1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 139 Who can be called a genius!

After Li Qiwei and Thompson confirmed their doctoral graduation, they devoted themselves to writing their papers.

However, a formal invitation disrupted his plans.

Thomson told Ridgway that Professor Oersted of the Department of Physics at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, sincerely invited him to give a lecture at the University of Copenhagen.

The other party also asked Thomson to pass on a formal invitation letter, which seemed very sincere.

"Bruce, you may not know who Oster is."

"He was one of the five members of the first Nobel Prize Committee in Physics."

"I heard from Eric that at the secret meeting, Oster insisted on choosing you as the final candidate despite all objections."

"Of course, you have to keep this news secret, otherwise the Nobel Prize people will give me trouble, haha."

Li Qiwei could only smile awkwardly. Although the Nobel Prize is advertised to the public, its confidentiality is the strictest.

However, it was still early days after all, and Eric was a long-time friend of Thomson's. It was only natural for him to reveal some inside information after the award ceremony.

However, a hint of curiosity still arose in Li Qiwei's heart.

Since Oster had done him a favor, he would definitely go to the lecture, which was just a lecture.

He also wanted to visit the University of Copenhagen because a great god would be born there in the future.

The lecture will be held on December 12, just after He Yujie and his colleagues’ defense.

Li Qiwei plans to change his original plan. He wants to travel around Europe and write his thesis while traveling.

It’s a good opportunity for me to visit Planck and others before returning home.

After all, he might stay in the country for a few years and needs to tell everyone the news.

"It's my pleasure. I will definitely be there on time for the University of Copenhagen."

"Professor, please tell me that I am very grateful for Professor Oster's invitation."

Thomson said it was no problem, and then smiled and said, "Bruce, you should prepare well. Oersted didn't ask you to talk about the special theory of relativity."

"Rather, it introduces the progress of atomic research at our Cavendish Laboratory."

"You must promote our lab well."

Li Qiwei quickly agreed, as all this information was already stated in the invitation letter.

He certainly knew how to prepare.
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A few days later, while Ridgway was revising his paper and preparing lecture materials, Lockyer, the editor-in-chief of Nature, wrote to him.

The other party invited him to visit London at any time to discuss something, and there was a hint of joy in the text.

Ridgeway didn't know what Lockyer was thinking, but he was ready to go anyway.

He would also bring Xia Yuanzhuo with him to visit and learn about the operating procedures of scientific and technological journals of that era.

Because after returning to China, Li Qiwei plans to create his own scientific journal.

And he decided to choose Xia Yuanzhao as the editor-in-chief.

Although Xia Yuansong is the youngest, he has the most meticulous mind and is very suitable to be the editor-in-chief of the journal.

The next morning, he took Xia Yuansong to London.

Nature headquarters, Macmillan Building, Crinan Street, London.

Today, Nature magazine has become a holy journal in the minds of scientific researchers.

Sales increased dozens of times, so the journal became wealthy and not only recruited more staff, but also expanded the office space by two floors.

When Li Qiwei saw Lockyer, the old man was in good spirits and had a ruddy face, as if he was a dozen years younger.

"Oh, Bruce, it's been so long since I last saw you. I kind of missed you."

"I didn't go to the last relativity seminar, which is a big regret in my life."

"I really hope to see you passionately explaining the theory of relativity on stage!"

Li Qiwei wanted to tease him, "Sir, if you want to listen, I will tell you again now."

“It’s guaranteed to be clearer and easier to understand than what you say in a meeting.”

"Huh?" Lockyer almost didn't react, wondering why this kid didn't play by the rules.

But he quickly changed the subject, "Bruce, you still call me Jazz? Do you want me to call you Jazz too?"

Li Qiwei was stunned. If the other party hadn't mentioned it, he would have almost forgotten that he had this identity.

"Okay, I give up, Lockyer, stop teasing me."

"My knighthood is nothing compared to yours."

Lockyer laughed and led Ridgway toward his office.

As for Xia Yuansong, after Li Qiwei explained his purpose, Lockyer asked his assistant Mary to be responsible for the reception and arrange for the other party to visit the company.

In the top floor office, Lockyer sipped his coffee and sighed, “Hey, Bruce, I didn’t expect you to be away for so long.”

"It will be inconvenient for you to submit articles to Nature after you return to Qing Dynasty."

Li Qiwei took a sip of tea and smiled, "I returned to China mainly to improve the scientific level in China, so I may have less time to do research myself."

"When the time comes, I will ask all my students to submit their papers to Nature. You have to lower the threshold."

Lockyer smiled and said, “Bruce, don’t worry, the main publication can’t do anything about it.”

"But for the sub-publishings below, I think with your ability, the students you bring up will definitely be geniuses, no problem."

Li Qiwei then asked, "By the way, why did you ask me to come here?"

Lockyer said seriously, "It's like this, Bruce. Physics has made great progress in the past two years."

"Many people have privately called it the Golden Age of Physics." "And it is generally recognized that the one who opened the curtain of this era is you, Bruce. I think you need to say something."

"Whether it is to encourage those newcomers or to point out the future direction for all physics practitioners."

"This is what you, the current number one physicist, should do."

Li Qiwei quickly waved his hands and said, "Don't talk nonsense. If it weren't me, how could the title of "the first person in physics" come out?"

This title is too big, he can't bear it now.

Lockyer smiled and continued, "Nature started out as a physics journal and is now the largest journal in the natural sciences."

"I think it's important to give your concluding remarks."

"To make scientific predictions about the increasingly profound development of physics, just like Lord Kelvin did in the past."

"What do you think, Bruce?"

Li Qiwei understood Lockyer's intention.

To put it bluntly, it means allowing him to publish an opinion article in Nature as a physics expert.

Summarize past achievements, evaluate current developments, and predict future trends in physics.

Li Qiwei was indeed eager to make some moves.

At the same time, I felt deeply moved that I had grown to this point without realizing it.

Even the famous "Nature" has to beg me to write articles.

Two years ago, he still dreamed that one day, a few words he wrote would be regarded as treasures by Nature.

Now it seems that I am not far from this goal.

After agreeing to Lockyer's request, the two sides discussed the development plan of Nature journal.

Ridgway gave Lockyer a lot of advice, following the pattern of later generations.

Including manuscript collection, review, publicity, etc.

His goal is to develop the field of natural science to the model of later generations as quickly as possible, otherwise he would feel a little uncomfortable.

After leaving the Nature headquarters, Li Qiwei asked Xia Yuansong to stay here for a few more days to learn more experience.

He took this opportunity to visit Lord Kelvin.

Looking at the aging wise man in front of him, Li Qiwei felt many complicated emotions in his heart.

Lord Kelvin was the first person he had come into contact with after he accidentally came to this world.

The original bet is still vivid in my mind, and now it has become the most precious memory in my heart.

After chatting with Lord Kelvin about the future of physics, Ridgway had an idea for his upcoming article.

He saw in the other person's eyes the nostalgia for his youth and the infinite attachment to those years in physics.

High-profile, domineering, and unafraid of authority, countless geniuses compete on the same stage.

It makes people feel their blood boiling and want to return to that passionate era.

After bidding farewell to Lord Kelvin, Li Qiwei felt deeply moved.

If the other party's history had not changed, he would have died in December 1907.

Li Qiwei didn't know whether he would have the chance to see Lord Kelvin for the last time.

On November 1902, 11, Nature published a feature article by Ridgway on its cover.

The title is "Some Thoughts on the Future Development Trends of Physics."

The article first summarizes the brilliant achievements made in physics over the past three hundred years from a high-level perspective.

Then the major branches of physics are discussed separately to find out the problems that still exist and the loopholes that cannot be solved.

Then we talked about the discovery of X-rays by Roentgen, quantum theory and relativity, and finally the current atomic structure.

Regarding the future of physics, Ridgway made three major predictions:
1. More breakthroughs will be made in the field of atomic structure, and the nature of atomic nuclei and electrons will be clarified.

2. Quantum theory will shine in the study of atomic structure and transform into a system-level theory that governs the motion laws of microscopic particles.

3. General relativity and special relativity will become the theories governing the space and time of the macroscopic universe, and cosmology will usher in great development.

Finally, at the end of the article, Li Qiwei's writing style suddenly changed, and he wrote an extremely domineering declaration:

"The golden age of physics has arrived. Who can be called a genius?"

"The road to becoming a god is long. I, Li Qiwei, am at the front, waiting for you all!" (Free translation, don't argue)
boom!
Once the article was published, it immediately caused a huge sensation in the physics community.

Especially the sentence "Who can be called a genius?" directly ignited everyone's blood.

What is a pride? It is the pride of heaven.

What a crazy word.

"Crazy, too crazy, Bruce is crazy to the extreme!"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, there has never been such an exciting time in physics."

"I also want to be a genius, and I also want to embark on the path of becoming a god in physics!"

Of course, most people are more sober-minded.

"If you have a thesis, you are a genius. If you don't have a thesis, you are just a hottie."

In any case, when everyone reads this article, only one sentence comes to mind:

The field of physics will usher in an era of geniuses!
(End of this chapter)