Page 52 - An Evening with Maxwell's Daemons

The Element of Surprise

“That element would be number 126. Unfortunately, the
language used by physicists can be misinterpreted by laypeople. The
element numbers with those completed nucleon shells are called
‘magic numbers’, perhaps humorously. 126, when and if its
existence is confirmed, already has a temporary name, unbihexium
or Ubh; that would be changed by convention to a permanent name
bestowed by its creator—it almost certainly does not occur in
nature. This much is fact. The properties of Ubh are pure
conjecture—fair game for science fiction before the fact, and raw
meat, perhaps, for pseudoscience after. So, here we are in the lab
with our dedicated team of scientists. I suppose I should make
them Americans, although other nations are working harder right
now to make that Nobel Prize-winning announcement.”
“Okay, back to the real crux of this story, a surprising sort of
stability in Ubh, one that will open the door to bizarre conclusions
by the spiritual types always keen to find a chink in the armor of
empiricism and discover what the lab-coat guys have been ignoring
or trying to deny. Quanta and quarks had a superficial appeal for a
while, as did the poorly named uncertainty principle and God
particle. Now the news comes that the Vulcan Institute is on the
verge of making Ubh a reality. Then nothing more. No one can
reach the scientists working there. The government sets up
roadblocks and cordons off a large area around Vulcan. This
stimulates the wildest speculation in the press and among the usual
conspiracy theorists. But what has happened?”
Silence.
“Okay, Leith.” said Fred, with some exasperation. “Are we
supposed to guess at the main dramatic situation in your story, as
well as its resolution?”
“I’m afraid so. As I said, this is in the earliest stages of
development. I think I’ve laid the groundwork for a science versus
mysticism parable.”
“Really, Leith!” Hydrargyrum scowled. “Aren’t you asking a bit
much of us? We’ve barely had time to digest your hypotheses.”
He shrugged.
“Well, if inspiration doesn’t strike, so be it.”

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