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Translator's note: If this continues, I'm gonna need to contact some of my friends who study physics to help me with the translation.
Adam explained, "Positive charges are spread out evenly inside the atom. When particles move through it, the repelling forces from the positive charges on each side mostly cancel out. So, there shouldn't be much deflection. But in reality, a very small number of particles are deflected at sharp angles."
"What does that tell us?" one mage asked, intrigued.
"It means almost all the atom's mass and positive charge are concentrated in a very tiny central area. That's the only way to explain the large-angle deflections of alpha particles. In short, apart from the free, negatively charged electrons, there's a dense core in the atom holding most of its mass and positive charge. We should call this the nucleus."
As Adam spoke, he used his personal chip to access massive computational power. Right before the mages' eyes, he began calculating the nucleus's diameter and building a model of atomic structure.
The activity caught the attention of every mage in the research institute. At first, they just observed from a distance, but their inability to fully grasp Adam's work from afar left them restless.
One by one, they delegated their tasks to their avatars and gathered around Adam to assist with the calculations.
Each mage felt their time was well-spent. Even if their personal research led nowhere, witnessing the atom's structure and the discovery of particles smaller than atoms made it all worthwhile.
No one dared to interrupt. Instead, they split their focus—half on watching Adam's calculations, half on quickly reviewing his earlier paper about the cathode ray experiments, which confirmed the existence of electrons.
Adam had published the paper like any regular research article on the Mage Network, without using special channels. Because of that, only a handful of mages had noticed it before. Now, as they read it, their amazement grew with every line.
"How could this discovery be overlooked?"
"Unbelievable! It's revolutionary!"
"Are the Academic and Review Departments completely incompetent? How did they miss this?"
"The Mage Network has serious issues! We need a way to rank papers by importance. How many crucial studies have been ignored because of this flaw?"
"Even if this doesn't directly create new spells, understanding electrons can lead to breakthroughs in magic! It could change the Sixth and Seventh Towers entirely!"
In the Mage World, discoveries only gained value when they were applied to develop usable formulas or theories.
Electrons, photons, and constants like Planck's were no exceptions.
The discussion group was outraged. They couldn't accept that such a groundbreaking discovery had been ignored. Learning about electrons shattered their old belief in indivisible atoms, and this newfound particle deserved far more attention.
"This is the nuclear structure of an atom," Adam announced as he activated a projection. The model he had constructed appeared in the air, immediately capturing everyone's attention. Without any concern for decorum, the mages crowded around the projection, craning their necks and pressing shoulder to shoulder. Their wide, bulging eyes resembled goldfish as they stared at the floating image.
"Are those tiny outer dots the electrons? And the relatively large core inside—is that the nucleus?" one mage asked eagerly.
Adam nodded in affirmation.
Another mage raised a series of questions: "Is this model to scale? How can you be sure that all atoms share this structure? In your paper, the units and values describing electrons were somewhat understandable, but according to your calculations, how is this structure stable? And if the nucleus is so small, how does it hold nearly all the mass?"
Adam patiently waited for him to finish before replying, "I never claimed this to be the definitive atomic model. This is only an approximation based on the results of this experiment. It's a starting point. More precise data and models will require further calculations and experiments, which I hope all of us can contribute together."
This need for collaboration was why Adam had repeatedly urged Yurius, the project's sponsor, to recruit more assistants. The immense computational requirements and the sheer scope of the experiments were too much for one person to handle. Instead, Adam saw the value in sharing his ideas and working as a team to achieve progress.
Adam believed this research would captivate the mages, keeping them invested in the institute's work. He was confident that atomic energy was not just a profound field of knowledge but also one with immense potential for power. As the project leader, Adam expected to reap many rewards from this monumental effort.
For a project like this, collective research was the ideal approach. It wasn't a solitary journey but a path with countless branches. Every breakthrough could lead to the development of multiple new directions, driving mutual progress.
As Adam had anticipated, the senior transdimensional mages present agreed without hesitation to join the project. Adam seized the opportunity to officially name the facility the Atomic Energy Research Institute.
This marked the beginning of a new wave in the Mage World. Adam's paper on electrons was propelled into the spotlight, inspiring many Master Mages and drawing a large number of like-minded researchers to the institute. Recruitment standards were formally announced: only transcendent-level mages or higher could apply.
The Master Mages, despite their prominence and influence in the outside world, cared little about titles or hierarchy within the institute. They were drawn purely by the promise of new knowledge. Adam, while the lowest-ranking mage among them, naturally assumed the role of the project's most authoritative voice.
After a period of structured recruitment and rebuilding, the Atomic Energy Research Institute was officially established. The Mage Council generously allocated substantial funding and pledged additional support for every verified discovery, ensuring smooth progress for the research.
Adam was finally free from the constraints of working alone. He documented his earlier experiments in papers, publishing them under the institute's name for internal circulation.
The mages, devoted to the pursuit of magical science, responded with incredible ingenuity. Adam frequently received proposals for subprojects, and each new project often led to rapid breakthroughs and tangible results.
The Mage World lacked neither talent nor resources—it had lacked direction. Adam's ideas provided that direction, transforming their latent potential into unstoppable momentum.
Within just one month, the mages expanded upon Adam's initial Rutherford model, deriving dozens of atomic structure models.
Most were discarded after rigorous scrutiny, but their forms closely mirrored those developed on Earth during the history of scientific discovery: solid charged spheres, the plum pudding model, and the Saturnian model, among others.