, the density of hydrogen is only 0.07 kilograms per cubic meter, about 1/15,000th that of water.
But now, its density had increased by more than a thousandfold, reaching 84 kilograms per cubic meter!
Correspondingly, its temperature also began to climb rapidly, rising from its original minus 200-something degrees Celsius to several dozen degrees Celsius.
This was unacceptable. According to Li Qingsong's design, the ultra-pure hydrogen had to be kept at an extremely low temperature to ensure the Detector's precision.
Thus, the heat dissipation system activated. Heat was transferred out through pipes installed inside the inner spherical shell and temperature control equipment on its exterior. It was then radiated out into the Cosmos via massive structures resembling solar panels.
Pressurization and cooling occurred simultaneously. Under the constant infusion of external hydrogen, the state of the gas underwent a strange transformation.
The hydrogen gradually turned into a liquid, and then, gradually, into a solid.
It became as clear and translucent as ice.
However, despite being solid, it still behaved like a gas or liquid under the immense pressure. It could be easily reshaped, allowing it to fill every nook and cranny of the inner spherical shell without leaving any gaps.
The hydrogen infusion phase lasted for about half a year. By now, a total of 1.6 billion tons of hydrogen had been pumped into the massive inner spherical shell.
The internal pressure had reached the planned 400,000 times atmospheric pressure.
At this point, the seven supporting nuclear fusion plants had also entered full-power operation. They worked at maximum capacity to transfer the pressure from the inner shell to the outer shell, where it was then nullified by the superior performance of the specialized tethers.
The interior of the inner spherical shell, with a radius of about 640 meters, was now completely filled with solid hydrogen, leaving not a single gap.
After another round of observation to confirm that the Detector was operating normally, Li Qingsong finally breathed an inward sigh of relief.
'Time to begin the observation phase.'
The number of protons inside the inner spherical shell had now reached 10^39. Based on a proton lifespan of 10^37 years, an average of about 100 protons should decay inside the Detector each year.
Assuming a detection accuracy of 20%, if everything went smoothly, Li Qingsong should be able to detect 20 proton decay events annually, or about one every 18 days.
Once the Detector entered its formal operational phase, Li Qingsong shut down all internal mechanical functions.
The only equipment currently active inside were some electronic devices that produced virtually no noise or vibration.
They had no gears, no conveyor belts—nothing that would generate any significant vibration.
Li Qingsong also withdrew all personnel and robots from inside. Furthermore, he took extreme precautions against any potential external impacts.
He would intercept any impact, even one as small as a speck of dust.
There was only one goal: to keep the Detector in a state of near-absolute stillness and silence.
「Time passed quietly as Li Qingsong waited patiently.」
One day, the precision detection equipment mounted on the inner spherical shell suddenly reported a vibration signal to Li Qingsong.
An extremely faint vibration had occurred.
Li Qingsong's heart leaped into his throat.
After commanding tens of thousands of Clones to rapidly review all the Detector's operational data for that period and ruling out any possibility of external interference, Li Qingsong, filled with excitement, finally reached a conclusion.
This vibration was almost certainly not caused by an error. And, having ruled out nearly all possibilities of external interference, only one potential source remained.
It had come from inside the Detector!
Based on the Detector's structure and detection mechanism, this vibration could have only one origin: proton decay!
Among the 10^39 protons, one had suddenly and spontaneously decayed into a Light Neutrino and escaped from the Detector's interior.
Its sudden disappearance left behind a minuscule cavity. Under the immense external pressure, the surrounding hydrogen atoms were forced to rush in and fill this void, triggering a vibration as they violently collided with one another.
This mechanism was rather similar to a core-collapse Supernova Explosion.
A core-collapse Supernova is also caused by a sudden loss of internal support, leading to a massive amount of matter collapsing inward and colliding.
The energy density of the collision occurring inside the Detector was extremely high. But compared to a Supernova Explosion, its total energy was minuscule.
'No matter how high the pressure or how fast the collision, it was still just a cavity the size of a single atomic nucleus. How much energy could that possibly release?'
The overall magnitude of the event was tens of thousands of times weaker than a single leaf quietly falling to the ground on Earth.
But this Detector was kept in a state of near-absolute silence.
At the same time, the vibration sensors Li Qingsong had designed were also incredibly sensitive.
Thus, even though the vibration was incredibly faint, to Li Qingsong's senses, it was as loud as a clap of thunder.
At this moment, Li Qingsong was so overcome with excitement he could barely contain himself.
'Proton decay... I've finally, truly detected proton decay for the first time!'
'This is a major scientific discovery, on par with finding the magnetic monopole!'
'Even though this is only the first detection, and I haven't had the chance to observe the decay patterns in more detail or acquire the relevant knowledge, simply confirming the existence of proton decay is a monumental achievement in itself.'
'At the very least, it proves my line of thinking was correct!'
'It also completely validates my theoretical framework.'
'Is the sample size too small?'
'So what!'
'As long as the approach is right, with my industrial capabilities, building ten or even a hundred more similar Detectors is a simple matter. The sample size will shoot up in no time.'