1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 112: The world is shocked when a narrow encounter occurs! The eternal night of physics is white!
March 1902, 3, an ordinary day.

More than five months have passed since the first Nobel Prize in Physics was announced.

Now, the second Nobel Prize in Physics is in full swing.

Countless people are eager to try, hoping to be on the list and become famous all over the world.

Without a monster like Bruce Lee, this year's Nobel Prize seems even more confusing.

Because the Nobel Prize never publishes the list of candidates, no one knows who Bruce Lee squeezed out to win the prize.

Almost all the big names in the field of physics have received nomination invitations from the Nobel Committee.

The new round of candidates has now been summarized and is in fierce competition.

However, what makes everyone feel that there is something missing is that although the competition in the second session will also be fierce, it always feels like something is missing.

It seems that the final result will still be produced among the big guys with the highest voices.

This undoubtedly makes the second Nobel Prize in Physics less anticipated.

It's a bit like taking a small ball out of a sealed glass container.

Although the results are different each time, everyone knows that there will always be only those balls and no new changes.

Only then did everyone realize that they were just looking forward to the emergence of a new physical theory.

The existing physical knowledge can no longer provide stimulation to physicists.

Since 1900, many people have become accustomed to the fact that a groundbreaking theory emerges every once in a while and completely changes the world of physics.

Quantum theory, photoelectric effect, wave-particle duality of light, principle of radioactivity, etc.

In the past two years, new physics theories have emerged like a gusher.

As a result, the threshold for physicists has also been raised.

So, at this moment, countless scholars have turned their attention to Cambridge University.

That man has been silent for so long, is there still no movement?
In the Cavendish Laboratory, Ridgway and Wilson were in Thomson's office.

Before the paper was published, Li Qiwei also showed it to Professor Thomson.

"Bruce, I have to say that in the field of physics, you are the most talented person I have ever met."

"If there were a hierarchy of physicists, you would be at the first level."

Thomson still hasn't recovered from the shock.

The shock that paper brought to him was no less than a reshaping of his worldview, and it was even a test for his soul.

Time and space are not absolute?

When time and space become one, time will slow down and space will shrink.

When Thomson saw the derivation in the paper, decades of physics views came crashing down.

Even Newton, who dominated the physics world for hundreds of years, was wrong. Is there anything more bizarre than this?
Li Qiwei said: "Professor, I think the principle of relativity is not mysterious."

"Before me, many physicists had already realized this."

"It's just that they blindly follow authority, so they never dare to take this step."

"But I am different. I am a Qing citizen. The absolute rule established by Newton over hundreds of years cannot intimidate me."

Wilson interjected, "Relativity? Bruce, is that your new name for the theory?"

"Yes, I think this name summarizes the core of the theory very well."

Thomson stared at Ridgway with his wise eyes. "Bruce, with all due respect, this paper of yours will surely cause a stir after it is published."

"You are shaking the foundations of physics."

"Have you figured out how to deal with it?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "I experienced this once after I published the quantum theory."

“Now it’s just happening again.”

Thomson shook his head. “That’s different. I can accept quantum theory, but I can never accept relativity.”

"I can't believe that time slows down and length shrinks unless you can prove it experimentally."

"Everything about the theory of relativity is based on your thought experiment, and the foundation is not solid."

Li Qiwei's expression also turned serious. "Professor, let the world and time prove it."

On March 1902, 3, Nature magazine published a special issue of a paper co-authored by Ridgway and Einstein: "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies."

As soon as the paper was published, it immediately caused a huge earthquake in the physics community!

After reading the paper, physicists all over the world were shocked.

"Oh my God, this is unbelievable, time can actually slow down?"

"Then if someone can move at a speed close to the speed of light, wouldn't that mean they are younger than everyone else? That's ridiculous."

"Time and space must be absolutely unchanging. Bruce Lee is probably going to be laughed at this time."

They hoped that Bruce Lee would publish new results, but they didn't expect that the first theory he came up with would be so explosive.

The paper starts with two self-evident axioms and, after a not particularly complicated mathematical derivation, it actually comes to a sensational conclusion.

Time and space are not absolute, but relative.

Newton's laws of mechanics are just special cases of this theory at low speeds.

boom!
This makes countless physicists feel that the world has gone completely crazy.

Moreover, the theory that Bruce Lee named "theory of relativity" also came from Cavendish.

For a time, everyone thought that either Bruce Lee was crazy or the world was fake. Moreover, with the heated discussion among physicists around the world, the little-known name of Einstein also became a hit.

In the past, people only knew that he was a good friend of Bruce Lee, but the other party did not make any achievements in physics.

Everyone just treated him as an ordinary passerby.

But unexpectedly, his name on the paper was actually before Bruce Lee's.

Doesn't that mean that Einstein's contribution to the theory of relativity is greater than Bruce Lee's?

University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Kleiner was holding the latest issue of Nature in his hand, his expression changing constantly.

In front of him stood Einstein, his face calm.

Until now, Kleiner is still in extreme shock.

This guy whose doctoral thesis was returned by me actually published a paper together with Bruce Lee?
And it is such a blasphemous paper.

Yes, in Kleiner's eyes, the theory of relativity is a blasphemous theory.

This theory was completely forced together to refute Newton.

The conclusions therein are sheer nonsense and totally inconsistent with human experience.

"Einstein, is this what you have achieved during this period?"

"No wonder you rarely come to the lab. I'm afraid you're just writing this paper."

Einstein looked directly at Kleiner and said, "Yes, professor, this is the theory that Bruce Lee and I created together through correspondence."

Kleiner was furious and shouted, "This is nonsense! How dare you say Newton was wrong?"

"Are you, Einstein, the smartest person in the past few hundred years?"

"No one else could find Newton's mistake, but you found it in one paper."

"Don't think you have nothing to fear just because you have Bruce Lee backing you up."

"After this paper is published, I'm afraid everyone will think he is sensationalizing and his reputation will be ruined."

Einstein stammered. He wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Kleiner gradually controlled his emotions and said angrily: "Einstein, you should be down-to-earth when studying physics."

"Instead of using this eye-catching method to attract other people's attention and enhance one's own fame."

"Your thesis, after all, is nothing more than a mathematical game."

"Excuse me, how do you prove the clock slowing effect? ​​Can you design an experiment to prove it?"

"This kind of purely theoretical stuff is often flashy and superficial. Although it looks sophisticated, it cannot stand up to scrutiny."

Einstein was not convinced. “My theory, from its source to its conclusion, is derived step by step through mathematics. I believe it is correct.”

"As for experimental proof, I think in the future, there will be very sophisticated instruments that may be able to measure tiny differences in time."

Kleiner shook his head and finally said, "Compared with this paper of yours, I find that your "New Method for Determining Molecular Size" is still worth reading."

"You can use this as your doctoral thesis."

"Forget about the theory of relativity. Just think of it as a dream you had."

The two authors of the theory of relativity could not even convince their own mentors, let alone other physicists.

It was almost one-sided questioning.

However, no matter how outsiders denied it, Li Qiwei, who was at the center of the storm, remained unmoved.

He publicly announced that he would hold a professional discussion on the theory of relativity.

At that time, he will invite all the top physicists in the world to gather together and debate on the spot.

When the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the physics community.

Given Li Qiwei's current status, this conference is destined to become the most pinnacle conference in the field of physics.

Countless people are eagerly looking forward to witnessing this great debate of the century in person.

This is even more exciting than the second Nobel Prize in Physics.

As expected of Bruce Lee, every move he makes is a big one, and he is determined to turn physics upside down.

Although almost all physicists of the older generation opposed the theory of relativity, the opposite phenomenon appeared among the younger generation.

Lang Zhiwan, Laue, Born, these young figures in the field of physics, all supported Ridgwell.

They dared to break the authority. Why can others be wrong but Newton cannot be wrong?

And it was only after reading the theory of relativity that they realized the gap between themselves and Li Qiwei.

From quantum theory to relativity, Li Qiwei never uses any arbitrary deductions in his papers.

He would examine every step and ask, is it necessarily like this?

It is this suspicion and challenge to authority that enables him to remain unmoved by external things and think about the essence of the world.

When Newton pioneered classical mechanics, he was said to have broken through the darkness and brought science into the world.

However, it seems that the field of physics with Newtonian mechanics is still dark and has not touched the essence.

The thought of this immediately horrified countless people.

Is the theory of relativity the only theory that can truly pierce the darkness?

The world is shocked when a narrow encounter occurs! The eternal night of physics is white!
(End of this chapter)