1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 423: Truth and Science! Chinese Culture, Tai Chi Diagram Surprises Everyone!

At this moment, in the hall of the Royal Society of London.

The proton-neutron model of the atomic nucleus conquered all the academicians present.

Although it has not yet been experimentally verified, it is even possible that the proton-electron model will turn out to be correct.

But none of this matters anymore.

Next, countless experimental physicists will devote their entire lives to these two models.

Just because Rutherford's model has problems doesn't mean it is wrong.

Just because Bruce's model can explain all problems doesn't mean it is correct.

However, the reason why the bigwigs are optimistic about the latter is that the ideas displayed in it are fascinating.

Ordinary physicists rack their brains but cannot figure out that a neutron can be split into two, becoming a proton and an electron.

And we can regard protons and electrons as a composite particle.

This implicit idea is the most valuable part of the proton-neutron model.

It can guide physicists on how to think about problems and from what perspective.

Rutherford didn't even have time to reflect on his theory. He couldn't help asking:
"Bruce, how on earth did you come up with that?"

At this moment, everyone looked at Li Qiwei curiously. They also wanted to know.

Although many people’s majors are not physics, scientific ideas are common.

Perhaps the way of thinking in other disciplines will bring new inspiration to your own discipline.

This kind of thing has become increasingly obvious today with the explosion of science.

Second-rate teachers teach knowledge, first-rate teachers teach how to think.

At this time, Thompson suddenly smiled and said:

"Bruce, why don't you just go up on stage and share your thoughts."

"It just so happens that your report is next."

"None of us dare to interrupt your argument with Rutherford."

After saying that, the bosses smiled knowingly.

Although it is true, it still sounds a bit cruel.

If they were asked to come up with a model of the atomic nucleus, there was no way they would be able to compare with their models.

Li Qiwei felt a little embarrassed by the praise.

Fortunately, the person on the stage today is Rutherford. If it were someone else, he would probably have left him with psychological trauma.

He followed Thompson's instructions and stepped onto the podium.

Li Qiwei and Rutherford looked into each other's eyes, and then they hugged each other tightly.

Rutherford regained his spirits.

Although he also felt that his model was unlikely to be correct.

But let me ask you, in this world, besides Rutherford, is there anyone else who can prove the correctness of the proton-neutron model?

Rutherford is very confident!
"Bruce, when you theoretical physicists open your mouth, we experimental physicists have to run around."

"However, I am the only one in this world who can prove your theory."

"I have to thank you."

Li Qiwei smiled and challenged:
"Rutherford, don't be happy too soon."

"I'm not good at experiments, and I don't believe that other people can't do it either."

“I plan to recruit a few more PhD students, and maybe I can verify the model myself.”

Rutherford laughed out loud after hearing this.

"Bruce, I'm waiting for you."

"Let's see who has the better doctorate between us."

Li Qiwei promised Madame Curie's eldest daughter Irène that he would accept her as a doctoral student.

Moreover, he also had some preliminary plans.

In real history, Irena was the first to discover the neutron, but she didn't know it was a neutron and just thought it was a new type of ray.

Later, Chadwick repeated the experiment and, after careful study and analysis, concluded that it was the neutron.

There are so many wonderful stories in this history of atomic nucleus research.

Soon, after a brief greeting between Li Qiwei and Rutherford, the other party returned to the court.

Now, the stage is completely handed over to Li Qiwei.

Under the gaze of everyone, he spoke.

“After science became independent from philosophy, it took a different path.”

“I have communicated with many philosophers.”

“Some people always think that philosophy is superior to science and that philosophy is the science of science.”

"They advocated using philosophical ideas to guide science."

“But I don’t agree with that view.”

“I believe that science is self-contained and does not need any ideological guidance.”

“Logic and experiment are the foundation of science.”

"Any idea which has no reference to these two is useless to science."

"Having said this, you may think that I am an extremist who supports the supremacy of science."

“But I’m not such a narrow-minded person.”

“As long as any idea is beneficial to the development of science, I will learn from it and think about it.”

“Science is not truth itself, but a methodology.”

"If there is a brand new universe, the speed of light in that universe is no longer constant."

"Then our existing theory of relativity is wrong."

“But that doesn’t mean the science is wrong either.”

"Because in that universe, there will be their physicists who use scientific methods to come up with a theory describing how the speed of light can change."

"Their theory and our theory are both true and completely different."

“But their scientific thinking and our scientific thinking must be the same.”

"This is the charm of science, it is something more essential than truth."

Wow!
Li Qiwei's explanation of science shocked the bigwigs present.

In this day and age, many people equate science with truth.

Although for ordinary people, there is not much significance in strictly distinguishing between the two.

But it is very important to the big guys present.

Because only by defining the concepts clearly can we use logic to think more accurately.

Take the proton-neutron model as an example.

The model itself is the truth, but the process of thinking about this truth is science.

Use logic to deduce the properties of the model, and then verify it through experiments.

This is the complete scientific research process.

If a physicist is always obsessed with the model itself, then he ignores the most valuable science.

And this is what Li Qiwei shared.

“So, science is also a kind of thought.”

“It’s all-encompassing, with countless experiences and techniques.”

“As for the theory of separation and combination, I actually found inspiration from another idea.”

“In ancient Western society, sages had profound thoughts about the universe and the world.”

“Similarly, in our East, similar ideas and schools have emerged.”

“Taoism is one of those schools of thought.”

"This school of thought believes that the universe should develop harmoniously through the regulation of yin and yang."

“It uses a picture to represent this concept.”

As he spoke, Li Qiwei drew it and then enlarged it using a projector.

What he drew was the Tai Chi diagram!

On the huge Tai Chi diagram, the Yin-Yang fish patterns, symbolizing the Yin and Yang energies, interact and transform into each other.

Everyone present was unconsciously immersed in it.

Suddenly, there was a burst of exclamations in the conference hall.

This picture is really shocking!

"Oh, God, is this some kind of oriental magic? Why do I feel like the picture is moving?"

"This pattern seems to have an inexplicable power, ethereal and illusory." "Did Professor Bruce gain his enlightenment from this picture?"

At this moment, the bosses showed great interest in the Tai Chi diagram.

However, it is difficult for them to appreciate the artistic conception of Eastern culture because they have not been influenced by it.

So, Ridgeway explained:

"This diagram is called the Tai Chi Diagram."

"Taoism believes that the Tai Chi diagram represents the origin process of the universe."

"And it also gave a prophecy: Taiji gave birth to two opposites, and two opposites combined into Taiji."

"The two black and white fish-like patterns on the picture represent the two yin and yang."

"The Tai Chi diagram can be divided into two parts, and the two parts together form the Tai Chi diagram."

"It means that our universe is Tai Chi, and at a certain moment, it split into two parts."

"Then, the two parts will continue to divide."

"This coincides with my Big Bang theory."

“My idea of ​​separation and combination comes from this!”

"So, it is our ancient Chinese culture that has injected new inspiration into my scientific thinking."

boom!
Li Qiwei's words made the venue boil!

Everyone's face was filled with disbelief.

The proton-neutron theory that impressed everyone actually came from such a picture and from the so-called Taoist thought.

In this era, Eastern culture is synonymous with dregs in the eyes of Westerners.

Not to mention the impact on science.

For thousands of years, there has been nothing but a feudal cycle, without any light of rationality.

But now, the man uses a picture to tell the world: You are wrong!

Eastern thoughts can also contribute to science.

The big guys all sighed:
"In this world, only Professor Bruce is qualified to say such things."

"His realm of thought has long transcended any constraints."

"In his eyes, everything is just material that can be used."

“He really nailed the word integration.”

Suddenly, someone asked:
"Professor Bruce, are you trying to say that science can also be produced in the East?"

“Is the Tai Chi diagram scientific?”

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

This question is really heart-breaking.

Because Professor Bruce is Chinese.

However, after hearing this, Li Qiwei just smiled.

He once again showed everyone what a pure heart is.

“Haha, that’s a good question.”

"I said that the foundations of scientific thought are logic and experiment."

"We Chinese certainly have our own logic system, but unfortunately, we haven't developed an experimental system."

"So, the seeds of science were not born in China for a long time."

"And the Taoist Tai Chi philosophy is also a logical approach."

“It emphasizes the importance of the balance of yin and yang, with the positive pole being yin and the negative pole being yang.”

"However, if this idea is to evolve into science, experiments are needed to verify whether this transformation has occurred."

"Unfortunately, it didn't show up."

“So, the Tai Chi diagram is not science.”

"However, as a new idea, it will always be of reference significance for us to construct scientific ideas."

"If our Chinese ancestors had discovered through experiments that the transformation of the Tai Chi diagram was wrong, they might have modified it."

"Perhaps by some chance, it will become real science."

Wow!
Li Qiwei's frank answer won the respect of everyone present.

As the first scientist of the time.

He did not deliberately elevate the status of the Tai Chi diagram because of his identity, or even regard it as a science.

Instead, we analyze this idea in detail from a rational perspective.

Although the Tai Chi diagram is not scientific, it has reference value for science.

This alone is worthy of everyone's attention.

Eastern culture is not entirely useless!
Even several years later, someone suddenly had an idea: what would happen if the Tai Chi diagram was three-dimensional?
The yin and yang fish will spiral upwards and be born alternately.

He actually figured out the code structure of life from the three-dimensional Tai Chi diagram.

At that moment, the whole world was shocked.

Now, many senior members of the Royal Society have been completely convinced by Li Qiwei.

Rutherford could not help but sigh:

“Bruce was born in the East and learned in the West.”

“He is well versed in both Eastern and Western thought.”

"What is most commendable is that he did not favor one over another, but treated all ideological systems equally."

"In his heart, he always respects only scientific ideas."

"This pure desire to seek truth is the key to his success."

Upon hearing this, Thomson sighed:

"China is so lucky to have Bruce."

"He promoted the ideas of his country to the whole world."

"From today on, more people will become interested in Chinese culture and want to learn more about it."

"This inadvertently promotes cultural exchange."

Li Qiwei looked at the expressions of the crowd and his heart was filled with emotion.

He single-handedly restored the reputation of Chinese culture!
Only those who live in this era can understand how difficult it is.

Li Qiwei knew what kind of sensation he would cause in China once today's content spread.

Confucius was also unable to bring Chinese culture to the world.

And he did it!
And in the highest field of science.

Li Qiwei is not a person who worships foreign things, but he is not a blind patriot either.

In his previous life, many people liked to use extreme ideas to evaluate Chinese culture.

Either it is a golden rule, or it is worthless.

But this is all biased.

What Li Qiwei wants to do is to try his best to dig out the essence of it.

If China wants to stand at the top of science, it must have its own cultural core.

This core is not necessarily scientific thought, but a kind of self-confidence and identity.

Now, it's just the beginning.

After several minutes, the venue gradually quieted down.

The discussion sparked by Rutherford's report made everyone feel refreshed and it was more exciting than being on high.

Then, under Thomson's chairmanship, it was Li Qiwei's turn to give a report.

His wave-particle duality caused the same sensation.

In fact, this concept is almost rising to the level of thought.

At least, no one present could imagine what the situation was like.

Rutherford smiled and asked:

"Bruce, what kind of ideas did you draw on for the wave-particle duality of light?"

There was a burst of laughter in the meeting hall.

Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"We who do scientific research cannot always be lazy and learn from others."

“This time, I really came up with it myself.”

Soon, Li Qiwei's report ended.

Just when everyone thought that today's annual meeting was about to end, he suddenly said:

"Next, I would like to announce another important news."

Wow!
(End of this chapter)