1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 306: After the general phase, step into cosmology! (Thanks to the leader [I am so unstable]!)

In the first half of 1912, physics progressed at a steady pace.

Young physicists gradually became the mainstream.

The older generation is retiring more and more completely.

For example, Lorentz. Since the Bohr-Lee model explained the Zeeman effect, Lorentz felt that there was nothing more to study.

So he resigned from his professorship at Leiden University and became a consultant to the museum.

Of course, he also goes to school every week to give speeches to inspire the younger generation.

Planck was appointed president of the University of Berlin and retained his position as head of the Department of Physics.

Officially changed from a physics researcher to a manager.

This may be related to his outstanding contributions to the military.

And given Planck's reputation and status, he was the only one who could be the president of the university.

So Planck also left the front line of research and started pure educational work.

Roentgen retired completely, stayed away from academia, and engaged in popular science education.

There are also other big guys who have more or less left the front line of scientific research.

Their energy just can't keep up.

Many people lamented: "An era of physics has ended."

And this era is the intersection of classical physics and modern physics.

Led by big names such as Planck, Thomson, Roentgen, and Lorentz.

They are key figures who connect the past and the future.

Just like a lubricant, it makes the connection between the two generations of physics less abrupt.

It also opens up a future direction for future generations.

Although their achievements have various limitations, history will not deny their contributions.

Next comes the stage of in-depth research into modern physics.

After successive breakthroughs in relativity, quantum theory, atomic structure, etc., in-depth and detailed research followed.

That is, people began to study the various details of these theories.

Although a single detail may seem insignificant.

But it is precisely because of the unremitting pursuit of countless physicists that the so-called theory has practical connotations.

Become richer, easier to use and more extensible.

Otherwise, an empty theory will be useless either in academia or in practice.

Although these detailed theories are not very famous in the history of physics.

But if a professional physics student conducts systematic study, then this knowledge is essential.

Ordinary people only need to understand the concepts of a few nouns.

Real research requires a lot of experiments and calculations, which is actually a rather boring process.

But young physicists enjoy it.

Without true passion, it is impossible to enjoy the joy of scientific research.

In 1912, Born and von Karman published a paper entitled "On the Vibrations of Space Lattices".

This was a theory of crystal lattices that foreshadowed the rapid development of crystallography.

Both of them were physics lecturers at the University of Göttingen in Germany, so they had a very good relationship.

Von Karman later became a master of mechanics, particularly in fluid dynamics and aerodynamics.

Known as the "Father of Supersonic Flight".

A Chinese student he taught later became famous and a household name.

The case of Born and von Karman is a microcosm of this.

It represents that young physicists have officially taken over the banner.

And scientists of this era were constantly on the move.

For example, when Laue just arrived in Switzerland to become a professor, Einstein went to Prague in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The positions of the bosses change very frequently.

But no matter how it changes, the world of physics is becoming more and more exciting.

Now everyone is holding their breath and frantically doing experiments and calculations.

The purpose is to produce more results before the second Bruce Conference.

Strive for that precious invitation.

The center of physics, the initiator of the Bruce Conference, is the existence that everyone is thinking about.

Bruce Lee!

He was writing furiously at this moment, and his general theory of relativity had reached a critical stage.

Inside the office of the Dean of Physics, King's College London.

Assistant Delia gently pushed the door open again and poured Li Qiwei another cup of tea.

The tea he drank was all the finest tea he brought from home.

There is no need to waste resources when entertaining Rutherford and others.

Delia poured the tea carefully, and a pleasant smell of perfume stimulated Li Qiwei and woke him up from his thesis.

I looked up at her and found that Delia was dressed very exquisitely today.

She tied her long hair up, and her tall and straight figure made people want to take a second look.

After reading it, Li Qiwei said seriously:

"Delia, is there anything important happening in the department recently?"

Delia whispered, "Many people want to visit you, but I have already informed them of the situation."

"Then Professor Bakla will be in charge of the reception."

“These are the things you need to sign.”

Li Qiwei flipped through it and found that it was all about purchasing research equipment for the laboratory.

Because of him, King's College has become more well-known.

More and more students want to apply, and as a result, the number of people in the Physics Department has also increased.

Therefore, the scale of various teaching equipment and research equipment needs to be expanded.

Li Qiwei waved his hand and approved everything since it was not his own money.

Anyway, if he wants funding, he can just say hello to Karp.

The school’s current funding gives priority to the Department of Physics.

There's nothing we can do about it, since the school's money all depends on Li Qiwei.

"Anything else?"

Li Qiwei wanted Delia to get out quickly, he was very scared now.

When Delia handed over the documents, she got too close, which was extremely challenging for the cadres.

"Hubble wants to make an appointment with you. He will report his recent achievements to you."

Li Qiwei groaned for a moment, then said, "Oh, then let him come in now. I happen to be free."

"Okay." Delia smiled and went out quietly.

After a while, Hubble came in.

He held a document in his hand and said excitedly:
"Professor, for some reason, the field of astronomy has suddenly become popular recently."

“The number of papers published is at least two or three times what it was before.”

Li Qiwei smiled.

It seems that the big guys were all similar when they were young.

Impulsive, passionate, and enthusiastic.

He is totally different from the calm, old-fashioned and serious image of a scientist imagined by later generations.

Hubble in front of him was smiling happily at the moment, without any attempt to hide it.

The rise of astronomy gave Hubble hope.

He studied under the top physicist of today, but what he learned was not orthodox physics, but astronomy.

This made many people think that Hubble might have something wrong with his brain.

“Can stars be eaten as food?”

"Hubble is living a hard life despite having a lot of money."

“Young people are still too young!”

"I guess Hubble wanted to be Professor Bruce in astronomy."

“American astronomy is still very strong.”

Hubble came to the UK from the United States alone to study and was under tremendous pressure.

He also wanted to achieve something, not just to have experience. That was meaningless to him.

Li Qiwei smiled and said: "More than two thousand years ago, ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians began to study astronomy."

“It is no exaggeration to say that it is the oldest discipline.”

"My favorite theory is actually the geocentric one."

Wow!
Hubble was startled.

He didn't expect that Professor Bruce, the top physicist, would say such a thing.

The geocentric theory has long been disproven.

Even if you ask an elementary school student now, he or she will know that the geocentric theory is wrong and the heliocentric theory is correct.

What happened to Professor Bruce?

Although Hubble had doubts in his mind, he did not ask immediately, but just laughed along.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Li Qiwei said with a smile:

"Haha, I don't think the geocentric theory is correct."

"More than 2,000 years ago, the ancients knew that the earth was round."

"They used geometrical calculations to clearly prove that the earth is round."

"It was just that at that time, information was blocked and difficult to spread, which led many ordinary people to believe that the earth was flat, or that it was carried by a giant turtle."

"In fact, ancient people were not stupider than people today. This is a misunderstanding of many people."

"Moreover, most importantly, the great men of ancient Greece also compiled a whole set of celestial theories based on the movement of stars in the sky."

"With the geocentric theory as the core, it explains many astronomical phenomena."

“Although many things seem wrong now.”

"But that was more than two thousand years ago."

"If I had been born at that time, I would probably just play in the mud."

Hubble couldn't help laughing.

He didn't expect that Professor Bruce had such a humorous and lovely side.

However, Hubble believed that even if the other party was sent back more than two thousand years ago, he would definitely become a master of that era.

A genius is a genius in any era.

"Professor Bruce, I didn't expect you to have such a deep understanding of astronomy."

"It's a shame you didn't become an astronomer."

Li Qiwei continued: "The purpose of my telling this story is not to make fun of myself, but to illustrate a problem."

"That is, humans can actually create theories that are ahead of their time."

"In contemporary China, the ancients believed that the world was round and square."

"But the ancient Greeks were able to come up with the geocentric theory."

"In a sense, those few people actually transcended their time."

"Because according to the normal laws of historical development, they should also use some myths to explain the world."

“Instead of being so geographical.”

“So I think people can transcend the times.”

Wow!
Something seemed to be stirring inside Hubble.

He didn't fully understand what Li Qiwei said.

But he could feel the vitality.

The kind of arrogance that doesn't take the world into consideration.

Hubble couldn't think of a word to describe it.

Man can conquer heaven!

Ridgway went on to say, “Not only do I know about astronomy from the time of the ancient Greeks, I also know about astronomy today.”

"The biggest debate in astronomy right now is probably about whether the Milky Way is the only galaxy in the universe."

Hubble was immediately in awe.

Professor Bruce is indeed so terrifying.

He even knows such cutting-edge astronomical knowledge.

There are currently two factions among astronomers regarding the Milky Way.

One school of thought believes that the Milky Way is the only galaxy in the universe.

The other nebulae, star clusters, etc. observed are all inside the Milky Way and are part of it.

Another group believes that the Milky Way is just an isolated island in the universe.

The nebulae that people observe, such as Andromeda, are galaxies equivalent to the Milky Way.

This is the so-called island universe theory.

The universe is a vast ocean, and the Milky Way is just an insignificant island floating on the ocean.

The two factions each held their own views and the debate was very fierce, but neither side convinced the other.

If Li Qiwei remembers correctly, there should be results in a dozen years.

And the one who ended it is Hubble in front of us.

"Yes, Professor, you are absolutely right."

“This question has been bothering everyone.”

"Could it be you"

Hubble couldn't believe it. It couldn't be possible.

There's no way Professor Bruce could be that strong.

Li Qiwei smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have no opinion on this issue."

"Because the current methods of astronomy are too crude."

“There were some basic measurements but no proper theory.”

"The problem of the Milky Way does not require advanced knowledge, but rather ingenious measurement techniques."

"You can also try to solve it."

Hubble chuckled and instantly gained confidence.

If he could figure out this problem, he would be able to dominate the field of astronomy.

Finally, Li Qiwei fed Hubble a few more bowls of chicken soup, and the other party left contentedly.

In addition to guiding each other, there was another reason why he wanted to discuss astronomy with Hubble.

That is, after the publication of general relativity, he would officially enter the field of astronomy.

And he wanted to open up a completely new sub-discipline: cosmic astronomy.

The astronomy of this era was not divided into very fine categories like that of later generations.

Each direction has its own specific research content and methods.

Nowadays, any study of things outside the earth is considered astronomy.

Only after the emergence of general relativity did the study of cosmology become possible.

Because cosmology is the study of the relationship between cosmic matter and space-time.

It focused on understanding and explaining the universe, unlike modern astronomy which simply observes and describes celestial bodies.

And space-time is the realm of general relativity.

Black holes, dark matter, dark energy, the Big Bang
As the founder of quantum theory and the theory of relativity, Ridgwell will certainly be able to straddle the two worlds by then.

The left hand is in the microscopic world, gaining insight into the mysteries of atoms.

In the macroscopic field on the right, we analyze the history of stellar bodies.

And all of this needs to start with his general theory of relativity.

At this moment, Li Qiwei looked at the manuscript in front of him, feeling filled with emotion.

"A hundred years later, these things will probably be the most precious cultural relics."

His heart was once again immersed in the vast world.

There are two reasons for the birth of general relativity.

First, to solve the limitation that special theory of relativity is only applicable to inertial reference frames.

Second, incorporate universal gravitation into the theory of relativity.

These two issues are not isolated, but are closely related.

And now, Ridgway needs to re-examine the theory of special relativity.

The first thing he had to ask himself was: Why is an inertial reference frame necessary?

What is so special about inertial frames?

Even a genius like Newton needed the limitations of inertial systems for his laws of mechanics.

(End of this chapter)