1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 418 Bohr questioned again! The principle of proton generation! Nuclear fission first appeared!

In September and October 1919, three major events occurred in the field of physics.

The first thing was that Professor Bruce, the world's top physicist, participated in the establishment of the International Astronomical Union and was elected as the first president.

He proposed the great debate of the century in astronomy: just how big the universe is.

As soon as the news came out, it caused a huge sensation in the scientific community and the entire society.

Astronomy instantly became the hottest subject and attracted the attention of countless people.

Observatories in various countries even welcome many visitors.

The universe and the stars, these mysterious and vast existences, have an inexplicable attraction to ordinary people.

But the academic community is more concerned about the fact that Professor Bruce is preparing to enter the world of astronomy.

After returning to Cambridge University, Eddington inadvertently revealed Ridgway's idea of ​​studying stars.

It caused a shock instantly.

"Oh, God, Professor Bruce is studying quantum theory and stars, how can he have so much time?"

"With Professor Bruce's extraordinary talent, even if he studies astronomy in his spare time, he is better than most astronomers."

"Perhaps one day in the future, the smallest quantum and the most magnificent celestial bodies will be connected together."

"Professor Bruce still has a long-term vision."

The second thing is that on October 1919, 10, the Nobel Prize was announced.

Because of the war, the Nobel Prize has been greatly affected in the past five years.

Now it has finally fully recovered and is bringing surprises to people again.

The winners of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics are: Gregory, Chris, and Yu Yin.

The reason for the award is: in recognition of their research on the phenomenon of spectral line splitting under the action of electric field.

This is the so-called GKY effect.

This effect, together with the Zeeman effect, gave rise to the third quantum number of the Bohr-Lee model.

So he deserves the Nobel Prize.

Suddenly, people discovered a terrible fact:

"Of Professor Bruce's seven doctoral students, six have won the Nobel Prize so far."

"As for the remaining Bohr, he was the most incredible and even secured the Nobel Prize in advance."

"Soon, all of Professor Bruce's doctoral students will win the Nobel Prize in Physics."

Countless students were envious and crazy.

Moreover, based on the GKY effect, Yu Yin discovered the anomalous Zeeman effect, which made him famous in the physics community.

This shows that the Nobel Prize is far from the limit for these geniuses, and they can continue to climb to the highest peak of physics.

However, it is unlikely that the anomalous Zeeman effect will win the Nobel Prize again.

Yu Yin said he didn't care about this.

He even sent a telegram asking Ridgway to accept the award on his behalf.

Because he didn't want to spend two months on the road just to win a medal, which would greatly delay his research work.

Yu Yin's actions really dumbfounded Master Qian Wu and others.

The brothers complained:

"Yu Yin, your ability to pretend is ten times stronger than your scientific research ability."

Li Qiwei was at a loss whether to laugh or cry about this.

Among the four of them, Yu Yin was the most introverted and didn't feel much about anything.

This is not about being indifferent to praise or criticism, but more like simply not caring.

Yu Yin just wanted to do the job that Li Qiwei had assigned him.

The Pangu Project has not been launched yet, so he just waits silently.

However, Yu Yin's choice was not unprecedented.

Darren, the 1912 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, did not go to receive the award, but asked his younger brother to do so on his behalf.

And in real history, there were people who refused to accept the award.

So, Li Qiwei said to Gregory who came to the Quantum Research Institute:
"You can go and receive the award on behalf of Yu Yin."

Gregory was very happy.

He never dared to imagine in his life that he would win the Nobel Prize.

When he was an editor, he was extremely envious when he saw others being able to publish papers.

And now, he has won the Nobel Prize in Physics, which is more than any other paper he has written.

All these honors were bestowed by the man in front of me.

"Professor, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!"

Although Gregory is one year older than Li Qiwei.

But in front of his mentor, he always regarded himself as a student and was extremely respectful.

Li Qiwei smiled and said:

"You are now a big figure in the academic world."

"No need to be so reserved."

"We are both teacher-student and friends."

Gregory smiled happily when he heard this, and was deeply moved.

Suddenly, he thought of something very important.

It is also the third big thing.

"Professor, a major paper will be published soon."

"I believe you will be interested."

Gregory's tone was slightly excited.

Even when facing his mentor, Professor Bruce, he still abides by his professional ethics.

Rutherford's paper could not be revealed to anyone until it was officially published.

However, Li Qiwei saw through his little thoughts at a glance and teased him:
"I guess Professor Rutherford's research has made a major breakthrough."

what?
Gregory's mouth opened wide in shock.

this.
"Could it be that the rumors are true, that Professor Bruce can really see the future?"

Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

"There is no such thing as foresight. It's just that Professor Rutherford showed off to me in advance."

Gregory smiled bitterly, feeling a little depressed.

"As the editor-in-chief of Nature, I am lagging behind the real bigwigs."
-
1919 10 Month 20 Day.

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

As soon as the paper was published, it shocked the entire physics community.

Everyone felt incredible about the result.

The atomic nucleus can actually be divided again.

"Oh, God, how many more secrets of the atom are there?"

"It's amazing that a tiny atom can have so many structures."

"It seems that the frontiers of physics are not just relativity and quantum theory, but also atomic science."

"With so many directions, how many super-bigwigs like Professor Bruce and Professor Rutherford will emerge?"

“Modern physics is so brilliant.”

Rutherford, the man whose brilliance was overshadowed by Professor Bruce, finally shocked everyone again.

He used his achievements to announce to the world that he, the radioactive giant, is still as good as ever.

Physics giants such as Thomson and Ridgway were the first to send their congratulations to Rutherford.

Li Qiwei even publicly stated:

"Rutherford's discovery was a great breakthrough in atomic research."

“The world is made up of atoms, and we humans are gradually getting in touch with the origin of the world.”

This excites all physicists.

They are really slowly getting closer to the truth!

At the same time, everyone was also amazed by the results of the Cavendish Laboratory.

In 1897, Thomson discovered the existence of the electron.

From then on, the idea that atoms are indivisible was broken.

Then, in 1902, Bruce discovered the existence of the atomic nucleus and proposed the planetary model.

It further expanded physicists' understanding of atomic structure.

And now, Rutherford discovered that the atomic nucleus is composed of protons.

Step by step, the secrets of atoms are revealed bit by bit.

All these achievements were made in Cavendish, which is the holy land of atomic science in everyone's mind.

However, like Wu Youxun's experiment, someone soon questioned Rutherford's experiment.

The person who questioned it was Bohr again.

Bohr has recently been paying attention to everything related to quantum theory.

The atomic structure is the foundation of quantum theory and the basis of the theory.

Therefore, Bohr would study any achievements in the field of atomic structure.

He hopes to find inspiration from experiments and make breakthroughs in quantum theory.

This time, Bohr did not put forward the shocking idea of ​​denying the conservation law.

His doubts make sense.

Bohr said in his article:

"Professor Rutherford proved that protons can be produced after alpha particles hit nitrogen nuclei."

"But he did not give an accurate explanation of the mechanism of proton production."

"There are two scenarios for proton creation."

"One is that the alpha particle is ejected directly from the nitrogen nucleus, which is also the view favored by Professor Rutherford in his paper."

“But there is another scenario.”

"That is, after the alpha particle hit the nitrogen nucleus, the two first stuck together to form a composite nucleus."

"Then the composite nucleus decays again, releasing a proton."

"So, I think we need to continue to confirm through experiments which situation is the cause of the production of protons."

Quantum Research Institute.

When Li Qiwei saw Bohr's question, he couldn't help but smile.

Of course he knew the answer, it was the second one.

In fact, if Rutherford's experimental results are expressed in equations, they should be like this:
N+α particle=O+proton.

Alpha particles are helium nuclei consisting of two protons and two neutrons.

There are 7 protons in the nucleus of N atom.

When the alpha particle hits the N nucleus, the number of protons in the resulting composite nucleus becomes nine.

Corresponding to the ninth element in the periodic table: fluorine. (The order of the periodic table is arranged according to the number of protons)

However, this type of double nucleus is very unstable. It decays as soon as it is formed, squeezing out a proton.

At this time, the number of protons in the double nucleus becomes eight, corresponding to the eighth element: oxygen.

What is formed at this time is the oxygen nucleus.

It can be seen from the process of Rutherford's discovery of the proton that signs of nuclear fission had actually appeared.

If someone is careful and studies this issue in depth, it is easy to come up with the concept of nuclear fission.

However, this is looking at the problem from the perspective of future generations.

The physicists at that time did not understand this.

After all, even the neutron had not yet been discovered.

The so-called decay was just a conceptual explanation proposed based on the radioactivity at that time.

Physicists don't know the exact mechanism.

But this does not prevent the problem from being solved.

Because, in order to prove Bohr's question, it is not necessary to understand all the structures of atoms.

In real history, this experiment was performed by British physicist Brackett.

But now, things have changed.

Cavendish Laboratory.

When Rutherford saw Bohr's question, he immediately frowned.

He had to admit that Bohr's question was to the point and went straight to the essence.

This problem must be solved!
Wilson on the side thought quietly for a while and a smile appeared on his face.

The proposal of the Wu-Compton effect has made Wilson very excited recently.

Even my mind became brighter.

"Aloo, I have an idea."

“This problem can be easily solved using my cloud chamber.”

Rutherford smiled slightly, "Oh? Awei, tell me in detail."

Wilson said confidently:

"We can re-do this experiment in a nitrogen-filled cloud chamber."

"If proton production is the first cause, then four tracks should be observed in the cloud chamber."

"They are: the track of the incident alpha particle, the track of the alpha particle scattered after the collision, the track of the proton, and the recoil track of the nucleus after the proton is ejected."

"But if it is the second reason, then only three tracks can be observed in the cloud chamber."

"They are: the track of the incident alpha particle, the track of the proton, and the recoil track of the nucleus after the proton is ejected."

"Compared to the first type, the second type lacks the tracks of alpha particles scattered after the collision."

"Because they are all fused in the nitrogen nucleus."

After listening to Wilson's experimental plan, Rutherford couldn't help but admire it.

"Wonderful!"

"Awei, your cloud chamber is so useful."

By observing the number of tracks in the cloud chamber, it is possible to figure out why protons are produced.

This is the beauty of physics.

Wilson smiled slightly, hiding his achievements and fame.

Rutherford was very excited and did what he said, but not by himself.

"Chadwick, come here for a moment."

"I have an important experiment for you."

After listening to this, Chadwick was excited and rushed to do the experiment happily.

Rutherford looked at his back and sighed:

"It's better to be young."

“Easy to cheat.”

Chadwick worked day and night, took more than 20,000 Wilson cloud chamber photographs, and analyzed the trajectories of more than 400,000 particles.

After accurate analysis, it was finally found that there were only three types of particle tracks in the cloud chamber.

The result is clear!
The production of protons is the second cause that Bohr mentioned.

When Rutherford published the paper, it immediately caused a sensation.

Everyone was surprised that Rutherford was indeed a master of experiments as he designed and completed the experiment so quickly.

Soon, many physicists used the same method to cause similar transformations in the nuclei of fluorine, sodium, aluminum and other atoms, and all produced protons.

Protons are bombarded out of various atomic nuclei.

There was no longer any doubt about Rutherford's experimental results.

Protons are the components of the nucleus.

Rutherford, who caused a sensation in the physics world, immediately brought Chadwick and others to the Quantum Institute.

He wanted to show off to his old friend, Professor Bruce.

"Bruce, it's almost New Year's Day."

"The Royal Society is planning to hold a lecture before the New Year."

"Did you get an invitation?"

"Hey, Professor Thomson insisted that I go and share the discovery process of the proton, but I don't want to go."

Li Qiwei looked at Rutherford's arrogant look and said in feigned anger:

"Why, my wave-particle duality is not as good as your proton."

"I was the first to propose that the atomic nucleus can be divided into two parts."

"If it weren't for my poor experimental ability, you wouldn't have gotten your turn."

"You should name the proton plum."

"."

Chadwick and others nearby were stunned.

Are all the big guys so childish?
After laughing, Li Qiwei's eyes turned deep and he murmured:

"Now that the proton has been discovered, it's time to predict the existence of the neutron."

The world of physics is about to be shaken again!

(End of this chapter)