1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 352 The times need the voice of leaders! The sci-fi masterpiece "Bugs"!
By observing a total solar eclipse, Eddington proved that light bends when passing through the sun, thus proving the first prediction of general relativity.

The bending of light is a core corollary of the general theory of relativity.

It can be said that Eddington proved the correctness of general relativity in disguise.

Of course, a theory needs to be tested repeatedly.

There is still a long way to go to verify general relativity.

But in any case, this move has greatly excited the physics community.

Even the entire scientific community was shocked by the news.

Because nowadays there are very few people who have not heard of the theory of relativity.

And now, this theory that amazed the world has finally been proven.

Although there are still three other prophecies left, everyone is confident that they will be broken one by one.

Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin, USA.

After Hubble returned from England, he immediately chose to pursue a doctorate at the University of Chicago.

Since his research area is astronomy, he is not usually at the University of Chicago.

Instead, he worked at Yerkes Observatory affiliated with the University of Chicago, studying astronomy.

His doctoral supervisor was American astronomer Professor Barnard, whose achievement was the discovery of Jupiter's fifth moon.

This was the last time humans discovered Jupiter's satellite visually after Galileo. Subsequent satellites could only be discovered through photography.

However, facing a top student like Hubble, Professor Barnard could not display any professorial authority.

After all, Hubble studied under that big guy.

Even his doctoral thesis was drafted with the help of Li Qiwei.

Therefore, Barnard provided Hubble with more guidance on astronomical literacy.

After all, astronomy still places great emphasis on experience. Sometimes an inconspicuous dot in a photo may be a remarkable discovery.

Although Hubble was smart, he was too young and inexperienced.

Barnard could proudly say: "I have seen more stars than you have eaten."

Although Barnard was no match for Ridgway, Hubble still respected him.

Always ask your mentor for advice humbly.

Barnard guided Hubble wholeheartedly and without reservation.

Because the other party is likely to become the greatest figure in the American astronomy community.

How could Bernard be willing to keep it to himself? He even took advantage of it.

Hubble's research direction was about the distances of galaxies.

Because according to the inferences of general relativity, the universe is expanding.

Then naturally, the distance between galaxies should also be expanding.

Hubble just needed to find absolute evidence that galaxies were moving.

At the same time, his ambitions were even greater. He even wanted to calculate properties such as the speed of galaxy displacement.

This requires extremely high astronomical literacy.

This is also the reason why Hubble came back to study for a doctorate and study under Professor Barnard.

When Hubble approached Professor Barnard to apply for a doctorate, he said:

"Professor Bruce is a theoretical astronomer. He can't even tell the stars apart."

"So you are better than Professor Bruce in astronomy experiments and basic knowledge."

"My work requires deep knowledge of astronomy, so I would like to study as your doctoral student."

These two sentences brought Bernard to a climax. The old man was excited, his face flushed, and he immediately accepted Hubble.

And now, the teacher and student are talking about Eddington's achievements.

Hubble said with emotion: "At that time, Eddington, Schwarzschild and I privately called ourselves the Three Great Astronomical Masters."

"Now Eddington has proved the first prediction, Schwarzschild has proved the third prediction, and my fifth prediction is still a long way off."

Professor Barnard smiled and said:

"Hubble, you don't have to underestimate yourself."

"From an objective point of view, the fifth prediction of general relativity is indeed difficult."

"Even the third prediction of black holes can only be said to be half proven. Such celestial bodies have not yet been discovered through experiments. They only exist in theory."

"As for the first prophecy, well, Eddington's achievement was indeed great."

After all, Barnard was Hubble's mentor and a professor of astronomy.

His professionalism enabled him to fully understand the importance of Eddington's work.

The light bending experiment is so perfect that it is an example that can be included in astronomy textbooks.

Hubble laughed heartily and said, "Professor, you don't have to comfort me."

“I have confidence in myself.”

"The fifth prophecy is about the expansion of the universe. I am determined to obtain it."

Bernard was shocked when he heard this.

That's why he likes chatting with young people.

Because he could feel the majestic vitality from the other person.

It is vitality, hope, and an infinite future.

"Hubble, I believe you."

"Your research direction means you will need to do a lot of basic measurement work."

“This is a process of accumulating strength and then releasing it.”

"Maybe in five years, maybe in ten years, I firmly believe that your achievements are destined to become world-famous."

Hubble smiled brightly after hearing his mentor's encouragement.

At this time, Barnard suddenly asked again: "Hubble, can you tell me about Professor Bruce?"

"What kind of person is he?"

"The last time he came to the United States to give a lecture, I was unable to catch up because of something else. I still regret it now."

Hubble was startled and muttered to himself:

"What kind of person is Professor Bruce?"

After thinking for a few minutes, Hubble smiled and said:

"I would like to use one word to describe Professor Bruce, and that is fraternity."

"Philanthropy?" Bernard was puzzled.

He thought Hubble would at least describe Bruce as genius, wisdom, and pursuit of truth.

I didn’t expect it would be a word like fraternity.

"Hubble, can you tell me more about this?"

Hubble said: "If you spend a lot of time with Professor Bruce, you will find that he sees everything in the world as equal."

"He was never pedantic or opposed to patriotism."

"Everyone knows that Professor Bruce is very patriotic and would rather spend his precious time to return to China to build education."

"Otherwise, general relativity might have been invented years earlier."

"But Professor Bruce's patriotism is different from that of ordinary people."

"He loves his own country, but never discriminates against or hates other countries."

"Look at the wars in Europe today and you will know how precious this is."

"Some might say that Professor Bruce is an idealist."

"But isn't a fraternal idealist an asset to humanity?"

"Professor Bruce's sights are always on the future path of all mankind."

“The physics he studies will benefit everyone in the future and even allow humanity to enter the next era.”

"He is a pioneer who seeks the welfare of all mankind."

"Professor Bruce's goal is always the vast sea of ​​stars."

After listening to this, Barnard roughly understood what Hubble meant.

That is, the blues has transcended the limitations of country and nation.

He represents the entire human race.

Thinking of this, Barnard sighed:

"It's a pity that although the "Letter to Scientists Around the World" is well written, few ordinary people read it."

"Otherwise, it would be great if people all over the world could learn to love each other and oppose war."

Hubble also sighed slightly. After all, the circle of scientists is closed in nature and it is difficult to spread information on a large scale.

Even with Professor Bruce's status, he cannot break this restriction.

What's more, now that the war is intensifying, most scientists don't even dare to go out.

Hubble was helpless about this and decided to concentrate on his research.

War will always disappear, but truth will remain.
-
War will indeed disappear, but the damage it causes to the world will remain forever.

The war in Europe was beyond most people's imagination.

Instead of ending quickly, as more countries got involved, the whole of Europe became a mess.

Except for small countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland that remain neutral, Britain, France and Germany are fully prepared for war.

The intensity of the war gradually increased, and even various new weapons appeared.

Aircraft, tanks, submarines, etc.

The content of Li Qiwei's previous article has come true.

Scientists do have a huge impact on war!

They can really invent weapons of great destructive power.

At this moment, everyone knew why Germany detained Eddington and others.

Maybe the other party is researching a new type of aircraft.

When the Chinese observation group learned about these weapons, they were dumbfounded.

The other side's military level is simply not at the same level as ours.

If the West unites and targets Asia, the consequences will be unimaginable.

No one can resist this torrent of steel.

Fortunately for Asians, the war took place mainly in Europe.

Countless families were broken up and couples were separated.

There are more and more voices of opposition and protest against the war from all walks of life around the world.

People are tired of war!

It was in this situation that the literary giants took action.

Geneva, Switzerland.

As a neutral country, Switzerland attracted countless war-weary and anti-war people after the outbreak of the war.

Among them was the French writer Romain Rolland.

On September 1914, 9, Romain Rolland published the article "Above the Dispute" in the Geneva Journal.

In this article, he adopted a superior and detached attitude, not taking the local standpoint of any country.

He is opposed to all patriotism.

“I was in so much pain that I wanted to die,” he said in the article.

"It is a terrible thing to live among such mad humans and to watch civilization collapse helplessly."

"This war is the greatest disaster Europe has seen in centuries."

"Our sacred hope in human fraternity is fading."

As soon as the article was published, it caused a sensation in the intellectual community.

Romain Rolland's ideas against patriotism were highly controversial.

Even his former friends and teachers distanced themselves from him.

He was even called a "traitor" by the French.

"Our soldiers are fighting bravely on the front lines, but Romain Rolland is writing behind their backs saying that we cannot be patriotic."

"What a shameful scholar."

"Who does he think he is? Even Professor Bruce supports fighting for his country."

"This is a hypocritical literati." For a time, Romain Rolland became the target of public criticism and had to hide in Switzerland.

Fortunately, he was taken care of by his good friend Zweig, otherwise he would probably have become mentally ill.

Zweig was a playwright from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Like Romain Rolland, he was an anti-war pioneer.

After Romain Rolland, he also published the anti-war play "Jeremiah".

In addition to the two of them, many people in the literary world also joined the anti-war ranks.

For example, Maugham and others.

However, their ideas are too extreme, or too saintly.

This will anger many ordinary people who are swept up in the idea of ​​war.

In the eyes of ordinary people, patriotism and national justice are above all else.

Anyone who attempts to deny the country will be questioned and criticized.

In addition, the articles written by these literary giants are all well-chosen in terms of word choice and rigorous in logic.

This is certainly a good thing and reflects a high level of literary quality.

But it is not friendly to many ordinary people.

Even if the logic is correct, ordinary people cannot feel it.

Therefore, these anti-war articles could not be disseminated on a large scale.

Even if war breaks out next time, these big guys will have to write another article.

“That’s why fiction is so much more alive.”

In a beachfront villa in Kuching, Borneo, Li Qiwei muttered to himself.

At this moment, he was sitting at his desk, thinking and writing a book.

Through the window in front of him, he could see Wang Luyao and Xiang Lan taking the children to play with water and sand at the beach.

Even from a long distance away, you can hear the clear laughter.

Li Qiwei smiled knowingly.

He will spend his whole life protecting this beauty.

The novel "Bugs" has been completed, and only a few revisions are needed.

In order to save time, Li Qiwei wrote both the Chinese and English versions by himself.

There was no way. There were many professional terms in the novel, and he was worried that the translator would not be able to handle it, which would affect the quality of the novel.

As the number one scientist in the world, Li Qiwei's identity determines that he must speak out and not turn a deaf ear and dumb.

This is the responsibility that comes with honor.

The incident of Romain Rolland made Li Qiwei feel fortunate that he chose a novel instead of a didactic article.

There are so many articles on anti-war themes in later generations, and many of them are very popular.

However, none of them are suitable for publication at this point in time.

Even the critical angle is inappropriate.

Therefore, he needed to modify "Bugs" and cut out a lot of irrelevant content to make it fit the times.

In this novel, Li Qiwei focuses on the war between humanity as a whole and alien civilization.

The military strength of the human civilization in the novel completely crushes that of the present era.

Any one of the five major countries there could even beat up the entire world.

However, even such a powerful human civilization is as fragile as paper when faced with advanced civilizations that are looking for habitats.

The space battleships that humans are so proud of are no more than toys when faced with the weapons of alien civilizations.

The fleet didn't even know what the aliens looked like before they were completely wiped out.

The other party only sent out a mysterious aircraft called Water Drop.

In the novel, Li Qiwei used rigorous physical theories to demonstrate the principle of preparing water droplets.

And predicted a third force besides electromagnetism and gravity: strong force.

He used extremely sci-fi language to explain how strong force is so strong that water drops are indestructible and immune to water and fire. (See Chapter 260)
This kind of super hardcore science fiction novel is something people of this era have never seen before.

The one that everyone is familiar with is "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", which is full of imagination but lacks scientific power.

To put it bluntly, it is the distinction between soft and hard science fiction.

In the middle part of the novel, in order to fight against alien civilizations and save themselves, humans selected five saviors.

Li Qiwei made major revisions to this part.

He focuses on the actions of one of the scientists who was the savior.

This savior is the world's top scientist.

Although he is a Chinese, he thinks from the perspective of all mankind and how to preserve the human flame.

He is not so narrow-minded as to only think about the interests of China.

This fully demonstrates the mind of a great scientist.

This is also the idea that Li Qiwei wants to express, that is, the goal of science is to make mankind great.

In the end, even though humans came up with all kinds of methods, they were still defeated by alien civilizations and were left to survive.

Just when humans want to perish together with alien civilization, the climax of the book comes.

An alien civilization that is more advanced and beyond human imagination has appeared.

The other party was just passing through the solar system and threw out a seemingly ordinary "piece of paper" from the spacecraft.

Then, something happened that shocked all the people on Earth.

The entire solar system was reduced from three dimensions to two dimensions under this inconspicuous piece of paper.

This mysterious and unpredictable method is beyond everyone's understanding.

At the end of the book, human civilization is finally completely destroyed.

Li Qiwei wanted to use this cold ending to alert everyone.

Humans are not special.

The war happening in Europe now is so laughable compared to the war in the novel.

Wealth, power, fame, in front of that last piece of paper of god-level civilization, are like passing clouds.

The novel's narrator explains that weapons that look like miracles to humans are actually just cheap tools used by advanced civilizations for cleaning.

It's like a child likes to take a kettle full of hot water and pour it into an ant hole.

To alien civilizations, the entire human civilization is like a bug that needs to be cleaned up regularly.

Billions of years of human evolution and tens of thousands of years of civilization seem so pale and ridiculous in the face of god-level civilization.

This shocking contrast is the theme that Li Qiwei wants to highlight.

Human beings should not be arrogant, should not fight among themselves, but should always be vigilant against threats from the universe.

This anti-war approach has a unique angle and does not contain long-winded preaching content.

The various scientific knowledge used in it perfectly fits the image of Li Qiwei as a physicist.

Moreover, the scientific knowledge in the novel can even provide certain inspiration and reference for the real scientific development.

In short, after Li Qiwei's magical changes, this novel has become more in line with the characteristics of this era.

The book has two themes:

First, it is the responsibility of scientists to move forward for the future of mankind.

Second, we should oppose wars within humanity and instead strengthen cooperation and work towards the stars and the sea.

"call!"

Li Qiwei stopped writing and stretched.

The novel is finally finished.

Although his writing is terrible, he is not a literary writer after all, so it is understandable.

As long as the story is interesting, readers can tolerate anything.

Li Qiwei stood up and looked out the window. He smiled slightly:
“I hope this novel can bring some changes to the world.”
-
Just as Ridgwell was preparing to publish "The Bug", the 1914 Nobel Prize arrived as expected.

The war in Europe affected many countries.

But Sweden chose to remain neutral.

This is also a helpless move by small countries. Their national strength is weak and they can only protect themselves.

However, despite its lack of presence in terms of national strength, Sweden still chose to continue awarding the Nobel Prize during the war.

This is respect for science and truth.

However, even if Sweden is willing, it has to compromise with reality in some aspects.

In real history, from 1914 to 1918, the Nobel Prize selection was greatly affected by the war.

Nobel Prize in Physics: Not awarded in 1916.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Not awarded in 1916 or 1917.

Physiology or Medicine: Not awarded in 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918.

Literature Prize: No prize awarded in 1914 or 1918.

Peace Prize: Not awarded in 1914, 1915, 1916 or 1918.

This shows the great impact of war on science.

By the time of World War II, the Nobel Prize was in an even more miserable state.

The 1917 Peace Prize was not awarded to an individual, but to the National Committee of the Red Cross.

In recognition of their efforts to protect the rights of prisoners of war on all sides during World War I.

This is one of the few consolations in the war.

The Physics Nobel Prize, as the highest award of the Nobel Prizes, has great symbolic significance, and Sweden is the country that takes it most seriously, so it is less affected.

The 1914 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Laue for his discovery of the phenomenon of X-ray diffraction in crystals.

Laue, a genius who had accumulated a lot of experience and made a stunning breakthrough, shocked the physics world when he proved that X-rays are electromagnetic waves.

He deserves this Nobel Prize.

X-ray crystal diffraction has been studied and used by countless physicists and chemists, and its accuracy is beyond doubt.

That is why the Nobel Prize Committee awarded the prize to Laue so quickly.

University of Frankfurt, Germany.

At the beginning of this year, Laue resigned from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and moved back to Germany.

His good friend Einstein often came to the school to see him.

Now that war has broken out, scientists have become idle.

As a result, he had more opportunities to spend time with Laue.

On campus, the two were chatting.

"Laure, you won the Nobel Prize, why do you look unhappy?"

Lauer sighed softly: "Alas, how can I be happy in this situation?"

The war casts a shadow over everyone's heart.

Lauer said with emotion: "I really miss the time when Bruce was still here."

“Every day feels like life is worth living.”

Einstein was also deeply saddened when he heard this.

War is the central topic in Europe now.

The theme in science, literature, and all fields is war.

Einstein had publicly stated his anti-war stance and would not join either side.

For this reason, he even secretly joined an anti-war group called the "New Motherland Alliance."

However, this group was suppressed by the German government, and Einstein had to be cautious.

If you get caught at this time, you may very likely lose your job. This is no joke.

Einstein sighed: "It's a good thing Bruce left early."

"Otherwise, given his strong character, I'm worried about his safety."

"I don't know how his novel is going. I heard it's an anti-war novel."

"I really want to see it soon. With his influence, it should be able to cause a sensation."

Laue also said with anticipation: “I hope so.”

"Leaders like Bruce are needed now to speak up."

(End of this chapter)