1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 405: Three Hundred Years of Light Debate! I'll Put an End to It!

1919 4 Month 25 Day.

Ridgwell's paper was published on the cover of Nature.

This mere two-page paper brought endless shock to the physics community.

Many people find it incredible and unexpected.

“Why Professor Bruce wants to study the wave-particle duality of light.”

"I thought he would just solve for the fourth quantum number."

"I can't understand."

Of course, Li Qiwei also has many fans.

"If your pig brain could figure it out, that would be great."

"Once the wave-particle duality of light is proven, it will end the wave-particle debate that has lasted for hundreds of years."

"This achievement is much greater than the fourth quantum number."

“There is no doubt that each of Professor Bruce’s papers has profound significance.”

"Maybe this article has something to do with quantum theory."

The point they were arguing about was not the value of the paper.

Because no matter from which perspective you look at it, this paper is earth-shattering.

The nature of light has been debated for hundreds of years.

Newton, Huygens, Thomas Young.
The physics giants are obsessed with this and are working hard on it.

And now, it is finally possible to draw the final conclusion.

One can imagine the shock this caused to the physics community.

Professor Bruce derived the expression of the momentum of light based on the special theory of relativity.

This is a qualitative leap.

Everyone knows that Professor Bruce made this statement when he graduated from undergraduate school.

But at that time, the wave-particle duality of light was just a concept.

Now, it is a theoretical explanation, which is completely different from the past.

Therefore, the focus of everyone's discussion is, what is the relationship between the wave-particle duality of light and quantum theory?

It is impossible for light to have the quantum orbits in the Bohr-Lee model.

However, those top physics experts all sensed an extraordinary atmosphere from the paper.

Cavendish Laboratory, London, UK.

Rutherford looked at the paper in his hand, thoughtfully.

"Bruce just won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the photoelectric effect."

“I didn’t expect that he would take this opportunity to study the wave-particle duality of light.”

"I trust his terrifying instincts."

“Perhaps this is the ultimate secret of light.”

His student Chadwick was surprised and said:

"This is incredible."

"I can't imagine what this kind of light would look like."

"It's like a coin. The side that appears before people's eyes is both the front and the back."

"How is this possible?"

“It’s really contradictory.”

"The wave-particle duality of light has not been recognized for more than a decade."

"I'm afraid that's the reason."

Today's Chadwick is no longer the young and talented student he once was.

After graduating with a Ph.D., he continued to follow his mentor Rutherford and do research.

From Manchester Institute of Technology to Cavendish Laboratory, never give up.

His current research direction is the measurement of nuclear charge.

In addition, he also had to help Rutherford process some experimental data.

Rutherford's experiment inside the atomic nucleus has made a major breakthrough and is about to shock the physics world.

Chadwick has a bit of the calmness and wisdom of a physicist.

Even when facing Professor Bruce, he dared to raise his doubts.

This is an essential quality for a scholar: not being afraid of authority.

Rutherford was very satisfied with his student and planned to promote him to deputy director of the Cavendish Laboratory in a few years.

This will relieve some of the pressure on him.

At this moment, he shook his head slightly.

Although Chadwick is extremely smart, he is young after all.

So many things are easy to see on the surface.

Since Rutherford was interested in training him, he patiently explained:

"No, Chadwick, you are not seeing the essence of the matter."

"The mainstream physics community questioned Bruce's wave-particle duality of light."

“It’s not because I can’t imagine the real physical picture.”

"But there is no exact theoretical model and experimental verification."

"When Bruce proposed this term, the theory of relativity and quantum theory had not yet appeared."

"There is only a quantum concept."

“So it’s normal not to be taken seriously.”

"But as Bruce's fame grows, as far as I know, quite a few physicists have begun to study the wave-particle duality of light."

"Bruce told me privately: If light is also a quantum, then the existing quantum theory cannot describe it at all."

"It wouldn't help to find a fourth quantum number."

Chadwick was shocked when he heard this.

His mentor has known Professor Bruce for more than ten years and they can be considered close friends.

So you can know some unknown details.

And these details are the real key to physics.

Especially Professor Bruce, every word and every thought of his is worth pondering and analyzing.

This is by no means an exaggeration, but a fact that has been verified many times.

"Teacher, doesn't that mean that the current quantum theory still has huge flaws?"

"Many physicists thought that if they could find the fourth quantum number, they would be able to complete quantum theory."

"It seems that things are far from that simple."

Rutherford chuckled and said with emotion:
"If it was that simple, why would Bruce come all the way to Europe?"

"The purpose of his return is to find inspiration and exchange ideas with the most outstanding people."

"Just wait and see. Quantum theory still has a long way to go."

Suddenly, his voice changed.

"By the way, how's the experiment I gave you going?"

When Chadwick heard this, his eyes lit up instantly and he looked excited.

"Teacher, the experiment is exactly as you predicted."

"Your method finally succeeded."

No wonder Chadwick was so excited, because Rutherford's research results were so shocking.

Even compared with Professor Bruce's achievement, it is not inferior.

Because both are the latest findings about the nature of matter.

It represents another major breakthrough in physics.

Physics is about to be disrupted!
University of Paris, France.

After the war, de Broglie returned to the University of Paris to continue his physics research.

He benefited a lot from the trip to Borneo and the conversation with Li Qiwei.

But at the same time, de Broglie also felt that there was still a lot of basic knowledge to learn.

So, with the introduction of his brother, he became Lang Zhiwan's doctoral student, pursuing a doctorate in theoretical physics.

At this moment, he was holding the latest paper and was extremely shocked.

De Broglie still clearly remembered that three years ago he and Compton asked Professor Bruce questions about light.

Unexpectedly, three years later, the other party actually published such an important paper.

The special theory of relativity is actually related to the wave-particle duality of light.

At this moment, de Broglie felt like he was in a dream.

Newton used the reflection of light to prove that light is a particle.

Thomas Young used double-slit diffraction of light to prove that light is a wave.

Now, Professor Bruce uses the theory of special relativity to deduce that light is both a particle and a wave. This is absolutely impeccable!

This could very well be the end of the three hundred year long Great War of Light.

He thought of Compton and Wu Youxun again, and success aroused his fighting spirit.

De Broglie took the paper to find Lang Zhiwan.

He said calmly and firmly:

"Professor, I have decided that I want to take the wave-particle duality of light as my doctoral research topic."

When Lang Zhiwan heard this, he was so frightened that he almost dropped his pipe.

He asked incredulously:
"De Broglie, do you know what you are talking about?"

"The wave-particle duality of light is not so easy to study."

"Otherwise, it would be impossible for Professor Bruce to come up with this theoretical proof more than ten years later."

“This is even harder than general relativity.”

Of course, Lang Zhiwan is suspected of exaggerating.

Because he knew that during the ten years that Bruce was studying general physiognomy, he basically didn't pay attention to other issues.

Research on the wave-particle duality of light has only begun in recent years.

However, this does not hinder the difficulty of this topic.

In Lang Zhiwan's eyes, de Broglie is so much smarter than his brother Maurice that they are simply not in the same league.

If de Broglie had also studied X-rays, he might have won a Nobel Prize.

But I didn't expect that the opponent would set the difficulty to hell right from the start. I don't know what he was thinking.

Lang Zhiwan persuaded earnestly:
"De Broglie, even though you are a noble, I will not let you down just because you have a PhD."

"You need to think it over carefully."

De Broglie remained unmoved.

As a nobleman, he has his own pride.

A PhD degree is completely dispensable to him.

He just wants to challenge himself and the limits of truth.

"Professor, I have made up my mind."

"I am capable of bearing all the consequences."

Lang Zhiwan: You are aloof and noble. You are amazing. It is me, your mentor, who lacks the ambition to make progress.

In the end, Lang Zhiwan agreed to the other party's request.

Because he seemed to see hope in de Broglie.

Since the outbreak of the Physical Age, France seems to be lagging behind Britain and Germany.

If Madame Curie had not won two Nobel Prizes, the gap might have been even greater.

It has been a long time since France has produced any groundbreaking physics results.

Think back to the time before, Fresnel, Pascal, Coulomb, Ampere, Poisson.
France at that time was terribly powerful.

But after entering the 20th century, France became a little sluggish in modern physics.

"Well, de Broglie, I hope you can achieve something extraordinary."

"I can't compare to Professor Bruce though."

“But I have done some research on relativity and quantum theory.”

"If you have any questions, you can always come to me."

De Broglie nodded gratefully.

Although his identity is special, given Lang Zhiwan's status, there is no need to flatter him.

The title of professor is not something that most people can imagine.

This is a purely friendly reminder from the other party.

"Thank you for your support, Professor."

Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

This institute was established by Bohr at the school's request and was later renamed the Bohr Institute.

Bohr himself served as the director of the institute. He was only 34 years old at the time and was also a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences. He was a young and promising man.

At this moment, he was shocked by his supervisor's thesis.

“It actually gave a theoretical expression for the wave-particle duality of light.”

“Although it seems simple, the physical thinking and physical intuition involved are simply unmatched.”

“Is this the teacher’s strength?”

"As time goes by, the teacher has not deteriorated, but has become more acute."

“The importance of this paper is hard to overestimate.”

Yes, Bohr could not evaluate the significance of this paper.

Because he didn't know what impact it would have on the physics community.

But anyway, once this theory is true.

Then the physics community must come up with an explanation for this phenomenon.

"But what theory?"

“Can quantum theory do that?”

"But quantum theory is used to explain the structure of atoms."

At this moment, even with Bohr's extreme intelligence, he could not see any connection or mystery.

However, out of his belief in Li Qiwei, he knew that this paper would definitely show its power in the future.

Now, we just need to wait for experimental verification.

Kronig, who was standing by, saw Bohr lost in thought, so he asked softly:

"Professor, are you also confused about Professor Bruce's paper?"

Koronig graduated from Columbia University in the United States.

His study at Bohr's institute was sponsored by the school.

With the example of Hubble, many American students now want to study in Europe.

Although I am not studying for a doctorate under a big shot, I can still learn a lot as a visiting scholar.

Kronig was one of them, and he was highly regarded by Bohr.

Bohr saw that it was him who was speaking, so he smiled and said:

"Oh, I'm not confused."

"Strictly speaking, the nature of light is an old physics topic."

"It's just like when Professor Thomson discovered the electron, it ended the thousand-year-old view that atoms are indivisible."

“Perhaps Professor Bruce’s paper is similar.”

"Our current understanding of the world and matter is still too superficial."

"The real situation is far more complicated than imagined."

"Moreover, if light is really quantum, then it should also be included in the framework of quantum theory."

"But obviously, current quantum theory can't do that."

"So, I thought of a point that Professor Bruce made before."

"That is, the existing theory may be just an approximation of a higher theoretical framework."

“Could this also be the case with quantum theory?”

“It actually has its own ultimate theoretical form.”

Wow!
Bohr's analysis shocked Kronig.

It's so profound.

"I'm afraid only a quantum giant like Professor Bohr can have such an understanding."

Koronig felt he had made the right decision.

He was very interested in quantum theory.

And now, through Bohr's words, he discovered that quantum theory might have a broader world.

There couldn't be any more exciting news.

At this moment, as soon as Li Qiwei's paper was published, it immediately became the center of the physics community.

That's the impact he has.

At the same time, many physicists began to get ready.

Since the theory is already there, all that remains is experimentation.

Millikan verified the photoelectric effect.

Eddington demonstrated the bending of starlight.

These experiments made them, who were previously unknown, instantly become famous physicists.

And now, such an opportunity has come again!

How could people not go crazy?

(End of this chapter)