Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2746 Science Must Start with Burning Money (Bonus Chapter for reader sidneyliu's 10,000-yuan reward)

"...Tehran has once again rejected the Carter administration's request for negotiations, which inevitably raises questions about whether the United States is still the same arrogant country it once was, and whether the White House appears to Tehran as weak and easily bullied..."

As the sarcastic voice echoed from the television, Li Yi'an couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Actually... I didn't mean to! I really wanted to help! But who would have thought Tehran would be so cowardly?"

Tehran is cowardly.

Say the toughest words, do the most cowardly things.

That applies to the SEA, but what about the United States?
Then let's say the toughest words and do the most ruthless things.

How can there be such a big difference between people who live in the same Western world?
This only shows that there are differences between people, and the differences between countries are certainly even greater.

Li Yi'an has been in a very good mood lately. At the end of the year, he took some time to go to Stockholm and received a Nobel Prize.

Following his long-standing habit, Li Yi'an attributed the Nobel Prize to Nanyang University. This was not because he particularly loved Nanyang University among so many universities, but also because he sometimes actually taught at Nanyang University. Therefore, it was only natural to share the honor of the award with them.

A Nobel Prize reignited Li Yi'an's passion for academic research, and now he has once again come to Nanyang University to teach in the classroom of the Department of Physics.

This news naturally attracted many students, not only those from the School of Physics, but also those from other majors. Among them was Qian Yongjian, who had just become a postdoctoral fellow and was engaged in physiological research, although there is not much in common between physiology and physics.

But Your Excellency is his idol since childhood. For Qian Yongjian, who won first place in the King's Science Genius Award (often called the "Young Nobel Prize") at the age of fifteen with a paper on "How Metals Combine with Thiocyanate" and entered Nanyang University with the SEA Scholarship in the same year, his dream was simple: to one day enter the "Official Residence Science Salon," not to meet his idol, but to be able to discuss academic issues with Your Excellency face to face.

"You are truly remarkable!"

Standing at the very back, Qian Yongjian looked at the gentleman on the stage who was explaining a problem in physics, and this thought couldn't help but flash through his mind.

"It's such a pity that he was held back by politics; otherwise, he would definitely have achieved even greater academic success."

This largely represents the general view in academia that Li Yi'an was a scientist whose talents were wasted on political affairs. In fact, many people believe that he could almost be called another "Einstein." If he had focused on academic research, he would have achieved more academic success than Einstein.

This is a general consensus in academia, because even now, the official residence science salon he hosted still influences many young scholars, many of whom later became Nobel laureates, and without exception they all mentioned that they received inspiration from him in the salon.

From physics to chemistry, from chemistry to biology, and even medicine. He seemed to be an omniscient person.

The only problem is that a person's energy limits his development.

"...Just at the end of last year, the Nanyang Nuclear Research Center submitted a report proposing to build a large collider within the next ten years..."

The physicists in the audience naturally knew the significance of the Large Collider for high-energy physics, and the government was also well aware of this. Therefore, the government began to support high-energy physics research in the 1950s and established many accelerator laboratories in various universities.

Over the past few years, at a series of international conferences on the future development of accelerators, scientists have begun to discuss proton colliders with a mass-energy of 20 TeV. Two years ago, SEA scientists first proposed the idea of ​​a superconducting super collider.

The reason Li Yi'an is mentioning this plan now is because he has already approved the plan to build a large collider.

Despite the ongoing debates surrounding the construction of a large collider in the 21st century, a world in itself, with some even suggesting that the golden age of large colliders is over and that further breakthroughs are impossible, only a waste of vast sums of money.

However, it is now the beginning of the 1980s, the golden age of high-energy physics. Building a large collider at this time will not only yield a wealth of research results, but as a unique large collider in the world, it will surely attract scientists from all over the world. It is like honey, drawing them here with their knowledge.

"...This is an investment in the future. If it is delayed by 10 to 20 years, our scientists will have to give up cutting-edge science, a generation of students will be delayed, there will be no suitable candidates for physicists, and the foundation of high-energy physics research built up over decades will collapse. Carrying out this plan will help maintain our leadership in physics research."

This is the most straightforward reason, and also the reason why Li Yi'an approved this behemoth scientific research project—the "Superconducting Super Collider." This project not only has the potential to reap many fruits from the giant tree of physics research, but also to demonstrate SEA's strong basic research capabilities to the world, firmly placing the center of global particle physics research in SEA.

When the faculty and students of the School of Physics in the audience learned that the plan had been approved, they all stood up and applauded excitedly. At that moment, they seemed to see high-energy physics entering a new golden age.

This is indeed a golden age for science. Under the overall circumstances of the Cold War, the investment in human science was unimaginable. In another world, Reagan approved this project, and it was suspended after the Cold War ended.

It can only be said that sometimes, humans are just so short-sighted.

And now?

Li Yi'an doesn't mind spending billions of yuan to build the "Superconducting Super Collider," not just to firmly control the center of global particle physics research in SEA, but also because it's essential for exploring the universe.

Later, as Li Yi'an spoke about his expectations for the "Superconducting Super Collider," a young man in a white shirt in the corner of the audience was completely stunned. "This...this is worth hundreds of billions of yuan..."

Lin Shoudong was so surprised because he knew very well the significance of this money. After all, last year China's GDP was probably only 400 billion yuan—this was the speculation of Western economists.

In contrast, such a large-scale scientific project would cost billions or even tens of billions of yuan, which is tens of billions of yuan at the current exchange rate!

This is simply unimaginable.

Standing in the corner, looking at the people around him and the joy on their faces, Lin Shoudong suddenly seemed to understand something.

"No wonder this place has achieved such brilliant results in scientific research."

The reason is simple: science requires more than just passion; it also needs funding, equipment, and a supportive scientific environment.

"Their investment in just one major scientific project is roughly equivalent to 3% of our GDP. How can we possibly catch up with them?"

Under the shade of trees on the campus of Nanyang University, as soon as Lin Shoudong finished speaking, several people around him let out a long sigh. What had they felt since they came here last year?
Is it just a difference in lifestyle?
No, what's truly awe-inspiring is the technology, the technological marvel. What they saw was a world completely different from the real world. They were like people from the 1950s, suddenly thrust into a new world.

In this new world, there are so many things they have never known before. What did they know about this world in the past?
It was rockets, it was the space race, it was the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom dividing up the moon.

But once they arrived, they discovered that there were many more amazing things in this world.

The Internet, mobile phones, personal computers...

Everything was something they had never known before, and it surprised them greatly, which prompted them to think deeply.

"It's very difficult to catch up. Just look at them to see what 'making rapid progress' means. With such a speed of development, it would be extremely difficult to catch up."

Zheng Fan, sitting against a big tree, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. It wasn't the most common Double Camel cigarettes, but Nanyang Double Happiness, the cheapest cigarettes in the area. These were produced by Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company. Years ago, they invested in a cigarette factory in Sarawak, which naturally kept brands like Double Happiness here as well.

Actually, Zheng Fan had smoked this brand before at home, but the two tasted quite different.

Zheng Fan lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said:

"From a scientific point of view, their achievements over the years are obvious to all. It is precisely because they have gained substantial benefits from science that they are more willing to invest in science. It is through such continuous investment that scientific development has been promoted. Ultimately, science costs money."

"No, it's burning money."

Lin Shoudong said from the side:
"Like this project, it requires an investment of about 100 billion yuan. With so much money poured into such a project, what will the future returns be? Nobody knows. But even so, they are still willing to spend money on it. It's simply..."

"Unthinkable, isn't it?"

Another friend, who was smoking nearby, exhaled a puff of smoke, then looked at the blue sky and white clouds in the distance and said:

"This is their most prominent characteristic—they are willing to spend money on science, and their emphasis on science is precisely reflected in how much they spend money."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent for a moment, and then someone said:

"Sigh, we're still too poor. How can we spend money like they do?"

"Yes, they're incredibly wealthy."

Lin Shoudong said in a teasing tone:
"They're not only willing to spend so much money on science, but they can even spend tens of millions on making movies. They're simply... incredibly wealthy."

As soon as he finished speaking, his friend next to him laughed and said:

"Although they're known for their deep pockets, their movies are really good, don't you think?"

Everyone burst into laughter...

　Thank you so much to reader sidneyliu for the generous donation! Bonus chapter!! Wishing all readers a Happy Chinese New Year, all the best, and great fortune in the coming year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)