1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 486: One drop of water! Destroy one tenth of the city of Rome! Horrible but not enough!
When talking about Italy's glory in the field of science, ordinary people will think of Galileo without hesitation.

This great scientific master, as the founder of modern science, has too many titles.

"Father of modern science", "Father of modern physics", "Father of observational astronomy".
Although the fields he researched and the results he achieved seem a bit immature and superficial today.

But they have opened the door to wisdom for mankind.

Objectively speaking, Galileo is the giant of all scientists.

His brilliance was so dazzling that it overshadowed all the scientists in Italy.

If you ask ordinary people to name another famous Italian scientist, I'm afraid many people would not be able to think of him.

But in the academic world, there is such a heavyweight figure.

He has achieved amazing results in the fields of chemistry and physics.

This person is Avogadro.

He published his famous Avogadro's law in 1811:

That is, "the same volume of gas contains the same number of molecules at the same temperature and pressure." (pV=nRT)

In this law, he boldly proposed the concept of "molecule" for the first time.

At that time, the chemical community, under the influence of Dalton's atomic theory, believed that gases were composed of single atoms.

But Avogadro believed that gases like oxygen and nitrogen were composed of molecules consisting of two atoms.

Unfortunately, after he proposed this hypothesis, no one in the chemistry community agreed with it.

It was not until more than 50 years later, as more evidence emerged, that chemists finally accepted Avogadro's law and the concept of molecules.

Unfortunately, Avogadro himself did not live to see the triumph of his doctrine.

To commemorate the achievements of this great chemist, later generations called the number of particles contained in one mole of particles the "Avogadro constant" (NA).

When calculating, NA is generally taken as 6.023×10.

What does one mole (mol) mean?

For example, suppose there is 1 mol of water molecules HO.

Although it has a mass of only 18 grams, it contains 6.023×10 water molecules.

Similarly, 1 mol of electrons represents 6.023×10 electrons.

It is not difficult to see that NA is an astronomical figure that is unimaginably large.

The size and quantity of the microscopic world far exceeds the scope of human subjective perception.

Perhaps there is infinite power hidden there.

But on the other hand, even if the number of particles in 1 mol is large, their mass and volume are pitifully small.

It seems that it has no impact on the macroscopic world of human beings.

So, when Li Qiwei asked the question "If I give you a drop of water, how would you destroy the earth?", everyone was shocked.

This problem is really beyond everyone's imagination.

Everyone in the audience was stunned!
"Oh my god! What's the question?"

"A drop of water? It's not even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth. How can it possibly destroy the earth? Isn't that nonsense?"

"Professor Bruce is indeed just as the rumors say. The questions he asks are often out-of-the-ordinary."

At this moment, many students thought of Professor Bruce’s speech in the United States.

That lecture on glass even ended up opening up a new field of materials science.

A small piece of glass, so ordinary that it couldn't be more ordinary, actually contains such a big secret.

But no matter how common glass is, it is made by humans through chemical methods.

There is still a certain scientific and technological content.

But what about water?
I'm afraid water has existed since the creation of the earth.

The area of ​​the four oceans is even larger than that of the seven continents.

The earth can be said to be a water ball.

But even with so much water, it won't destroy the earth.

What's more, it is just a tiny drop of water.

Everyone was puzzled.

It feels like a fairy tale.

However, the person who raised this question was Professor Bruce, one of the greatest scientists of the time.

This shows that this problem is definitely not as simple as it seems.

So, after being surprised, everyone fell into deep thought.

In such an occasion, anyone who can answer Professor Bruce's question will instantly become famous in Italy.

The young people couldn't help but get excited.

They racked their brains and used their imagination.

After all, Professor Bruce had no restrictions and said that existing technology must be used.

This is more of a science fiction question than a physics question.

Everyone feels they have a chance.

If ordinary students were surprised at first, the situation was different for geniuses.

Pauli, Fermi and others did not appear to be very shocked after hearing the question.

In their view, this issue is full of academic research value.

Even found the solution to the problem in an instant:

Start with microscopic particles!
After all, the macroscopic volume of a drop of water can never affect the earth.

However, even for them, it was difficult to come up with a reasonable answer at once.

This requires a lot of imagination.

At the same time, they were keenly aware of what Professor Bruce had previously emphasized: the need to make use of computing power.

This means that a lot of calculations must be required.

Maybe this is also some kind of hint.

A genius is a genius who can notice details that ordinary students cannot.

All of a sudden, all the students, including many teachers and professors, began to think about it with great interest.

This question is really interesting!

Italian Education Minister Croce and Rome University President Vecchio smiled at each other.

They finally understood why so many universities were trying their best to get Professor Bruce to give lectures.

Because it is so wonderful!
There are more than a thousand teachers and students present today!

If an ordinary person were to give the speech, he would probably be so nervous that he would have to read from the script.

How can anyone be as capable as Professor Bruce, who can handle things with ease and so much ease?

Just one question pushed the atmosphere on the field to a climax.

Croce glanced at the back row and found that countless people were scratching their heads and whispering to each other.

Everyone's face was filled with excitement.

At this moment, science is no longer boring, but full of fun.

Croce sighed:

"This is the charm of Professor Bruce!"

"If only he could give a lecture every day in Italy."

“I’m afraid the quality of our students will improve exponentially!”

For Croce, who was studying history, this question was seriously beyond the syllabus.

He had absolutely no idea.

Instead, we evaluate the significance of Professor Bruce's speech from a higher level.

As an official from the Ministry of Education, he feels this deeply.

Many people like to speak nonsense, clichés, and official language when giving speeches.

A simple thing, repeated over and over again.

After an hour or two, there is absolutely no useful content.

He thinks he is very profound and mysterious, but in fact he is just a nobody.

Of course, there is another situation, that is, what he said was wrong, so he needed to use nonsense to cover up the mistake. After listening to Li Qiwei's speech, Croce instantly felt that they had met too late and had the same ideals.

Vecchio nodded approvingly.

As a university president with a background in science and engineering, he could appreciate the shock of the speech better than Croce.

He smiled and said:
"Yes."

“Professor Bruce is best at using simple things to introduce the most profound physical theories.”

“He lets students use their imagination and creativity to the fullest.”

“This is the ability that education most hopes to cultivate.”

"I can't even think of the answer to this question for a while."

“You can imagine how excited those students will be.”

"Professor Bruce uses the desire to win among young people to stimulate their potential."

Just as Croce and Vecchio were sighing.

Finally someone brave enough to stand up and try to give an answer.

A tall male student stood up and said:

"Hello, Professor Bruce, I am an undergraduate student majoring in physics at the University of Rome."

“I have an idea about this.”

Li Qiwei said: "Please speak."

The tall boy said:
"The volume of a drop of water is about 0.05 milliliters, and based on a density of 1 kilogram per cubic meter, the mass is 0.05 grams."

"According to the mass-energy equation E=mc in the special theory of relativity, we can calculate that the energy contained in this drop of water is 4.5×10 joules."

"It is generally accepted that the equivalent of TNT explosives is used to graphically measure the level of energy."

"TNT produces about 4200 joules of energy per gram."

"After conversion, the energy of a drop of water is roughly equivalent to 10 kilograms of TNT, or 100 tons of TNT equivalent."

"This amount of energy is probably enough to destroy one-tenth of the center of Rome."

"If it is more extreme, with so much energy exploding at one point at the same time, will it cause huge fluctuations in the cloud?"

"The result is a sudden change in the earth's environment, which will destroy the earth."

Wow!
The boy's answer made countless people present gasp.

I don't know, I was taken aback.

The energy contained in just one drop of water is equivalent to the energy of 100 tons of TNT.

This is too exaggerated!
"Oh my god, this must be a mistake. How can a drop of water have such great power?"

"You don't understand this. In the mass-energy equation, the square of the speed of light is an extremely large number. Even if it is multiplied by a very small mass, the result is terrifying."

“That’s the beauty of physics.”

Pauli, Fermi and others nodded. They did not agree with the answer, but with the calculation result.

No problem at all.

In real history, the equivalent of "Little Boy" dropped by the United States on Sakura Country was 2 tons of TNT, which is about 200 times that of a drop of water.

In other words, the little boy who shocked the world actually lost only the equivalent of 200 drops of water, or 10 grams of nuclear material.

But the damage it caused was devastating.

Within the core area of ​​1.6 kilometers, everything was instantly vaporized.

It is unknown how far the shock wave will reach.

Coupled with the most terrifying nuclear radiation, it makes people suffer unbearable pain.

This is the terrifying power of the atomic bomb.

In front of it, the "one hundred million suicides" plan of the Emperor of the Sakura Country is simply a joke.

For the first time, the shock that physics brought to mankind appeared in such an intuitive and terrifying way.

And now, the tall boy's answer is equally terrifying.

100 tons of TNT can destroy one-tenth of the center of Rome, which is pretty accurate.

The world war that just ended has made people no longer unfamiliar with war.

A bomb as big as a washbasin can even destroy a building.

Everyone still has a certain feeling about the power of explosives.

However, the power of the concentrated explosion of 100 tons of TNT still exceeded everyone's imagination.

No one could imagine the extent of the destructive power it could generate.

At this moment, the mass-energy equation left a deep impression on everyone.

"Fortunately, it only exists in physical formulas and is impossible to achieve in reality."

"Otherwise, if I carry a bucket of water, I can bomb the whole of Europe."

"Oh my god, this is too scary."

Many people think that this should be the correct answer.

So they asked in unison:
"Professor Bruce, this should be the answer."

However, Pauli, Fermi, Vecchio and others shook their heads slightly.

They think it's definitely not.

Because it's too easy.

Any student who has carefully read the theory of relativity and remembers the mass-energy equation should be able to calculate it.

Of course, it is simple for some people.

Even now, few universities offer courses on relativity at the undergraduate level.

It is not an easy task to teach yourself the theory of relativity.

But even the special theory of relativity belongs to the advanced knowledge in physics.

There are thousands of people here today, including so many teachers and professors, how could they not know the special theory of relativity?

Under the gaze of everyone, Li Qiwei smiled and said:
“This student gave a very good answer.”

"According to the theory of special relativity, a drop of water does have this much energy."

"But even if it's 100 tons of TNT, it's still a bit unrealistic to want to destroy the earth."

"In the war that just ended, the amount of explosives dropped by various countries combined was more than 100 tons, probably tens of thousands of tons."

"But our planet is still fine. Let alone destruction, it's not even a tickle."

"So, the energy of a drop of water is not enough to cause so-called cloud fluctuations, leading to changes in the environment."

“That’s not the right answer!”

Wow!
Except for a few people who nodded slightly, looking as if it was a matter of course.

Most people immediately burst into sighs.

None of the answers are correct.

However, everyone felt that what Professor Bruce said made sense.

The example of the recent world war is right before our eyes.

So everyone became even more confused.

"Damn, is there a way to get more energy than the energy calculated by the mass-energy equation?"

"What could that be?"

At this moment, countless people were helpless.

Because the mass-energy equation is the known theory that generates the most energy.

There will never be anything that can surpass it.

But since Professor Bruce raised this question, it means that he must have an answer that can convince everyone.

Otherwise, wouldn’t that be cheating?
Given the other party's current status and position, he probably wouldn't be so bored with such trivial matters.

So, there must be something else behind the answer!

Li Qiwei looked at everyone and smiled, his gaze lingering on Pauli, Fermi and others for a few seconds.

At this moment, someone suddenly whispered:

“What if we don’t think about it from an energy perspective?”

Wow!
A flash of inspiration!
(End of this chapter)