1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 136 The 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics was announced, starting the atomic fever!

As time entered the beginning of October, the physics community began to become lively again.

Many universities and research institutions have begun to take action, and even major physics journals have released short news one after another.

The reason is simple: the winner of the second Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced soon!
With the successful experience and endorsement of the first session, the reputation of the Nobel Prize began to be established.

The Physics Prize, in particular, has begun to be accepted by a broad range of physics practitioners.

After all, the first winner of the Physics Prize, Bruce Lee, came up with the earth-shaking theory of special relativity right after winning the award.

Everyone’s expectations for the Nobel Prize have also increased.

In the Cavendish Laboratory, Li Qiwei was chatting with Wilson, Richardson and others.

The theme is to predict this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.

This is also what today's physicists and physicists like to do most after relaxing in their research.

Being able to accurately predict the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics shows that this person has a deep understanding of physics, which is also a manifestation of ability.

If you don't have a solid foundation in physics, you won't even know what the focus of other people's research is.

Or they just have a general understanding but are not clear about the specific difficulties, innovations, etc.

Therefore, anyone who can make authoritative predictions is basically a strong person in the field of physics.

However, this made the old academicians of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences sad.

They faced the same difficult choice as the first session. There were too many achievements and it was difficult to choose.

However, for outsiders, the choice is less fraught.

Wilson spoke at length about who he thought might win the award, and his analysis sounded logical.

"Hey, Bruce, do you agree with my opinion that this year's Nobel Prize winner in physics is most likely to be Professor Thomson?"

"Atomic research is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Several universities have invited me to give lectures there."

"They are in urgent need of instruments that can observe microscopic particles so they can conduct research."

"It is said that if you choose this kind of topic, it will be easier to apply for more funding from the school."

"When it comes to contributions to atomic research, who can compare to Professor Thomson?"

Richardson echoed, “Brother Wilson, I think what you said is right.”

"I recently paid attention to journals such as Nature, Annals of Physics, and Science, and found that this is indeed the case."

"70% of the papers above are about atomic research."

"It seems that everyone has given up on traditional physics and started to research in the latest fields."

“Perhaps this is also related to Professor Rutherford’s previous research.”

"After all, he explained how radioactivity works."

“As a result, many schools began to study radioactivity, which is related to atoms.”

Li Qiwei then said: "Uh, why is no one studying the special theory of relativity?"

"Is my theory so unpopular?"

“This makes me feel very uncomfortable.”

Wilson knew that Li Qiwei was starting to show off again, so he quickly cooperated, "Tsk, Bruce, who dares to study your stuff?"

"A piece of paper and a pen are all the experimental conditions."

"How can we apply for research funding? Those doctoral students will probably starve to death."

Li Qiwei and Richardson laughed out loud.

In the eyes of ordinary people, physicists are mysterious figures who hide in the laboratory all day and no one knows what they are doing.

But if you take a closer look, you'll find that most people actually worry about funding every day.

What I need to consider is where to get the money to buy the most advanced equipment and the latest experimental materials.

Research costs money, a lot of money.

This was also the reason why Vice-Principal Cardwell was envied.

Because he stole funds that originally belonged to other universities.

What’s funny is that when Ridgway’s special theory of relativity shocked the physics community, Caldwell once said to Ridgway:
"Bruce, I'm very happy that you were able to create the theory of special relativity."

"But you only used a pen and a piece of paper, and I don't like that."

"Your theory is good in every way, except that it's too cost-effective."

“This makes it very difficult for me.”

"If you look at the Cavendish Laboratory, it started out as an experiment."

"When I go to introduce the project to the government, I can introduce various instruments so that people can understand them at a glance."

“Those officials like tangible things.”

"How much does it cost to purchase three devices, how much does it cost to build the lines, and how much does it cost for experimental materials?"

"Young man, do you understand?" Finally, Cardwell patted Li Qiwei on the shoulder.

These words made Li Qiwei's CPU smoke.

Sure enough, people look at things from completely different perspectives depending on their position.

The original quantum theory explained the problem of blackbody radiation, but it required a lot of experimental verification.

So Cardwell mobilized all his strength and ran around. What was it for? It was for the sustainable development of Cambridge University!
Today, the special theory of relativity is even more powerful, but Cardwell was not interested and only gave a few words of encouragement.

Li Qiwei understood. Next time, he will definitely publish results that can be used to obtain funding but not to impress people.

The planetary model that I am about to publish looks very promising!
Wilson looked at Li Qiwei who was grinning and dazed, so he waved his hand in front of his eyes, "Bruce, what are you thinking about?"

"Tell us quickly, who do you think won the Nobel Prize in Physics?"

Li Qiwei came back to his senses and found it funny that he actually asked him a question about the history of the time traveler. "Wilson, I agree with your point of view. The phenomenon of atomic heat is indeed very obvious now."

"But if we really want to talk about who pioneered this field, there was someone who actually started it earlier than Professor Thomson."

Wilson and Richardson were stunned and asked at the same time: "Who is it?"

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "It's Professor Lorentz of Leiden University in the Netherlands."

In real history, Lorentz and his assistant and compatriot Zeeman jointly won the 1902 Physics Prize.

The reason for the award is: Research on the influence of magnetic fields on radiation phenomena. (Zeeman effect)

Since Richardson had just entered the Cavendish Laboratory and was still a novice in physics, Li Qiwei gave him some popular science knowledge.

"In 1896, Dutch physicist Zeeman began studying the relationship between light and magnetism."

"He placed a light source that could produce a spectrum of light in a strong magnetic field."

"He found that under the influence of a magnetic field, the spectrum emitted by the light source changed, and one spectral line actually split into several spectral lines."

"This phenomenon is known as the Zeeman effect."

"Later, Zeeman told this phenomenon to Professor Lorentz, who was very interested and started to study it."

"In the same year, Lorentz established his famous [Electron Theory]."

"He believed that electricity itself was made up of tiny entities and that electricity had an atomic nature."

"You have to remember that the electron hadn't been discovered yet."

"The nature of electric current is unknown to all physicists."

"Professor Lorentz purely theoretically assumed the existence of electrons, and then used the concept of electrons as a basis to explain the electrical properties of matter."

“And he deduced from the electron theory that a moving electric charge would be acted upon by a force in a magnetic field, which is the Lorentz force.”

"With the electron theory, Lorentz could perfectly explain the Zeeman effect."

"He explained the luminescence of objects as being caused by the vibration of electrons inside atoms."

"So, when the light source is placed in a magnetic field, the electrons experience forces from the magnetic field, causing their vibrations to change, which results in the splitting of the emitted spectrum."

"He also directly calculated the number and width of the spectral lines theoretically based on the magnetic field strength, electron vibration frequency, etc."

"The electron theory perfectly explains the Zeeman effect."

When Li Qiwei finished speaking, he found that Richardson was listening with fascination. After a long time, the other party said:
"Bruce, you speak very well."

"I feel like you're particularly suited to being a physics teacher. It must be a blessing to be your student."

"Such a complex and profound theory, after you put it out, it seems easy to understand, as if I can do it too."

"Hahaha." Wilson and Li Qiwei laughed.

At this time, Wilson also sighed, "If we analyze it this way, Professor Lorenz is indeed better."

"He predicted the existence of electrons directly from theory, just as Maxwell predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves."

Li Qiwei also admired him very much, "Yes, Professor Lorentz is indeed a leader of the new generation of theoretical physicists."

"Based on the electron theory, he even directly calculated the charge-to-mass ratio of the electron, which was basically consistent with Professor Thomson's measurement results."

"So, I have a feeling that this year's Nobel Prize in Physics will most likely be awarded to Lorentz and Zeeman."

Sure enough, and of course inevitably, on October 1902, 10, the second Nobel Prize in Physics was announced.

The winners are Lorentz from Leiden University in the Netherlands and Zeeman from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted heated discussions among countless physicists.

Li Qiwei's analysis was also passed on by Wilson and Richardson.

Because they both really admired Li Qiwei.

This prediction is so damn accurate!

With the influence of Ridgway, many physicists who were previously unfamiliar with Lorentz's results also began to pay attention to Lorentz.

At the previous relativity seminar, the main impression Lorentz gave everyone was his eloquence.

I didn't expect that after careful study, I found that his physical ability is better than his eloquence.

It really proves the saying that smart people can show their intelligence in everything they do.

With the announcement of the second Nobel Prize in Physics, the already popular field of atomic energy became even more popular.

Countless scholars have entered this research field, hoping to make some achievements.

It’s actually pretty easy to understand.

The quantum theory that won the first Nobel Prize in Physics seems to have made no further progress since David Ridgway published his discovery of the photoelectric effect.

As for the special theory of relativity, this theory is so magical that many physicists are discouraged, let alone others.

But the study of atomic structure is different.

The previous radioactivity and the electron theory now recognized by the Nobel Prize have both proved that there is a lot of hidden secrets inside atoms.

The Cavendish Laboratory, famous for its atomic research, is now almost becoming the number one laboratory in the physics world.

Not only did it train young physicists like Rutherford and Ridgway, but it also had senior physicists like Thomson.

At one time, countless people wanted to apply to do a doctorate or visiting research at Cavendish.

Faced with this physics craze, Li Qiwei smiled faintly.

Let this increasingly intense Dong.Bu.Atomic fever be the prelude to the publication of his atomic nuclear structure.

The doctoral thesis on planetary models is destined to cause endless shocks in the physics community!

He's going to start showing off again.

(End of this chapter)