1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 220 If Li Qiwei had not been born, physics would have been in darkness forever!

The first Bruce Conference began in a small conference room at the Langham Hotel in London.

Sitting in the audience are the giants of today's physics community.

Everyone wore formal attire to show their importance to this meeting.

Under the chairmanship of Lorenz, Li Qiwei strode firmly to the front of the crowd, ready to begin his keynote speech.

He first bowed to everyone, then glanced around, his heart as calm as water, and he was unhurried.

"My good friend, Professor Rutherford, once said something."

"He said that all the natural sciences, except physics, were stamp collecting."

“Although this statement is a bit radical, I agree with his point of view.”

Wow!
Li Qiwei's opening remarks shocked everyone present.

Fortunately, all the people sitting here are physicists. If there were chemists here, they would definitely bang their tables excitedly.

The bigwigs all glanced at Rutherford at the same time.

Rutherford was a little embarrassed and quickly denied it three times, "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

It turns out that after winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Rutherford was not proud but ashamed.

He always thought of himself as a pure physicist, not a chemist who just tinkered with bottles and jars.

So, I once complained to Li Qiwei in private and said that.

Li Qiwei looked at Rutherford with a smile, good friends are meant to be betrayed.

“On the land of natural science, several buildings stand.”

"Physics is undoubtedly the tallest and most beautiful building among them."

“The building of physics has two most solid foundations: the logical system and the verification system.”

“It is because of logic and verification that physics has become the first of the natural sciences.”

"Countless other disciplines have sprung from the foundation of the edifice of physics."

“The materials used to build a building are various natural phenomena, and the tools used are mathematics.”

"The first floor of the building is Newtonian mechanics."

"Newton unified the relationship between the forces of all things in the world with just three laws and a formula for universal gravitation."

“Whether in the sky or on earth, behind the complex phenomena, the truth is so simple and clear.”

"The apple falls to the ground and the moon revolves around the earth. It turns out that the same force is at work."

“It’s as if nature is telling us how wonderful the truth of physics is.”

"It can be said that Newton set an example for later generations on how to build the edifice of physics."

"That is, behind countless different phenomena, there must be a unified mechanism hidden."

"And the mechanism must be simple and beautiful."

"It's definitely not like the original geocentric theory, where, for the sake of rationality, a large ring was put inside a small ring, dozens of them."

"So, under the influence of this kind of thinking, physicists built the second and third floors of the building, Maxwell electromagnetism and thermodynamics."

"Their forms are equally simple and perfect."

"Maxwell's four equations unify electricity and magnetism."

"Electricity, magnetism, light, electromagnetic waves, electricity generating magnetism, magnetism generating electricity, these completely different natural phenomena all obey the same law."

“Once again, nature has shown the beauty of its simplicity.”

"With just four formulas, physicists have conquered electromagnetic waves and light."

"And the three laws of thermodynamics explain all thermal phenomena in nature."

"From the law of conservation of energy, to the impossibility of inventing a perpetual motion machine, to the impossibility of reaching absolute zero."

"In three sentences the truth that permeates the universe is summed up."

"So now I can understand why the late Lord Kelvin expressed such emotion at the meeting of the Royal Society of London."

"The three major theories of physics form a edifice of physics that is perfect and unbreakable in every respect."

“Although it only has three floors, its height has already touched the truth in the sky.”

“All the secrets of the world are hidden in this building.”

"Each floor has many different rooms, and each room contains a branch of physics."

“Many physicists have spent their entire lives decorating just one of these rooms.”

“If time stopped at the moment the building was completed, it would become an eternal classic.”

"So, I call the physics of this period classical physics."

Li Qiwei's opening words silenced all the bigwigs present.

Especially the older generation of physicists such as Roentgen, Lorentz, and Lord Rayleigh, who were most deeply touched.

They have been bathed in the sunshine of classical physics since childhood, using mechanics to calculate the orbits of celestial bodies and electromagnetism to calculate the strength of magnetic fields.

In their minds, classical physics is omnipotent.

Mastering it is like mastering the world.

They once thought that physics had reached its end and that there would be no new theories.

There will be no new floor to the edifice of physics.

However, they were totally wrong.

Li Qiwei took in the expressions of the bosses.

His narration made the older generations reminisce about the glory of the past.

However, the world is always moving forward, and physics is no exception. There is never an end.

"As time went on, physicists discovered that this seemingly unbreakable edifice of physics actually had several cracks."

"Lord Kelvin once said that the two biggest rifts were the blackbody radiation problem and the ether problem."

"Now we know that if we want to repair these two cracks, we can't just paint them, but we have to build on the foundation of the three-story building."

“If you want to solve the blackbody radiation problem, you have to build the quantum theory layer; if you want to solve the ether problem, you have to build the relativistic layer.”

“Of course, these two floors are far from complete at the moment, but I am confident that they will be completed next.”

"Especially the relativistic layer, it will be built first."

Everyone was shocked after hearing this.

Bruce's fierce confidence reappeared.

At the Dark Cloud Conference, the Quantum Conference, the Nobel Prize Conference, and the Theory of Relativity Conference, Bruce once made bold statements that he would change physics.

The scary thing is, he almost did it all.

Could it be?

At this moment, the bigwigs present couldn't help but wonder in their hearts, has the general theory of relativity that Bruce mentioned before been completed?
Otherwise, how could he be so confident and dare to say that he could definitely solve the cracks in the ether problem?

Ever since quantum theory and special relativity were proposed, physicists have had a love-hate relationship with them.

Love it because these are two brand new theories that represent an infinite future.

The reason I hate it is that both theories are too elementary and it is impossible to go deeper into them at the moment.

Quantum theory was first proposed, but currently it seems to have no other uses except for its use in photoelectric effect and specific heat of solids.

It's hard to believe that it would be a great theory.

Not to mention the theory of relativity, which, so far, cannot even be verified experimentally.

The only verification is the electron mass experiment, but the error is too large.

Physicists currently do not recognize the experimental results.

Most importantly, the special theory of relativity still has a fatal flaw that has not been resolved.

This makes its status, like quantum theory, very embarrassing.

Li Qiwei certainly knew about this situation, and this was also the focus of today's meeting.

"In addition to these two largest cracks, there are some smaller cracks that Lord Kelvin did not mention at the time."

"The first small crack was the problem of the photoelectric effect, although this has now been resolved."

"But I know that there are still many physicists who do not accept that light is quantum."

"Because they can't imagine how a continuous electromagnetic wave can be discontinuous."

“I once read a paper by someone who argued that light is quantum only at the moment of absorption and emission.”

"Under normal circumstances, light remains continuous."

“I have to say, this is a genius idea.”

In real history, this was Planck's idea when he proposed the concept of quantum.

This is also the limit of his compromise with classical physics.

“But I think it’s actually a compromise.”

"A manifestation of not daring to abandon classical physics."

"Next, I will prove the correctness of the photon."

Li Qiwei's words cheered everyone up. It seemed that Bruce had already thought of a solution.

"The second small crack is the spectrum of elements."

"Professor Lorentz, Professor Sommerfeld, you two are leading experts in spectroscopy."

"You two should acknowledge the importance of this crack."

After saying this, Lorenz and Sommerfeld nodded slightly.

Lorentz won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on the relationship between magnetic fields and the radiation spectra of elements.

But he still doesn't understand the fundamental mechanism of the Zeeman effect (Chapter 135).

In the future, Sommerfeld would perfectly explain this problem and even derive an anomalous Zeeman effect, but that would depend on Pauli.

"The third small crack is the arrangement of the periodic table."

"Since Professor Rutherford discovered the nature of radioactivity, his research group has discovered more and more new elements." "These new elements have no place to be placed according to the existing periodic table rules."

"So, I think there's something wrong with the periodic table."

"The position of an element is definitely not just related to its atomic weight."

Li Qiwei's words instantly caused exclamations.

The creation of the periodic table can be said to be the pinnacle achievement in the field of chemistry.

All the material components of the universe are contained in a small table.

But now, Ridgway is publicly saying it is wrong.

How could it not cause shock?

But Rutherford was very calm. In fact, he had already had this feeling a long time ago.

When he and Soddy were studying radioactivity, they discovered the problem with the periodic table.

But he never found a good theory.

In real history, this problem would be solved by Soddy and Bohr.

Li Qiwei continued: "As for the fourth small crack, I think it is a field."

"Field?" Everyone looked confused.

This concept of classical electromagnetism has been used for more than 60 years and has never encountered any problems.

At this time, Lang Zhiwan couldn't help but ask.

"Bruce, electric field, magnetic field, the concept of field is clear and concise, doesn't it just meet your requirements for physics theory?"

"What's wrong with it?"

Li Qiwei said: "Although we know a lot about the field, we have solved many problems with it."

“But I want to ask everyone here about the nature of the field.”

"Do you think it is a wave or a particle?"

Li Qiwei's question made the bosses frown slightly.

They really didn't think about this issue carefully and just used it.

Since Faraday invented the concept of field, subsequent physicists have inherited this method.

Electric field lines, magnetic field lines, the direction of the field is related to the direction of the force.

The form of its force is the same as the law of universal gravitation, and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.

But it seems that no one has ever studied its nature.

The field is real because magnets can sense it and interact with it.

For a moment, all the physicists present began to think quietly.

Li Qiwei also continued: "The above is the theory of classical physics and the various problems we are currently facing."

"These problems cannot be explained by the three major theories. We must create new theories."

“So, with the advent of quantum theory in 1900 as the boundary, I call the following period modern physics.”

"In addition to solving the above outstanding problems, modern physics also needs to explain the following three problems."

"That's X-rays, radioactivity, atoms and electrons."

"Of course, these three questions are also traps set by Professor Roentgen, Marie Curie, and Professor Thomson for everyone."

After that, laughter broke out in the conference room.

Obviously, Li Qiwei's humor and ridicule diluted the somewhat serious atmosphere in the meeting room.

"In fact, when it comes down to it, these three problems are all caused by one problem."

"That is the study of atoms."

"X-rays come from atoms, radioactivity comes from atoms, and electrons come from atoms."

"There are so many secrets hidden inside atoms. So far, we have only scratched the surface of their composition and structure."

"There are still many things that my theory of atomic nuclei and planetary models cannot explain."

"For example, does the atomic nucleus have a more detailed composition and structure?"

"What kind of existence is an electron? Is it a solid ball?"

"Why does it move forever? Doesn't this violate the law of conservation of energy?"

“In addition, the photoelectric effect, elemental spectroscopy, and the periodic table are also closely related to atoms in essence.”

“The photoelectric effect is the interaction between atoms and light, elemental spectroscopy is the interaction between atoms and energy, and the periodic table is the interaction within atoms.”

"Therefore, I believe that the focus of physics for some time to come will definitely be the study of atoms."

"The reason why physicists feel lost and think that physics is messy and has no main thread is because they have not thought about the essence of the problem."

"As I said before, Newton's three laws of mechanics, Maxwell's equations, and the three laws of thermodynamics are all simple and beautiful."

“Behind countless different phenomena, there must be a unified theory.”

Having said this, Li Qiwei suddenly raised his voice, his expression became firm, and he waved his arms vigorously.

Everyone present was infected by his change and couldn't help but sit up straight, as if they were listening to something earth-shattering.

"So I think that the study of modern physics can be conceived in this way."

“The study of atoms is the core, and the development of a theory that can explain all the behaviors of atoms.”

"From these behaviors, we can deduce various phenomena such as X-rays, radioactivity, and spectral problems."

"This theory will definitely become a layer of the edifice of physics, just like the three major theories of classical physics."

"At present, quantum theory has great potential."

“Also, there’s an important parallel, which is the theory of relativity.”

"Personally, I think the core of relativity is time and space."

"This theory has no so-called experimental basis, but is the realm of pure theoretical physics."

"The future of physics will be dominated by quantum theory and relativity!"

"The above is my summary and opinion on classical physics and modern physics."

“I hope everyone here can point out my shortcomings.”

"Thank you."

boom!
When Li Qiwei finished his speech, thunderous applause broke out in the conference room.

All the bigwigs present were impressed by Li Qiwei's profound insight.

Although what he said was already known.

However, how to unravel and connect seemingly unrelated physical phenomena together requires a very high level of physical knowledge.

Even Roentgen, Lorentz, Planck and others, if you ask yourself honestly, they could not do this.

That's why they couldn't help but applaud hard.

The emergence of a genius like Ridgwell in physics is simply the most wonderful thing in the world.

Without the blues, physics would be dark forever!

As for the younger generation such as Einstein and Lang Zhiwan, they were full of admiration for Li Qiwei.

After the other party's analysis, the seemingly complex and endless physical phenomena are no longer a headache.

Physicists can start with atomic research and systematically study various new phenomena, just like reading a text on the palm of your hand.

Even have a goal to work towards.

That is to use one theory to explain all phenomena.

Einstein couldn't help but sigh. He thought he had caught up with Bruce, but he didn't expect that he was still far behind.

This speech by the other party will undoubtedly go down in history.

Bruce's perspective is too high, even higher than the building of physics.

Einstein couldn't imagine how he could come up with such a conclusion.

This almost points the way for those who come after.

If the older generation of physicists admired Ridgway and the same generation of physicists respected Ridgway, then the younger generation such as Bohr had only endless admiration for him.

At this moment, it seemed as if a fire was burning in Bohr's heart.

Li Qiwei's prediction made him completely crazy.

He never thought that someone could analyze physics so thoroughly.

It’s as if physics was created by the other party.

At this moment, Li Qiwei was like a god in Bohr's heart.

Bohr believed that today's meeting, even if it ended here, would cause a super earthquake in physics.

Every word in this speech contains countless information and mysteries.

It was as if the Creator was personally giving lessons to humans.

Endless shock!
Li Qiwei looked at everyone with a smile, and felt that their reactions were justified.

This great achievement was created by dozens of talented physicists over decades of work.

Now he summed it up in a few words.

If this couldn't shock the people present, then Li Qiwei could only suspect that their IQ was not high enough.

From this day on, the foundations of quantum mechanics and relativity have been laid by him.

No matter how physics develops in the future.

All physicists will live in his shadow.

No matter what results they have researched, they are inseparable from the content of Li Qiwei's speech today.

Ridgwell is like the god of physics, standing high in the sky of physics, overlooking countless geniuses who are building the edifice of physics according to his instructions.

(End of this chapter)