1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 445: The Peak Showdown is Hard to Win! Li Qiwei's Shocking Summary! "Because, they are both wrong!"

Inside the American Museum of Natural History.

The much-anticipated astronomy debate of the century is underway intensely.

The countless audience members present were very enthusiastic and were all shocked by the excitement of the debate.

It had only just begun and both sides were already firing on all cylinders, showing no signs of hiding their weaknesses.

Each of them produced strong evidence.

This ultimate collision in academic fields made everyone exclaim in excitement.

"Compared to this, ordinary people's debates are just like children playing house."

At this moment, facing Curtis's two major pieces of evidence, Shapley felt the pressure for the first time.

The other party did not directly point out the errors in his measurement data.

Instead, additional self-evident data was presented.

This is because it was very difficult for Curtis to find a reason why it was wrong to use globular clusters as standard candles.

Conversely, Shapley's attempt to show that novae were incorrectly used as standard candles was equally difficult.

That's why he didn't explain it in detail before.

In the field of astronomy, measurement is a very difficult thing to do accurately, and the error is very large.

There is a joke about astronomy in later generations.

Mathematician: π is π.

Physics: Pi can be 3.14 or 3.1415.

Engineering: Depending on the specific situation, π can be 3, sometimes 4, and g is equal to π.

Astronomy: It is too troublesome to calculate other values ​​of π, so it is better to directly approximate it to 1, as long as the order of magnitude is not wrong.

This shows the tolerance and roughness of measurements in the field of astronomy.

Shapley measured the diameter of the Milky Way to be 30 light years, and Curtis measured it to be 3 light years.

This is an order of magnitude difference, so it cannot be approximated.

But what if Shapley measured 17 light years?

Well, there is no need to hold today's debate.

Because the diameters of the Milky Way measured by the two men are no different by any order of magnitude.

Any explanation is fine.

So let's take an average.

Exactly 10 light years!
Hey, you don't have to tell me, it's exactly the same as the exact value in later generations.

That's the rough side of astronomy.

In the face of the vast and endless universe, precision does not seem so important.

So, faced with Curtis's two pieces of evidence.

Shapley decided to make a breakthrough from the second piece of evidence.

"Mr. Curtis, the phenomenon of different brightness of nova you discovered only appears near the M31 nebula."

“That’s not entirely convincing.”

"Perhaps the light from the M31 nebula is blocked by cosmic dust, which may also cause this dim situation."

"Unless you can find more evidence of the same."

Shapley's answer made many people nod.

This is indeed a logical possibility.

There are too many rarefied matter aggregates composed of gas and dust in the universe.

They float randomly in the starry sky and can easily block the various celestial bodies behind them.

This also has precedent in astronomy.

Therefore, even the big names in astronomy agree with this answer.

After seeing everyone's reactions, Shapley became even more confident.

He continued:
"Besides, I can find a counterexample."

Snapped!
"Everyone, please look, this is also a photo of a spiral nebula."

"Its catalog number is M101, commonly known as the Pinwheel Nebula."

"According to the island universe theory, the M101 nebula should also be a galaxy."

"But over the years, we've discovered this through observations of its internal rotation."

"If M101 is a galaxy of similar size to the Milky Way."

"Then according to calculations, the speed of matter at its edge will exceed the speed of light."

"This is clearly inconsistent with special relativity."

"So, the M101 nebula cannot be a galaxy."

“From this we can see that the view that all nebulae are galaxies is biased.”

Wow!
Shapley's evidence shocked everyone present.

At this moment, everyone realized that he had been prepared for this.

This debate can be described as a fight between dragons and tigers.

Big bosses like Haier and Dyson kept nodding in approval.

By now, they no longer have differences in positions, but are focused on the debate itself.

The wonderful performances of both sides allowed astronomy to show its glory.

The expressions and shouts of the audience are the best proof.

The big guys also chatted and laughed.

"This Shapley kid really has something else up his sleeve."

"His understanding of the island universe theory is no less than those in the professional field."

"Obviously, he prepared a lot for this debate."

“What a fascinating debate!”

Shapley sensed the change in everyone's expressions and a slight smile appeared on his face.

He looked at Curtis, wondering how he would refute.

At this moment, everyone followed his gaze and looked at the latter.

Curtis was obviously a little surprised.

He hadn't expected Shapley to know so much about the island universe theory.

The other party seemed to have specialized in collecting questions about various nebulae.

However, he did not panic, but said:

"I think this is caused by an error in the observation of the M101 nebula."

"Because this has not been found in other spiral nebulae."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sigh from the audience.

Most viewers are not well versed in the technical terms of astronomy.

But they at least have basic logical ability.

Clearly, Curtis had made a fatal mistake.

He said the case of the M101 nebula was an exception.

This also means that his M31 nebula may also be an exception.

In other words, while Curtis denied Shapley, he also denied himself.

This is an act of killing one thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of your own.

One for one!

Curtis's second piece of evidence was easily resolved by Shapley.

At this moment, the audience was completely excited.

The excitement of this debate exceeded everyone's expectations.

In everyone's eyes, academic debates are generally boring.

However, today, it opened everyone's eyes.

"The difference in strength between Shapley and Curtis is not too great."

"At the moment, it seems that neither of them can end the battle with one strike."

"Of course, it is also possible that this problem is indeed unsolvable for astronomers for the time being."

"So, neither side can convince the other."

"However, at the moment, Curtis still has the upper hand."

"At least he used two methods to measure the diameter of the Milky Way, and the accuracy is definitely higher than Shapley's one."

“I don’t know how Shapley will deal with this disadvantage.”

Sure enough, it was just as the audience said.

At this moment, Shapley regained his composure.

He did not feel proud of his counterattack just now.

Because that's not enough!

Everyone's eyes returned to him once again.

"Does Shapley have another trump card?"

"Oh! Then he's amazing!"

"You are really calm and composed, which is not what you should be at your age."

Countless people present were extremely curious about Shapley.

Even Hai Er was aroused by the emotion.

He knew this since the list of candidates for the debate of the century was confirmed.

Shapley rarely left the observatory.

He often stayed beside the telescope, constantly observing various data.

I felt tired, so I decided to take a break by reading some astronomy papers.

This level of hard work made Hai Er feel shocked.

Because it’s almost catching up with Hubble.

Hubble is recognized as a scientific research fanatic at Mount Wilson Observatory.

He could even stay by the telescope for a month just to observe a piece of data, without even having time to take care of his hair and beard.

Just to find some key evidence.

Everyone at the observatory knew that Hubble was also studying the question of the size of the Milky Way.

However, the method he chose is quite unique.

Moreover, Hubble was also burdened with the fifth general prediction: the pressure of the expansion of the universe.

Hale knew that Hubble had now achieved some results.

Therefore, his heart is full of hope:

"In a few years, there will definitely be a supernova in the field of astronomy."

“Hubble will definitely become the pride of American astronomy.”

Of course, Shapley was more powerful than Hubble is today.

After all, the latter only has unlimited potential, but is not yet truly successful.

Therefore, Haier is also very optimistic about Shapley.

At this moment, under the gaze of everyone, Shapley actually smiled slightly.

He quickly glanced in a certain direction at the audience.

That's where the Harvard University representatives were sitting.

Just last February, Harvard Observatory director Pickering died of illness.

So Harvard University began selecting the next director.

When Shapley learned from his friends that he was the popular candidate for the position.

He was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.

But Harvard University is still in the observation period.

The results are fraught with uncertainty.

So, Shapley was very afraid that he would lose today's debate and leave a bad impression on the Harvard representatives.

To this end, he tried his best to win a great victory today.

With his invincible attitude, he defeated all competitors and forced Harvard University to hire only him.

This is why he made all the preparations for today.

Now, he can finally play his last trump card.

Shapley knew well that since he could study Curtis.

Then the other party will definitely study him.

So, he had to think one step further.

That is to say: I predicted that you predicted my prediction.

He also has two methods of measuring the Milky Way!

Shapley said:

"Mr. Curtis used two methods to measure the diameter of the Milky Way."

"But luckily, I also prepared another way."

"I chose to use the common blue giant stars as the standard candle."

"Then I remeasured the diameter of the Milky Way."

"Please see, this time the results show that the diameter of the Milky Way is 35 light years."

“My two results were also close.”

“That’s enough to prove me right.”

"So, Mr. Curtis, your rebuttal just now is invalid!"

boom!
There was a sudden cry of surprise in the hall.

Once again, everyone was stunned by Shapley's results.

I didn't expect he could hide so deeply.

"Oh, God! Shapley is so patient."

"He obviously had so much evidence, but he didn't show it at the beginning. He was just waiting here for Curtis."

"This guy is so smart that he's almost a demon!"

Many people were impressed by Shapley's operation.

The other party has taken the debate format to the extreme.

Hai Er and other big guys were also shocked.

They didn't expect that Shapley had another trick up his sleeve.

"This kid, no wonder he stayed at the observatory every day during that period."

"It turns out that he wants to measure the data of the blue giant star as soon as possible."

"It seems like he really wants to win this debate!"

Hale didn't know it yet, but Shapley was eyeing the position of director of the Harvard College Observatory.

At this moment, Curtis's eyes were moved for the first time.

This evidence from the other party directly leveled the situation between the two sides.

So he could only start with measurement methods.

Curtis believed that the data measured by Shapley using globular clusters and blue giant stars as candlelight was inaccurate.

However, Shapley believed that Curtis was wrong to use novae and yellow dwarfs as candles, and that the measurement data were also very biased.

Now, the two sides are in a complete stalemate.

The debate became a tug-of-war, with no one able to convince the other.

However, the audience enjoyed the show very much.

If the gap in strength between the two sides of the debate is too big, it will not be exciting.

Just like now, it's exciting when both sides talk to each other.

“I just like the feeling of this knowledge flashing through my brain.”

However, some people suddenly discovered a problem.

“Why is there such a big discrepancy between Shapley and Curtis’ measurements?”

"Didn't they all use standard candle power?"

An hour had passed in the debate between Shapley and Curtis.

Until now, the two are still in a stalemate.

Shapley's face even turned red due to excessive excitement.

Curtis was obviously tired and kept gasping for breath.

Finally, with the prompts and intervention of the jury, the debate finally came to an end.

The result was beyond everyone's initial expectations.

The two sides ended in a draw!
There are no winners in this debate!

That means that the exact size of the universe remains an unsolved mystery.

There was a heated discussion in the hall.

This debate aroused people's curiosity about astronomy.

Especially the various methods of measuring the distance of celestial bodies are dazzling.

Moreover, the dramatic tie ending added a touch of legend to this debate.

After hearing the end, Shapley and Curtis both breathed a sigh of relief.

The two smiled, shook hands and hugged.

This result is undoubtedly the best one.

For Shapley though he didn't win.

But he has fully demonstrated his strength, and I think the representatives from Harvard University should have seen it.

After today, his and Curtis' names will resound throughout the United States and become celebrities in the scientific community.

So, both of them had smiles on their faces and bowed to the audience like gentlemen.

At this time, the big guy in the front row.

Ridgeway is turning down requests from Walcott and Hale.

"Professor Bruce, please go up to the stage and give a summary."

"You two should go."

"No, we won't be able to convince the crowd if we go up there."

"Professor Bruce, please don't refuse."

After the two's strong and passionate pleading, Li Qiwei finally took the stage.

Originally, he was just planning to say something just for show.

Praise the debate performance of both sides and brag about the awesomeness of astronomy.

Let's give this debate a happy ending.

However, just as he was about to finish, several people in the audience suddenly started to make a noise at the same time:
"Professor Bruce, please tell us about it."

"Why are Shapley and Curtis' results so different?"

"Will the results be different if we choose different stars as reference?"

"Then why are the results the same for each of them twice, but different in between?"

Wow!
The question struck an instant chord.

Even someone who knows nothing about astronomy can find the contradiction.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to ask this question for a long time."

"Why is there such a big difference between the two people's measurements?"

"And neither could point out an error in the other's measurements."

"That's strange, how can we verify it?"

Listening to the discussions of countless people, bigwigs like Haier and Dyson all showed expressions that did not know whether to laugh or cry.

They were both happy and helpless.

I am happy to see so many ordinary people discussing astronomy, which shows that this debate was very successful.

The charm of astronomy has been successfully displayed before the world.

With the help of telescopes, humans can explore the vast universe and analyze the secrets of stars.

Is there anything more romantic and enjoyable than this?

The success of astronomy will inevitably improve the status of astronomers and attract more people to join.

This discipline will usher in a booming development.

Unfortunately, they couldn't answer this question either.

Yes, even as a big shot in the field of astronomy, Haier didn't know which method was correct.

Otherwise, the issue of the Milky Way would not have become the subject of today's debate.

Li Qiwei was also stunned when he heard this.

"Damn it, I obviously don't want to be pretentious."

"Why are you pushing me?"

However, since the atmosphere is so hot today.

Then he might as well add fuel to the fire.

Anyway, he has officially entered the field of astronomy, so it is only natural for him to express some opinions.

Li Qiwei glanced at Hubble meaningfully.

This left the latter a little confused.

Amid the expectations of the crowd, Li Qiwei slowly said:
"First of all, everyone should understand that the distance measurement method used by Shapley and Curtis is actually a conventional method recognized by the astronomical community."

"As early as the 18th century, British astronomer Herschel invented a similar method."

As soon as Li Qiwei said the name, people in the audience who knew the name started to explain it.

Herschel is the founder of stellar astronomy and is known as the "Father of Stellar Astronomy".

He was the first president of the Royal Astronomical Society.

His representative achievement is: the discovery of Uranus and its two satellites.

In addition, Herschel also conducted some research on the structure of the Milky Way.

Ridgeway continued:

"Herschel was to calculate the distances between celestial bodies in the universe."

“He invented a way.”

"That is, he assumed that all the stars in the universe have the same brightness."

"The reason why we see some stars as dim and some as bright is because they are at different distances from us."

“This should be easy to understand.”

"Then he used the brightness of Sirius as a standard."

"Using the law that the intensity of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, we began to calculate the distances of other celestial bodies from the Earth."

"Assume that the distance between celestial body A and the Earth is twice the distance between Sirius and the Earth."

"Then the brightness of celestial body A observed by observers on Earth should be one-fourth of that of Sirius."

"That should be easy to calculate."

"But there was a problem: the distance from Sirius to Earth was unknown to astronomers at the time."

"So, Herschel simply used the distance from Sirius to the Earth as a standard unit."

"The units of other celestial bodies' distance from the Earth are converted into multiples of the standard unit."

"Based on this theory, he measured the distances of many celestial bodies."

"In the end, he even came up with a rough estimate of the diameter of the Milky Way at 8000 standard units."

"Of course, we now know that this number was pitifully small and could not be right."

"And the brightness of stars in the universe cannot be exactly the same."

"Herschel's results must therefore be wrong."

“However, the method he invented is of great reference value.”

"I believe you smart people have already discovered it."

"Yes, the standard candle method used by Shapley and Curtis came from Herschel's method."

"It's just that astronomers have optimized it and greatly improved its accuracy."

"However, these methods still do not solve a fundamental problem."

"That's the brightness of the standard candle itself."

"Because astronomers know very little about stars right now."

"We can't tell what a star's brightness is related to, or even whether it varies."

"For example, at certain moments, the sun's brightness suddenly increases."

"Then this situation must also exist for blue giants, yellow dwarfs and other stars that serve as standard candles."

"So, that introduces a huge error into the measurement."

"If you choose different stars as standard candles, the distances you measure will also be different."

"That's why there are such large errors in the data of Shapley and Curtis."

“It’s even an order of magnitude difference.”

"Because they are both completely wrong!"

"Of course, this does not mean that their achievements are worthless."

“Because that’s what astronomy is.”

"On an astronomical scale, precision is a luxury."

boom!
The audience fell into an eerie silence.

Soon, there was a sudden cry of surprise.

Most people were stunned by this answer.

It's just like a fairy tale!
"Oh my God! After all this time, both sides of the debate are wrong!"

"Is this Professor Bruce? His moves are earth-shattering!"

Everyone was shocked!

All the theories that excited them turned out to be wrong in the eyes of Professor Bruce?

Shapley and Curtis smiled wryly.

In fact, they both know the problem well.

The existing standard candle method does have such a problem.

However, they still benefited a lot from the crux of the problem pointed out by Professor Bruce.

Perhaps one day, if the mystery of stellar brightness can be solved, this method will be perfect.

Haier and other astronomical giants breathed a sigh of relief.

They didn't expect that Professor Bruce had such a thorough understanding of the candling method.

Is there anything in astronomy that the other party doesn't know?
At this moment, the onlookers in the hall were discussing more heatedly.

According to Professor Bruce, strictly speaking, this method is not wrong, but too crude.

That is why such a large error occurs when different people measure.

Suddenly, everyone came up with an exciting idea.

"Can Professor Bruce give me a better way to measure this?"

(End of this chapter)