Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 151: General Relativity for Children

By the time Researcher Ke finished gathering her books, Anji and her assistant were already sitting in the study, poring over the basics of General Relativity while snacking on things Aunt Wine had packed for them.

Eating her meal, the researcher listened closely. However, her frown deepened over time. In just a few hours, this child had enchanted her childhood friend. Assistant Hu barely exchanged more than pleasantries with everyone else after the death of their teacher. However, Anji was a strange one. Maybe it was the innocence of a child, but even Researcher Ke found herself wanting to get involved.

"When we were younger, Keke and I often spent summer nights stargazing and spotting comets. It is difficult to see them past the barrier. Hence, our shifu created a special telescope for us. However, we haven’t used it since we started this huge research project. If I were smarter, we might have found a method by now. It’s unfortunate, but I can’t answer your question. Only Keke would know how gravity is measured."

...

After speaking for such a long time in a long-winded manner, all Assistant Hu could say was sorry. Feeling frustrated by his incompetence, Researcher Ke slapped the chopsticks down on her bowl. Her meal was half finished, but it could wait for now. If anything, Researcher Ke’s patience hit rock bottom while listening to the wishy-washy explanation.

"How can you not understand how gravity is measured?" she barked, storming into the room. "It’s the basic calculation we use when identifying the movement of objects through space!"

Jumping when he heard the researcher, Assistant Hu dropped the lotus seed he was munching on. Anji also jumped visibly on her stool. However, she was more surprised than afraid. Didn’t Researcher Ke say she did not want to be disturbed? Why would she suddenly involve herself?

Walking up to Anji, Researcher Ke took a glance at the messy textbooks and clicked her tongue. While Assistant Hu picked out the correct books, he was not teaching Anji General Relativity in the right sequence. Who in the right mind would start the lesson with gravitational waves? It was like putting a cart in front of a horse. No wonder Anji did not understand anything!

"Gravity is absent in space," the researcher stated, shoving Assistant Hu out of the way and flipping to a different page of the book in front of Anji. "Do you know why?"

Recalling her notes and straightening up, Anji answered the researcher’s questions to the best of her ability. "Because there is nothing in space?"

The answer was half right. However, Anji missed another part of it. Hence, Researcher Ke decided to start with the general concept. The child had some understanding. Hence, it would be easier to continue from there instead of going back to the beginning.

"You’re half correct," pointed out. "However, the sun and the earth also exist in ’space’. How can there be nothing?"

After Researcher Ke pointed out the obvious part Anji overlooked because she had taken everything she read at surface level, the child’s jaw fell. Unable to answer, she lowered her head and apologised for not knowing any better.

Seeing her humble attitude and willingness to admit her ignorance, Researcher Ke turned to Assistant Hu.

"I prepared a stack of materials on the side table in the lab," she jerked her chin at him. "Bring it here." freeweɓnovel.cøm

Perking up at a new task, the short man dashed away with a huge grin. It did not matter if he was scolded. If getting scolded was all it took for his childhood friend to teach Anji a few things and take a break from her research, it was a small price to pay.

While Assistant Hu was away, Researcher Ke asked Anji what she knew about gravity, space and time. The topic was much deeper than most people knew, and the calculations were complicated. Most of the calculations could not be completed using a matrix, as there are no coordinates in space when nothing is fixed.

Not wanting to test Researcher Ke’s patience, Anji recited everything she knew about gravity, space and time from the notes she read. However, she also quickly informed Researcher Ke where she was stuck in her progress.

"My shifu left me some notes to explain the concept of time shifting and expansion. However, it was still too difficult to understand it. Anji is still lacking in many ways, but I hope Researcher Ke could give me a few pointers."

Impressed by Anji’s basic knowledge, Researcher Ke wondered if it was possible to poach Anji under her wing. Although she was still young and did not know many things about general relativity, she would definitely excel and surpass Assistant Hu in this field in a few more years under Researcher Ke’s tutelage.

"I’m back!" Assistant Hu grunted, carrying a large stack of research notes and reference books. "Where do I place these?"

Clearing some space on the table, Researcher Ke told Anji to check the first few lab notes she had written. The girl received the notes with both hands and saw many new diagrams she had not seen before. However, they were simple to understand as they helped her visualise what space would look like if it took a form. Unlike her shifu’s notes that only explained how space worked, Researcher Ke’s notes demonstrated what space could do.

While the adults talked and fussed over making space for all the new materials, Anji became deeply absorbed in reading the new information, matching it with her existing knowledge. She was finally able to catch a glimpse at a new level of understanding. When her shifu mentioned the collapse and folding of space and time, Anji could finally see that happening. Space could be a vortex. It could be spherical. It could be triangular like a pyramid and even come in weird twisting shapes that she had never seen before, according to Researcher Ke’s notes. However, in all of them, there was a constant factor that Anji failed to consider previously.

"It could not be calculated in a matrix because it was never a two-dimensional object," Anji blinked. "There is no limit to space, even if there was nothing in it to begin with."

The concept of infinity blew Anji’s mind. How were they supposed to calculate something that had no definitions or limits?