1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 487 Kinetic Strike! Not even a drop of water is needed, just one atom can destroy the earth!

Chapter 487 Kinetic Strike! Not even a drop of water is needed, just one atom can destroy the earth!
Inside the lecture hall of the University of Rome.

The brain-opening questions raised by Li Qiwei completely aroused everyone's curiosity.

How can a drop of water destroy the earth?
Even if the mass of this drop of water is completely converted into energy, it would reach an astonishing 100 tons of TNT equivalent.

But compared to the giant earth, it is still insignificant.

Therefore, the answer to the mass-energy equation is wrong!

Everyone fell into heated thinking again.

From an energy perspective, this is not going to work.

Then we can only consider other angles.

At this moment, someone suddenly stood up and said excitedly:
"Professor Bruce, I have an idea."

“You wrote in The Bug that a three-star civilization would reduce atoms from three dimensions to two dimensions, thereby enveloping the entire Earth.”

(Note: The original book reduced the dimension of protons, but when the protagonist of this book was published, there was no concept of protons, so it was changed to atoms.)
"Then can we also reduce this drop of water to two dimensions and wrap the entire earth?"

Wow!
Everyone was shocked.

"Wow! What a great idea!"

"This is Professor Bruce's sword piercing Professor Bruce's shield."

"So funny!"

"But I'm afraid that the method of dimensionality reduction cannot be considered a physical method."

"I've never heard physicists say that dimensions can be reduced."

"Oh my, it's all science fiction, and you're still talking to me about physics."

This answer sparked an exciting discussion among the crowd.

Li Qiwei was also stunned when he heard this. He himself had never considered this idea.

However, he still said:

“This answer is indeed from a good angle.”

"But after the three-star civilization reduced the dimension of the atom, it was only monitoring the basic physics of the Earth, not destroying it."

"In other words, a two-dimensional atom will not have a substantial impact on the three-dimensional macroscopic world."

"Not to mention destroying the planet."

“So, I think this answer is still wrong.”

Hey!
There was a sigh in the meeting hall.

Li Qiwei's rebuttal left them speechless.

Two-dimensional objects do not affect three-dimensional objects.

It’s like a little man on the plane. How can he jump out of the plane and attack humans in three dimensions?

So, this answer is obviously flawed as well.

At this time, Li Qiwei added:

"By the way, this question is open-ended and any answer is worth discussing."

“The answer I give is not necessarily the most correct one.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone became even more excited.

It turns out that even Professor Bruce doesn't have the correct answer.

If their answer is better than Professor Bruce's, wouldn't that mean they have surpassed the other party?

Oh my god!
What a great honor it is to win over Professor Bruce on academic issues!
At this moment, everyone went crazy.

Then, another smart person came up with a brilliant idea:
“Can this drop of water be spread out to cover the entire earth and form a thin film of water molecules?”

"In this way, water remains a three-dimensional substance that can have an impact on the Earth."

"And this film may be able to reflect and refract sunlight, causing sudden changes in the earth's environment and thus destruction."

Wow!
This is another out-of-this-world answer.

Many people think it is just like a fairy tale.

A huge film of water that can wrap around the earth, what a vast landscape that would be.

“It feels like God blew a bubble and enveloped the earth.”

"If the density inside and outside of this bubble is different, then it can be used as a convex lens."

"The focal point that is created will probably ignite the entire surface in an instant."

"too crazy!"

Li Qiwei found it quite interesting.

This idea is somewhat similar to the Dyson sphere of later generations.

However, the Dyson sphere is countless times taller and larger than this water film.

Because it wraps around the stars!
In 1960, Einstein's former assistant, American physicist Dyson, put forward a bold theory.

By designing a giant artificial structure that completely surrounds the star, all the heat emitted by the star can be obtained as energy.

From now on, human beings will no longer be troubled by energy problems.

Based on the amount of energy humans consume now, the energy released by the sun in one second can be used by humans for 66 years.

What a staggering number.

Therefore, once the Dyson Sphere Project succeeds, one can imagine the amount of energy it will obtain.

It is enough to bring about a qualitative improvement in human civilization.

However, completing this plan is countless times more difficult than climbing to the sky.

The problem of the material itself alone is daunting.

Now, spreading the water molecules into a film may seem simpler than a Dyson sphere, but it is not simple at all.

Especially a drop of water is totally impossible.

Before Li Qiwei could deny it, Pauli calculated directly:

"impossible!"

"The diameter of the Earth is 6300 kilometers. According to the surface area formula of a sphere, S=4πR, the surface area of the Earth is 50×10 square meters."

"The volume of a drop of water is 5×10(-5) liters."

"After substituting the calculation, the thickness of the film is 1×10(-19) meters." (Can anyone tell me how to type the corner mark?)
"But the diameter of an atom is only 1×10(-10) meters."

"In other words, it is impossible for a drop of water to form a film of water that covers the entire Earth."

"If a single-atom film is to be formed, the volume of this drop of water should be at least 5 liters."

hiss!
Pauli's calculations instantly shattered the membrane answer.

If there are 5 liters of water, why would you still want a membrane? If you directly convert mass into energy, the energy will definitely be an astronomical figure.

Compared to the earth, a drop of water is really too small.

Li Qiwei looked at Pauli with satisfaction.

"Yes, you are my perfect mouth substitute."

The crowd was not discouraged by Pauli and continued to brainstorm.

At this moment, Fermi was sitting in the front row, his chin supported by one hand, his eyes grim.

This was his habit when he was in deep thought.

As the only Italian who attended the Bruce Conference, Fermi's fame in the country is probably higher than that of Vecchio, the president of the University of Rome.

At this moment, many people also focused their attention on him.

If there was any student who could answer this question, Fermi would undoubtedly be the most likely candidate.

Fermi had a different idea.

"The energy of a drop of water itself is limited."

"To generate enough power to destroy the Earth, energy must be replenished from somewhere else."

“There is only one kind of this energy.”

"That's kinetic energy!"

Fermi's eyes flashed and he slowly stood up.

Swish!
At this moment, everyone's eyes were instantly focused on him.

"Finally, Feishen is going to take action!"

"This kind of problem must be a piece of cake for Physics Olympiad contestants."

"Thank goodness I took the trouble, otherwise Professor Bruce would have thought I was alone in Italy."

Croce and Vecchio smiled at each other.

Fermi is much more famous than these two old guys.

“Now is the era of young people!”

As everyone watched intently, Fermi said:

"Professor Bruce, I have an idea as well." "The discussion just now basically shows that the energy and properties of a drop of water are orders of magnitude different from those of the Earth."

“So, I offer another approach.”

"According to the special theory of relativity, the mass of an object increases as its speed increases."

"When the speed of an object approaches the speed of light, its mass will even approach infinity."

"At this point, the kinetic energy of the object will also reach an extremely exaggerated level."

"Once it collides with the Earth, there will be an earth-shattering explosion."

"According to the special theory of relativity, I obtained the following data:"

"When the water droplet reaches 99% of the speed of light, its kinetic energy is 1.6×10 joules, equivalent to 350 tons of TNT."

"When the speed of a water drop reaches 99.99% of the speed of light, it is equivalent to 45 tons of TNT."

"When the speed of a water drop reaches 99.9999% of the speed of light, it is equivalent to 450 tons of TNT."

"When the speed of a water drop reaches 99.999999% of the speed of light, it is equivalent to 4500 million tons of TNT." (The Power of the Tsar)
"When the speed of a water drop reaches 99.9999999999% of the speed of light, it is equivalent to 45 billion tons of TNT equivalent." (Humanity's nuclear warhead reserve)
"When the speed of a water droplet reaches 99.999999999999999999% of the speed of light, it is equivalent to 450 trillion tons of TNT."

"."

boom!
At this moment everyone was stunned!

Under the influence of special relativity, the kinetic energy of a water droplet has increased beyond the limits of everyone's imagination.

450 trillion tons of TNT equivalent, what does that mean?
That should be more than enough to destroy the Earth.

"Oh my God! Kinetic strikes are so terrifying!"

"And there's simply no solution. It's pure kinetic energy. There's no way to defend against it."

"Such a cool method seems to be not mentioned in Professor Bruce's "Bugs"."

"I guess Professor Bruce thinks this method is a bit too shameless."

Everyone was stunned by Fermi's answer.

There is no doubt that this answer is definitely an answer.

Add 100 nines to it, and even the universe will be destroyed.

In later generations, the United States proposed a similar kinetic weapon called the Rod of God.

That is the so-called space-based weapons.

A metal rod made of tungsten, titanium, etc. is carried on the satellite.

Then launch this metal rod into space.

It uses the powerful kinetic energy obtained from falling from the sky to hit the target and cause destructive power.

The Americans claim that the power of the Rod of God is comparable to that of nuclear weapons!
Forehead.
Later, Hua Xia tried one himself.

Well, the Americans are talking nonsense.

The so-called Rod of God is not much stronger than ordinary high-energy explosives and is far from a nuclear weapon.

It just has special advantages in certain aspects.

After hearing Fermi's answer, Li Qiwei showed a helpless smile for the first time.

He deliberately deleted the so-called "light particle strike" in "Bugs".

It’s because he doesn’t like such a crude and direct approach, which lacks any sci-fi aesthetic.

Absolute strength works miracles!

It’s the same model as how physicists study microscopic particles, constantly adding kinetic energy.

But unfortunately, this is indeed an answer.

450 trillion tons of TNT equivalent, equivalent to the energy generated by the collision of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs with the Earth 6500 years ago.

Although this energy level cannot destroy the earth.

But you can keep adding 9.

When there are 40 nines after the decimal point, it is equivalent to the energy released by the sun in a year.

When there are 90 nines after the decimal point, it is equivalent to the energy released by the annihilation of the Milky Way.

When there are 132 nines after the decimal point, it is equivalent to the energy released by the annihilation of the entire observable universe.

So, not a drop of water is needed at all, just one atom is enough.

"Nine is coming!"

At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was pushed to its climax.

The power of the special theory of relativity is vividly demonstrated.

Li Qiwei smiled and said:
"Although I personally don't like such a rude answer."

"But I have to admit that Fermi's answer is correct."

"Using the special theory of relativity, as long as we keep increasing the speed of the water droplet, its kinetic energy will increase infinitely."

"Also, let me mention that if we think of Fermi's answer in a more complicated way, we have to consider the changes in water molecules."

"At such a high speed, the water droplets cannot exist as water molecules. I'm afraid they will directly turn into hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms."

"Then, these atoms collide with the Earth's atmosphere."

“This may be a very interesting calculation process.”

Li Qiwei's answer caused a sensation on the field.

Finally right!

Everyone's face was filled with joy.

At the same time, they were also attracted by Professor Bruce's following words.

Fermi's answer was a calculation under very ideal circumstances.

The properties of the water droplets themselves are not taken into account.

Logically speaking, even steel would have been vaporized at such a high speed.

Not to mention water.

However, according to the law of conservation of energy, even if the water droplets become scattered atoms, the energy of these atoms will not change.

Once it collides with the earth, it will definitely be transferred to the earth.

So, the answer is yes.

Fermi was not a man of much pride.

In his opinion, this kind of question does not test the real physical research ability, but only the imagination ability.

For him, it was just a small appetizer at best.

He believed that many people on the field had thought of it, but they didn't calculate as quickly as he did.

At this time, Fermi suddenly smiled and asked:

"Professor Bruce, we have already given so many answers."

"Why don't you announce your answer?"

Fermi's words were instantly recognized by everyone.

"Yes! Professor Bruce, please tell me your answer."

"I feel like there can't be any other answer except Fermi's."