1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 290 The fourth question! It’s terrifying to think about it! Do electrons have free will?
The Second Quantum Theory Conference finally reached its most tense moment.

Facing the two big guys, Michelson and Lorentz, Bruce proposed two quantum numbers with his wild imagination.

This completely made up for the defects of Bohr's model and made it a real physical theory.

Quantum theory, just like the theme of the conference, was pushed to the peak by Bruce.

However, Rutherford, who came on third, made Bruce taste defeat for the first time.

The Bohr-Lee atomic model is not applicable to radioactivity.

In the end, Bruce explained the reason in the form of a conjecture.

And his conjecture was also recognized by many bigwigs present.

You know, the conjectures of top physicists are completely different from the blind guesses of ordinary people.

Bruce's predictions are based on his intuition that is far superior to that of ordinary people and his profound knowledge of physics, capturing a flash of inspiration in his mind.

It is a mysterious and indescribable state.

Ordinary people might think that it is a trick.

But the big guys present all knew how rare that state was.

They were willing to believe Bruce's guess.

Therefore, rather than being a failed answer to this third question, it would be more accurate to say that it will be left to be answered in the future.

The result of the confrontation between Bruce and Rutherford will be known someday in the future.

And now, Rutherford is pressing on with the fourth question.

He even declared that the question was so important that Bruce had to answer it.

At this moment, the solemn atmosphere on the field reached its peak.

Everyone is waiting to see what the problem will be.

Why it can shake the foundation of Bohr's model.

At this moment, Rutherford adjusted his mood and said with a smile: "Bruce, my second question is also very simple."

"The Bohr model states that when an electron jumps from one orbit to another, it absorbs or releases energy."

"We all focus on the results of the transition, but not the transition itself."

"for example."

"Now let's assume that the electron has been excited to the third orbital and is about to make a transition."

"Then the question is, why does the electron choose to jump to the second orbit instead of the first orbit?"

"Or if the electron jumps to the first orbital, why doesn't it jump to the second orbital?"

"This process, to me, is as if the electrons have free will."

"Not only can it choose the time of the jump, but it can also choose the trajectory of the jump."

"It can jump to any orbit it wants, and there is no physical mechanism that can control its movement."

“This simply violates the law of causality.”

"You can imagine what would happen if you brought this behavior of electrons into the macroscopic world."

“Suppose someone throws a stone into the air.”

"This corresponds to the electron absorbing energy and being in an excited state."

"Logically, the stone will fall to the ground due to gravity and return to its stable ground state."

"But now the stone seems to have suddenly developed free will."

"Instead of falling back to the ground, it was suspended in the air."

"It suddenly fell at a time that we could not predict."

"Maybe a second, maybe an hour."

"In short, the result of the stone falling to the ground has no causal relationship with any factors. It is entirely up to the stone itself."

"It's no use if I take a stick and hit the stone to make it fall to the ground faster."

“The stone has lost its connection with the world. It’s like it’s independent.”

“That’s what I think is so weird about electrons.”

"Its behavior of jumping violates the law of causality."

"And that's my problem. Without explaining this problem, the Bohr model will never make sense."

After Rutherford finished speaking, there was no more noise.

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

His mouth was open, his eyes were glazed over, and his face was filled with shock.

His question was really too scary.

Do electrons have free will?

Oh my God, are electrons round little people?
At this moment, even the big guys in the front row took a deep breath.

Rutherford's question is really terrifying and makes your scalp tingle when you think about it carefully.

"Oh my God, is this the horror of cutting-edge physics today? Why do I feel like it's leaning towards philosophy?"

"Professor Rutherford's question is really terrible. The information contained in this question is really too huge."

"Electrons are just like ghosts. Could it be that they are really a kind of life, a life that transcends human cognition?"

"But everything in the world is made up of atoms, so why don't we see rocks moving or water flowing against the flow?"

"Is it possible that electrons cannot show intelligence in the macroscopic world where we humans live?"

"Oh my God, I can't think about it anymore. The more I think about it, the more headache I get. My brain is not worthy of thinking about such advanced physics problems."

At this moment, everyone went completely crazy.

Their imaginations are so wild that they even imagine bizarre creatures like electronic men.

Even the big guys in the front row were shocked by Rutherford's question.

His reasoning is really too bizarre.

The big guys absolutely do not believe that electrons have any free will or even intelligence.

That's pure fantasy.

Humans are such complex creatures that they have the ability to develop intelligence.

An electron is just a small ball with an extremely simple structure. How could it have such a bizarre thing as will?

(Note: At this time, physicists believed that the electron was a solid sphere, but with a very small mass and volume.)
However, the question is, if electrons do not have their own will, then how do we explain this strange transition behavior?
Planck shook his head. He felt that Rutherford was even crazier than he was when he first proposed quantum theory.

Although quantum theory believes that the world is discontinuous, that is acceptable.

As early as the ancient Greek era, philosophers were looking for the origin of the world, something that cannot be divided.

This actually implies a kind of discontinuity idea.

The smallest units make up our colorful world.

Of course, there is discontinuity between the minimum and the minimum.

But causality is another matter.

I feel hungry, so I eat. This is normal cause and effect.

Being hungry is the cause, eating is the result.

This cause can lead to the corresponding result.

But in the electronic world described by Rutherford, this is not the case at all.

It could be that I had finished my meal, so I was hungry.

Yes, it's that bizarre.

Because I am hungry, this fruit is the free will of the electron and has nothing to do with anything.

In other words, any action can become the cause of my hunger.

At this moment, even the big guys felt their scalps tingling.

Thomson said solemnly: "Think carefully about Bohr's model. It really does not mention this problem and cannot explain it."

"Rutherford's question is very important. I think it even involves some cornerstone rules of the real world."

Wow!
Thompson's words shocked the big guys around him.

They are the pinnacle of physics today.

I didn’t expect Thomson to use the word rule.

This is not a physical law like Newton's law or the law of universal gravitation.

Everyone understood what Thompson meant.

The so-called rules are more like the underlying design of the world. For example, why the speed of light is this value, no one knows, and can only accept it.

It is not something that physicists can describe through laws.

But it is the true appearance of the world, its essence.

And now, Rutherford's problem is a bit similar to this.

Einstein in the crowd seemed to be thinking deeply after hearing Rutherford's question.

He is very interested in this issue.

And he denied the idea of ​​free will right away.

There must be some deeper mechanism that has not yet been discovered.

At the same time, he was deeply shocked.

These top figures in today's physics world are indeed not to be underestimated.

They may be a little behind in the study of modern physics.

It was that pure physical insight that didn’t go away.

The boss is always the boss, no matter what field he studies.

Wilson looked a little bitter.

"Hey, they are all from Cavendish, why is there such a big difference?"

"Compared to Bruce and Rutherford, I feel terrible."

"But I can brag about it later. I gave Bruce questions and helped Rutherford assemble instruments."

At this moment, the discussion in the venue has reached its peak.

Rutherford's question is really awesome.

Everyone firmly believed that this must be the final ultimate question.

And now, the man on the podium.

How will he cope with it?
Everyone's eyes were once again focused on Li Qiwei, as if they were about to crush him.

Li Qiwei sighed inwardly at this moment, what was supposed to come finally came.

In real history, after Bohr completed his paper, he handed it to Rutherford immediately.

He hopes that his supervisor can give him advice, and with the endorsement of a big shot, he can publish his paper more smoothly.

As a result, after reading the paper, Rutherford raised this question.

In his opinion, there must be something wrong with Bohr's theory.

Rutherford could not accept this behavior of electrons in any way.

But in the end, he agreed to publish the paper.

Sure enough, for such an important issue, history has not changed much, it just changed the occasion.

At this moment, facing everyone's gaze, Li Qiwei did not answer immediately, but asked: "Bohr, what do you think of this issue?"

Wow!
There was a commotion in the audience.

No one expected that Ridgway would ask Bohr to answer.

He himself was looking ahead, as if thinking about this question.

Bohr was also stunned. He didn't expect that his mentor would push the task to him.

He was originally planning to continue to play a supporting role.

However, Bohr did not dare to take his mentor's words lightly.

Maybe this is a test for myself.

He took a deep breath and said loudly: "Professor Rutherford, first of all, I do not agree with the view that electrons have free will."

"Electrons, like everything else in the world, are unintelligent material entities."

“I think the reason why it exhibits this phenomenon is that it is the true face of the world.”

“It’s like why the orbit of an electron is discontinuous, because that’s how the world works.”

"And the same is true for the transition behavior of electrons."

After saying this, Bohr nodded.

However, his answer still caused a sigh.

Obviously, most people present were dissatisfied.

I thought to myself, Bohr, you are so awesome.

Whatever you can't explain, you push onto the world.

A quantum orbit has been used once, and as a result, it is used again for electron transition.

Many people simply cannot accept this.

"Bohr is so awesome. Even Newton was not as awesome as him."

"So when we encounter problems that we can't solve in the future, can we just say that this is how the world works?"

“It’s an opportunistic behavior.”

"What Bohr meant was, whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway."

The noise of the crowd obviously said it all.

But Bohr remained expressionless. The more he studied quantum theory, the more he discovered its strangeness.

For many things, it’s not that he doesn’t want to explain, but that he really can’t explain them.

The difference between that mysterious microscopic world and the real macroscopic world is really too great.

Rutherford was not very satisfied with Bohr's answer.

The other party did not really solve the problem.

"Bohr, I don't think your explanation is enough to convince me."

"It's like we don't know why the speed of light is that value, but I can study it and describe it through theory."

"There are even laws of physics to explain its behavior."

"For example, wave mechanics, Maxwell's equations, etc."

"And if you compare electrons to light, then the trajectory of electrons is the speed of light, although we don't know why it is quantized."

"But your Bohr model predicts its motion."

"Similarly, there should be a theory that can predict its transition behavior."

“I think the logic is sound.”

Rutherford's words won the approval of everyone present.

Yes, transition is a behavior, and it should be able to be described by laws.

Rather than what Bohr said, it should be like that.

Bohr also thought about Rutherford's analysis, and he had to admit that what the other party said made sense.

Take light as an example and make yourself irrefutable.

At this moment, Bohr looked at his mentor, Professor Bruce again.

Rutherford also stared at Li Qiwei on the stage.

Everyone is waiting for his answer.

However, Li Qiwei did something that no one expected.

Suddenly, he turned around and faced the audience.

Then Bohr's speech was re-projected.

And it froze on the page of hydrogen atom emission spectrum.

Li Qiwei stared at the spectrum and fell into deep thought.

At this moment, everyone was confused.

I don't know what his purpose is in doing this.

However, no one asked, for fear of disturbing his thoughts.

Everyone followed his gaze and looked at the hydrogen atom spectrum, hoping to discover something remarkable from it.

Rutherford sighed, Bruce is about to use up his potential.

Bruce in this state is extremely powerful.

Wilson: Everyone, let’s start showing off!
One minute
three minutes.
ten minutes.
After a full fifteen minutes, Li Qiwei moved.

boom!
(End of this chapter)