1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe
Chapter 7: Quantum
Chapter 7: Quantum
After the morning class ended, many people were still talking about it.
Li Qiwei finished his work and left, leisurely coming to the place where he had agreed to meet Wilson.
The legendary and famous Cavendish Laboratory!
Physics is an experimental science.
Any physical theory can only be confirmed as a valid theory if it is verified by experiments.
Therefore, physical experiments are very important.
The Cavendish Laboratory produced a total of 1904 Nobel Prize winners in physics in the 1989 years from 85 to 29.
Horror!
The laboratory was founded in 1 by Maxwell, a T1871-level genius.
At the same time, he was also the first director of the laboratory.
The current director of the laboratory is the third director, named Joseph Thomson.
The introduction to this great man only needs one sentence: he discovered the electron in 1897.
[Wilson] was [Thomson’s] student, and he had another even more amazing student: Rutherford.
Just as Ridgway was marveling at the greatness of the Cavendish Laboratory, Wilson happened to see him.
"Bruce, come here quickly. I'm going to introduce you to an important person today."
Li Qiwei followed Wilson to a conference room where a middle-aged man was already sitting there. He was the one who handed him the blackboard.
Wilson looked respectful and pulled Li Qiwei to sit down.
"Professor Planck, I'm very sorry. My mentor had an urgent matter and he specifically asked me to receive you."
The middle-aged Planck looked sharp and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. Thomson and I are old friends."
Hearing the conversation between the two, Li Qiwei was shocked.
As expected, when you come to Cambridge, everyone you meet is a big shot.
The information of this middle-aged man came to my mind:
"Max Planck, born in Germany in 1858."
"In 1879, he graduated from the University of Berlin with a doctorate in physics."
"In 1894, he was elected a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences."
"In 1918, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics."
The photo that was popular in China in my previous life, a comparison of photos before and after learning physics, the protagonist is this guy.
And if history had not deviated, Planck would have formally proposed the concept of energy quantization in December this year.
It was because Einstein borrowed this concept and proposed the "light quantum" that he proved the photoelectric effect and won the Nobel Prize for it.
Physics is divided by the concept of quantum proposed by Planck. The former is called classical physics, and the latter is called modern physics.
According to Li Qiwei's classification, this is a future T2-level big shot!
Later, under Wilson's introduction, Ridgway formally met Planck as a junior student.
"Professor, how did you know Bruce was here?" Wilson asked.
"Oh, that's because I was also at the meeting in London yesterday," Plank said.
"Oh, that's amazing. And you just happened to accept my mentor's invitation to come to Cambridge to give a speech," Wilson said.
At this time, Li Qiwei finally understood what was going on.
It turned out that my bold words yesterday had caught the attention of this big shot, who had become interested in me.
Thomson, director of the Cavendish Laboratory, had invited Planck to give lectures in Cambridge a month earlier.
Then Planck encountered Dr. Wilson's test again.
He secretly observed Li Qiwei to see if this young man had the real talent.
The result was obviously satisfactory, otherwise he would not have met with Li Qiwei.
Wilson saw that the two sides were already familiar with each other, so he said, "Professor Planck, I have something else to do. Please give Bruce some guidance."
Then he added: "He is the best physics talent I have ever seen."
Plank smiled slightly, and after Wilson left, he said to Li Qiwei: "Bruce, would you like to walk with me?"
"My pleasure, Professor," Ridgway replied.
It was a sunny April day. Ridgway and Planck walked casually on the Cambridge University campus, chatting as they walked.
Planck was shocked by Ridgwell's mastery of physics.
It seemed that there was no area that he didn't know.
This made Planck sigh in his heart, has the teaching level of Cambridge University reached such a high level?
As the two chatted more and more speculatively, they soon talked about the most famous dark cloud issue today.
Li Qiwei spoke eloquently, and his imaginative thinking once again shocked Planck.
After a while, the two came to a stone arch bridge over the Cam River, which is also the famous Cambridge in "A Farewell to Cambridge".
At this time, the water of the Jian River was flowing fast, just like Planck's state of mind.
"Bruce, do you really think that energy can be quantized in portions?"
That’s right, Li Qiwei formally proposed the concept of “quantization” several months in advance.
This shocked Planck greatly; this idea was completely contrary to the theory of physics.
Newton's absolute view of space and time is continuous, how could it be piecemeal?
Historically, Planck did struggle with the concept of quantization after proposing it.
Because once he admits it, everything he has learned in the first half of his life will be wrong.
However, out of respect for scientific facts, he still expressed this view.
Li Qiwei believed that Planck was actually considering quantization at this time, but he needed psychological support.
"Professor, only by quantizing energy can we perfectly solve the second dark cloud, the blackbody radiation problem."
"Recently, I have completed most of the mathematical calculations that can reasonably explain the radiation intensity near shortwave."
“But there are some difficulties that I can’t solve.”
"I know you studied mathematics at the University of Munich. How about you help me figure out how to solve these math problems?"
“I think this must be a remarkable achievement.”
Planck was so shocked that he was speechless.
Yes, he himself had actually been considering quantization, but he didn't expect that Li Qiwei had even started calculating.
The key point is that this young man is only 20 years old!
In his eyes, Bruce is simply a genius born for physics!
At this time, Planck had completely believed Ridgway's bold words: physics had just begun!
He suppressed his excitement and said, "Very good, Bruce. Don't worry, I will help you complete the mathematical calculations. I will not steal your results."
After hearing this, Li Qiwei was deeply moved. This is the background of the older generation of physicists.
Just pursue the truth, don't care about reputation!
He smiled and said, "Thank you, Professor. However, I have a better plan. I would like you to be the corresponding author of my paper."
"Corresponding author?" Planck was slightly stunned. He had never heard of this concept.
Li Qiwei explained: "We have an old saying in the East, which says that if you meet an excellent person, you can recognize him as your teacher."
“Although I am not your student, I have benefited a lot from communicating with you, and you have helped me solve the key mathematical proofs.”
"I think you can be my teacher."
“And the corresponding author said, I completed this paper under your guidance.”
“We can show that in the paper.”
After listening to Li Qiwei's explanation, Planck realized that he had underestimated this young man.
He was already a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, which was considered a great success. He didn't care about greater fame.
But Li Qiwei was just an undergraduate and he could have enjoyed this honor alone.
Yet he can remain so humble and peaceful, which is truly admirable!
Planck now felt a sense of admiration for talent, and he looked at Li Qiwei as if he were a treasure.
"Bruce, I accept your suggestion. You can send me the manuscript as soon as possible and I will check the mathematical part."
"Thank you very much, Professor." Li Qiwei responded heavily.
Then, the master and the disciple looked toward the distance of Jian River together, and hearty laughter sounded on the water.
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(End of this chapter)
