1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 441 Microcrystal Theory! Shocking everyone! How did the glass turn into crystals again?
Li Qiwei's words made everyone present excited.

Everyone wanted to know what theory Professor Bruce would come up with.

This is not just admiration for Li Qiwei, but everyone hopes to find their own research direction based on his work.

Just like the fourth quantum number clue in the German speech.

"Professor Bruce never disappoints."

"Even he is not sure about this question. If I can figure it out, wouldn't my fame surpass that of Professor Bruce?"

Hearing such remarks, Wu Youxun smiled helplessly.

He explained to the international students:
"Haha, this idea is a bit ignorant."

“The essence of the problem of light transmission through glass is still within the framework of quantum theory.”

"It's just that we don't have the right research tools for the time being."

"It's like we know that the speed of a cannonball, when it exceeds the first cosmic speed, can orbit the earth in a circle without falling down."

"But can you make such a shell now?"

Wu Youxun's explanation made many people suddenly realize.

The overall operating logic of this world is built on pillar theories such as quantum theory and the theory of relativity.

However, when it comes to a specific phenomenon or object in the world, it is necessary to derive a new theory based on the pillar theory.

This is also the dividing line between genius physicists and ordinary physicists.

The former is responsible for expanding territory, while the latter is responsible for governing the country and maintaining peace.

And now, everyone looked at the man on the stage.

He is almighty!
At this time, Li Qiwei slowly said:
"Compton believed that the probability of electrons encountering photons was different depending on the structure of metals and crystals."

"But this statement does not hold true for amorphous glass."

"So, Professor Millikan proposed the concept of transition threshold based on his work."

“But it still has problems.”

"And the core of the problem, in my opinion, is actually just one."

"That is: why are diamonds and glass both transparent, but one is crystalline and the other is amorphous?"

“So I have a bold guess.”

At this point, everyone present suddenly became excited and stared at the stage without blinking.

"First of all, I agree with Professor Millikan's theory."

"Expand it a little bit."

"The different forms of existence of electrons in metals and crystals result in different abilities to absorb photons."

“And based on the results, it must be that the threshold for crystals is higher and the threshold for metals is lower.”

"If we assume that the theory is correct."

"Then there is only one answer."

Then, Li Qiwei stretched out a finger, the Great Wilderness Prisoner Sky Finger, and that finger shocked the sky!
"That is: glass is also a crystal!"

boom!
When Li Qiwei finished saying this.

The venue fell into deathly silence!

Everyone was stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

"Ah! What's going on! Didn't Professor Bruce just say that glass is amorphous?"

"Hey, this. Can anyone tell me if I heard it wrong?"

“This question is really full of twists and turns!”

While most people were still in shock, many had gradually understood.

"Professor Bruce combined the views of Professor Compton and Professor Millikan."

"The core of Compton's argument is that solids have different abilities to absorb photons depending on their composition and structure. Metals and crystals are different."

"The core of Professor Millikan's point is that there is a threshold for solids to absorb photons. Metals and glass are different."

"But Professor Millikan was unable to bring crystals into the picture."

"So Professor Bruce combined the two into one: metals and crystals, there is a threshold for absorbing photons, and glass is a crystal."

"Only in this way can the logic be explained."

"But in this case, Professor Bruce's view is even more problematic."

"Because glass is not a crystal!"

The King of Understanding's analysis made everyone present suddenly enlightened.

At this moment, everyone understood the crux of the problem.

But they couldn't understand how Professor Bruce was going to reconcile the two contradictory conclusions.

Millikan and Compton were also shocked.

Ten minutes ago, the other party said that glass is amorphous.

But now, glass is said to be crystal.

This confused the bigwigs present.

If it was someone else on the stage, they would have been called idiots long ago.

"You are contradicting yourself!"

"What nonsense!"

But that is Professor Bruce, the world's number one scientist!

Even if he was really wrong, the first thing the bosses would think of was not to question him, but to consider whether there was any deeper meaning behind it.

Therefore, the two believed that Professor Bruce would definitely not be unaware of such an obvious loophole.

Hai Er on the side couldn't help but ask:

"Professor Millikan, what's going on?"

"Did I hear it wrong."

Millikan has regained his composure. His eyes are deep and his tone is steady as he says:

"Don't worry, Professor Bruce will definitely explain it clearly."

Li Qiwei took in everyone's expressions.

Today's speech should leave a deep impression on them.

He smiled slightly and continued:

"I believe many people can't wait to ask."

"Why would I contradict myself?"

"One day you say glass is amorphous, and the next day you say glass is crystalline."

"But actually, this is just my description from a different angle."

"Let me give you an example."

"There was an old and wealthy kingdom. The king had a beautiful princess."

"The king loves his daughter too much."

"When he found out that the princess loved diamonds the most, he bought all the diamonds in the country and gave them to the princess."

"The princess was very happy when she got the diamonds."

"She wanted to build herself a diamond castle."

"Then the king gave the order."

"After dozens of days and nights of hard work by hundreds of craftsmen, the Diamond Castle was finally built."

"The castle is made entirely of diamonds, without any other materials mixed in."

"It shines beautifully under the sunlight."

"When the princess saw it, she smiled brightly. She couldn't wait to tell her father the news and let him come to visit as well."

"However, as she ran, she accidentally bumped into the castle's pillar."

"boom!"

"The entire Diamond Castle collapsed and turned into a pile of chaotic diamond ruins."

"The princess is very sad."

"When the king heard this, he comforted his daughter and said:"

"Don't be sad, my baby. Just rebuild these diamond ruins into a castle."

"End of story."

After the story was told, everyone in the venue opened their mouths even wider.

I'm still confused.

The style of painting is a bit wrong.

Isn't this a science lecture? How did it turn into a fairy tale?

However, bigwigs like Millikan had gleams in their eyes.

They seemed to understand something.

Geniuses such as Compton and Wu Youxun also had flashes of inspiration.

“I get it, macro and micro!”

Yu Qingsong really wanted to ask: Brother Wu, what do you understand?

Isn’t what Professor Li is telling just a story?

Wu Youxun said enviously:

"The principal's idea is really out of this world!"

"I really admire him."

Those who understand will understand, and those who don’t understand will never understand.

With everyone confused and the boss admiring him, Li Qiwei explained:
“In this story.”

"The Diamond Castle is like a crystal. It's neat and orderly."

"And diamond ruins are like amorphous glass; it's chaotic and disordered."

"However, whether it is crystalline or amorphous glass, they are all made up of tiny diamonds."

"This small diamond is a crystal."

"It's just that the diamond ruins it was made of have turned into amorphous."

"That's what I guess."

"Although glass is amorphous on a macroscopic level, on a microscopic level, its interior is composed of tiny crystals."

"I figuratively call this theory the [Crystalline Theory]."

"According to the theory just now, there is a threshold for crystals."

"Although glass as a whole has no threshold, the countless microcrystals within it do have their own thresholds."

"The thresholds of countless microcrystals averaged together can be considered as the threshold of glass, an amorphous substance."

"So, glass can transmit light just like real crystal."

“That’s my analysis of why glass lets light through.”

hiss!
The venue fell into silence once again.

The microcrystal theory completely shocked everyone.

Such a genius idea is simply unpredictable.

"Oh my God! The microcrystal theory is so amazing!"

"Professor Bruce is indeed so terrifying!"

“Is this the charm of science?”

“The analysis by Professor Bruce, Professor Millikan and others is really brilliant.”

"Their conversation opened up a new theoretical direction."

"Crystallography will definitely make rapid progress in the future."

Yu Qingsong finally understood after listening to it.

Then he was completely convinced by Li Qiwei.

He stared blankly at the figure on the stage, a perverted smile on his face.

He was extremely grateful that Professor Li was Chinese, and they were from the same ethnic group and the same country.

"I will always follow in Professor Li's footsteps!"

Compton, Wu Youxun, Hubble and others all had fiery eyes.

Professor Bruce has returned with a bang, and his strength has not dropped.

At the age of 40, he is at the prime of his life in the field of physics.

The other party will surely create greater glory in the future.

Astronomers such as Hale are now extremely sure.

"Professor Bruce's astronomy paper will surely shock the academic community."

With this kind of insight and imagination, Haier felt that Professor Bruce would be a top figure in any field he studied.

Millikan's slightly frowned brows finally relaxed.

For a physics master like him, seeing a difficult problem being solved, even if it is not his own achievement, will still make him ecstatic.

Although Ridgway's microcrystal theory is just a guess.

But it is undoubtedly deeper than his own and Compton's answers.

Moreover, this theory has more reference significance for the composition structure of matter.

The key is the other person's unrestrained thinking, which makes people worship him.

Millikan sighed.

Normal people would not think about it further after knowing that glass is amorphous, but would just treat it as a condition. But Professor Bruce is different. He would go a step further and think about the internal problems.

Suddenly, Millikan thought of the annual meeting of the Royal Society of London.

Li Qiwei amazed everyone with a Tai Chi Yin-Yang diagram.

"Could this also be some kind of thought that originated from China?"

In response, Li Qiwei said: This is really not the case.

In real history, in 1921, Russian physicist Lebedev proposed the crystal theory.

The theory holds that glass is composed of countless "crystals" dispersed in an amorphous medium.

There is no clear boundary between the two.

In 1932, British physicist Zahariassen proposed the famous "theory of irregular networks".

This theory holds that the microstructure of glass is that the arrangement of atoms is long-range disordered but short-range ordered.

The two theories seem similar, but they are actually slightly different.

The crystallite theory focuses on describing the microscopic heterogeneity and order of glass.

The random network theory focuses on describing the macroscopic statistical uniformity and disorder of glass.

The microcrystal theory proposed by Li Qiwei is actually a combination of the two theories and the band theory.

This is also the glass structure recognized by later generations.

Of course, using this structure to explain the light transmittance of glass is not necessarily correct at present.

It's just a possibility.

Glass light transmittance remains an unsolved mystery!
So, Li Qiwei continued:
"First of all, the microcrystal theory is just my guess."

“We still don’t know the correct answer to the question of glass transparency.”

“As I said at the beginning of my speech, we know nothing about glass.”

"I think everyone should have no objection now."

“As for the final answer to this question, I’ll leave it to those who truly love glass.”

"Perhaps one day in the future, one of you here will be able to explain this problem perfectly."

call!
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

The wonderful debate just now left me breathless.

It's full of twists and turns, and each one of them is linked together.

Everyone feels a different kind of excitement.

This is the charm of scientific confrontation.

It is a collision between the smartest minds in the world.

Although even Professor Bruce doesn't know the final answer.

But no one thinks that the other party is no good because of this.

On the contrary, his image in everyone's mind became increasingly prominent.

Because the other party does not stand still, but is always challenging himself and challenging the highest peaks of science.

This is the power of example of the world's greatest scientist.

The significance of this speech is countless times more important than the answer itself.

Li Qiwei then said:

"The purpose of my talking about the problem of glass transmittance is to tell you."

“If you want to make a difference in science, you must always be curious.”

"The complexity of this world far exceeds human imagination."

"This is despite the fact that quantum theory and relativity are the two pillars of modern physics."

"However, our understanding of the world is still only a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg."

"Not even a dime."

“So in this case, should we remain pessimistic?”

"No!"

“We should be more optimistic.”

"Because this means that there are still infinite possibilities for the future of mankind."

“And physics is the most important tool created by humans to understand the world.”

"Based on physics, chemistry and mechanics were born."

“Similarly, astronomy was born.”

“Astronomy and physics are very closely related.”

"In my opinion, astronomers are actually physicists who study the universe and the stars."

“They both share a common set of basic theories.”

“That’s why I love astronomy.”

“Because it’s a good match for my major.”

There was a knowing laugh from the audience.

"General relativity has given astronomers a powerful theoretical tool."

"And my upcoming paper will also prove that atomic science can also be used in astronomy."

Wow!
Li Qiwei's last words caused an uproar in the conference hall.

This is even more shocking than the glass issue just now.

Because this was the first time Professor Bruce publicly stated that he was going to publish a paper in the field of astronomy.

All the astronomy professionals present went crazy.

"Oh! My God! Professor Bruce has finally officially set foot in astronomy!"

“And he’s even going to publish the paper himself!”

"This is definitely a major event in the field of astronomy."

Yu Qingsong was so happy that he almost jumped up.

This will be the best opportunity for him to communicate with Professor Li.

He was instantly filled with confidence about his future.

Chinese Tianxia literature is bound to take off!

"Let's see if the astronomers from Sakura Country dare to look down on Chinese astronomers in the future."

Eddington suddenly perked up.

Although the debate just now was very exciting, it did not arouse his interest.

Because that falls within the realm of theoretical and experimental physics.

But now, Professor Bruce finally talked about what he cared about most.

In fact, Eddington knew about this as early as at a previous internal meeting of the Quantum Institute.

But he didn't know what specific issue Li Qiwei's paper was about.

"This time, Professor Bruce should be able to reveal it."

At this moment, Hale, Hubble, Shapley, Curtis and others all looked excited.

They finally heard Professor Bruce's affirmative answer.

And it looks like this paper will be a combination of physics and astronomy.

The big guys can't wait any longer.

Hai Er was impatient, and he couldn't help asking:
"Professor Bruce, would you mind telling me in advance what your thesis is about?"

"I just want to prepare in advance. If we have to debate again, I don't want to be clueless."

The bosses laughed.

Li Qiwei also smiled slightly. He glanced around and said domineeringly:
"My thesis will explain the source of energy for stars."

boom!
Just a few words stunned everyone present.

Hale, Eddington and others could hardly believe their ears.

"Oh my God! It's this topic."

"Professor Bruce's knowledge of astronomy has reached such a terrifying level."

"This is too scary!"

"Did he really prove theoretically the source of energy for stars?"

At this moment, all the astronomy giants present were collectively shocked.

This answer is really horrifying!
The sun, the most important celestial body to mankind, has been burning for who knows how many years.

It is because of it that we have this colorful world on earth and that human beings were born.

In a sense, the sun is the true home planet of mankind.

Human beings’ understanding of the sun can be described as an epic with ups and downs.

But to this day, astronomers still know very little about the Sun.

Apart from using a telescope to observe the surface of the sun, all that remains is to analyze the sun's spectrum.

Through spectroscopy, humans know what elements the sun is made of.

What are the contents of these elements and so on.

But the biggest problem has always plagued mankind.

So how do these elements keep the sun burning forever?
If only humans could master this power.

That... is unimaginable!
Eddington even forgot to breathe.

He recalled the scene when he and Professor Bruce returned together after the founding conference of the International Astronomical Union.

The other party said that they might study the energy issues of stars.

Eddington was very excited at the time, but he felt that Professor Bruce might just stop at the dabble.

It was not until he attended another internal meeting of the Quantum Institute that he was sure that Professor Bruce was actually studying the problem of stellar evolution.

However, not long after that, the other party actually solved the problem.

Eddington had no doubt about what Li Qiwei said.

Because he knew that man had the ability!
“I made the right decision to come to the United States this time!”

Haier has been trying to calm himself down.

The news had a huge impact on him.

He needs to digest it well.

As a big shot in the field of astronomy, he knew very well what this paper would mean once it was published.

Stars are the most common and important celestial bodies in the universe.

At least half of all astronomers study stars.

The composition and structure of stars, the luminous patterns of stars, the number of stars, etc.

But among these research fields, the energy source of stars is definitely the most cutting-edge and important one.

Because it concerns the nature of stars.

Just like the most important part of a car is definitely the engine, not the metal shell on it.

Only by understanding the source of stars' energy can astronomers further study the deep secrets of stars.

Unfortunately, this question is too difficult.

The surface temperature of the sun exceeds 6000℃, and no matter how hot it is, it cannot get close to the sun.

It is impossible for humans to observe the sun at close range, so naturally they don't know what is happening inside the sun.

So, besides being shocked, Haier was also extremely curious.

"Professor Bruce is a recognized theoretical physicist."

"He studies astronomy, so he certainly can't do experiments."

"So what theory does he rely on to study the energy problem of the sun?"

"General relativity?"

"impossible!"

"General relativity takes into account the overall motion of celestial bodies."

“It can’t do anything about the internal structure.”

“Could it be quantum theory?”

"That's impossible. A star like the sun has nothing to do with quantum."

Haier really didn't understand.

At this moment, he didn't even have the heart to listen any further.

My mind is full of thoughts about the thesis.

Li Qiwei looked at everyone's surprised expressions and did not continue to explain his thesis.

"Next, like you, I am most looking forward to this great debate in astronomy."

"As for my paper, it will be published after the debate."

Shapley and Curtis breathed a sigh of relief.

"so far so good!"

"Professor Bruce disdains to upstage the great debate."

Soon, Li Qiwei finished his speech.

Everyone stood up and thunderous applause filled the entire venue.

(End of this chapter)