1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 388 Shocking Experimental Questions! Retracing the Path of the Forefathers! Five of the Most Beautiful Experiments in Physics!
On July 1916, 7, the first Physics Olympiad experimental competition was about to begin.

The 80 contestants, led by the navigator, walked towards the competition venue.

It feels quite mysterious.

Everyone was curious.

"Huh? Why weren't the experimental questions on the third floor exam the day before yesterday?"

"Maybe it's because the experimental questions require experiments, which requires a lot of space."

"Even if we're doing experiments, they should be simple ones, right? Can't a table hold them all?"

"I don't know. We'll find out when we get there."

Irena was among the crowd, constantly observing.

Suddenly, she asked:

"Wu, I think you didn't take us to visit this road last time."

"Do you know where we are going now?"

At this moment, Wu Youxun was also confused and very curious.

"I do not know either."

"I only have the authority to take you to visit the periphery. This should be the core of the City of Science."

"It's probably not fully built yet, and I don't have permission to come in."

Irena said "Oh", it seems that this experimental question must be not easy.

After walking for about ten minutes, everyone arrived in front of a huge building.

The building looks ordinary and square on the outside.

Its only feature is that it is large, with an area roughly the same as four football fields.

"What is the purpose of such a large building?"

At this time, the navigator said:

"This is the competition venue. Please enter in an orderly manner."

"The principal and professors are already waiting inside."

Everyone suppressed their curiosity and walked into the building in groups.

As soon as I entered, I was stunned by the scene before me.

I saw the huge hall, divided into separate areas by white wooden boards.

Each individual area is as big as a house.

Looking around, there is no end in sight.

One can't help but want to find out.

Before the contestants could ask questions, Li Qiwei and the heads of delegations from various countries came over.

There is another large group of people behind them.

When the students saw Professor Bruce coming, they quickly stood up with excitement on their faces.

They were obviously tortured to death by Professor Bruce's questions, but now they are extremely looking forward to it.

Li Qiwei laughed softly:
"Hello, fellow contestants."

"Today's experimental question competition will be held here."

“This building is in the heart of the city of science.”

"I believe you must be very curious about what this huge building is used for."

"I can decrypt it for you in advance."

“This will be a science museum in the future.”

“And it will be the largest science museum in the world.”

Wow!
Many students were shocked.

"Science Museum?"

Ridgeway continued:

“Science museums are not a new thing.”

"In 1820, France established the world's first science and technology museum - the French National Museum of Technology."

"It houses advanced machinery, instruments, and various inventions, both real and models, etc."

“In 1851, the Science Museum in London was established.”

“It focuses on the science and technology related to the Industrial Revolution.”

“In 1906, the Deutsches Museum was established in Germany.”

“What is on display there is mainly Germany’s achievements in the field of science.”

“But, in my opinion, all of these science museums operate according to the same principles as traditional museums.”

"Traditional science and technology museums focus on scientific and technological relics from past dynasties, and the exhibits are mainly for display, and visitors are generally prohibited from touching them with their hands."

“But I think that goes against the spirit of science.”

"The modern science museum I want to build will emphasize its educational function."

“The modern science and technology museum is more focused on exploring the future development of science and technology.”

“In terms of exhibition style, we will use hands-on style to replace the display style of traditional science and technology museums.”

"The modern science and technology museum organically integrates exhibition, activities and participation."

“It mainly displays exhibits that reflect the principles and applications of modern science.”

“The audience is encouraged to get their hands dirty, learn and explore scientific knowledge in the process of hands-on interaction.”

“I think that’s the core idea of ​​a modern science museum.”

All the contestants were confused and felt that they were very powerful.

An ordinary museum instantly becomes grand when it comes out of Professor Bruce's mouth.

This is what makes the boss so awesome.

The same thing, but theirs is just better.

“You are very lucky to be the first audience here.”

“And it’s an audience that actually does the experiment.”

"Next, let Professor Bohr explain the rules of the experimental competition to you."

Bohr stepped forward and said:
"The competition rules for the experimental part of the first Physics Olympiad have now been distributed to you."

“You can watch and listen at the same time.”

As he spoke, specialized personnel had already begun distributing them.

“Based on the suggestions of the heads of our delegations, this competition has been modified to a certain extent.”

"Now, what you have in your hands is the five most beautiful experiments in physics before 1900, as recently selected by Nature journal."

Before returning to China, Li Qiwei suggested that Gregory try to publish some ranked popular science articles.

This will help expand the audience of Nature.

For example, the most famous scientists, the most famous papers, etc.

Now that war had broken out in Europe, Nature was greatly affected and the number of submitted papers dropped significantly.

Gregory then began to concentrate on compiling summary rankings related to the history of science.

On the one hand, it creates hype, and on the other hand, it allows more ordinary people to understand the fun of science.

After all, not many people may be interested in real science.

But if we compare which scientist is more awesome, it will definitely trigger a widespread discussion.

In Li Qiwei's previous life, there were many such rankings on a certain website, and the debates were very intense.

Including the second chapter of this book, it also caused a lot of controversy and discussion.

Wu Youxun quickly looked at the paper and saw that it read:
“The five most beautiful experiments in physics before 1900.”

“The ranking is in chronological order.”

"Experiment 1: Galileo's acceleration experiment."

"Experiment 2: Cavendish torque experiment." (Force)
"Experiment 3: Thomas Young's double-slit interference experiment." (Light)
"Experiment 4: Faraday's electromagnetic induction experiment." (Electromagnetism)

"Experiment 5: Joule's equivalent of heat to work." (Heat)
At this point, Bohr continued:
"These classic experiments represented a major breakthrough in physics at the time."

"I believe that you must be very familiar with it in your daily studies."

"However, apart from the first experiment, no one has probably done the other four."

"The rules for the experimental questions in this Physics Olympiad are as follows:"

"Each person draws lots to choose one of the four experiments, Experiment 2 to Experiment 5."

"The requirements of the question are very simple, that is to reproduce the selected experiment and draw the corresponding conclusions."

"The full score is 20 points. Our delegation has already gone through rigorous discussions on the specific scoring criteria."

“Detailed to every key step.”

“Ensure fairness and justice.”

"For a detailed explanation, you can look at the contents on the paper."

As he spoke, Bohr pointed to the white isolation room behind him.

"Those are the experimental sites for each of you." "80 in total, single rooms for each person."

"In each room, there are a full set of instruments and equipment required for four experiments."

“And each room will be equipped with a dedicated recorder.”

"They are all volunteers recruited by Professor Bruce from China."

"Please rest assured that the recorder is professional."

"They all graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics."

"After more than ten days of intensive training, they are fully capable of performing record-keeping and supervision work."

"Moreover, all of us, the heads of the delegations, will take turns to inspect your experiments."

"Finally, we will combine your experimental results and give you a unified score."

"In addition, the record keepers for the five members of the Chinese team will be drawn by lot by the leaders of other countries."

“To ensure fairness.”

"The experimental time is morning and afternoon."

"Someone will deliver your food in the meantime."

"The above is all the content of the experimental questions for this Olympiad."

"If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"If there are no questions, then we will start drawing lots to select topics."

Wow!
When Bohr finished explaining the rules of the game, everyone was stunned.

No wonder they haven’t seen the team leaders for the past ten days.

It turned out that the big guys were preparing the content of the experimental questions.

Each experiment needs to be broken down into steps, so just imagine how complicated it is.

Only these physics giants are qualified to make the assessment.

The contestants really couldn't imagine that the experimental questions would be asked in this way.

Each of these four experiments is the most classic and well-known physics experiment.

It can be said that it represented the pinnacle of wisdom at that time.

Now, they, the undergraduates, are asked to repeat the task.

"Oh my God, this is too much."

"Compared with these experiments, the experiments we usually do are worlds apart."

"Yes, at most we can do some experiments on small ball collisions and pulleys and sliders."

“Now we have to repeat the experiments of these big guys.”

"It's over. I feel like I'm going to get zero points."

At this moment, even students from Europe and the United States began to wail.

That’s right, the laboratories at the university they are in are very high-end.

They can see a variety of instruments and equipment.

But seeing it and operating it are two completely different things.

Of course, these geniuses have learned the contents of the above four experiments.

Know what the goals and outcomes of the experiment are.

But I have absolutely no idea about the specific experimental details.

One contestant asked quietly:

"Professor Bohr, do the experimental procedures have to be followed according to standards?"

Bohr explained:
"You have learned about these experiments during your undergraduate studies."

"You must first write out the experimental plan and steps."

“Then follow these steps to complete the experiment and achieve the final result.”

"As for whether your operation is standardized, it depends on the impact it has on the experiment."

"You can rest assured that the recorder will record all your operations without omission."

“We will grade fairly.”

After listening to this, the contestants now understood everything.

They are all geniuses in their respective countries.

There is no need to explain every detail.

Simply put, this experimental competition tests subjective initiative.

There are almost no restrictions for the players.

As long as you can repeat the experiment, you will get fair evaluation even if your steps are different.

After hearing this, Lancher was so happy that he danced with joy.

This is his favorite game mode.

No constraints at all.

Let these chosen ones try their best to retrace the path to the peak of their predecessors.

During the experiment, they will encounter problems that the physics giants will also encounter.

Then find a way to solve it.

For example, in a double-slit interference experiment, how is the size of the slit determined? How does the error affect the interference fringe results?
Everyone knows about this experiment.

But I don’t know how many of them can actually be repeated.

Irena and the others took a deep breath.

This game is definitely not easy.

It was a tough battle.

These experiments all sound simple, but there are too many details to consider when doing them.

Wu Youxun, Ye Qisun and other five members of the Chinese team looked at each other.

Then, Wu Youxun said:

“Stability is the priority.”

"The experimental plan must be done in detail, which is the key to the competition."

"The four experiments represent the four fields of physics: force, light, electromagnetism, and heat."

“There is no difference in difficulty between them.”

"So, I think you don't have to care about the draw. It doesn't matter which one you choose."

Ye Qisun and the other three nodded heavily. Wu Youxun was their captain.

By now, Ye Qisun finally discovered the secret of why Huangpu University of Technology was ahead of domestic universities.

These two games really opened his eyes and he was excited so many times.

Wu Youxun has always been calm and composed, and has not been disturbed.

Huangpu Institute of Technology is indeed a place to cultivate talents.

Soon, all the contestants began to line up to draw lots.

At this time, Bohr also came to Ridgway's side.

He said with a smile:
"Teacher, I didn't expect you had already prepared all these equipment here."

"I'm worried that I won't make it in time."

Li Qiwei pretended to be angry and said, "I am wondering if you have heard anything from the Fifth Division."

"I just bought the equipment, and you're using it."

Bohr laughed.

It turned out that this batch of instruments had been ordered by Li Qiwei in advance.

He plans to donate it to various universities in China to serve as teaching equipment.

In many schools today, in experimental classes, teachers lead students to make their own instruments.

Not to mention efficiency, even the experimental accuracy is not up to standard.

Not only will it fail to play a teaching role, but it will also mislead students.

So Li Qiwei simply customized and purchased a batch directly from the United States.

All are currently stored in Borneo.

Among them are the instruments for this competition.

After Bohr modified the question format of the experiment, these instruments came in handy.

Therefore, Li Qiwei suspected that Bohr and Master Qian Wu were in cahoots with each other and were deliberately trying to trick their teacher.

As for the recorders majoring in physics, they were recruited by Li Qiwei through the Chinese Science Society.

Only the Science Society has the ability to contact so many physics professionals in a short period of time.

This is Li Qiwei’s current strength.

What Bohr thought was difficult to accomplish, he could do with just the movement of his fingers.

(End of this chapter)