255: Chapter 255: Evidence of a Hollow Moon

"Hollow?"

"Did I hear that right? The Moon is hollow?"

"Brother, don't scare me. I grew up watching the Moon; ah no, wait, the Moon watched me grow up!"

"If this is true, then what is the Moon? An alien spaceship?"

"I've got goosebumps!"

"Wait, wait, wait, let me digest this!"

...

In the small conference room of the National Astronomical Observatory.

Wang Weiguo looked confused. "What is he doing?"

He turned his head to look at Professor Zhang Qinian, as if to confirm he hadn't misheard.

Professor Zhang Qinian was also stunned, shaking his head in astonishment.

Zhang Lin and several young researchers behind him were all dumbfounded, looking at each other.

"It's over!" a researcher whispered. "His reputation is ruined."

Zhang Lin looked at Professor Zhang Qinian in disbelief. "Professor Zhang, this..."

Professor Zhang couldn't help but gasp. "The Moon is hollow? How dare he say that?"

In the eyes of professionals, Jiang Zhe's remark had just offended every single astronomical researcher!

...

Huaqing University physics dormitory building.

Guan Jingming's hand holding his tea trembled slightly. "???"

Professor Wu stood up directly from his chair, staring at the screen in confusion. "Damn... he really says shocking things. I hope he doesn't crash and burn in a moment!"

"Old Ou," Guan Jingming turned his head to look at Ouyang Baili. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Ouyang Baili shook his head lightly. "Say what? Just listen to him."

...

Principal Fu's office.

Ren Xiaoyao's expression changed on the spot.

"It's over, he's finished."

Principal Fu was stunned. "Why? What do you mean he's finished?"

Ren Xiaoyao said with a complicated expression: "The Moon is not hollow; that is a recognized fact. I just lectured my students on it in astronomy class—the Moon has a crust, a mantle, and a core; its layered structure is perfectly clear. For him to say the Moon is hollow now means..."

He shook his head regretfully. "It means he either knows absolutely nothing about astronomy, or he's too enlightened!"

Xiao Wang muttered on the side. "Really? Everything he said before was pretty accurate!"

Teacher Wang, who was on the side, remained silent for a long time, then suddenly remembered something.

When he had previously taught Xiao Yu, he had talked about the Moon—at that time, he had spoken about records of the Moon in ancient literature, and the coincidence of the elements that make up the Moon appearing in ancient books.

At that time, he felt he had been crazy enough, but he hadn't expected Jiang Zhe to be even crazier.

Daring to say directly that the Moon is hollow?

...

Kyoto History Family Quarter.

The four old professors, who were originally full of interest, were now looking at each other, feeling that things were starting to get serious.

...

Qingfeng Temple.

Zheng Ming stared at the screen, the corners of his mouth curling up involuntarily.

He had finally waited for this moment—the moment Jiang Zhe revealed a flaw.

"The Moon is hollow?"

Zheng Ming looked at Robert.

Robert's mouth also curled into a look of absolute confidence.

Seeing this expression, Zheng Ming felt assured.

Robert was a retired NASA expert who had participated in the sample analysis for the later stages of the Apollo program.

What did it mean when he showed this expression? It meant Jiang Zhe was finished.

Zheng Ming changed his sitting posture, his face full of anticipation for a good show.

...

Villa living room.

Hearing this, Xiao Yu was stunned.

She subconsciously covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes full of shock. "Brother, it's over!"

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhe was slightly taken aback. "What's over?"

Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, she let it slip.

Of course she couldn't say that she was secretly livestreaming him, and that there were probably many people cursing him right now!

She had a bright idea and changed her phrasing: "I mean—Brother, why would you say that? How could the Moon be hollow?"

Jiang Zhe looked at Xiao Yu, speechless. "Oh, it's about that. You'll know once you hear me out!"

"First, the first piece of evidence: the issue of the Moon's density."

He pulled up a data chart on the tablet and held it toward Xiao Yu.

"These are the Moon's basic physical parameters: an average density of 3.34 grams per cubic centimeter."

Xiao Yu nodded.

"And the Earth's average density is about 5.5 grams per cubic centimeter; but that's not the issue here."

He slid his finger across the screen to call up another set of data.

"What is the density of the rocks on the Moon's surface? Lunar rock samples brought back by Apollo show that the density of lunar surface basalt is about 3.3 to 3.5 grams per cubic centimeter."

Xiao Yu's beautiful eyes furrowed slightly. "Doesn't that mean...?"

"As you guessed." Jiang Zhe nodded. "The Moon's average density is the same as the density of its surface rocks."

"What does this mean?"

Xiao Yu responded without hesitation: "Does it mean the inside is as heavy as the outside?"

"Smart." Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and nodded with satisfaction. "Now think about the Earth."

He pulled up a schematic diagram of Earth's structure: inner core, outer core, mantle, crust, labeled clearly layer by layer.

"The density of rocks on Earth's surface is only 2.7 to 2.8 grams per cubic centimeter, but the Earth's average density is 5.5 grams per cubic centimeter."

"Why?"

Xiao Yu's eyes lit up. "Because the inside of the Earth is heavy!"

"Correct. Inside the Earth, there is a large iron core with a density that can reach over 13 grams per cubic centimeter."

"So, looking from the outside in, the density gets higher and higher—this is the normal structure for all planets."

"Conversely, all planets have a low surface density, but as the depth increases, the density also increases!"

Then he swiped the tablet to switch to the Moon's structure diagram.

"But what about the Moon?"

"The surface rock density is 3.4, and the average density is also 3.4."

"Following this logic, the Moon's interior should be as heavy as its surface, or even lighter."

"In other words, the Moon is the opposite."

Xiao Yu gasped. "Opposite? The Moon is the opposite?"

Hearing this, millions of viewers were stunned.

"What does 'opposite' mean?"

"Wait, my brain is a bit scrambled."

"Does it mean the Moon is heavy on the outside and light on the inside?"

"How is that possible? That's not scientific!"

"According to the laws of gravitational collapse, shouldn't celestial bodies get denser the further in you go?"

"Holy crap, the Moon really is the opposite. I went and checked the data!"

"..."

Inside the big screen, Jiang Zhe nodded slightly. "According to normal logic, if the Moon were solid, its average density should be far greater than the density of its surface rocks. Theoretical calculations should put it at around 6.6 grams per cubic centimeter."

"But the actual measured value is only 3.34. It's half of the theoretical value, and it's exactly the same as the density of the surface rocks."

Xiao Yu opened her mouth. "Then, could it be that every satellite is like this?"

Jiang Zhe smiled. "Good question."

He operated the tablet and brought up another set of data.

"Ganymede, the largest satellite in the Solar System. Through measurements of its gravitational field, scientists calculated its internal structure... what is certain is that it must have a substantial metal core, with a core density far higher than the surface!"

"Titan is the same."

"Xiao Yu, actually, you don't really need to look at the data for these satellites; they are all the same as Earth. In fact, all the satellites we can detect have a high center density and a low surface density. They are all like Earth, but unlike the Moon."

He put down the tablet and looked at Xiao Yu with a serious expression. "Only the Moon is the opposite."

...

Qingfeng Temple.

Robert stared at the screen, the smile on his face gradually fading. "The density issue!"

Zheng Ming noticed the change on Robert's face and his heart skipped a beat, feeling something was wrong. "Mr. Robert, what's wrong?"

Robert rested his chin on his hand, unable to help but speculate: "The density issue does indeed support the hollow theory, but how is he going to justify his own claim later?"

Zheng Ming was stunned for a moment. "What did you say? Support?"

...

Villa living room.

Xiao Yu looked carefully at the comparison data on the tablet. "Brother, this is indeed very strange. But can we say it's hollow just based on density?"

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly. "Of course not yet."

"Next is the second piece of evidence: the moonquake experiment."

"From 1969 to 1972, the Apollo program placed several seismometers on the Moon."

"Later, scientists used these instruments to record moonquake data."

He took the tablet Xiao Yu handed him, operated it, and brought up a lunar landing picture and a data chart.

"The most famous one is the bell-ringing experiment done by Apollo 12."

"On November 20, 1969, after the Apollo 12 astronauts returned to the command module, they let the lunar module's ascent stage intentionally impact the lunar surface."

He pointed to the waveform chart on the picture.

"What did the seismometer placed in the Ocean of Storms record?"

"Naturally, after the impact, the Moon, like a large bell struck by a heavy hammer, continued to vibrate and ring for over 55 minutes."

Xiao Yu's eyes widened. "55 minutes, isn't that a bit too long?"

As far as she knew, earthquakes usually ended in a few minutes; why did moonquakes last so long?

"It is indeed very long. The vibration curve of a moonquake starts from a tiny level, gradually increases to its maximum over seven or eight minutes, and then slowly decays; the whole process lasts for a long time."

"After that, Apollo 13, 14, and 15 all conducted similar artificial moonquake experiments."

"The explosive equivalent used by Apollo 14 was equivalent to over 700 kilograms of TNT, and the resulting shockwaves traveled extremely far; the shockwaves created by the subsequent Apollo 15 even traveled 1,100 kilometers away."

"Brother, then, what does this prove?"

"You'll see if you compare it to Earth!" Jiang Zhe continued to operate the tablet, pulling up an earthquake waveform chart for Earth from the internet. "An impact of the same scale on Earth usually only lasts for 3 to 5 minutes; it's like striking a solid iron ball: the sound goes [hum~~] once, then it enters a state of decay, and the sound disappears very quickly—that is what an earthquake on Earth is like."

"But for the Moon, the data indicates that it will continue to resonate for several hours."

"If the Moon were solid, how would you explain this?"

Xiao Yu shook her head repeatedly, indicating she couldn't explain it.

"Of course, what's even more amazing is that from 1969 to 1977, in the eight years and ten months that the Apollo seismometers were operating, they recorded a total of 12,558 moonquakes."

"An average of 4 times per day."

"The most crucial thing is that moonquake waves and earthquake waves are completely different."

He operated the tablet and brought up two waveform charts, placing them side-by-side.

The peak of Earth's waveform chart was clearly further forward, while the peak of the Moon's waveform chart was further back!

"On the left is the earthquake waveform; from start to peak to end, it usually only takes a few minutes."

"On the right is the moonquake waveform; from start to peak takes over ten minutes; from peak decay to end, it takes several long hours."

He pointed to a special detail on the moonquake waveform chart. "Do you see this?"

Xiao Yu leaned closer to the screen. "What is this?"

"Hydraulic damping."

"What hydraulic damping?"

Jiang Zhe didn't answer directly, but changed to another question. "Xiao Yu, imagine a hollow ball filled with water. If you strike it, what will happen?"

Xiao Yu's beautiful eyes turned, imagining the scene. "It would, would, would wobble for a long time?"

"Correct!" Jiang Zhe smiled with satisfaction. "Because water is a liquid, it will wobble. If you strike the Moon, the water inside the Moon wobbles back and forth, and it takes a long time to stop—this wobbling process leaves a special trace of damping on the waveform chart, called hydraulic damping."

He pointed to the moonquake waveform chart. "And on the moonquake waveform charts after the Apollo exploration, there is this kind of trace."

"So..."

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly, his gaze resting on her face.

"What does the moonquake experiment tell us?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yu couldn't help but swallow her saliva, taking over her brother's words. "It tells us that there is water on the Moon, a large amount of water!"

Jiang Zhe's mouth curled up slightly. "What kind of shape and structure can satisfy having a large amount of water inside?"

Xiao Yu couldn't help but hold her breath, getting up with a look of horror. "Hollow, only if the Moon is hollow can it satisfy... a large amount of water!!!"

As her words fell, the barrage in the entire livestream suddenly disappeared, and everyone's faces were filled with horror.