Chapter 471: Entry
As the intelligent entities delved into their research, they discovered that the special energy triggered by these mines upon explosion was produced by a special substance encapsulated within the mines. The Swarm was not unfamiliar with this substance, as they had already begun exploring related areas in their research. This special substance was none other than dark matter.
Dark matter exists throughout the vast universe, accounting for 27% of the universe’s matter. Theoretically, it is not uncommon. However, dark matter does not interact with any wavelengths of light and remains unaffected by various light actions. Hence, it cannot be seen or measured using conventional means.
In this sense, dark matter is somewhat similar to the negative energy previously encountered by the Swarm. However, dark matter is not negative energy. Negative energy is completely opposite to positive energy; they do not react but rather cancel each other out.
In contrast, dark matter is a genuine positive energy material. While it does not interact with light, it can react with other positive energy materials. Dark matter contains immense energy, making up one-fourth of the universe’s matter but holding 69% of the universe’s energy, almost 70%. The remaining three-fourths of matter account for 30%.
The potential of dark matter is enormous, as indicated by these figures. If there were a way to safely and effectively harness this energy, it would surpass controlled fusion technology comprehensively, becoming the new generation of energy sources.
The evolution of energy technology would trigger a series of advancements in complementary technologies. Just as during the development of civilization, learning to use fire as a basic energy conversion technology allowed for the preliminary smelting of metals and the forging of troops equipped with metal weapons and armor.
Subsequently, the mastery of gunpowder technology elevated instantaneous energy output, leading to the creation of numerous kinetic weapons. Then, with the acquisition of fossil fuel utilization and refining technologies, new kinetic weapons such as missiles emerged. However, due to limitations in energy conversion efficiency and output power, many high-power weapons were cumbersome and impractical for actual combat.
After mastering controlled fusion, weapons considered cumbersome due to fossil energy became more compact with increased conversion efficiency and output power. More powerful kinetic weapons, such as electromagnetic railguns, entered practical use. Meanwhile, energy weapons such as energy beams and rays gained practical value.
Dark energy, which surpasses controlled fusion in energy output efficiency, promises even more significant changes. Previously, energy-output-constrained ray weapons could no longer be limited to short-range defense. Enhanced instantaneous output power would bring more ray weapons onto the battlefield, and bomb power would further increase.