1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 475: Power! Power! Power! Proving the Way with Power! The Foundation of the World! The Shock of the Third Power!
At the first Bruce Conference, Ridgway proposed the division between classical physics and modern physics.

The year 1900, when the concept of quantum was proposed, was the dividing line. Before that was classical physics, and after that was modern physics.

The so-called classics, simply put, are those that conform to human intuition.

The things studied are visible and tangible.

For example, physical phenomena such as gravity, electricity, magnetism, and light.

Physicists can actually feel the existence of these things and study their laws.

Therefore, the research methods of physics during this period were very straightforward.

First, discover a physical phenomenon, then study the properties of the phenomenon, and then summarize these properties to find some kind of pattern.

Finally, we use theory to connect all the above contents together.

But after entering modern physics, the logic has completely changed.

Because physicists began to study very abstract physical phenomena.

For example, the quantized orbit in quantum theory, it is impossible to find the corresponding existence in reality.

So, at this time, physicists can only imagine a certain existence in their minds and then try to analyze it with theory.

In real history, the so-called theoretical physicists also appeared during this period.

In the era of classical physics, there was no such thing as theoretical physicists.

Because all theories are developed based on experiments.

However, relativity and quantum theory cannot be proven through experiments.

By the way, in the later period, the theory of elementary particles became the mainstream of physics research, and the situation changed again.

Physicists began to actively "create" new phenomena to study.

This is where the Large Hadron Collider comes in.

By artificially creating various microscopic particles, physicists can conduct more profound research on the nature of the world.

Unfortunately, in this feast of particle physics, China didn’t even get to drink the soup.

This is also the reason why Yang Zhenning later opposed China's construction of a large particle collider.

Because he felt that all the particles that should be created had already been created.

What is needed now is a completely new theory to unify these different particles.

Instead of spending huge costs to find a few new elementary particles.

However, the specific evaluation is of course a matter of personal opinion.

And now, the era in which Li Qiwei lives is the second stage of the way physics is studied.

The transition from studying physical reality to physical abstraction.

Even a field like atomic physics, which emphasizes experiments, requires the imagination of physicists.

Because no one can "see" what the inside of an atom looks like.

Everything is based on conjecture.

At this moment, Li Qiwei's words shocked everyone present.

Today is the highest conference in the field of physics and even in the field of natural sciences.

In this situation, as Professor Bruce, what kind of discovery could be worthy of such seriousness?

It's so scary!
The older generation of physics masters are very familiar with Professor Bruce.

If the other party said something like this, it would definitely be an earth-shaking achievement and discovery.

Wilson said silently, "Bruce is going to start showing off again."

The younger generation, on the other hand, just felt their blood boiling.

The more challenging physics is, the more excited they are.

Irena was sitting in the back row and couldn't help but get excited.

Because she knew what Professor Bruce would talk about next.

And her name will officially spread to the physics community.

No longer just remembered as the silver medalist in the Physics Olympiad.

Amid everyone's expectations, Li Qiwei continued:
“Since its birth, physics has undergone two major unifications.”

"The first was done by Newton."

"He unified the force of the earth pulling the apple down with the force of the sun pulling the earth to rotate."

"At this point, humans have gained insight into the existence of gravity."

"The second time was done by Maxwell."

"After Newton, physicists first discovered electricity and then magnetism."

"These two completely different physical phenomena are profoundly connected."

"Faraday, Ampere, Volt, Ohm, Coulomb, Oersted, Lenz."

“Many of the top physicists were born in the field of electromagnetism.”

"But it was Maxwell who finally unified electricity, magnetism and light."

"Electromagnetic force also became the mainstream of physics research in the 19th century."

"It's a very different force from gravity."

"These two forces are also the basic forces currently recognized by the physics community."

"In essence, all phenomena in nature are governed by these two forces."

“That’s why Professor Einstein ambitiously proposed the unified field theory.”

"He wanted to unify gravity and electromagnetism and use one theoretical framework to explain all phenomena."

“I have to say, this is a great courage.”

Wow!
At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to Einstein.

As a genius who rose to prominence at the same time as Professor Bruce, Einstein is not very high-profile in the physics community, but his strength should not be underestimated.

In particular, the proposal of unified field theory has caused a popular trend.

Many physicists and even mathematicians have joined the research in this direction.

It is said that there have been considerable achievements now.

However, everyone present knew that the concept of unification was first proposed by Professor Bruce.

The other party made this shocking prediction at the second Bruce Conference.

It's just that no one has ever tried it.

Because there are still too many unsolved mysteries in modern physics.

It is indeed a bit too early to talk about unification now.

However, Einstein's attempt is still quite admirable.

However, Li Qiwei's next turn shocked everyone.

"But I think the foundations of unified field theory are wrong."

boom!
The audience was in an uproar!
Everyone opened their eyes wide in disbelief.

The basis of unified field theory is gravity and electromagnetic force, how can this be wrong?

There was a gleam of light in Einstein's sharp eyes.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and it was obvious that he was in a very up and down mood.

In such a serious occasion, he knew Bruce would never joke.

There must be a certain degree of certainty.

But, is this possible?

His heart was in his throat.

Li Qiwei did not keep everyone waiting for long, and then said:

"Because I found the trace of the third force!"

Wow!
Everyone was shocked on the spot!
It’s like a fantasy!
Does this world really have a third force?

"My goodness!"

"Although Professor Bruce believed the existence of a third force a long time ago."

"But that's just a guess."

"There is no evidence whatsoever."

"Have you found evidence of its existence now?"

"This will definitely shock the entire physics community."

At this moment, everyone present felt incredible.

Even Einstein breathed harder.

This news was too shocking for him.

His eyes were fixed on Li Qiwei, as if he wanted to see through him.

Li Qiwei turned on the projector and projected Irena's theory and experimental results onto it.

"Everyone, please read this." "According to the proton-neutron theory I proposed earlier."

"If the protons and neutrons in the nucleus want to be tightly packed together to form a stable nucleus."

"Then they have to overcome the electromagnetic repulsion between the protons."

"And gravity alone can't do that."

"This is the calculation result, and the difference is several orders of magnitude."

"So, I concluded that there must be a special force between protons and neutrons."

"It is neither electromagnetic force nor gravity, but the third force that I have been searching for."

"Its strength is very, very strong. According to a rough estimate, it is at least hundreds of millions of times stronger than gravity."

"So, it can hold these microscopic particles firmly together."

"Since the third force is very strong, I will temporarily name it [Strong Force]."

"The above theoretical and experimental data were provided by my doctoral student Irena."

“Thank you for your contribution.”

At this moment, the venue fell into silence.

No matter they were big shots or geniuses, they were all shocked by the concept of power.

Because this is a huge thing that changes the foundation of physics.

Since the birth of physics, the concept of "force" has been deeply rooted in people's minds.

Pressure, friction, thrust.
As the research deepened, physicists realized that these seemingly different forces actually have the same essence.

That is the fundamental force.

The so-called basic refers to the cornerstone of the world.

They are the reason why the world works.

And now, Professor Bruce has discovered the existence of a third force besides gravity and electromagnetism.

This is so shocking!
Rutherford felt like he had come across a rare treasure at this moment. He looked at the data on the screen over and over again.

As a big shot in the field of atomics, this discovery had a fatal appeal to him.

The force allowed him to see a further direction.

There are two main streams in atomic research today.

The first, of course, is to find experimental evidence for the existence of neutrons.

No matter how good the proton-neutron model is, it is still just a conjecture.

Only when the traces of neutrons are actually discovered like protons can the theory be proven.

Of course, Rutherford had inexplicable confidence in this.

The second is the bombardment experiment based on nuclear fusion.

Many results have proved that although bombardment is simple and crude, it is really effective.

After all, it is a simplified version of the Large Hadron Collider.

Great strength can make miracles happen. This is not just a saying.

Now, the emergence of strength seemed to have opened up a new world for Rutherford.

It is not enough to understand the composition of atomic nuclei, we also need to understand their structure.

The strong force is what maintains the structure of the nucleus.

But here comes the problem.

Rutherford couldn't help asking:

"Bruce, do you know how strong force works?"

"Does it also satisfy the inverse square law like gravity and electromagnetism?"

Everyone was suddenly shocked.

Only then did they realize that this issue was very critical.

Newton's greatness lies not only in his discovery of gravity.

More importantly, he gave the law of universal gravitation between objects and provided the mathematical formula for calculation.

This is the core part.

And now, Professor Bruce has proved the existence of the third force.

Although equally great, it's still a little off.

Facing Rutherford's question, Li Qiwei said firmly:
“I tried to use the law of universal gravitation and forms of Coulomb’s law.”

"But force is not satisfied with this form."

“That’s why I concluded it was a completely new force.”

"Its mechanism of action is different from the two known forces."

"So, I think that if we want to explain the strong force, we must rely on quantum theory."

“It’s just not the quantum theory that we have today.”

“It’s the reconstructed quantum theory!”

“That’s why I finally decided that the theme of the conference would be atoms and quantum.”

"Because their mysteries have only just been revealed."

In real history, the theory that explains the strong force is called quantum chromodynamics.

The "color" in quantum chromodynamics can be simply understood as color.

It is a certain property that characterizes quarks.

But it is not the same as the color we normally understand.

Since Dirac proposed quantum field theory, its connotation has been continuously enriched.

Gauge field theory is a special kind of quantum field theory.

Quantum chromodynamics is a special kind of gauge field theory.

That's roughly the relationship.

So, Li Qiwei was not wrong.

To truly understand the nature of strong force, we must do so based on quantum mechanics.

This is why the concepts of strong force and weak force appeared in the 1930s and 1940s.

But it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that it was truly covered by the models of quantum field theory.

Of course, this also involves the Standard Model.

The relationship between the standard model and quantum field theory can be simply corresponded to the relationship between atomics and quantum theory.

(This section is quite complex, so just know the nouns for now.)
At this moment, everyone finally understood why Professor Bruce was obsessed with reconstructing quantum theory.

It turns out that he has seen so deeply.

Rutherford lamented:

"I'm afraid that when Bruce proposed the proton-neutron model at the Royal Society Annual Meeting, he immediately thought of the third force."

"His physics intuition is just horrible!"

“It’s really something that makes people extremely envious.”

For a super boss like Rutherford, the so-called computing ability and logical ability are actually not that important.

Among the top group of geniuses, their qualities in all aspects are not much different.

What truly distinguishes them from gods and mortals is that illusory intuition.

It's a bit ironic indeed.

It is clearly a pursuit of truth using scientific methods and attitudes.

As a result, the gap between people is widened in an unscientific way such as intuition.

The world is so wonderful.

Human thinking itself is the most unscientific thing in the world.

Because it can actually understand the world.

At this moment, the third force brought endless shock to everyone.

Although its mechanism of action is not yet understood, it has undoubtedly opened up a whole new field.

The younger generation looked at Li Qiwei with great admiration.

“That’s what a true scientific leader is.”

"With Professor Bruce's ability, if he wants to publish more papers, I'm afraid a hundred a day won't be a problem."

“And every article can be published in the main journal of Nature.”

"But this means nothing to him."

"He left the low-hanging fruit to ordinary physicists."

"His own pursuit is the endless pinnacle of physics!"

(End of this chapter)